STUDENT RESEARCH WORKSHOP 2009- SESSION 4 - –

PROCESSING QUANTITATIVE DATATASK 1: A student has conducted a mini survey with a group of ten students on their practice of extensive reading. Below is a part of her questionnaire.

Part C. What strategies do you use when you read extensively?For each of the following statements, please circle the number that can best describe your practice of extensive reading.

She summarizes the gathered data in the following table.

Student

name

13

14

15

16

Student

name

13

14

15

16

An 3 2 2 2 Hai 3 2 3 3Binh 4 4 5 4 Hoa 4 4 4 3Chi 2 3 3 3 Khanh 3 4 2 2Dung 2 3 3 3 Lan 4 4 3 3Giang 3 3 2 4 Mai 4 3 2 4

Calculate and fill in the tableItem Mean Mode Range Standard

deviation

13141516

Which strategy is the most frequently used by the group of students?Which strategy do the students have the most homogenous (similar) frequency of use?

TASK 2:Reasons Teachers Use TBLT in the Classroom (n=117)

Statements

No. of Ts who tick each

statementTotal (%)

LSS USSTBLT is appropriate for small group work. 48 34 82 (70.1)TBLT improves learners' interaction skills. 42 37 79 (67.5)

TBLT encourages learners' intrinsic motivation. 36 28 64 (54.7)

TBLT creates a collaborative learning environment.

21 25 46 (39.3)

TBLT promotes learners' academic progress 17 15 32 (27.4)Others 8 5 13 (11.1)Note: LSS =Lower secondary school teacher, USS = Upper secondary school

teacher

Now answer the questions:1. What does the table present?2. What were the major reasons for teachers’ use of TBLT in classroom

practice?3. What reasons were mentioned by fewest teachers? 4. Was there a difference in the reasons stated by LSS and USS teachers?

Then fill the report with the information from the table:Table 3 presents …………(1)………. Data analysis revealed that the three major reasons teachers used task-based methods concerned …………(2)………. (70.1%), ………(3)………. (67.5 %), and …………(4)………. (54.7%). In contrast, few respondents agreed that TBLT …………(5)……… (39.3%) and ………(6)……… (27.4%). The "others" category (11.1%) concerned classroom arrangements, promotion of target language use, controlling large classes, and so on.

This is another part of her report. Are the data presented accurately?

In response to the specific reasons teachers gave for using task-based techniques in the classroom, there were some meaningful differences according to the teaching level. While most LSS teachers, for instance, valued its appropriateness to small group work, most USS teachers placed an importance on improving interaction skills and encouraging intrinsic motivation. This partially implies that as an instructional method, TBLT is currently preferred for its group work potential in LSS settings, and its motivational aspects in SSS settings.

(The data and report come from In-Jae Jeon & Jung-won Hahn, 2006)