University of Setif -2-

Faculty of Literature and Languages

Department of English Language and Literature
Third Year Research Methodology
Final Project

Work on this project in a group of six students , every student works on a part and puts
his/her name near it .
Be careful : Two identical works ( copy and paste from other groups) both groups are
going to be assigned another project suggested by the teacher

Read the following brief description of an experiment. Are the conclusions that this
researcher came to valid? Why or why not?

The researcher wanted to compare the effectiveness of (a) instruction based on principles of
cognitive linguistics coupled with an in-class teacher-led drill, with (b) instruction based on
principles of task-based language teaching coupled with independent task work. Both types of
instruction focused on the acquisition of locative constructions by second language learners.
The experiment was carried out during a 7-week term at the English Language School where
the researcher was teaching. Six grammar teachers were assigned to six classes of 15 students
each. Two classes were classified as beginning, two as intermediate, and two as advanced
according to a placement test that consisted of listening comprehension, reading
comprehension, and general grammar. The researcher randomly assigned one teacher at each
level to each of the experimental instructional treatments. Students were given an essay to
write based on some pictures that produced contexts for locative constructions at the
beginning and end of the 7-week term. Each teacher scored his or her students' use of locative
constructions based on the number of correct forms over the number of forms attempted. At
the end of the 7 weeks, the experimenter collected both sets of scores and compared them.
She found that students whose teachers conducted in-class drill sessions had relatively fewer
problems with locatives at the end of the session. She therefore concluded that classroom drill
is superior to independent task work for the development of correct locative forms in second
language learners.
The locative construction is the construction that occurs in response to “a question of the kind ‘where is the X’ ?
Locative constructions come in two types. There are those that take one of a small set of posture predicates ( ‘sit’, ‘stand’,
‘lie’, ‘hang’) and those that are completely bare, much as in English, having only a figure and locative (postpositional phrase)
non-verbal predicate.

I) 1.What is the independent variable in this study?

2.Think of possible intervening or moderator variables that may affect the results of the study .
3.To which does each of the following refer: nominal scale, ordinal
scale, interval scale, or ratio scale?
a. A scale in which equal differences are truly equal differences
of the variable being measured.
b. A scale that can't measure quantitative variables.
c. A scale with a true zero point.
d. A scale that indicates relative rankings.
4. What is the most likely scale to be used in this research to measure the dependent variable ?
5.Write a research question related to the study .
6.Write the null hypothesis , non-directional , directional positive and directional negative hypotheses of
the given research .
7.Suggest an appropriate title for the study

II) For each of the potential variables listed below , fill in the most likely type of scale it would represent :
Potential Variables Most likely type of scale
1. Sex
2. Age
3. Class rank
4. Nationality
5. Native language
6. Test scores on proficiency in English
7. Rank on the department’s final exam
8. Amount of time spent studying a foreign
language .
Write the null hypotheses of the following:

Hypothesis 1. Null subjects in the four subjects' IL will decrease with time.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Hypothesis 2. There is a negative relation between the development of verb inflections and the use of
null subjects; in other words, null subjects will decrease with the increase in verb inflections.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Hypothesis 3. The acquisition of obligatory verb inflections depends on the specific category of verb
morphology.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Hypothesis 4. There is a positive relationship between the use of null subjects in is constructions and
the development of is constructions.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Hypothesis 5. There are significant differences between the distribution of null subjects and lexically
realized subjects in is constructions and non-15 constructions. The frequency of occurrence of null
subjects will be greater than the frequency of occurrence of lexically realized subjects in is contexts;
the frequency of occurrence of null subjects in non-is contexts will be less than the frequency of
occurrence of lexically realized subjects in non-is contexts.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The null subject phenomenon is sometimes called subject drop. Vivian Cook points out that some languages (such as
Russian, Spanish, and Chinese) "permit sentences without subjects, and are called 'pro-drop' languages. Other languages,
which include English, French and German, do not permit sentences without subjects, and are called 'non-pro-drop'"
However, in certain circumstances, in particular dialects, and in early stages of language acquisition, English speakers
sometimes do produce sentences without explicit subjects.

Consider the data in the accompanying table. The data are from two test administrations in which English
students' knowledge of French relative clauses was being tested. The researcher was pilot-testing the
instrument to see if it was reliable. Testing was done on two successive days so that it would be unlikely
that any learning took place. On each test there was a maximum of 20 points (2 points for each of 10
sentences). Partially correct responses were awarded 1 point.

Name Test1 Test2

Sally 18 12
Marie 15 12
Jean 10 14
Howard 15 16
Janice 14 14
Robert 19 18
Drew 8 15
Andrew 11 7
Marc 6 12
Grace 10 10
Given these scores, are you confident that you have developed a reliable test? Why or why not?

Read the following abstract and answer the questions.

We had native English-speaking (native speaker) listeners evaluate the effects of 3 types of
instruction (segmental accuracy; general speaking habits and prosodic factors; and no specific
pronunciation instruction) on the speech of 3 groups of English as a second language (ESL)
learners. We recorded their sentences and extemporaneously produced narratives at the
beginning and end of a 12-week course of instruction. In a blind rating task, 48 native English
listeners judged randomized sentences for accentedness and comprehensibility. Six
experienced ESL teachers evaluated narratives for accent, comprehensibility and fluency.
Although both groups instructed in pronunciation showed significant improvement in
comprehensibility and accentedness on the sentences, only the global group showed
improvement in comprehensibility and fluency in the narratives. We argue that the focus of
instruction and the attentional demands on speakers and listeners account for these findings.

Segmented = phonetic features, i.e., vowel and consonant sounds, and no prosodic features
Prosodic features — generally stress, intonation, pitch, volume, i.e., suprasegmentalfeatures
Extemporaneously produced narrative = without any planning
Blind rating task = The evaluators did not know which set of sentences or narratives belonged to which
treatment group.

Questions:
a. What is the independent variable in this study?
b. The dependent variable, pronunciation (accentedness, comprehensibility, fluency), was
measured in many different ways in this study. Do you think that those measures were
categorical, ordinal, or interval? Explain.
c. How was the issue of validity in assessing the dependent variable dealt with in this study?
d. How would you check the reliability of the measures of pronunciation?
e. Was the blind rating done to ensure the internal or external validity of the study? Explain.

Provide brief descriptions of second language studies in which you might want to use the
following kinds of sampling—random, stratified random, cluster random, systematic,
convenience, and purposive—
and explain why.

Consider a study of the relationship between peer responses to L2 writing and linguistic
accuracy, and explain why a researcher might want to obtain biographical data on the
following:
• Age.
• First language.
• Length of residence.
• Amount and type of prior L2 writing instruction.
What else could a researcher find out about learners' profiles to inform this study?