Using Surveys In Language Programs

This book presents a comprehensive, but practical, overview of the different phases and activities involved in the development and implementation of effective survey projects by language-teaching professionals. The text, which includes chapters on planning, designing, gathering, analyzing, and reporting survey research, would be accessible to graduate students, language teachers, administrators, and researchers. The theoretical and practical issues involved in survey design are defined and discussed in digestible chunks. All concepts are explained in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step manner, with ample examples and checklists provided. Each chapter also includes a list of key terms, a set of review questions, and a collection of exercises for practical application. In this text, language-teaching professionals will find all of the crucial information needed to survey students and teachers about their beliefs and practices. The results can then be used for developing curriculum, evaluating the success of language programs, or doing other relevant research.

An introduction to useful and used evaluation in language education / John McE. Davis -- Best practices for language program evaluation success / John McE. Davis -- Planning for useful evaluation : users, uses, questions / Todd H. Mckay, John McE. Davis -- Identifying indicators for evaluation data collection / Francesca Venezia -- Selecting methods and collecting data for evaluation / Todd H. McKay, John McE. Davis -- Conducting focus groups for evaluation / Lara Bryfonski -- Conducting evaluation interviews / Jorge Méndez Seijas, Janire Zalbidea, Cristi Vallejos -- Using questionnaires effectively for evaluation / Amy Kim, John McE. Davis -- Analyzing and interpreting evaluation data / John McE. Davis -- Key points to remember for useful evaluation / John McE. Davis -- Example evaluation plan / Todd H. McKay -- Appendix A: Example interview protocol

Research Methods in Applied Linguistics is designed to be the essential one-volume resource for students. The book includes: * qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods * research techniques and approaches * ethical considerations * sample studies * a glossary of key terms * resources for students As well as covering a range of methodological issues, it looks at numerous areas in depth, including language learning strategies, motivation, teacher beliefs, language and identity, pragmatics, vocabulary, and grammar. Comprehensive and accessible, this is the essential guide to research methods for undergraduate and postgraduate students in applied linguistics and language studies.

One of the most common methods of data collection in second language research is using questionnaires of various kinds. In spite of the wide application of questionnaires in the second language field, there does not seem to be sufficient awareness in the profession about the theory of questionnaire design and processing. The usual--and in most cases false--perception is that anybody with a bit of common sense can design good questionnaires, and the practice of questionnaire design and use has remained largely uninformed by theory. As a consequence, it is all too common to see that studies which start out with exciting research questions are spoiled by the application of badly designed questionnaires and/or a lack of reliable and valid results due to faulty processing. One reason for the lack of sufficient awareness of questionnaire theory among language researchers is the absence of relevant summaries and training materials in the second language literature. The purpose of the current book is to fill this gap. The book is motivated by very practical purposes, namely to help researchers to increase the efficiency of their questionnaires and to avoid possible pitfalls. Accordingly, special care has been taken to avoid unnecesary jargon, to make the text accessible, and to relate everything to real-life situations. Illustrated by concrete examples, the book offers a thorough but accessible overview of the theory of questionnaire design, and administration and processing, with a special view on second language research applications. The conclusion summarizes the main points of questionnaire theory in a straightforward checklist that offers an easy-to-use tool for researchers. Researchers and students in TESOL and second-language programs and applied linguistics, with secondary markets in other language research (e.g., child language) will find this book useful.

An accessible introduction to language learning research, which provides a 'feel' for what research activities are like by engaging the reader in several roles across a range of research design types, both quantitative and qualitative. Roles include research subject, research organizer, data collector, data analyst, and research reporter. The book systematically explains the characteristics and purposes of various types of research, including terminology, the logic underlying selection, and the steps typical of each type of research design. It also offers an introduction to some classic research studies.

Continuing on from the previously published Primary School English-Language Education in Asia: From Policy to Practice (Moon & Spolsky, 2012), this book compiles the proceedings which took place at the 2011 annual conference of AsiaTEFL which took place in Seoul, Korea. It surveys the current status, practices, challenges, and future directions of Secondary English education in 11 diverse countries - in Israel, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Vietnam and China. Given the importance of secondary English education as the central feature for continuing development of target language and culture in English language teaching in Asia, each contributed chapter includes key policies, theories, and practices related to the development and implementation of country-specific curricular and instructional programs in secondary English educational contexts in these countries. Secondary School English Education in Asia: From Policy to Practice critically analyses both sides of the English language debate – from advantages to complications – in its chapters including: Educating for the 21st Century: The Singapore Experience Miles to Go ...: Secondary Level English Language Education in India English Language Education Innovation for the Vietnamese Secondary School: The Project 2020 Exploring the Value of ELT as a Secondary School Subject in China: A Multi-goal Model for English Curriculum Secondary School English Education in Asia will appeal to English Language Teaching (ELT) researchers, teacher educators, trainee teachers and teachers, primarily those teaching in Asia.

This book aims to further understanding of the acquisition of Chinese as a foreign or second language. The six independent studies, which focus on various aspects of the learning process from morphosyntax to pragmatics to peer interaction, offer empirical insights into instructed learners under an array of instructional conditions.