The Key Aim of the Proposed Research - Thesis Example

Methodology Introduction This chapter will describe in-depth how the proposed research study will be conducted. Foremost, it will describe the design of the study particularly with regards to the type of research that will be conducted. In this case, relevant literatures will used and cited to support and justify why this design will effectively help to realise the set objectives of the study. Secondly, this chapter will describe the settings where the study will take place and the participants involved in this study. In the subsequent sections of this chapter, the methods of data collection and procedures that will be used in this study will be described. Moreover, this chapter will discuss in detail when and how data will be analyzed. It will describe the analytical methods that will be used in this study by citing relevant literature. It will also provide a detailed justification of why the suggested analytical methods are suitable for this study by citing relevant literatures. In addition, this chapter will showcase a timeline for each procedure that will be carried out in this study. The key aim of the proposed research is to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-method approach in improving the writing skills of ESL learners. This research study will focus on evaluating the effectiveness of different writing strategies amongst first year secondary learners undergoing ESL classes in Saudi Arabia. The study will take place in a female girl’s secondary school in Saudi Arabia within a period of approximately 8 months. Through this study, I hope to make a contribution to the continuing effort to improve the teaching of English writing to EFL /ESL students from Saudi Arabia. From the general aims of this study, several specific research questions were identified and were used in the course of formulating the research design of this study. These research questions are summarised below; 1. How effective is the multi-method approach to the teaching of writing skills for secondary learners in Saudi Arabia? 2- What impact has the multi-method approach of ESL writing had on the ESL teachers in Saudi Arabia for secondary learners? Research Design The proposed research study will be qualitative in nature. Basically, qualitative research is a type of scientific research that seeks to systematically employ a set of predefined procedures to collect evidence, answer questions and produce new findings that are applicable beyond the existing boundaries of study (Mack & Woodsong et al 1). According to Shank (2002), qualitative research is a systematic empirical inquiry that seeks to establish meaning. Lincoln (2000) suggests that qualitative research entails a naturalistic and interpretative approach. In addition, it seeks to understand a particular research topic or problem from the perspective of the involved local population. This type of research is in most cases effective in obtaining information that is culturally specific particularly with regards to behaviours, opinion and social contexts of specific populations. One of the key strengths of qualitative research lies in its ability to provide textual descriptions of experiences in a particular research settings or concerning a particular research issue. It gives information about the” human side” of a research issue. Moreover, methods of qualitative research are effective in identifying intangible aspects in research. These methods can also help to interpret and understand the complexity of a particular situation (Mack & Woodsong et al 1-2). There are several commonly used qualitative research methods. They include; focus groups, participant observation, and field study, analysis of materials and documents and in-depth interviews among many others. Generally, the main difference between qualitative research and quantitative research is that qualitative research seeks to explore phenomena and the methods used in qualitative research are more flexible and interactive (Mack & Woodsong et al 1-2). Some of the benefits associated with qualitative research include the fact that it flexibly enables the researcher to explore unexpected ideas in the course of the research and effectively explore processes. Furthermore, qualitative research is sensitive to contextual factors and provides researchers with increased opportunities to develop ideas and theories that are empirically supported. It also supports longitudinal and in-depth explorations (Bryman et al 13-30). Nevertheless, the use of a qualitative approach also presents various disadvantages. For instance, qualitative research is time-consuming since it requires a lot of careful thought, planning and structuring so as to ensure that the obtained results are accurate. Furthermore, this approach is more open to personal judgment and opinions thus researchers in some cases are bound to produce observations rather than results. Additionally, the design of qualitative research is often unique and cannot be recreated (Experiment-Resources 1). Qualitative research will be used in this research study mainly due to its suitability in addressing the key aims and objectives of this study. As stated earlier, the key focus of this study will be to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-method approach in improving the writing skills of ESL learners. Using a qualitative approach, I will be able to flexibly explore what writings strategies are effective in improving the writing skills of ESL learners in Saudi Arabia. A qualitative approach will enable me to formulate systematic procedures that will evaluate the learning progress of the targeted group of ESL learners (Mack & Woodsong et al 1-2). Moreover, using a qualitative approach, I will be able to effectively interpret and analyse research issues pertinent to language learning by Saudi ESL learners. This approach is also suitable for this study because it will enable me to avoid the generalization of information and allow me to gather information that is contextually specific particularly with regards to the behaviours, opinion and social contexts of a specific population. For instance, my target group of participants includes first year secondary learners undergoing ESL classes in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, using a qualitative approach I will be able to get information that is relevant to my context of study. In addition, using this approach I will be able to establish ideas and findings that are empirically supported (Bryman et al 13-30). Qualitative Methods Qualitative methods that will be used in this study include; in-depth interviews, questionnaires, observation and the analysis written materials. In-depth interviews An interview is a conversation between an interviewer and interviewee where questions are asked by the interviewer so as to obtain information. In qualitative research, interviews help to extract meaning of different research issues. When undertaking an interview the main task of an interviewer is to comprehend and extract meaning from what the interviewee is saying (Kvale 1-5). In this study, a great deal of information will be obtained by interviewing the participating teachers and students. Questions that will be incorporated in these interviews will be largely based on the key aims and objectives of this study. The design of the interview will be unstructured. In this case, general ideas about the issues to be discussed during the interview will be identified however, the interview will not be limited to the identified issues. Some of the questions to be asked during the interview will be determined by the response of the interviewee. In the course of the interviews, there are certain factors that should be considered in order to ensure the effectiveness of the interview. Firstly, it is important to appear natural and engage interviewees on a person to person basis. Secondly, it is essential to foster empathy and win the confidence of interviewees in order to effectively obtain accurate information. Pratt (2006) observes that, if rapport is established between the interviewee and the interviewer, it will become easy for the interview to provide sincere and accurate responses. During the interview, it is also important for one to engage in active listening and search for opinion, ask for explanation, seek comparisons, ask for clarifications and seek for further information (Pratt 1). Some of the benefits associated with using interviews in qualitative research include the fact that interviews enable the researcher to obtain more in-depth response or information. It provides an opportunity and a platform for the researcher to search for opinion, ask for explanation, seek comparisons, ask for clarifications and seek for further information. Moreover, the use of interviews in qualitative research elicits more accurate information since the interviewer is in a position to seek for explanations and clarifications in cases whereby the interviewee may provide a vague response. Furthermore, the use of interviews enables the researcher to be certain about who provided what responses. On the other hand, some of the disadvantages associated with the use of interviews in qualitative research include the fact that interviews are time consuming, costly and can sometimes be intrusive (Wood & Ross-Kerr 182-183). Questionnaires In qualitative research, questionnaires are research instruments that comprise of a series of constructed questions that aim at obtaining information from respondents. In most cases questionnaires comprise of several questions in a set format that require respondent to answer. Questions in a questionnaire may be open-ended or closed -ended. Open-ended questions require the respondent to formulate their own responses or answers whereas closed-ended questions require the respondents to select their answers from the different provided options. Often, the response options provided in closed-ended questions are required to be mutually exhaustive and exclusive. Questionnaires can be administered through different modes. For example, they can be administered face to face, in this case the researcher asks the respondents questions orally and subsequently records the findings. They can also be administered in a written form, in this case the questions are printed or presented in a paper and the respondents are required to fill in their responses. In addition to this, questionnaires can also be administered online or through other computerised mediums (Ader & Hand 211-236). Some of the benefits associated with the use of questionnaires in qualitative research include the fact that this method is cheap and requires less time and effort. On the other hand, some of the disadvantages associated with this method include the fact that some questionnaires are standardised and as a result they may produce general and vague information. Furthermore, in some cases information obtained through the use of questionnaires may be inaccurate or biased mainly because respondents can answer questions superficially especially when there are many questions (Cargan 116-117). Darzi & Athanasiou (2010) recommends that when constructing a questionnaire, it is important to use simple and clear language. Moreover, when administering the questionnaire, it is essential to ask the respondents to answer questions honestly and accurately (Milne 1). In this study, questionnaires will be presented to the participating students and teachers in order to gather information pertinent to the aims of this research study. Observations Observation is a type of qualitative research strategy that requires the researcher to become a participant in the context of study, keenly observe and gather information. In qualitative research, one of the benefit associated with observation include the fact that this method provides the researcher with first hand experience and information thus heightening the understanding of the researcher on various research issues. On the other hand, the use of observation as a qualitative research method may be demanding to the researcher since there is likely to be conflict between ones role as a researcher and a participant (Pratt 1). In this study, a great deal of information will be obtained through observation. As a researcher, I will evaluate the progress made and challenges faced by first year secondary learners undergoing ESL classes in Saudi Arabia by keenly observing their progress in class. Analysis of written materials In this study, written materials will act as a useful source of information. Some of the written materials that will be analysed in this study include; relevant text books and literature, lesson plans and notes, student’s class work and writing assignments among many other materials. These materials will provide useful information that will help to identify effective pedagogical or instructional methods for teaching writing. In addition to this, written material such as lesson plans and notes, student’s class work and writing assignments will provide a useful base of evaluating the effectiveness of a multi-method approach and the progress made by each student. Settings and participants This study will take place at the Fourth Girl’s Secondary school in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In this school, English is a compulsory subject and is incorporated in the school’s curriculum. However, a good number of students particularly those in the first year have substandard writing skills. Despite the fact that much efforts has been used by teachers in the school to improve the writing skills of students, a good number of students still have substandard writing skills. The Fourth Girl’s Secondary provides a suitable base for evaluating the effectiveness of a multi-method approach in improving the writing skills of ESL learners in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this study will be conducted in this school in order to examine the effectiveness of the multi-method approach to the teaching of writing skills in Saudi Arabia for secondary learners and the impact of this method to ESL teachers in Saudi Arabia. The participants of this study will include first year students and teachers who have expressed their interests in participating in the study. This study will incorporate two control groups of ESL learners. Each group will comprise of at least 8 students secondary level learners between the age of 16 to 18 years, these two groups will be monitored for approximately eight months in order to evaluate any improvements in their writing skills. Research Procedure In the initial step of this research study, students will be divided into two groups. Each group will comprise of at least 8 students. The first group, which will be the focus group will taught using a multi-method approach whereas the second group, which is the control group will be taught using the normal method. Students in the focus group will be introduced to different elements of writing using a multi- method approach. This method involves the use of different methods at different stages to teach writing to ESL learners. The main focus of lessons will be on the writing process and content. Students will be taught how they can tap into their creativity and portray it in writing. Moreover, students will be taught about different elements of writing such as diction, connotation, punctuation and sentence construction among many other elements. In the course of this teaching process, teachers will use text books and materials approved in the school curriculum. Subsequently, I will ask the teachers to pretest the students, in order to evaluate the student’s writing skills and identify their weaknesses. In this case, students will be asked to write a short essay on the topic of their choice. The essay of each student will be keenly evaluated and appropriate feedback will be given on areas that require improvements. In the following months, teachers will focus on teaching students specific styles of writing using a multi-method approach in the focus group and the normal approach in the control group. For instance, in the first month of term one, teachers will focus on academic essays. In the course of this month, students will engage in extensive study on how to write good academic essays. Students will learn how to write argumentative essays, descriptive essays and formal reports. Relevant textbooks and materials will be used to enhance student’s understanding on important elements of academic essays. In addition to this, samples of well-written academic essays will be provided to each student, in order for them to be able to see how academic essays and formal reports should be written. After this, students will embark on a series of writing assignments. Students will be asked to write several academic essays on different topics. Students will be required to submit the first draft of their essay for appraisal. After their submission, their essays will be keenly analysed and appropriate feedback will be provided on how they can improve the quality of their essays. Subsequently, students will be required to submit a final draft for marking, the essays will be evaluated and marks awarded based on how the students apply what they have learnt in class and how they have incorporated the feedback provided in the first draft. The respective marks of each student will be recorded and samples of their assignment stored for future references. In the second month, teachers will focus on creative writing. Students will be taught on how they can write creative essays or stories by using a multi-method. During this month, students will engage in extensive study on how to write creatively. Teachers will encourage students to channel their creativity and personality into writing. Relevant textbooks and materials will be referred to so as to enhance student’s understanding on crucial aspects of creative writing. Furthermore, each student will be given samples of well-written creative essays so that they will be able to see how creative essays should be written. Subsequently, students will embark on a series of writing assignments. Thereafter, teachers will ask each student to write several creative essays on the topic of their choice. Students will be required to submit the first draft of their essay for appraisal. Following their submission, their essays will be analysed and appropriate feedback will be provided on how they can improve the quality of their essays. Afterwards, students will be required to submit a final draft for marking, the essays will be evaluated and marks awarded based on how the students apply what they have learnt in class and how they have incorporated the feedback provided in the first draft. The respective marks of each student will be recorded and samples of their assignment stored for future references. Subsequently, students will be asked to select a writing style of their preference. Students from both the focus group and control group will be divided into four main groups. The first group will focus creative writing of short stories, the second group will focus expository essays which incorporate description, classification, analysis and comparisons among many other aspects. The third group will focus on writing argumentative essays which incorporate aspects such as emotional appeal, logical stance and counter argument. The fourth group will focus on writing newspaper columns, this will involve writing editorials and socio-cultural columns. The focus group will comprise of a total of 20 students with 5 students in each group. Each group will write using different discourse modes in the same lesson and while focusing on the same topic. The teachers will use a multi-method approach to facilitate the learning process of each group. Students will be divided into different groups depending on their choices. In their respective groups students will be required to complete weekly writing assignments on various topics. Members of each group will be required to present their assignment before their group members. For each written piece group members will be required to critique and evaluate the quality of ideas written and make suggestion on how the assignment of each member can be improved. In the course of these group discussions, teachers will observe and note the participation of each student in critiquing and evaluating the quality of ideas written and making suggestions on how the assignment of each member can be improved. Subsequently, students will be required to make necessary amendments and then submit their assignments for marking. Their assignments will then be evaluated and awarded marks. Writings with the highest marks from each group will be selected and published in the school journal. The respective marks of each student will be recorded and samples of their assignment stored for future references. In June, I will embark on an in-depth data collection in order to gauge student’s writing skills, identify their weaknesses and find out the effectiveness of the writing strategies employed by their teachers. Collecting data at this stage of the study is crucial since it will help me to understand student’ s level of writing and identify what needs to be done in order to improve their writing skills. Furthermore, the data collected will help me to compare the performance of students in the two groups and the effectiveness of writing strategies used in the first and second group of students. The data collection methods that will be used during this process include questionnaires, interviews and the analysis of written materials. Using questionnaires as a data source I will formulate open-ended and closed-ended questions for both the participating students and teachers. The questionnaires will be administered in written form, both students and teachers will be required to fill in accurate and honest responses. The questionnaires administered to students will have two sections. The first section will comprise of closed-ended questions that will require students to select their answers from a list of options. The key aim of this section will be to gauge student’s interests in writing. Some of the questions that will be incorporated in the questionnaire are summarised below. 1. Do you enjoy writing? YES/NO 2. How often do you write? ALWAYS/ SOMETIMES/ NEVER 3. Do you experience any difficulties when writing? YES/NO 4. How would you describe your proficiency in writing? EXCELLENT/ GOOD/POOR The second section of the questionnaire will include open –ended questions that seek to evaluate student’s knowledge and skills in writing. Some of the questions that will be incorporated in this section include; 1. List the styles of writing that you know or have practiced in class. 2. Among the writing styles that you have listed, which style(s) are you most proficient in? 3. What are some of the factors that you have to consider when writing? 4. When writing, how can you ensure that your work is appealing to the reader? Similarly, the questionnaires that will be submitted to the participating teachers will have two sections. The first section will comprise of closed-ended questions that will require the teachers to select their answers from a list of options. The key aim of this section will be to gauge student’s interests in writing from the point of view of the teacher. Some of the questions that will be included in this section are listed below. 1. Do you think your students enjoy writing? YES/NO 2. How often do your students write while in class? ALWAYS/ SOMETIMES/ NEVER 3. Do your students experience any difficulties when writing? YES/NO 4. How would you describe the proficiency of your students in writing? EXCELLENT/ GOOD/POOR The second section of the questionnaire will include open-ended questions that seek to find out what writing knowledge or skills students have been taught in class and which writing strategies do teachers use in class. Some of the questions that will be incorporated in this section include; 1. What writing styles have students been taught in class? 2. Which writing strategies or approaches do you use to teach students? 3. Are students aware of the key factors that they should consider when writing? 4. Are students aware of how they can make their writing appealing to the reader? 5. In what elements or areas of writing, are your students most proficient in? Moreover, using interviews as a data source, I will conduct interviews with both the students and their teachers in order to establish the effectiveness of the different writing strategies or approaches used in class. Moreover, these interviews will seek to establish whether the strategies used have helped to improve the writing skills of students. The interviews will be semi-structured in nature, in this case I will formulate a set of questions that will help to facilitate my conservation with the teachers and students in the course of the interview. However, the interview will not be limited to these questions rather based on the response provided by the interviewees, I may include other questions in order to ask for further information or clarifications. I will conduct interviews with each of the students and teachers in order to get accurate information. The interviews will take a maximum of 10 minutes and a tape recorder will be used to record every proceeding and findings of the interview. Some of the questions that will be asked in the course of my interview with the students include; 1. Which writing approach or strategies does your teacher use in class? 2. Do you find this approach to be useful or effectiveness in your learning? 3. Are you able to understand the things taught in class with regards to writing? 4. Are you able to apply the things taught in class with regards to writing? 5. How has your writing skills improved over time? Some of the questions that will be asked in the course of my interview with the teachers include; 1. Do you think the writing approach or strategies that you employ in class are effective? 2. What are some of the limitations of the writing strategies or approaches you use in class? 3. What challenges do you experience when using these strategies? 4. Are students able to understand and apply the things taught in class with regards to writing? 5. How have the writing skills of students improved over time? In addition, written materials will be included as data sources during this process. Some of the written materials that will be analysed include; teacher lesson plans, class notes, drafts of assignments and final drafts with evaluations and comments from teachers. Furthermore, journals kept by students in which they recorded important lessons or events in relation to their academic experience particularly with regards to writing will also be reviewed. It is expected that the analysis of various written materials will provide useful data that will help to evaluate the effectiveness of the writing approach or strategies used and the whether these strategies have enabled students to improve their writing skills. The variety and the extensive amount of data sources that will be used in this case will ensure triangulation of the data collected so as to provide richer, thicker and accurate information. Later on, I will compare their performance and draw necessary conclusions. In addition to this, I will conduct interviews with teachers in order to establish how the use of a multi-method approach of ESL writing has impacted on their teaching experience. The interviews will be semi-structured in nature, I will formulate a set of questions that will help to facilitate my conservation with the teachers during the interview. However, based on the responses provided by the participating teachers I may include other questions in order to ask for further information or clarifications. I will conduct interviews with each of the teachers in order to get accurate information. The interviews will take a maximum of 20 minutes and a tape recorder will be used to record every proceeding and finding of the interview. Some of the questions that will be asked in the course of my interview with the teachers include; 1. Do you think the multi- method approach that you employ in class is effective? 2. What are some of the limitations of using this approach in class? 3. What challenges do you experience when using this approach? 4. Are students able to understand and apply the things taught in class with regards to writing? 5. How have the writing skills of students improved over time? Data Analysis Data analysis is process through which the collected data is organized and analysed in order to extract useful information or meaning from it (Newman and Benz 140). Data collected in this study is mainly primary data in both qualitative and quantitative nature. Primary data is data that is observed or collected directly from firsthand experience or direct contact with the data source (Newman and Benz 198). In this study primary data that is qualitative in nature will be collected from questionnaires, interviews and written materials. On the other hand, quantitative data will be collected from student marks recorded for the different writing assignments. The data collected will be analysed using different data analysis techniques. This study will mainly use the grounded theory as the data analysis technique. Using grounded theory, the qualitative data collected will be analysed without using any preconceived theory to deductively evaluate the effectiveness of the multi- method approach in improving the writing skills of ESL secondary school learners in Saudi Arabia. On the other hand quantitative data collected in this study will be presented and analysed in graphs or charts. These graphs and charts will provide a basis for interpreting student’s performance. Timeline Research procedure J F M A M J J A S O N D 1. Organization and Introduction 2. Pre-test 3. A focus on Academic writing 4. A focus on creative writing 5. Students preferred style of writing 6. Data Collection 7. Data Analysis References Ader Herman & Hand David. Advising on research methods: A consultant’s companion. The Netherlands: Johannes van Kessel Publishing. 2008, pp. 211-236. Darzi Ara & Athanasiou Thanos. Key topics in surgical research and methodology. New York: Springer 2010, pp. 484-486. Bryman Alan, Bresnen Micheal & Keil Teresa. Qualitative Research and the Study of Leadership. Human Relations 1988 41(1), pp.13-30. Cargan Leonard. Doing social research. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. 2007, pp.116-117. Experiment-Resources. Qualitative research design. Retrieved on December 19, 2011 from Kvale Steinar. Interviews: An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing. Thousand Oaks California: Sage Publications. 1996, pp.1-5. Lincoln Yvonna & Denzin Norman. Handbook of Qualitative Research. London: Sage Publication Inc. 2011, p. 3. Mack Natasha & Woodsong Cynthia et al. Qualitative research methods: a data collector's field guide. North Carolina: Family Health International. 2005, p. 1 Newman Isadore& Benz Carolyn., Qualitative-Quantitative research methodology: exploring the interactive continuum, Illinois: SIU Press. 1998, 198. Pratt Nick. Qualitative Research. Retrieved on December 19, 2011 from Shank Gary. Qualitative Research: A Personal Skills Approach. New Jersey: Merril Prentice Hall. 2002, p.5. Wood Marilynn & Ross-Kerr Janet. Basic steps in planning nursing research. London: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. 2011, pp. 182-183. Read More