Teaching of Foreign Languages - Research Proposal Example

?Running Head: Research Proposal Research Proposal [Institute’s Research Proposal Introduction Since ancient times until today,humans have continued to put efforts to develop and progress themselves in a social and cultural manner. In midst of such progression, education and learning has remained the most imperative component that enabled societies to ensure their development, and facilitated societies to interact with one another. In specific, during the last few decades, globalization has resulted in extraordinary developments in different parts of the globe, and the world is turning into a global village and for some, it has already become a global village. In the result, one can observe impact of globalization on almost every aspect of different societies around the world, such as immigration, e-commerce, learning and most importantly, language learning. In particular, English has become an international language, and millions of individuals are endeavoring to learn foreign languages to equip themselves with the tools of surviving and competing in this modern global village. In this regard, institutions and organizations (Kirkman, 2010) are putting efforts to ensure effective learning of foreign languages by students and professionals around the world. In such an attempt, huge advancements in the field of information and technology have been playing a pivotal role in enhancing the language learning globally. Moreover, educational institutions are in midst of endeavors to identify the most effective methodology of teaching foreign languages. At the same time, it is an observation that technological tools are currently the most effective and interactive way of ensuring efficient teaching methodology when it comes to teaching of foreign languages. In this regard, a huge number of experts (Morgan, 2001) and organizations have carried out research on different methods of learning of foreign language, as well as regarding teaching of foreign languages as well; however, the proposed research will be focusing on a different and merely untouched subject that will create a benchmark in the field of language learning. In addition, it is an expectation that it will enable teachers and instructors to teach foreign language in the most efficient manner while having an understanding of its impact. Research Statement In this regard, the proposed research will focus on the following research statement: “To identify and analyze the impact of teaching methodology on the performances of students and teachers toward technological language learning in EFL context” Literature Review In order to carry out research to analyze the impact, it is very imperative to acquire a foundational understanding of teaching methodologies that exist in the area of language learning. In this regard, brief review of the literature (Kirkman, 2010) has facilitated in identification of ‘computer assisted language learning’ that indicates very effective outcomes in terms of efficient teaching of foreign language. In the result, a huge number of organizations and institutions (Johnson, 2008) are in midst of implementing CALL technology for teaching different languages around the globe. In addition, due to effectiveness of CALL, statistics have indicated that due to advancements in the field of information technology, a higher number of institutions are transferring their teaching environment into a CALL atmosphere that is an effective way of learning foreign languages. Although a huge number of experts (Ruffin, 2000) have carried out researches on the effectiveness of CALL technology; however, it is an observation that a very few has focused on its impact on students’ performance in the subject, and thus, there exists a need of new researches in this area. In this regard, to understand its impact, it is imperative to have an understanding of its different forms. In specifically, CALL technology has come to the present era while passing through different stages where it existed as ‘Structural CALL, Communicative CALL, and finally, today as Integrative CALL’ (Ruffin, 2000). Besides forms, analysis of the sources has indicated that a number of researchers have focused on social and cultural factors that play a critical function in determining success rate of the CALL technology. For instance, in Arab countries (Alkahtani, 2004) where computer technology is still in midst of creating its basis in mass population, it takes a huge amount of time for CALL to be successful in such an environment. On the other hand, in developed countries where computers have become day-to-day tools, CALL has resulted in extraordinary results in terms of foreign language learning, and there have been positive alterations in performance of students as well. In this regard, while identifying and analyzing the impact of teaching methodologies of foreign language learning on performance of students, it will be very important to give significance to the social and cultural scenarios of the region. In addition, further analysis (Timucin, 2006) has indicated that in some countries, teachers are using technological equipments to interact with learners while teaching foreign languages. On the other hand, in some developed countries, CALL has taken a more advanced step by taking the role of teacher or expert itself, and in these scenarios, one can find no teacher but the CALL technology itself that is a breakthrough in the field, and thus, will be unique to research about during the proposed study. Besides culture, brief scrutiny of the resources (Swarbrick, 2002) has indicated that ‘attitude’ is another important factor that plays a crucial role in improving results of the language learning. For instance, during a study, researchers (Alkahtani, 2004) noticed that positive or negative attitudes of learning in foreign language learning settings are very fundamental in deciding outcomes of the class. In specific, computer competence (Ruiz-Funes, 2002) is one of the major factors that affect the attitudes of students, and subsequently, their performance. Purpose It is very essential for a researcher to identify aims and objectives before beginning the research, as lack of objectives often results in unconstructive results, and subsequently, waste of time and resources. For this reason, the researcher has identified a few aims and objectives that will function as basis of the proposed research. In particular, it is an expectation of the researcher to recognize factors that play a crucial role in determining performance of the students in foreign language learning settings. In addition, to narrow the research for acquisition of concrete findings, the researcher will be focusing on different methodologies and forms of CALL technology in context of English as a foreign language setting. Moreover, the researcher anticipates that findings of the proposed research will contribute in improving teaching methodologies of language learning in the future. In this regard, the proposed research will include efforts to identify any flaws or loopholes in the learning, as well as teaching environment of language learning settings that may result in adverse effects on attitudes, and subsequently, performance of the learners. Lastly, the major purpose of the proposed research is to identify and propose solutions that will help teachers and instructors in ensuring efficient performance of the learners in their subjects. Research Questions In addition to purpose and objective, research questions are another imperative component of pre-research process that allow researchers to focus on specific path rather than getting lost in a broad range of area. In this regard, the researcher will be focusing on the following research questions during the proposed study: What are different methodologies of teaching foreign languages? What is the role of technology in foreign language learning? What factors influence the attitudes of students in foreign language learning? What factors influence the performance of students in foreign language learning? What is the role of computer competence in language learning in academic institutions? Does gender play any role in determining performance of learners in CALL settings? What are the predetermined standpoints of learners, as well as instructors regarding utilization of computers and technologies for foreign language learning? Methodology Lastly, methodology plays the most important role in every research, and thus, the researcher will now conclude the research proposal by indicating the methods that will be in use during the proposed research. In specific, the researcher will benefit from the utilization of secondary research methodology that will include identification of scholarly resources, such as books, journals, magazines, etc, and subsequently, their critical scrutiny and analysis that will enable the researcher in acquiring previously carried out findings, and thus, it will facilitate researcher in focusing on unidentified factors. However, it is an understanding that secondary methodology will not be enough during the proposed research, as its outcomes will not be completely in accordance with the identified research statement and research questions. For this purpose, the researcher will utilize the methodology of primary research that will include analysis of learners and teachers in one of the language learning settings. In specific, the researcher will put efforts to create a questionnaire based on the objectives and research questions that will enable the analysis of different factors associated with performance of the learners in language learning settings. In this regard, analysis of secondary research methodology will create an elementary foundation for the proposed research, whereas, results of primary research method will facilitate the researcher in confirming outcomes of both methodologies, and thus, will be more effective in validating findings on a broader aspect. References Alkahtani, S. (2004). "Deterrents to CALL in Saudi Arabia." Essential Teacher. Volume 1, Issue 3, pp. 26-30. Johnson, K. (2008). An Introduction to Foreign Language Learning and Teaching. Pearson Longman. Kirkman. (2010). The Teaching of Foreign Languages, Principles, and Methods. General Books LLC. Morgan, C. (2001). Teaching Modern Foreign Languages. Routledge. Ruffin, E. L. (2000). Computer-assisted instruction." Dissertation Abstracts International. Volume 61, Issue 2A, pp. 582. Ruiz-Funes, M. T. (2002). On Teaching Foreign Languages. Greenwood Publishing Group. Swarbrick, A. (2002). Teaching Modern Foreign Languages in Secondary Schools. Routledge. Timucin, M. (2006). “Implementing CALL in an EFL Context.” ELT Journal. Volume 60, Issue 3, pp. 262-271. Read More