RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
3.6 DATA GENERATING INSTRUMENTS
3.6.2 Questionnaire survey
Questionnaires are used in qualitative research to generate information from people in a non- threatening way in as short a period of time as possible. Some of the other advantages of questionnaires are that they are inexpensive to administer, easy to compare and analyse, and that many sample questionnaires already exist (Mertens, 2005:345). Challenges to using questionnaires in research could include: wording can bias participant’s responses, they are impersonal, the researcher might not get careful feedback, and the full picture of the situation is generally not apparent (Mertens, 2005:345). The use of questionnaires in my study helped me provide direction to the study since the most important questionnaire (SILL) contained closed questions and responses to questions were limited in a multiple-choice format. These questionnaires were easy to administer and easy to compare and analyse. The other questionnaire (Mahlobo, 1999) was open-ended and this also served its purpose
for I sought to determine whether the participants understood the questions asked in the SILL questionnaire.
3.6.2.1
Strategy inventory for Language Learning (SILL): the objective
As indicated in Chapter 2 (refer to 2.3), different classifications for language learning strategies exist. The concept of "learning strategies" is based in part on cognitive learning theory, in which learning is seen as an active, mental, learner-constructed process. Based on this, various researchers have identified and classified learning strategies applicable to language learning (O’Malley & Chamot, 1990; Oxford, 2002; Oxford & Ehrman, 1995; Rubin, 1981). Based on her classification of Language learning Strategies, Rebecca Oxford (1990) put together the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL), a survey that provides information about the strategies that the individual learner employs to learn a second language. The SILL separates language learning strategies into two strategy orientations and six strategy groups: (a) direct learning orientation, consisting of (i) memory, (ii) cognitive, and (iii) linguistic deficiency compensation strategy groups, and (b) indirect learning orientation, consisting of (i) meta-cognitive, (ii) affective, and (iii) social strategy groups.Direct learning orientation strategies involve the identification, retention, storage, or retrieval of words, phrases, and other elements of the target language. Indirect strategies concern the management of the learning and involve activities such as needs assessment, activities planning and monitoring, and outcome evaluation. Indirect strategies also involve aspects which assist the learner in regulating emotions, motivation, and attitudes. These include routines for self-encouragement and the reduction of anxiety, and those which address the actions learners take in order to communicate with others, such as asking questions for clarification and cooperating with others in communication.
Each of these six strategy groups can be further subdivided, providing a compendium of 62 specific strategies. Oxford's model outlines a comprehensive, multi-levelled, and theoretically well-conceived taxonomy of language learning strategies. This taxonomy usefully encompasses a continuum of strategies, from affective personal management and general approaches to basic learning to specific language learning, memory, and communicative techniques.
I used students’ responses to the Strategy Inventory to generate qualitative data from participants on how they view their use of language learning strategies when learning English. I also used this test to generate more qualitative data from a teacher who taught the initial 7 participants to find out how she saw their language learning strategy use in the EFL classroom.
3.6.2.2
Strategy inventory for Language Learning: the history
Strategies are the tools for active, self-directed involvement needed for developing second language communicative ability (O'Malley & Chamot, 1990). Research has repeatedly shown that the conscious, tailored use of such strategies is related to language achievement and proficiency (Bialystok, 1990; Cohen, 1998; Dreyer, 2000; Griffiths & Parr, 2001; Kamper, Mahlobo & Lemmer, 2003; Nunan, 2002; O'Malley & Chamot, 1990 & 1995; Oxford, 1990; Oxford & Ehrman, 1995; Phakiti, 2003; Purpura, 1997; Van der Walt & Dreyer, 1995a) and the use of Oxford’s SILL to generate data was regarded to be suitable for this investigation since it has been used widely internationally, but also locally (Mahlobo, 1999; Van der Walt & Dreyer, 1995a), in previous research of a nature similar to this investigation
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3.6.2.3
Strategy inventory for Language Learning: this investigation
In August 2004 students who took the TOEFL test in July 2004 were asked to voluntarily complete Rebecca Oxford’s Strategy Inventory for Language Learning: Version for Speakers of Other Languages Learning English (Oxford, 1990). Only 7 students (2 female and five male) were willing to complete the questionnaire; 5 Gabonese (TOEFL scores from 410 to 490), 1 German (TOEFL score = 527) and 1 Korean (TOEFL score = 530). Answers to some questions in the SILL suggested strongly that subjects did not always understand the questions asked.
One of the EFL teachers who taught the initial 7 participants at some stage during 2004 was also asked to complete a slightly adapted version of the SILL for each of the participants to determine how she experienced their use of LLS in the EFL classroom. Unfortunately the teacher eventually felt that she did not have enough exposure to the students to be able to answer this questionnaire for each student. An interview was held with her instead where she expressed her views on how she experienced the students in this investigation, as well as other students, in her classes.
3.6.3 Interviews
Interviews are used in research when the researcher wants to fully understand a person’s experience of something, or when the researcher wants to learn more about participants’ answers to questionnaires. Advantages of using interviews in research include: the researcher gets a full range and depth of information, and the researcher develops a relationship with the participants (Mertens, 2005:345). Interviews can, however, also take up a great deal of time and information may be incomplete. Data is also limited to the real-life situation that exists and the researcher must create meaning from what the participants give (Mertens, 2005:345).
What people say when they are interviewed should be treated with extreme care. Interviewees have their own unique perception of what an interview is all about – often gained through their experience, for example of talk shows on television - and might even want to impress the interviewer with their answers – which might not necessarily be an accurate answer to the question asked by the interviewer. They might even tell lies. At best interviewees will only give what they are prepared to reveal about their subjective perceptions of events and opinions. These opinions and perceptions will change over time, and according to circumstance. They may also be at some considerable distance from any “reality” as others might see it (Walford, 2001:90). On the other hand the interviewer might influence the interviewee’s answers through many factors such as gender, clothing, accent, tone, appearance, perceived authority (Walford, 2001:89). Interviewees will always have subjective perceptions and their answers are specific to the time and situation: the same interviewee might present different answers to the same questions if the interview is presented again at a later stage. It would therefore be preferable not to use the data generated from interviews as the sole or major source of data on which to base qualitative research descriptions. The researcher should always remember to stay focused on what the people do (which can be obtained through observation or other methods of data production) and should not be distracted by what the people say they do. Fortunately the process of triangulation is generally considered to assist in balancing research data to ensure greater accuracy in reflecting the situation under investigation and this could help in eliminating some researcher bias.
Despite the many difficulties interviews may have, there are some obvious reasons why the interview is so widely used in qualitative research: interviews allow the researcher to generate a great deal of data relatively quickly. Interviews allow people to express their views about a wide range of issues, and to wait for such information to be generated in naturally occurring situations would not only be very time consuming, but some information might not even present in naturally occurring situations at all. The interview also allows for particular questions to be asked that cannot be asked in any other situation (Walford, 2001:92).
The arrival of the cassette tape recorder in the 1960s made life much easier for researchers who relied on data production from interviews with subjects. Researchers could tape whole interviews and transcribe them later to ensure maximum benefit in data production. It also ruled out researchers’ incorrect perceptions of what subjects had said during interviews. In this investigation I also made use of a tape recorder to capture interviews (including focus group interviews) with the participants.
Interviews with students who completed the questionnaire were conducted in English by the researcher. The subjects’ low English proficiency was a concern and I was unsure of
whether they understood the questions in the interview. I therefore made use of a French- speaking interpreter for further interviews with Gabonese subjects in an attempt to verify their responses. The interpreter translated, from English into French, the questions in the SILL- based Interview (SBI) schedule drawn up by Mahlobo (1999). The SBI schedule contained a refined version of the SILL since it contained probing questions based on learners’ responses to SILL items. Mahlobo compiled this questionnaire in an attempt to try and establish whether students who took the SILL questionnaire (Oxford, 1990) actually understood enough English to be able to produce accurate responses to the questions in the SILL. Students were presented with a paper copy of the French version of the Mahlobo SBI questionnaire and the interpreter read out the questions to the subjects and they answered in French. These interviews were recorded on audiocassette and translated into English by the French-speaking interpreter/translator.
I also had interviews and discussions with English teachers who had the participants in their classes during the course of 2004. An interview with one of the teachers was semi- structured because I wanted to find out how the teacher perceived each student’s use of LLSs in class. Providing some structure ensured that I obtained information I was looking for.