The third research question is: What subject areas could Languages work with to produce projects? This question followed the previous question and was closely related. I hoped that by using the data collected from the previous question students would be able to relate the topics they wanted to study as part of any cross-curricular language project to other school curriculum areas, as well as provide examples of cross-curricular projects. The final subsidiary research question is: Are there differences in responses from higher, middle, and lower attaining groups of language learners? The word groups suggested that responses had to be analysed in terms of the group as well as the individual. 2.3 Ontology After establishing boundaries on the scale of the research project and formulating the research questions to be used, I felt it necessary to consider my own ontological stance surrounding the research. I believed that doing so would help solidify and justify the methods and methodology used in addressing the research questions. When considering ontological issues, issues surrounding epistemology and the status of knowledge usually arise simultaneously. Epistemology is addressed later in the thesis when discussing the methods used for data collection. Ontology is a difficult concept for researchers to grasp fully and I only aim to briefly describe the differences between ontological stances and how these stances affect the methods researchers employ for data collection. Crotty (1998) states that ontology is “the study of being, where the emphasis is on the theory of existence”. (p. 23). In terms of this research project I focused on a quote from Blaikie (1993) who states that ontology means “the claims or assumptions that a particular approach to social enquiry makes about the nature of social reality”. (p. 6). This definition, although initially difficult to understand, highlights the importance of having a philosophical perspective on a research methodology. Without having a perspective on how people interact and exist in the world it would be impossible to acknowledge what might count as relevant knowledge during the research process. To attempt to unravel this quote further, a simple example is needed: If an individual believes that students’ behaviour in school is brought about by their social interactions with other students in a variety of social situations, then this view of social reality differs greatly from one considering that behaviour comes from genetics. These two views contrast greatly regarding the theory of existence. The first approach relates to the influences of social conditions, the second is biological, commenting
3.2.2 Cross-curricular Language Teaching Through Collaboration In order to meet the National Curriculum’s statutory requirements, Languages are required to be taught cross-curricularly. The important question to ask here is; what benefits are students likely to see in terms of their learning when exposed to such an approach? Brown and Brown (1999) have long acknowledged the importance of such a method and state that a cross-curricular approach can: Help pupils to understand similarities and differences between life in their local community and the experience of children and communities around the world; link language learning activities with and activities that pupils have met in other areas of the curriculum; give a global context to pupils’ language learning; help pupils explore and understand local and global issues and in the process set a model for lifelong learning. (p. 9). In an earlier publication, Brown and Brown (1996) also acknowledged that a cross-curricular approach can “heighten levels of motivation among pupils, encourage reflective practice, and encourage collaborative teaching and planning”. (p. 1). The recent emphasis on collaborative planning to promote cross-curricular teaching in Languages has been supported by various U.K. based organisations. These organisations are dedicated to the sharing of project ideas, resources and best practice surrounding cross-curricular language teaching and learning. Examples from such organisations include: The Pathfinder series produced by the National Centre (CILT), which includes publications on cross-curricular language teaching, providing teachers with practical examples of lesson plans and resources for the teaching of numeracy, literacy and humanities in French; Languages Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), “dedicated to introducing students to new ideas and concepts in traditional subjects (often humanities), using the target language as the medium of communication”; Languages Without Limits, a project aimed at providing language education for all, especially those students with additional educational needs, through making links with Citizenship; The Association for Language Learning (ALL) provides seminars and question and answer sessions on a range of issues surrounding language and language teaching; The Linked Up Languages Scheme, run by the Links into Languages Programme, offers teachers a wide range of advice, topic areas and resources to help with language planning, teaching and assessment.
Chapter 4 - Methods and Methodology The aims of this chapter are to: Although the previous chapters had given me direction in shaping my research methodology I was still faced with a number of challenges. Firstly, understanding my role in the research was a complicated process of labelling and mixing and matching. What was I trying to be? Was I attempting to be a theorist, a philosopher, an interviewer, an interpretive researcher, an insider researcher, a working professional, somebody trying to complete their Doctorate in Education? Truthfully speaking, I could not limit myself to being just one of these, rather I needed to dedicate myself to all of the above. Secondly, I felt responsible that my research should come up with conclusions related to my research questions. 4.1 Interviews in Educational Research (1996) remarks that an inter-view is “an exchange of views between two or more people on a topic of mutual interest, sees the centrality of human interaction for knowledge production, and emphasizes the social situatedness of research data”. (p. 11). According to Laing (1967) “Interviews enable participants – be they interviewers or interviewees – to discuss their interpretations of the world in which they live, and discuss how they regard situations from their own point of view”. (p. 66). The interview is a qualitative flexible research method used for data collection, “and is one of the commonest methods used in small-scale educational research”. (Drever, 2003, p. 1). It encourages the use of multi-sensory channels such as verbal, non-verbal, spoken and heard. It is not however “an ordinary everyday conversation” (Dyer, 1995, p. 56), it has a specific purpose, is primarily
The second stage of the thematic system was to attempt to go beyond the descriptive coding and focus on my interpretation of the meaning of what was said during the interviews. The transcribing of emotional states, tone of voice and body language was beneficial when attempting to generate interpretive codes. In the main, interpretive codes are generated by “grouping together descriptive codes that seem to share some common meaning, and creating an interpretative code that captures it”. (King and Horrocks, 2010, p. 154). It was useful when attempting to generate interpretative codes to return to the original interview transcript to double check that the descriptive code mirrored what was said by the participant, as incorrectly assigning descriptive codes to interpretive codes would likely change the original meaning of the participant’s words. As with stage 1, this process was repeated for each of the interview transcripts. Below is a sample of what I produced for each interview transcript upon completion of the second stage of analysis. Highlighted Extract Descriptive Code Interpretative Code English and Maths are in every subject in the school Cross-curricular nature of other subject areas Lack of cross-curricular language teaching and Languages doesn’t seem to fit into things like English and Maths do. We also things in Science that we use in Geography. Curriculum working together Success of other subjects Yes, sometimes we do the same kind of projects and with Languages we have a lesson and don’t use the Languages removed from subject areas Lack of cross-curricular language teaching until next week’s lesson It be cool to use Spanish more during the week Level of student motivation for language learning Desire to use languages more because I enjoy the lessons To give an example I like football and P.E Cross-curricular opportunity having a football match in Spanish would be cool.
Example Project 2 Topic – War and Conflict ...We do things in a historical context, the Spanish armada. 1F …We could also cover the first and second world wars. 1M …Thinking about conflicts between Spain and England like the Spanish armada would be interesting, or even the Spanish civil war. 2M
The barriers presented in the above framework are likely to restrict the possibilities of implementing cross-curricular language projects within the school where the research took place. Therefore, in order to successfully implement any cross-curricular language project centred on the student-based framework for cross-curricular language teaching, the above barriers would first have to be addressed. The importance that the participants, school, and government place on G.C.S.E. examinations promotes strong levels of extrinsic / institutional motivations within students. These motivations were evident in the Year 9 students who were interviewed. If these types of motivations are being nurtured in students starting the Key Stage Four syllabuses, who are still two years away from sitting their G.C.S.E. exams, how strong are they likely to be when they reach year 11? From experience of working in the school, some students, when reaching the second and third terms of Year 11, demonstrate such high levels of introjected regulation that they find it difficult to focus on anything but their performance in their forthcoming exams. This introjected regulation produces stress and anxiety for many students in the school. Participant perspectives suggested that the topics that participants want to study as part of any cross-curricular language project do not feature in the language exam papers, and therefore, as extrinsic motivations seem to dominate intrinsic motivations for many students at Key Stage Four, although students would be interested in studying such topics, they would choose not to as it would not help them succeed in the exams.
Appendix B: University Consent Form Christopher Jarvis Head of School Professor Jackie Marsh Department of Educational Studies The Education Building 388 Glossop Road Sheffield S10 2JA 8 June 2011 Telephone: +44 (0114) 222 8096 Fax: +44 (0114) 2228105 Email: Dear Christopher Re: The Foreign Languages Curriculum: Pupil voice to Inform Cross-Curricular Language Teaching. Thank you for your application for ethical review for the above project. The reviewers have now considered this and have agreed that your application be approved with the following optional amendments. (Please see below reviewers’ comments) 7. Approved with the following suggested, optional amendments (i.e. it is left to the discretion of the applicant whether or not to accept the amendments and, if accepted, the ethics reviewers do not need to see the amendments): I you might want to problematise the notion of high and low ‘ability’ in A5. Achievement can be measured but can ability? In A8 you note students may choose to take the consent letter home to show parents. I would encourage them to do this on ethical grounds. Yours sincerely Mrs Jacquie Gillott - Programme Secretary