Research Methods in Teaching English Language and Learning - Term Paper Example

 The Learning and social difficulties encountered by young Arab immigrant learners of English within the British school system Abstract The methodology used in this study was educational ethnography, derived from anthropological methods in the study of education. This method was believed to have the most advantages to the study of underachievement of Arabic students in the U.K context due to the need to conduct generative research because of the small amounts of previous literature in this area. The results yielded aggregate data concerning the country of origin of the students, their length of residency in U.K, their age and grade level, the number of schools that students had attended, the subjects that they had difficulty in, the reasons why they had difficulties, what they liked about the school, and the extra-curricular activities they were involved in. Introduction Immigrant students coming to United Kingdom schools do bring with them their own cultural background and knowledge. Their learning in their country of origin has provided them with their own culture, exemplified by their use of a different language and the propensity for ethnic group formation. However, once in UK, they are confronted with a changed situation, a new society and new social dynamics. There is a wealth of studies, in UK, US and Canada, which examine the scholastic underachievement of students from minority groups (Bradshaw & Gallup, 2008; Gratz, 2005; Dei, 1993). These studies reveal that there are many barriers to success for minority students and the issues involved are often quite complicated. Studies have highlighted the lack of black role models in schools, the labelling of students and their lack of encouragement from teachers, the effects of streaming and standardized testing, the poor communication between parents and schools, and the lack of an inclusive school environment and curriculum, as some of the important issues which affect black students (Bradshaw & Gallup, 2008; Gratz, 2005). However there is a lack of literature in the area of academic underachievement amongst Arabic students, there is a need for more exploratory studies in this area. Methodology In light of the small amount of literature in the area of academic underachievement amongst Arabic students in United Kingdom, there is a need for more exploratory studies in this area. Studies with a preconceived framework of the nature of the problem may miss finer processes at work within the relationship of immigrant students to their schools (Creswell, 2003). It is necessary to study the causes of academic underachievement with attention to the context in which it takes place and with a flexible methodology that allows for all variables to be taken into consideration. This qualitative study explores the adaptation experiences of Arabic students at one inner-city school in U.K, with the aim of shedding light on how students position themselves within the school and how they perceive their abilities. Initially, the researcher will conduct pilot study involving four students which would help in the evolution of the research questions. Instruments Used in the Study The specific instruments that I used to collect data, other than through participatory observations, were interviews and a questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed to all the students participating in pilot study through their teachers, as a way to obtain general data about their background and feelings towards the school. The questionnaire contained ten questions, which were written in English on one side and Arabic on the other. The instructions were given to teachers that the questionnaire would only take students a couple of minutes to complete and that students should complete it in the language that they felt most comfortable. This would yield additional information about their language preference. Results The results yielded aggregate data concerning the country of origin of the students, their length of residency in U.K, their age and grade level, the number of schools that students had attended, the subjects that they had difficulty in, the reasons why they had difficulties, what they liked about the school, and the extra-curricular activities they were involved in. The results showed that a majority of the Arabic students found mathematics to be their most difficult subject. The findings with regard to the language preference of the students were unreliable. Teachers did not give the necessary instructions for students to choose between the two sides. Some students, I was told, were not aware that it was a bilingual questionnaire, and responded to the questions the way it was presented to them. A couple of students also filled out the questionnaire on both sides. The interviews were conducted in a quiet room on school grounds with the permission of the school Principal. I interviewed four students, taping the conversation only following their consent. I tried to create a comfortable environment, by ensuring them that the conversation was confidential and by providing water and some candies. The students were told that the main purpose of the interview was for me to get to know them better and for them to tell me their impressions of the school. Although I only used the pre-set questions as a guideline, my ability to encourage the students to do most of the talking improved as I interviewed more students. Listening to the tapes afterwards, I realised that the main improvement had been less structure to the conversation. The later interviews were more like conversations, with exclamations, jokes and rebuttals, and less like formal interviews. These greater interviews yielded more amounts of data. Discussion Frederick Erickson's notion of "disciplined subjectivity" was central to my research (Erickson, 1984). As Erickson suggests, "the fieldworker generates a situation-based inquiry process, learning, through time, to ask question of the field setting in such a way that the setting, by its answers, teaches the next situationally appropriate questions to ask" (p.51). What are the adjustment and academic difficulties affecting Arabic-speaking students in the school? This was my primary research question. The broad number of issues that such a question addressed meant that I had to make the question more specific. I decided that to inquire about academic issues it would be best to conform to the school format. • What subjects do Arabic-speaking students have difficulty in? Following a number of conversations with Arabic students involved in pilot study. I discovered that mathematics was a great source of difficulty for these students. When I asked what the reasons were for their difficulties, students responded that they simply were not good in math, that the subject was too hard, or that the teacher did not explain well. Students also had difficulty in English. Many felt that English was too complicated, had too many grammar rules or that there was too much vocabulary to learn. Many of the difficulties that Arabic students had in math appeared to be language related. Most students with math problems had difficulty in the Statistics units, which have many word problems, and many said that they had difficulty following the lessons. I decided to examine further the school-related aspects of the English language development of these students. What is the evidence of first language interference for Arabic-speaking students learning English? It was particularly evident that recently arrived Arabic-speaking students who were learning English made mistakes in their use of English that were directly related to their background. Pronunciation errors were common among Arabic students in their communication in English. It seemed clear that all Arabic students learning English developed an inter language through which they comprehended and responded in English. The influence of Arabic in their English use was most evident when Arabic students spoke amongst each other and borrowed terms, expressions and structures from both languages to express a message. This code-switching was marked with few students more than others. Some students spoke only in English, having lost most of their Arabic skills, some used English words when speaking in Arabic and a couple of students spoke to each other in English but transferred entire phrases from Arabic. I felt it necessary to explore what where the different attitudes that students adopted towards Arabic use in the school. What feelings do Arabic students have towards speaking Arabic in school? What are the factors affecting their language choice? It was through asking Arabic students about their language use that I discovered the strongest feelings of cultural identity. Several students told me that when they are amongst other Arabic­ speaking students they felt a certain obligation to speak in Arabic. These students felt that it was only natural that amongst "Arabs" one should speak one's own language. Other students had adopted an attitude that was less enthusiastic about their Arabic-speaking background. They said they felt "no need to hang out with Arabs," and used their Arabic skills far less at school. They indicated that when they arrived at school there were fewer Arabic students and they made no "Arab circle of friends." Following these differences between Arabic students, I wanted to know more about the factors influencing the orientation and integration of students within the school. Do students feel included in the school? Students were generally positive about their experience. Almost all students took part in pilot study felt that the school was either "good," or "OK." The questionnaire gathered more data about the aspects of the school that students enjoyed. Most of the responses from the questionnaire were that they liked learning, the teachers, friends and the computer lab. It was primarily females, however, that indicated in the questionnaire that they participated in activities and clubs. This led me to ask about gender differences in school participation and a sense of inclusion. How does gender affect the Arabic students in their adaptation to school? All the students that I spoke to regarding gender differences in adaptation and inclusion made mention of the differences in expectations and freedoms between U.K and Arab world. Girls had many more freedoms here in U.K. There were some students, male and female, that expressed concern about how girls were not responding to their parents and did not show them enough respect. They said U.K laws gave girls a sense of protection. Several Arabic-speaking males appeared to have an indifferent attitude towards school and some were described by other Arabic students as "lazy and don't take advice from anyone." Gender roles and expectations among Arabic students were a significant factor affecting the adaptation of Arabic students. From here I was led to ask about students' scholastic orientation. Is there evidence that students lack scholastic orientation? There was no orientation for new students beyond their first meeting with their guidance counsellor. Several Arabic students recalled their first few days at school and the difficulties they had figuring out the school schedule. ESL students had many questions about school procedures. The guidance department did not provide any translators for students for minor school matters. Any problem that new Arabic students needed to take up with guidance was usually done with the help of other students who had been at school longer. I was led to further questions about the attention given to students learning English as a second language. What teaching strategies are used by teachers delivering ESL content courses? How do they view and make use of the diversity in their classrooms? The ESL content courses were in varied subjects ranging from Drama to Mathematics. I spoke to four teachers regarding their instructional strategies for courses in ESL Math, ESL Geography, ESL Science and ESL History. These ESL courses were offered to students in grades nine and ten. The strategies used by teachers most commonly involved reducing the amount of material in the course, slowing down the lessons, paying close attention to the language used by the teacher, taking up student errors on the board and spending time teaching language rules and structure. The amount of time spent teaching language versus teaching content varied according to the style of the teacher. The diversity in the classroom was seen as an obstacle to be overcome by two teachers who wanted to bring the students together. Other teachers felt that the diversity was a resource and could be used to teach the material by highlighting what students knew already. I wanted to compare these strategies to how language was taught by teachers in the ESL department. What teaching strategies are used by ESL teachers? Most of the teachers were knowledgeable of the recent and relevant research in their subject area: language acquisition. Their methods were aimed at improving the proficiency of students in the areas of reading, writing, speaking and listening in English. They were aware that students learning English as a second language require up to five years to gain a level of proficiency that is on par with their native English-speaking peers. They utilise methods that were aimed at ensuring the communication of the content through a variety of mediums. Their classroom activities were each designed to develop at least one of the proficiency areas in a cognitively demanding way. They worked with students to discover the areas where they had language difficulties and helped them develop language learning goals to accelerate their academic language learning. Conclusion The methodology used in this study was educational ethnography, derived from anthropological methods in the study of education. This method was believed to have the most advantages to the study of underachievement of Arabic students in the U.K context due to the need to conduct generative research because of the small amounts of previous literature in this area. The methodology allowed for the context to define the direction of the research questions. The study began as an exploration of the academic and adjustment difficulties of Arabic students and then turned to consider the teaching strategies used by teachers in ESL content courses. The additional research instruments used were questionnaires and interviews. According to the results obtained in this pilot study, the two main areas where Arabic students had most difficulty in school were in their English development and in mathematics. Most students expressed particular difficulties in writing and in speaking English. The problems experienced by students in writing English were in the amount of interference they experienced from their first language and in kinds of inter language forms they had developed. In speaking, students said they sometimes felt shy or nervous, and felt embarrassment when speaking in English. Incorrect inter-language forms also affected students while speaking in English. Most students felt that they had learned English well, but when asked further most said that they still had a lot to learn. In mathematics, students found difficult the confusing vocabulary, working alone and the sections with word problems. Some students expressed resignation about their math abilities, saying that they didn't have the right brain for the subject. Their problems, however, seemed more related to their lack of English skills than with a lack of math ability. The poor performance of many Arabic students in mathematics, and their negative perception of their abilities, indicates that these students are not only not learning math, but they are also perceiving themselves as incapable of doing mathematics. Several students figured that math was too difficult for them to understand. These negative conceptions of their own abilities indicated that perhaps the real problem was that Arabic students were frustrated learners. Their language difficulties in class compounded with their social adjustment difficulties in school led to the development of a non-academic mindset. The adjustment difficulties faced by students seemed to affect their motivation in school and their perception of their abilities. Their language difficulties affected their perception of their abilities and their performance in courses that required the use of abstract language and higher order cognitive skills in English. The teachers who are trying to teach these students have to recognise who is in their classrooms and teach accordingly. Students who are still learning English will require methods that are more dependent on visual aids, charts, scaffolding of information, a variety of mediums to present information and attention to the acquisition of the necessary vocabulary in the course. However, teachers that choose not to see colour or culture may also be guilty of not hearing language. References Bradshaw, W. J., & Gallup, A. M. (2008, September). Americans speak out: Are educators and policy makers listening? Phi Delta Kappan, 90(10), 7-31. Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Dei, G. (1993). Narrative discourses of Black! African-Canadian parents and the Canadian public school system. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 25(3). Erickson, Frederick (1984). Anthropology and Education Quarterly, Vol. 15, 51-66. Gratz, D. B. (2005). Lessons from Denver: The pay for performance pilot. Phi Delta Kappan, 86(8), 569-581. Read More