Research Methods in Language Acquisition: Principles, Procedures, and Practices

Barbara Lust; Maria Blume

Published by De Gruyter Mouton 2017

Research Methods in Language Acquisition

Principles, Procedures, and Practices

Barbara Lust and Maria Blume

In the series Language and the Human Lifespan (LHLS)

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110415339

Overview
Contents

About this book

Language acquisition research is challenging—the intricate behavioral and cognitive foundations of speech are difficult to measure objectively. The audible components of speech, however, are quantifiable and thus provide crucial data. This practical guide synthesizes the authors’ decades of experience into a comprehensive set of tools that will allow students and early career researchers in the field to design and conduct rigorous studies that produce reliable and valid speech data and interpretations.

The authors thoroughly review specific techniques for obtaining qualitative and quantitative speech data, including how to tailor the testing environments for optimal results. They explore observational tasks for collecting natural speech and experimental tasks for eliciting specific types of speech. Language comprehension tasks are also reviewed so researchers can study participants’ interpretations of speech and conceptualizations of grammar. Most tasks are oriented towards children, but special considerations for infants are also reviewed, as well as multilingual children.

Chapters also provide strategies for transcribing and coding raw speech data into reliable data sets that can be scientifically analyzed. Furthermore, they investigate the intricacies of interpretation so that researchers can make empirically sound inferences from their data and avoid common pitfalls that can lead to unscientific conclusions.

Author / Editor information

Barbara Lust, Cornell University, USA; Maria Blume, University of Texas at El Paso, USA.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Preface Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	vii
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	ix
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
I. Fundamentals of Language Acquisition Research
1. The Challenge of Studying Language Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	11
2. Preparing to Work With Children, Schools, and Families Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	29
3. Creating the Data I: Working in Teams, Basic Data Collection, Data Sharing, and Data Management Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	49
II. Experimental and Observational Methods in Language Acquisition Research
4. Studying Language Acquisition Through Collecting Speech Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	71
5. Introduction to Experimental Methods: Design and Analysis Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	93
6. Experimental Tasks for Generating Language Production Data Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	119
7. Experimental Tasks for Generating Language Comprehension Data Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	137
8. The Grammaticality Judgment Task Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	155
III. Managing and Interpreting Speech Data
9. Creating the Data II: Begin Data Processing Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	167
10. Creating the Data III: Preparing for Data Analysis Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	187
11. Interpreting the Data: Scientific Inference Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	211
IV. Special Considerations in Language Acquisition Research
12. Assessing Multilingual Acquisition Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	229
13. Introduction to Infant Testing Methods in Language Acquisition Research Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	247
14. Conclusions and Proceeding to the Future Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	259
Appendix A: Transcription Symbols Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	271
Appendix B: The International Phonetic Alphabet Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	273
Appendix C: Outline for Preparation of Schematic Research Proposal Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	275
Suggested Readings Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	277
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	283
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	303
About the Authors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	313

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton
Pages
- Front matter: 10
- Main content: 313
Keywords: Language Acquisition; Language Comprehension; Cognitive Linguistics

eBook

Published: November 7, 2016
ISBN: 9783110415339

Hardcover

Published: November 7, 2016
ISBN: 9783110415223