Research Methodology In Second Language Acquisition

Research Methods in Second Language Acquisition “With its cornucopia of information, both thorough and practical, this book is a must for our methodology shelves. Its study questions and project suggestions will be a boon for many research methods courses.” Robert M. DeKeysevr, University of Maryland “This guide to collecting, coding and analyzing second language acquisition data will be an essential reference for novice and experienced researchers alike.” Peter Robinson, Aoyama Gakuin University “Comprehensive and technically up-to-date, yet accessible and cogent! This remarkable textbook is sure to become a premier choice for the research training of many future SLA generations.” Lourdes Ortega, University of Hawaii “Alison Mackey and Susan Gass’ valuable new book offers hands-on methodological guidance from established experts on all kinds of second language research.” Michael H. Long, University of Maryland Research Methods in Second Language Acquisition: A Practical Guide is an informative guide to research design and methodology in this growing and vibrant field. Utilizing research methods and tools from varied fields of study including education, linguistics, psychology, and sociology, this collection offers complete coverage of the techniques of second language acquisition research. This guide covers a variety of topics, such as second language writing and reading, meta-analyses, research replication, qualitative data collection and analysis, and more. Each chapter of this volume offers background, step-by-step guidance, and relevant studies to create comprehensive coverage of each method. This carefully selected and edited volume will be a useful text for graduate students and scholars looking to keep pace with the latest research projects and methodologies in second language acquisition.

Specifically targeted towards the needs of a second language research audience, Second Language Research: Methodology and Design addresses basic issues related to research design, providing step-by-step instructions for how to carry out studies. This up-to-date text includes chapters that cover identifying research problems and questions; selecting elicitation measures; dealing with ethical issues related to data gathering; validity and reliability in research; research in second and foreign language classroom contexts; data description and coding; and data analysis. Also included is a chapter on the much needed and rarely addressed topic of writing up SLA research, giving concrete suggestions about preparing for publication. Principles of both qualitative and quantitative research are discussed in the context of design issues. Throughout the book, examples from applied linguistics, second language acquisition, and TESOL are provided. Helpful discussion and data-based skill-building exercises at the end of each chapter promote better understanding of the principles discussed. A glossary outlines the key terms in second language research. Second Language Research: Methodology and Design is an ideal textbook for introductory and advanced classes in second language research methods, as well as classes in related areas, for example, TESOL research methods.

Key Methods in Second Language Acquisition Research is a book written to help novice teachers and undergraduate students developing an awareness and understanding of the key methodological frameworks and processes used in second language research. The book should also help readers generating ideas and researchable questions and adopting particular research methods and procedures to collect and analyse data. The book is divided into three main parts: Key Stages in Second Language Research (Part One); Key Methodological Frameworks (Part Two); Mixed Frameworks and Psycholinguistics Methods (Part three).

This volume addresses salient theoretical issues concerning the validity of research methods in second-language acquisition, and provides critical analysis of contextualized versus sentence-level production approaches. The contributors present their views of competence versus performance, the nature of language acquisition data, research design, the relevance of contextualized data collection and interpretation, and the desirability of a particularistic nomothetic theoretical paradigm versus more comprehensive consideration of multiple realities and complex influencing factors. This book presents varying and antithetical approaches to the issues, bringing together the thinking and approaches of leading researchers in language acquisition, language education, and sociolinguistics in an engaging debate of great currency in the field.

This volume addresses salient theoretical issues concerning the validity of research methods in second-language acquisition, and provides critical analysis of contextualized versus sentence-level production approaches. The contributors present their views of competence versus performance, the nature of language acquisition data, research design, the relevance of contextualized data collection and interpretation, and the desirability of a particularistic nomothetic theoretical paradigm versus more comprehensive consideration of multiple realities and complex influencing factors. This book presents varying and antithetical approaches to the issues, bringing together the thinking and approaches of leading researchers in language acquisition, language education, and sociolinguistics in an engaging debate of great currency in the field.

In this second edition of the best-selling Second Language Research, Alison Mackey and Sue Gass continue to guide students step-by-step through conducting the second language research process with a clear and comprehensive overview of the core issues in second language research. Supported by a wealth of data examples from actual studies, the book examines questions of what is meant by research and what defines good research questions, covering such topics as basic research principles and data collection methods, designing a quantitative research study, and concluding and reporting research findings. The second edition includes a new chapter on mixed-methods, new "time to think" and "time to do" text boxes throughout, and updates to reflect the latest research and literature. Supplementary materials, including an extensive glossary and appendices of forms and documents that students can use in conducting their own studies, serve as useful reference tools, with suggestions on how to get research published reemphasizing the book’s practical how-to approach. Second Language Research, Second Edition is the ideal resource for understanding the second language research process for graduate students in Second Language Acquisition and Applied Linguistics.

The methodology of introspection, and especially of stimulated recall, is gaining increasing popularity in second language research. This book provides a "how-to" guide for researchers considering using this technique, contextualized within a history of the procedure and a discussion of its strengths and weaknesses. Topics covered in depth include: * research questions for which this methodology is (and is not) well-suited, * preparing for data collection, * transcribing, coding, and analyzing stimulated recall data, and * avoiding common pitfalls in the use of this methodology. By way of demonstration, the authors walk readers, step by step, through several studies in different areas of second language education which have used this technique, including L2 writing, reading, oral interaction, and interlanguage pragmatics. This book is one of several in LEA's Second Language Acquisition Research Series dealing with specific data collection methods or instruments. Each of these monographs addresses the kinds of research questions for which the method/instrument is best suited, its underlying assumptions, a characterization of the method/instrument and extended description of its use, and problems associated with its use. For more information about these volumes, please visit LEA's Web site at www.erlbaum.com.

Understanding how people learn and fail to learn second and foreign languages is increasingly recognised as a critical social and psycholinguistic issue. Second languages are vitally important to diverse groups of people, ranging from refugees to college students facing foreign language requirements. This book provides a synthesis of empirical findings on second and foreign language learning by children and adults, emphasising the design and execution of appropriate research.