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Paul Gallantry

DTLLS ResearchPrcject ProPosal

Topic for investigation

fnt b"t y Threeheveloneinterfacein an FE context:wlry daesachievementand successdeeline
whenstudentsmovefrcm Intermediate(43)groupsto {JpperIntermediate(LI) groups,snd how can
this be'improved?

The aim of this researchprojectis to investigatethe possiblereasonsbehindthe apparentand

recordeddeclinein achisvementand succ,e$s whenESOL studentsprogressfrom ESOL entry three
classesto ESOL level one at ThamesValley University,Reading.It $rill alsoinvestigatepossible
reasonsasto why fewer studentstendto progressto level one andbeyond,referringto current
theoriesconcerninglanguagelearningand acquisition.The investigatiorqwhile focusingon a
specificcircumstance,will be setwithin the broadercontextof languagelearning.It will deploya
suiteof methodsto collect datA andfrom this seekto understandthe currentsituation,why it
occurs,andwhat actionsmay be takento improve the studentexperience,and achievementand
successfigures of the ESOL cohort.
The investigationwill begin from the currentsituationasit is understood:
^ [^*A o The studentcohort of over 300 full- andpart time studentsin ESOL largely comprises
learnersat the entrylevels@l,W,and E3),with lessthan25o/o ofthe total cohortbeing
Ir*')n '
#Fc*" studentsatLl otL2'
6 o recordsfor exampassesat entry3 indicateavery high success rate.By contrastsuccess
ratesat level one iho* u markedlylower rate. A#*{. d* *drg,sb .?
progress study at level one"'n'*r F
r Few ofthe entry threestudentsactuallychooseto to
r Sfudentswho move on from entry 3 to level onehavea lower prognosticationfor successat
the higherlevel of study,whereasthosewho directly enterlevel onefrom placementtests
havea greaterchanceofsuccess.
- . Studentswho achieveentry 3 in Reading,Writing and SpeakingandListening Skills for
may progressto othercoursese.g.HND programmes in TVU
| ,rP x.pl Life (SfL) examinations
{ry .#FA" Reading,,.rrn thoughthey may not be preparedlinguistically or academicallyto copewith
u,tJlr*tt the demandsof a coursedeliveredin the mediumofEnglish, meaningthat achievementand
.f*,^uu't successis affectedin areasoutsideESOL.
'ff
The researchwill first ascertainthe truth or otherwiseof thesestatements.In addition,it will seekto
answer questions:
thesequestions:
these
wer +Lo-o ^"ar.+innc. vl./ /) ^ J -^ -r
,/{i u^nnt tn or € e { ca,rlo
level?
e Is levelonestudyofEnglishseenasinh6renilfifbre'difficult'thanadentry
o Doesthe style of learningrequiredat level oneplacestudentsfrom certaineducationaland
culturalbackgroundsat a disadvantage? t4xn a"*
o Do the subjectmatterandthemesexploredat level onediffer significantly froolent{ levels,
and do thesethemesmilitate againstthe interestsofthe'average'learner?
o Doesacquisitionslow or stopentirelyat Entry 3{o be followed.bya periodof formal. , S.1,"orf-
learning of certainlanguagefeatures atleroelon&t f '13 e*r"tt:'$,'*caw;fi$*:il'r1;",
r Do themajority of studentsneedto progressbeyondEntry 3, or do they feel theyfi6edto
progress?
o How far do extrinsic andintrinsic motivationsaffectthe needfor studentsto progress,and
arethesemotivationsreflectedin the students'Individual LearningPlans(ILPs)?
o Would a restructuringof higher level provision alter the numberof studentswho areretained
andimprove achievementand success?

f"$"^tr
'
Aufe"
 Paul Gallantry

Methodology
-lt ?ue& * e% #",, r*&qgrg a rulo
primary research,ftfffLn.i*t of severalstrands.In the first instancgtherewill be an investigation 616;* |
threeto level
of dataheldby the university on examinatigns,achievementandprogressfrom Entry
size
one,both r*.nt unJhi*tori"ult, alongsidean analysisof historical andpresentdataon cohort
in entrf levelclasses andleveloneandtwo. fi"*.rye,#, f * 'rhese
*,-^-^ ,"lo,,rt'tf
It is iniendedthat there shallbe a questionnaireandinterviewsofboth studentlW tt"fi-. (tTi,," , ,
teachers,and throw insight inlo the
shall investigateattitudesand opinionsof learnersand ; r{lu"
-- *f8 ':k"e"'f
behind studentdecisions asto if and which course of study they choos? 'o
motivatingiactors
real,l $rny
'-s^ -
follow, andwhetherthe students'individual backgroundshavea bearingon percelvecland ;-r*o*t
success. Subsequently, a selection,ofstudents'IIFs will beresearched to ascertainwhethertheir ILPg
- flrn
targetsmatchstuden#aims. 4ow *l*ad'* e -'ffi*l ! . ...r,t-^ t^--.^-)^
tornrardsb0."")-
Fuiher researchwill be conductedin a moreinformal contextto gaugeteachers'attitudes ,€'
level to level one, in orderto place the situation being
the issueof the transitionfrom E3
investigatedin the wider contextof English languageteachingandlearning.
in
Secondaryresearchwill look at the contextualissuesof languageteachingandlearning,
role of
palticularfocusing on secondlanguageacquisitionandlearningtheories,andthe changing
in
ESOL in the FurtherEducationcontJxt,*-d dro include a brief explanationof its setting
educationfollowing the publicationof the Leitch Review.Further secondaryresearchwill
investigateuny pt"iorrs work that haslooked into this samezubjector similar.

Typesof data to be collgcted

y' Relevantquantitativedatafrom achievementrecords,focusingon thosestudentswho progressfrom
E3 toLl
y' Quattt6ivedataresultsfrom questionnairesandinterviews

Belevantethical issues

Accessto privileged datais requiredin the form of the Achievementspreadsheet heldby the
of students' ILPs may require
department.rn aiaition, studentand staffinterviews andinvestigation
this research'
the trandtingof potentia[y sensitivedat4 althoughany suchdatais not the subjectof
For the p,rrpo*"*of this p-j.o, interviewsandany rilevant casestudies shallUe
1o2{id Td
Achtevement
only underfukenwith thi expresspermissionof the interviewees.Data takenfrom the
spreadsheet shallalsoUeanonimiseA. # f"ytn-; Pfw tt'r^

List of references

cooke, M & simpson,J (200s)ES0L: A Critical Guide. oxford: 0IJP

Teachers
Ellis, R (1997)SecondLanguageAcquisition Oxford: OUP (Oxford Handboohsfor
Series)
Leitch,.S(2006)The Leitch Reviewof Skills' London: HMSO
Robson,C e164Real World Research,2"dEdition. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing
for
Schellekens,f pOOZ;The Oxford ESOL Handbook Oxford: OUP (Oxford Handbooks
TeachersSeries)

ffito the introductionof the skillsforlife examinationsnthe2oo4-2005 academic

vear andthereon.