Data Collection Research Methods in Applied Linguistics

The successful collection of data is a key challenge to obtaining reliable and valid results in applied linguistics research. Data Collection Research Methods in Applied Linguistics investigates how research is conducted in the field, encompassing the challenges and obstacles applied linguists face in collecting good data. The book explores frequently used data collection techniques, including: * interviews and focus groups * observations * stimulated recall and think aloud protocols * data elicitation tasks * corpus methods * questionnaires * validated tests and measures Each chapter focuses on one type of data collection, outlining key concepts, threats to reliability and validity, procedures for good data collection, and implications for researchers. The chapters also include exemplary research projects, showcasing and explaining for readers how the technique was used to collect data in a successfully published study. This book is an essential resource for both novice and experienced applied linguists tackling data collection techniques for the first time

Intelligibility and comprehensibility of Korean English speakers’ phonological features in lingua franca listening contexts

This study investigated L2 English listeners' intelligibility and comprehensibility ratings of L2 English recordings of L1 Korean speakers' speech. Specifically, it considered which segmentals and features resulting from Korean phonotactics cause a breakdown in Korean speakers' L2 English intelligibility and comprehensibility for Mandarin L1-background L2 English speakers. As Korean speakers use English as a lingua franca primarily with their L1 Mandarin speaking neighbours, recordings of scripted and unscripted speech of Korean university students were sent to L1 Mandarin raters in mainland China and Taiwan, who rated utterances for intelligibility and comprehensibility. Findings showed that the most frequently mistranscribed features were epenthesis (inclusion of extra vowels to separate clustered consonants), substitution of nasals for plosives between vowels and sonorant consonants, and the consonant-vowel combination [wʊ]. Findings also suggest that less problematic features, such as [əʊ], /r/, and the distinction between [ʊ] and [u], are at times aided by similar realisations by L2 listeners