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1

Editorial

100%

Munyangeyo T., Pichette F.

Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching

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2012

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vol. 2

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issue 4

465-466

EN

New communication and information technologies are probably the main feature associated with the phenomenon of globalisation. Such technologies allow people to be in contact with almost anyone anywhere, raising debates about both their benefits and negative consequences. It is often argued that they contribute to increasing the domination of a few major languages chosen to mediate communication, at the expense of more minor languages in terms of the number of speakers and social status. On the contrary, it is also argued that they allow speakers of minority languages to be in contact with one another and create social networks that may promote the survival, birth, or spread of such languages. The facilitated use of languages over large areas of the world may trigger language differentiation, eventually contributing to the rise of different dialects, or even languages. Among the benefits associated with new technologies, we realise that they give us access to immense language corpora that often reflect language differentiation.

2

Second language writing anxiety, computer anxiety, and performance in a classroom versus a web-based environment

100%

Dracopoulos E., Pichette F.

Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching

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2011

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vol. 1

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issue 1

101-117

EN

This study examined the impact of writing anxiety and computer anxiety on language learning for 45 ESL adult learners enrolled in an English grammar and writing course. Two sections of the course were offered in a traditional classroom setting whereas two others were given in a hybrid form that involved distance learning. Contrary to previous research, writing anxiety showed no correlation with learning performance, whereas computer anxiety only yielded a positive correlation with performance in the case of classroom learners. There were no significant differences across learning environments on any measures. These observations are discussed in light of the role computer technologies now play in our society as well as the merging of socio-demographic profiles between classroom and distance learners. Our data suggest that comparisons of profiles between classroom and distance learners may not be an issue worth investigating anymore in language studies, at least in developed countries.

3

Editorial

100%

Munyangeyo T., Pichette F.

Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching

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2017

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vol. 7

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issue 2

189-191

EN

Abstrakt

4

The handling of missing binary data in language research

81%

Pichette F., Béland S., Jolani S., Leśniewska J.

Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching

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2015

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vol. 5

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issue 1

153-169

EN

Researchers are frequently confronted with unanswered questions or items on their questionnaires and tests, due to factors such as item difficulty, lack of testing time, or participant distraction. This paper first presents results from a poll confirming previous claims (Rietveld & van Hout, 2006; Schafer & Gra- ham, 2002) that data replacement and deletion methods are common in research. Language researchers declared that when faced with missing answers of the yes/no type (that translate into zero or one in data tables), the three most common solutions they adopt are to exclude the participant’s data from the analyses, to leave the square empty, or to fill in with zero, as for an incorrect answer. This study then examines the impact on Cronbach’s α of five types of data insertion, using simulated and actual data with various numbers of participants and missing percentages. Our analyses indicate that the three most common methods we identified among language researchers are the ones with the greatest impact n Cronbach's α coefficients; in other words, they are the least desirable solutions to the missing data problem. On the basis of our results, we make recommendations for language researchers concerning the best way to deal with missing data. Given that none of the most common simple methods works properly, we suggest that the missing data be replaced either by the item’s mean or by the participants’ overall mean to provide a better, more accurate image of the instrument’s internal consistency.

5

Affective variables, parental involvement and competence among South Korean high school learners of English

81%

Morris A., Lafontaine M., Pichette F., de Serres L.

Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching

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2013

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vol. 3

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issue 1

13-45

EN

This study investigated the relationships between various affective variables and two measures of competence in English, for 190 South Korean high school students. A 55-item questionnaire was used to measure attitudes (Attitudes toward English Speakers and their Communities and Attitudes toward the English-speaking Culture), motivation (Motivational Intensity, Desire to Learn and Attitudes toward the Learning of English), amotivation, parental involvement (Active Parental Encouragement, Passive Parental Encouragement and Parental Pressure), parental disinterest and students’ competence in L2 (English- EXAM and English-SELF). Pearson product-moment coefficients indicate that active and passive forms of parental encouragement correlate with motivationto learn, as conceptualized by Gardner (1985, 2010), as well as with parental pressure, which suggests that South Korean students report undergoing forms of pressure when their parents actively or passively encourage them. Furthermore, the obtained correlations of the active and passive forms of encouragement with different variables suggest that the two forms represent two distinct concepts. While parental disinterest correlated negatively with motivational variables, parental pressure correlated only with motivational intensity, and only weakly. Therefore, parental pressure seems not to interact significantly with participants’ attitudes, motivation and competence. Multiple linear regression analyses confirm the importance of motivation to learn for students' L2 competence.

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Editorial

Second language writing anxiety, computer anxiety, and performance in a classroom versus a web-based environment

Editorial

The handling of missing binary data in language research

Affective variables, parental involvement and competence among South Korean high school learners of English