The ESM in SLA: Investigating language use with the LANG-TRACK-APP

Description

This presentation focuses on the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) and how it can be implemented in SLA research using the LANG-TRACK-APP. The ESM is an intensive longitudinal data collection approach which involves repeatedly prompting research participants to answer short, easy-to-complete questionnaires about their current or recent experiences at fixed or random intervals. The ESM yields exceptionally rich, highly contextualised data which can be analysed in a variety of ways, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Therefore, the method holds considerable promise for SLA research and particularly studies focused on the investigation of dynamic constructs such as, for example, language exposure and use, language learning motivation and engagement, foreign language anxiety, and enjoyment, etc.

The LANG-TRACK-APP is a set of research tools that was recently developed at Lund University (Sweden) to aid SLA researchers in implementing the ESM in their studies. These tools include a smartphone application for signalling participants and collecting survey responses and an administrative backend system where researchers can upload and schedule surveys, monitor study participation, and export the data they have collected. The full open-source code and documentation for the LANG-TRACK-APP are available at https://github.com/HumlabLu. In the latter part of this presentation, the step-by-step implementation of an ESM study via the LANG-TRACK-APP will be demonstrated using the example of two recent studies of language use in study abroad and among newly arrived refugees in Sweden. A selection of findings from these studies will serve to highlight the richness of ESM data and how it can be analysed at various levels.

Period	2022 Nov 22
Held at	University of Oxford, Department of Education, United Kingdom