Reflections on the Pilot Study

Before undertaking the main fieldwork, it was important to test out the questionnaire before collecting data on a larger scale for an extended period of time.

The pilot study provided an opportunity to evaluate the questions and analyse the types of answers that they prompted. The nature of the questions proved valuable in acquiring an initial understanding of language policy and eliciting further comments and observations from participants. Although a small study, it allowed potential trends to emerge, such as the complexity of linguistic repertoires, which were followed up with additional reading before carrying out the main study. Equally, the pilot study was a useful chance to identify and overcome practical problems before embarking on the main fieldwork. Conducting a pilot study was also an opportunity to strengthen the network of initial contacts in Alicante.

The pilot study was undertaken in 2013 in two stages: the first in May 2013 and the second in October 2013. In May 2013, six questionnaires were completed with students from the University of Alicante (five females and one male) who spent a semester at the University of Liverpool. These participants are coded as respondents A1-A6. A benefit of using this network of contacts was that it provided the opportunity to trial the questionnaire without incurring travel costs. It also provided a snapshot of views on language policy across six different towns: Santa Pola; Benitachell; Benissa; Elche; Elda; Alicante city (see Figure 13). The experiences of the six students demonstrated that Alicante is a linguistically diverse province. This further confirmed the decision to assess language policy across two sites in order to provide a localised view of the current linguistic situation. Whilst the six questionnaires completed in May 2013 were useful to an extent, they did present some limitations. For example, all six participants were of a similar age and had a similar level of education (they were all studying modern foreign languages at the University of Alicante). However, since the principal objective at this stage was simply to test out the style of questions, this did not pose a problem.

In October 2013, using existing contacts, the second stage of the pilot study was carried out in Dénia. These respondents are coded as B1-B6. During this week-long trip (divided between Dénia and Sant Vicent del Raspeig) the intention was to administer questionnaires to participants in both towns. However, due to time constraints and a public holiday, this was not possible and data was only collected in Dénia.

Figure 13: Map showing fieldwork sites for pilot study

(Locations of participants A1-A6 are highlighted in red, participants B1-B6 in green)

Dénia was chosen as previous visits suggested that Valencian is widely spoken there, which contrasts with impressions of language policy in towns closer to Alicante (city) such as Sant Vicent del Raspeig. Taking advantage of existing contacts in the town, the ‘friend of a friend’ technique was employed to identify and select research participants. Recruiting participants in this way worked well and enabled respondents to be introduced in a friendly setting. Consequently, they felt relaxed and were willing to answer the questionnaire and further elaborate on their answers.

The fieldwork in Dénia offered the opportunity to administer the questionnaire to participants of different ages. The six participants (three females and three males) were aged from 22 to 86 years old. However, as with the previous stage of the pilot study, there were limitations to the sample. The six respondents were all from the one social network, a family, and as such, they would perhaps give similar answers about language policy. However, administering questionnaires to three generations of one family did allow the opportunity to consider how attitudes and practices evolve from one generation to the next. For example respondent B1 (female, twenties, student), the youngest member of the social network, was the only one who had been exposed to Valencian through formal education, as well as in the home environment. Consequently, within one family, the composition of linguistic repertoires varied due to diverse language learning trajectories (Blommaert

& Backus, 2012). This additional linguistic experience had implications in terms of her language dominance and her awareness of linguistic authority and authenticity.

Identifying these themes at an early stage meant that they could also be considered during the main study.

The pilot study also presented a chance to identify practical problems and implement solutions before embarking on the main fieldwork. The importance of using assisted completion (Schleef, 2014: 52) to administer the questionnaire, rather than allowing participants to fill it out themselves, became clear during the first stage of the pilot study. In Liverpool, participants read though the questions and ticked the various boxes themselves and were asked to explain their answers as they went along. However, the success of this approach depended on the speed in which the participant completed the questionnaire and whether the participant was willing to elaborate upon their answers for the recording.

For the second phase of the pilot study in Dénia, the questionnaire was administered by the researcher, who read the questions aloud after giving a copy of the questionnaire to the respondents. This approach proved successful and enabled the pace of the questions and discussion to be controlled. As such, it was possible to work through the questionnaire at a speed that allowed participants to explain their answers and add their own comments and observations. For example, respondent

B4 (male, fifties, manager) accompanied an answer with an anecdote from that morning’s shop in the supermarket, to demonstrate how Castilian and Valencian work in a social context. When participants were less talkative, they were prompted when appropriate for further details.

When administering questionnaires in Dénia with participants of various ages, the complexity of language dominance and the composition of linguistic repertoires was revealed (Blommaert & Backus, 2012; Pavlenko, 2006). In Dénia, respondents B2 (female, fifties, looks after family) and B3 (female, fifties, looks after family) chose to answer the questionnaire in Valencian (now a spoken task) but opted to read and sign the accompanying information and consent forms in Castilian. This is because for those educated before the introduction of the Llei d’Ús i Ensenyament del Valencià in 1983, Castilian was the only permitted language at school, and consequently, it is often the only language in which they are literate. As discussed in chapter five, Barton & Hamilton (1998) consider the emotional implications of literacy in a language and the consequences for language beliefs. Consequently, due to the complications associated with Valencian and Castilian’s roles as a spoken language and language of literacy respectively, during the main fieldwork, the option to read in one language and speak in another was given.