A colleague and I are currently conducting a four-week quasi-experimental second language (L2) classroom-based intervention study in which I’m teaching four (intact) control and four (intact) intervention groups. We were able to match each of the intervention groups with a more-or-less equivalent control group in terms of class size and proficiency level, but it soon became apparent that matching the groups was the easy part, teaching them is a different game altogether. We designed lessons in which both of the groups receive the same content, but with the intervention groups getting exposed to two additional techniques. The aim is to examine and, ultimately, measure the impact these two techniques have on L2 learner pronunciation. This can only be done if the teaching in all eight groups (except for the two additional techniques, of course) is synchronized so that any potential improvement can be attributed to the techniques used in the intervention groups. However, this is easier said than done and probably one of the main reasons that this type of research has not been conducted much in pronunciation research. A plethora of variables seem to work constantly against what I’m trying to do in the classroom, and, ultimately, against the validity of the study. One issue, for example, is student attendance. If a student misses one class, the speech samples he or she provides at the end of the study won’t be useable. Or, my energy level in the classroom may not be the same on Thursday as it was on Monday and therefore the study’s pedagogical aspect (or validity of the data) is compromised. I suppose what I’m trying to say is that the last three weeks have given me a renewed understanding and appreciation of the complexity of L2 teaching and research! This whole process has been a fantastic experience and I can’t wait to analyse the many speech samples we’ll have collected by the end of the study.
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I am a Senior Lecturer in TESOL at the University of Wollongong in Australia. This blog is a reflection of my journey as a researcher, L2 teacher educator, and language teacher. Archives
June 2021
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