elicitation techniques

ELICITATION TECHNIQUESDavid Nunan

Ulat ni: Rodesa O. Lajada

ELICIT

To bring or draw out (something latent);

To arrive at (a truth, for example) by logic.

To call forth, draw out, or provoke (a reaction, for example).

mula sa wikipedia

ELICITATIONA range of procedures for obtaining speech samples and other data subjects. Such procedures may range from the administration of standardized tests through to questionnaires and interviews

PRODUCTION TASK In investigating language learning

and use, one can attempt to obtain naturalistic samples from learners as they interact in the target language.

Extremely time consuming and difficult

It may not result in the outcomes one desires

Second Language Acquisition Studies Dulay and Bart, (1973- 1974) at Bailey, Madden and Krashen, (1974) designed to provide the researchers with evidence on the appearance of certain grammatical morphemes

it aims to determine the order in which the particular morphemes appeared and the effect of such variables as instruction and first language background on the order of acquisition

HALIMBAWA:

BILINGUAL SYNTAX MEASUREconsisted of cartoonlike drawings Subjects were shown the drawings and asked a series of questions which were designed to elicit the target language items under investigation.

INTERVIEW TEST OF ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (ITESL)designed to obtain information from

immigrants in Australia for diagnosis, placement and remediation (Griffin 1986)

consists of twenty items designed to elicit 20 target grammatical items each items contains a stimulus picture, cue questions, instructions for the test administrators, and a set of scoring criteria

Item 6 on page 137

Table 7.1 on page 138

Partial Credit Model

HALIMBAWA:

TWO POSSIBLE THREATSby determining in advance what is

going to be considered relevant, other potentially important phenomena might be overlooked

the extent to which the results obtained are an artifact of the elicitation devices employed

EISENSTEIN, BAILEY, AND MADDEN (1982)A study into the acquisition of verb

tenses

they used two different tasks to elicit data from their subjectsProduction task similar to Bilingual

Syntax Measure imitation task

SURVEYSThe collection of data (usually related to attitudes, beliefs, or intentions) from subjects without attempting to manipulate the phenomena/ variables under investigations.

SURVEYSCohen and Manion (1985) the most commonly used descriptive method in educational research, and may vary in scope from large-scale governmental investigations through to small-scale studies carried out by a single researcher

PURPOSETo obtain a snapshot of conditions, attitudes, and/or events at a single point in time

Experimental

Studies

Survey Researc

h

FIGURE 7.1STEPS IN CARRYING OUT A

SURVEYStep 1 •Define objectives

Step 2 •Identify target population

Step 3 •Literature review

Step 4 •Determine sample

Step 5 •Identify survey instruments

Step 6 •Design survey procedures

Step 7 •Identify analytical procedures

Step 8 •Determine reporting procedure

TABLE 7.2STRATEGIES FOR SURVEY

SAMPLING

STRATEGY PROCEDURE1. Sample random

Select subjects at random from a list of the population

2. Systematic Select subjects in a systematic rather than random fashion

3. Stratified Subdivide population into subgroups and randomly from subgroups

STRATEGY PROCEDURE

4. Cluster Restrict one’s selection to a particular subgroups from within the population

5. Convenience

Choose nearest individuals and continue the process until the requisite number has been obtained

6. Purposive Subjects are handpicked by the researcher on the basis of his/ her own estimate of their typicality

1. QUESTIONNAIRESAn instrument for the collection of data, usually in written form, consisting of open and/ or closed questions and other probes requiring a response from subjects

Questionnaire

Discursive Data

1.1 TYPES OF QUESTIONS

Closed Item one in which the range of possible responses is determined by the researcher

Example:Foreign languages should be compulsory in high school.

agree/ neutral/ disagree

TABLE 7.3CLOSED QUESTION TYPES IN SURVEY

QUESTIONNAIRESYOUNGMAN (1986) CITED IN BELL

(1987)QUESTION

TYPEEXAMPLE

1. List Indicate your qualifications by circling any of the following: diploma, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.

2. Category Indicate your salary range by circling one of the following:less than 20,000 20,000-40,000 40,000-60,000

QUESTION TYPE

EXAMPLE

3. Ranking Rank the following from 1 to 4 in order of preference.‘I like to learn best by studying:__with the whole class__in small groups__in pairs__independently

4. Scale Circle one of the following to indicate your attitude to the following statement:‘I like to learn through interacting with native speakers.strongly agree, agree, neutral, , disagree, strongly disagree

QUESTION TYPE

EXAMPLE

5. Quantity/ frequency

Circle one of the following:How often did you practice English outside class last week?0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,more than 10

6. Grid How many NESB students are there in the following classes:

0-5 5-10 10-15 15+

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

1.1 TYPES OF QUESTIONS

Open Item one in which the subject can decide what to say and how to say it

Example:What do you think about the

proposal that foreign languages should be compulsory in high school?

Closed Item

Open Item

1.2 QUESTION WORDINGQuestions should not be complex

and confusing, nor should they ask more than one thing at a time

Example from Cohen and Mannion (1985: 105- 107)

Would you prefer a short, non-award course (3,4, or 5 sessions) with part-day release (e.g. Wednesday afternoon) and one evening per week attendance with financial reimbursement for travel or a longer, non-award course (6,7, or 8 sessions) with full day release, or the whole course designed on part-time release without evening attendance?

1.2 QUESTION WORDINGAvoid culturally biased questions

Example(from an oral proficiency interview)Interviewer: Where is your mother? What does your mother do? Subject: She’s dead?Interviewer: Ah- she’s dead. Very good. (van Lier 1989:

499)

FACTORS TO BE CONSIDEREDThe willingness of respondents to make

critical statementsThe willingness of respondents to discuss

certain personal topics, such as age, salary, or opinions on political and social issues

The shared values which can be assumed, for example, the concept of freedom of the press

The attitudes which can be assumed, for example, the commonly held belief among many educators in Western countries that classroom learning should be a source of enjoyment for the learner

REMINDER:Questionnaires must be: -constructed -piloted -administeredbefore collating and interpreting

the responses

1.3 INTERPRETING RESPONSESExample: selected extracts from a study

Nunan was involved in

Question:‘State three beliefs you have about

language development that determine the way you teach.’

372 responses15 pages of statements

KEY WORD ANALYSIS(GENERATING CATEGORIES FROM THE STATEMENTS MADE BY THE RESPONDENTS)

ImmersionLearning by doing/ experientialLanguage across the curriculumGrammar, structure, correctnessOral/ written language

relationshipsCreation of rich, positive

environmentEtc.

TABLE 7.4TEACHERS BELIEFS ABOUT

THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE AND LEARNING

Category Number1. Reference to language/ learning 2022. Reference to environment/ climate

102

3. Reference to the learner 68TOTAL 372

1.4 QUANTIFYING QUALITATIVE DATAExperienced teachers(5+ years

experience)

Inexperienced

teachers(1-5 years experience

)

Total

Reference to language/ learning

126 76 202

Reference to environment/ climate

35 67 102

Reference to the learner 19 49 68

Total 180 192 372-It should transpire that the relatively more experienced teachers made significantly more references to principles of language learning.Hypothesis- as teachers increase their mastery of technical aspects of instruction and knowledge of language. Their teaching practices become less dependent on local environmental and affective factors

1.4 QUANTIFYING QUALITATIVE DATA (ALTERNATIVE WAY) LINCOLN AND GUBA (1985)

1. Place each individual entry onto library index cards.

2. Select the first file from pile and place it on one side.

3. Select the second card and make a determination on intuitive grounds whether it is ‘look-alike’ or represents a new category.

4. Continue on successive cards5. Cards which are not fully recognized should

be placed into a miscellaneous pile. They should not be discarded but should be retained for later review.

2. INTERVIEWSThe elicitation of data by one person from another person through person-to-person encounters

DEGREE OF FORMALITY

Guided by the responses of the interviewee rather than the agenda of the researcher

1. UNSTRUCTURED

2. SEMI-STRUCTUREDThe interviewer has a general idea

of where he or she wants the interview go, and what should come out of it, but does not enter the interview with a list of predetermined questions

DEGREE OF FORMALITY

The agenda is totally predetermined by the researcher, who works through a list of set questions in a predetermined order

3. STRUCTURED

*ADVANTAGES-it gives the interviewee a degree of power

and control over the course of the interview

-it gives the interviewer a great deal of flexibility

-it gives one privileged access to other people live’s

BIAS INHERENT IN MOST RESEARCH METHOD

1. In terms of oral interview-asymmetrical relationship between the participants

2. In terms of content-biographical factors such as gender and ethnicity can affect the validity and reliability of the research (Briggs, 1986)

3. In linguistic termthe asymmetry will be reflected in the actual language used (van Lier, 1989)

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR PLANNING AND CONDUCTING

INTERVIEWS(RECOMMENDED BY COHEN AND

MANION, 1985)

1. Preparing the interview schedule

2. Piloting3. Selection of subjects4. Elements of the interview

-briefing and explanation-questioning

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THE ACTUAL CONDUCT

OF THE INTERVIEW(SUGGESTED BY WALKER, 1985)

1. Physical positioning of the interviewer and interviewee

2. The researcher must also decide how to interview is going to be recorded:*note-taking*tape-recording

TABLE 7.5STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF

TAPE-RECORDING AND NOTE-TAKING

Instruments

Strengths Weaknesses

Tape-recording

-preserves actual language-naturalistic-objective record-interviewer’s contributions recorded-data can be reanalyzed after the event

-possibility of data overload-time-consuming to transcribe-context not recorded-presence of machine off putting-core issues masked by irrelevancies

Note-taking -central issues/ facts recorded-context can be recorded-economical-off record statements not recorded

-recorder bias-actual linguistic data not recorded-encoding may interfere with interview-status of data may be questioned