Project Details
Projekt
The development of English achievement and motivation in vocational training: Does one lesson make a difference?
Applicant
Professorin Dr. Kathrin Jonkmann
Subject Area
General and Domain-Specific Teaching and Learning
Term
from 2013 to 2017
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 22134855
English language proficiency is considered to be a key qualification for successfully handling occupational and societal demands. Accordingly, secondary school curricula emphasize that English language competence is a prerequisite for participation in the modern, globalized information and communication society that calls for skills for life-long learning and professional and intercultural flexibility. At the same time, teaching English as a foreign language is only marginally relevant in tertiary vocational education. Recently, this apparent contradiction was solved by adding English to the list of obligatory subjects in vocational schools in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. This reform was first put to trial in a substantial number of pre-selected schools (Schulversuch) before it will be implemented in all schools across the state in 2016. The present project aims at estimating the effects of this curricular reform and at identifying the key factors that foster successful English language learning in vocationally oriented educational settings. The present study contributes to the scientific understanding of English language learning by (1) testing whether research findings that are usually derived in secondary school settings generalize to vocational education, (2) testing whether a very low instructional dosage (1 lesson per week) that is typical for vocational education is effective, and (3) employing a quasi-experimental research design that is particularly powerful in yielding robust and causally interpretable results.The research questions can be divided into two parts: assessment and explanation. With respect to assessment we further differentiate the analyses of the baseline and the analyses of longitudinal change: Which English language skills and motivational prerequisites (e.g. ability self-concepts, interest, attitudes, anxiety) do students possess at the beginning of vocational education? How do these factors change over the course of vocational education depending on the amount of English language instruction (one lesson vs. none)? With respect to the explanation of these effects, we distinguish factors at the student level (e.g. gender, family background, prior knowledge, prior degree, motivation and interest) and the class level. The class level is further differentiated into aspects of class composition (e.g. gender composition, average achievement level, achievement heterogeneity), aspects of instruction (e.g. practical relevance, instructional level and quality), and aspects of the teacher (e.g. training, enthusiasm). The data will be collected using a quasi-experimental research design with three assessment points over the course of 1.5 years and a sample size of about 60 classrooms. The data will be analyzed using multilevel modeling and optionally matching procedures (e.g. propensity score matching).
DFG Programme
Research Units
