2023 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Reducing the Impact of Social Anxiety on Group-based Learning Activities in the Language Classroom
| Project/Area Number |
22K13172
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| Research Institution | Tokai University |
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Principal Investigator |
セタキス ラリー 東海大学, 文理融合学部, 特任准教授 (80856774)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2022-04-01 – 2025-03-31
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| Keywords | group work / social anxiety / interaction anxiety / active learning / scale development / factor analysis |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
The second year of the research project focused on developing the Interaction Anxiety in Group Work (IAGW) survey instrument. The pilot version of the survey was administered to participants. The data was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis to uncover the component dimensions of the construct, which resulted in an 11-item measure comprising three dimensions. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to refine the structure of the instrument and determine the construct validity of the resultant measure. The results of this analysis are presently being prepared for publication. Three presentations on the impact of anxiety on group work were given, and a paper on the validity of a measure of social anxiety for use with Japanese university-level English learners was published.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
This second phase of the research project has proceeded according to plan. This phase was focused on developing a valid and reliable survey instrument to measure English learners’ feelings of interaction anxiety when working small groups in the classroom. Data collection for the pilot version of the survey instrument went smoothly. After acquisition of MPlus statistical software, the data was analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The analysis resulted in a preliminarily valid 11-item scale which will be employed in tests of convergent reliability using the IAS, BFNE, MiniSPIN and FLCA, and of divergent reliability using the FLES, as well as to determine the test-retest reliability of the instrument during the Spring semester of the 2024 academic year.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
The next phase of the instrument development process will be carried out during the 2024 academic year. This phase consists of two steps. First, the convergent validity of the the provisional 11-item measure developed in the 2023 academic year will be examined using the IAS, BFNE, and FLCA, while the discriminant validity will be determined using the FLES using data gathered in the Spring of 2024. The reliability of the scale will also be investigated using test-retest. In addition, presentations at the Task-Based Learning and Teaching Conference, as well as the JALT National Conference, summarizing the results from the analysis of the pilot survey data will be given this year, with a paper on the results from the analysis of this survey submitted for publication.
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| Causes of Carryover |
Additional software will be needed to analyze the qualitative survey data as will a number of books needed to aid in the analysis procedure.
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