2015 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
From Active Classroom Learning to Extracurricular Informal Language Learning: The Role of Virtual Cultural Context
| Project/Area Number |
25370656
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| Research Institution | Kanazawa Institute of Technology |
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Principal Investigator |
藤井 清美 金沢工業大学, 基礎教育部, 准教授 (60596633)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2013-04-01 – 2017-03-31
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| Keywords | language Education / informal learning / collaborative work / SNS / active learning |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
Based on our preliminary investigation involving blog exchange activities between English as a foreign language (EFL) learners and Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) learners in 2013, the researchers conducted further research using Facebook as the exchange platform in 2014. In academic year 2015, we conducted Trial 3 in the Fall-Winter semester and tested our hypothesis in a controlled experiment involving introductory English classes in Japan (N = ca. 62) and introductory Japanese classes at a university in the U.S. (N = ca. 46). We assigned one introductory English class in Japan to be the control group (N = ca. 22).
The control group engaged in regular classroom activities, while the treatment group was enhanced with Facebook activities (posting videos and commenting on counterparts’ posts) to gauge the effectiveness of the treatments relative to the control group. We made a few changes from Trial 2 for pedagogical reasons; Facebook page settings, number of assignments, and the method of commenting on posts.
Trial 3 assessment included quantitative and qualitative research instruments at three points in time: pre (baseline), post (shortly after the treatment), and a follow-up assessment (three months later) planned for May 2016. Starting with Trial 2 we added a reflection log component for the experimental group to elicit more open-ended responses based on general questions about their impression of the activities. Many participants wrote that this project gave them the opportunity to interact with native L2 speakers.
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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
During the spring semester of 2015, we analyzed Trial 2 data focusing on questionnaire responses and reflection log entries, and there were positive results in many areas. However, there were a few difficulties that the participants faced. Therefore, as mentioned above, we made a few changes from Trial 2 for pedagogical reasons; Facebook page settings, number of assignments, and the method of commenting on posts. For example, when one group did not complete an assignment, their counterpart group could not interact with them since we matched up the groups and set up those groups to interact with each other. We made private group pages on Facebook where participants interacted only in English or only in Japanese. Students at each institution were divided into four groups with four English pages and four Japanese pages. The students who were in Group 1 at both schools shared the English Group 1 page and the Japanese Group 1 page, while Group 2 students shared the Group 2 English and Japanese pages. In Trial 3, we tried to avoid this problem and created a page where all groups from one EFL and JFL class could interact. This way, if one group does not complete an assignment, there will still be several other groups doing the activity. We conducted Trial 3 and collected 3 types of data (questionnaire responses, reflection log entries, and Facebook content).
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
During the fall semester of 2015, we conducted Trial 3 and collected 3 types of data (questionnaire responses, reflection log entries, and Facebook contents). Questionnaires were originally planed at three points in time: pre (baseline), post (shortly after the treatment), and a follow-up assessment (three months later). Accordingly, this three-month follow-up assessment will be conducted in May 2016, at which point we will analyze the entirety of the data. Facebook content data have been collected and will be analyzed quantitatively. The salient results will be presented at the International Conference on Japanese Language Education in September of 2016.
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| Causes of Carryover |
Although our abstract has been accepted by the scientific committee, the conference had to be cancelled due to the political situation in the host country, Greece. Given those circumstances, the committee encouraged us to present our work in one of their future conferences. Therefore, we presented our paper at the Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics Conference at Korea University, but travel expenses were different between Europe and Asia.
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| Expenditure Plan for Carryover Budget |
We will continue to analyze the data, including Facebook data, to which end we will hire a research assistant. Furthermore, we will present our paper at an international conference.
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