2013 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
From Active Classroom Learning to Extracurricular Informal Language Learning: The Role of Virtual Cultural Context
| Project/Area Number |
25370656
|
|---|
| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
|
| Research Institution | Kanazawa Institute of Technology |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
藤井 清美 金沢工業大学, 基礎教育部, 准教授 (60596633)
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
|
| Keywords | 言語教育 / インフォーマルラーニング / 恊働学習 / アクティブラーニング / Web2.0テクノロジー |
|---|
| Research Abstract |
The first research-planning meeting was held at Meiji University in Nakano, Japan on June 6-7, 2013. The principal investigator (PI) discussed the overall project, logistics, budget, human subjects approvals, and the coordination of the activities of the research collaborators (RCs) in Japan and at the two U.S. universities. One of the RCs provided geospatial technology expertise and advice on participatory research methods. Another RC discussed how to conduct qualitative (quantitative?) assessments. In addition, a workshop for the RCs was conducted on how to use blogs and online mapping.
We conducted Trial 1 in the Fall-Winter semester of the same year and tested our hypothesis in a controlled experiment involving introductory English classes in Japan (N = ca. 122) and introductory Japanese classes at two universities in the U.S. (N = ca. 96). In each of the four venues, two classes of approximately 25 students at each university conducted identical blogging activities, while the experimental group treatment was enhanced with Web 2.0 innovations to gauge their effectiveness relative to the control group. The experimental pedagogic approach included enhancements to the curriculum and activities developed by PI-Fujii in our preliminary trials from 2009-2011. Assessment included quantitative and qualitative research instruments at three points in time: pre (baseline), post (after the intervention), and a follow-up assessment (three months later).
|
| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
We have collected three types of data (questionnaire, interview, and blog contents) and have analyzed two (questionnaire and interview). Questionnaire responses before and after the project and interviews with focus groups have been collected and analyzed. The results suggest that the blog activity encouraged students to create a rich and vibrant learning community with the opportunity for language exchange with native speakers. Students were able to raise their awareness of the differences and similarities between themselves and their counterparts in the other country, and to better understand people who study their language. These results highlight the positive effects of utilizing blogs to interact with native speakers of a target language. Moreover, the interview results demonstrate that the bloggers’ experiences in the treatment group seem to have motivated them to continue studying, and raised interest in their counterparts’ country and culture more than the control group.
Blog content data have been collected and will be analyzed quantitatively for number of tokens and lexical density and summarized for a paper to be presented at the JALT 40th Annual International Conference on Language Teaching and Learning & Educational Materials Exhibition in November, 2014.
|
| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
We will conduct Trial 2 in the fall-winter semester of 2014 with introductory English classes in Japan (Kanazawa Institute of Technology and Meiji University) (N = ca. 100) and introductory Japanese classes at two universities in the U.S. (N = ca. 100).
There are a few adjustments that we need to make for Trial 2. First, since one of the RCs in the U.S. will return to Japan, we will find an alternative university to include in Trial 2. The experimental pedagogic approach will be adjusted based on the experimental results of Trial 1 and on feedback from the conference presentation which will be held on June 7th and 8th. Assessment will again include quantitative and qualitative research instruments at three points in time: pre (baseline), post (after the intervention), and a follow-up assessment (three months later).
|
| Expenditure Plans for the Next FY Research Funding |
First, we conducted the workshop that was originally planned in the U.S. in Japan, when the majority of the Japanese RCs returned for their summer vacation. Second, since we have elected to use NVivo 10, qualitative research software, for data analysis, we were waiting for Mac support for this tool (currently in beta), as most of the RCs are Mac users. In addition, we took some time to find a suitable date that would allow us to take a NVivo workshop to improve our efficiency with the software.
In 2014, we will purchase a license for NVivo 10, as it is now available for Mac. We will also participate in a workshop for this software, which the developer holds several times a year. In addition, we will use the significant savings in travel expenses due to holding the RC workshop in Japan towards the cost of attending and presenting at JALTCALL and JALT conferences.
|
Research Products
(1 results)
