Research Methods in SLA

Ling 347

Research Methods in Second Language Acquisition

Wintersemester 2008 / 2009

Universität Konstanz

Vorlesung: Do, 12-14 Uhr, G 304

Dozent: Barış Kabak (F521a)

Baris.Kabak@uni-konstanz.de

Hiwi: Nadja Boeck

boeck.nadja@web.de

News: Instructions for the article critique (due: 08.01.2009) are now posted.

Course Description:

The course is designed to give students the opportunity to tackle research articles, approach them critically, and design and present their own research in a scholarly fashion. Furthermore, it allows them to become familiar with some of the recent theoretical and practical issues in the field of second language acquisition through critically reading and presenting articles that recently appeared in scientific journals such as Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Second Language Research, and Language Learning, etc. We discuss various approaches to conducting research in the field of second/foreign language acquisition, covering qualitative and quantitative/ experimental methodologies, especially in the context of English as a Foreign Language. Topics include common data elicitation and collection methods, identification of research problems, formulation of hypotheses, validity and reliability in research, and classroom research techniques.

Schein requirements (9 Credits):

Oral Presentation(i): 30%

Article critique (8-10 pages): 30%

Research Proposal (6-8 pages) : 35%

Attendance and Participation : 5%

Notes:

(i) Presentation of an article of your choice published in a reputable scientific journal such as Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Second Language Research, Language Learning, etc. You need to let me know which article you would like to present by 13.11.2008.

Schedule:

		Topics		Readings
1	23.10.08	Intro to SLA research		Mackey& Gass: Chapter 1
2	30.10.08	Issues in data elicitation and some common data collection methodologies		Mackey& Gass: Chapter 3
3	06.11.08	Common data collection methodologies		Mackey& Gass: Chapter 3 Article: de Groot (2006)
4	13.11.08	Quantitative SLA studies Presenters: A. Gwinner and T. Renner		Mackey& Gass: Chapter 5 Hayes-Harb & Masuda (2008) Handout This article can be downloaded from “Elektronische Zeitschriftenbibliothek” of the University Konstanz (may require on-campus access). A hardcopy is also available in our Semesterapparat.
5	20.11.08	Quantitative SLA studies Focus: L2 Acquisition of English articles Presenters: S. Kaupp and J. Marsteller		Liu & Gleason (2002) Jarvis (2002) These articles can be downloaded from “Elektronische Zeitschriftenbibliothek” of the University Konstanz (may require on-campus access). A hardcopy is also available in our Semesterapparat.
6	27.11.08	Validity and reliability Instructions for the article critique (due: 08.01.2009) are now posted.		Mackey& Gass: Chapter 4 Article: de Groot (2006)
7	04.12.08	SFB Colloquium on SLA/Bilingualism Time: 14:15!! Place: G300 Talk Title: Pronominal anaphora resolution in bilingual speakers: the wider picture Abstract Presentation slides (pdf)		Speaker : Antonella Sorace (University of Edinburgh) Presentation Slides (pdf)
8	11.12.08	Qualitative SLA studies		Mackey& Gass: Chapter 6
9	18.12.08	Classroom research-I Presenters: Winterhalder and Veith		Mackey& Gass: Chapter 7 Lightbown (2003). A hardcopy is available in our Semesterapparat.
10	25.12.08	Christmas break
11	01.01.09	Christmas break
12	08.01.09	Article critique is due! Classroom research-II: Focus: Foreign language vocabulary learning Presenters: M. Schmidt and Seidler	Article: Wode (1999) Article: Bogaards (2001) These articles can be downloaded from “Elektronische Zeitschriftenbibliothek” of the University Konstanz (may require on-campus access). A hardcopy is also available in our Semesterapparat.
13	15.01.09	Classroom research-III Focus: Feedback and recasts Presenters: S. Schmidt and K. Dill	Article: Lyster & Ranta (1997) Article: Leeman (2003)
14	22.01.09	L2 repertoire and foreign accent Presenters: Albrecht and Gauckler	Article: Masats, Nussbaum & Unamuno (2007) Article: Muñoz & Singleton (2007) A hardcopy for each article is available in our Semesterapparat.
15	29.01.09	Presentations of research proposals	For various data elicitation methods, please refer to Chapters 3,5,7 from Mackey & Gass (2005). Also, take a look at Gass & Mackey (2007), which is an extended version of Chapter 3 of the earlier book.
16	05.02.09	Presentations of research proposals
17	12.02.09	Presentations of research proposals

Reading List:

Textbooks

1. Mackey A. & Susan M. Gass. 2005. Second Language Research: Methodology and Design. Routledge. (Required)

2. Gass, Susan M. & A. Mackey. 2007. Data Elicitation for Second and Foreign Language Research. Routledge (Recommended).

Articles (in progress)

1. Bogaards, Paul. 2001. Lexical units and the learning of foreign language vocabulary. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 23, 321-343.

2. de Goot, Annette M. B. 2006. Effects of stimulus characteristics and background music on foreign language vocabulary learning and forgetting. Language Learning 56 (3): 463-506.

3. Hayes-Harb, Rachel & Kyoko Masuda. 2008. Development of the ability to lexically encode novel second language phonemic contrasts. Second Language Research 24 (1), 5-33.

4. Jarvis, Scott. 2002. Topic continuity in L2 English article use. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 24, 387-418

5. Leeman, Jennifer. 2003. Recasts and second language development: Beyond negative evidence. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 25, 37-63.

6. Lie, Dilin & Johanna L. Gleason. 2002. Acquisition of the article “the” by nonnative speakers of English. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 24, 1-26.

7. Lightbown, Patsy M. 2003. SLA research in the classroom/SLA research for the classroom. Language Learning Journal 28, 4-13.

1. Lyster, Roy & Leila Ranta. 1997. Corrective feedback and learner uptake: Negotiation of form in communicative classrooms. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 20, 37-66.

2. Mackey, Alison. 2006. Feedback, noticing and instructed second language learning. Applied Linguistics 27(3), 405-430.

3. Masats, Dolors, Luci Nussbaum & Virginia Unamuno. 2007. When activity shapes the repertoire of second language learners. In: Leah Roberts, Ayşe Gürel, Sibel Tatar, & Leyla Martı (Eds.), EUROSLA Yearbook 7, 121-147.

4. Muñoz, Carmen & David Singleton. 2007. Foreign accent in advanced learners: Two successful profiles. In: Leah Roberts, Ayşe Gürel, Sibel Tatar, & Leyla Martı (Eds.), EUROSLA Yearbook 7, 171-190.

5. Wode, Henning. 1999. Incidental vocabulary acquisition in the foreign language classroom. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 21, 243-258.

This article can be downloaded from “Elektronische Zeitschriftenbibliothek” of the University Konstanz (may require on-campus access). A hardcopy is also available in our Semesterapparat.