An in Depth Study of ESL Training

¶ … local school district has recently implemented a program designed to assist students that are currently in need of training in English as a Second Language (ESL). Many of these ESL students hail from a country and/or culture that features other languages other than English which puts them at a distinct disadvantage in schools that teach primarily using the English language, both verbally and in written form.

What the school district would like to measure is how effective and beneficial the program has been for the students who have used it. Additional issues that the school would like to see addressed by the study include; the impact of the program on English language proficiency, overall student academic progress, and the satisfaction levels of the students, teachers, parents, administrators and other stakeholders.

Research Questions and Hypothesis The study will be guided by research questions and a hypothesis based upon the fact that the researcher wishes to achieve certain measurements, goals and objectives. Based upon a recent study (Classen, Covic, Idsardi, Sandham, Gildenhuys, Lemke, 2015) which resulted in findings that showed an urgent need for a deeper understanding of a study's results and methodologies, new and creative ways to conduct studies are necessary and (the study suggests) incorporating quantitative and qualitative research approaches would likely result in improved findings and analysis.

Employing a methodology that incorporates both quantitative and qualitative data is likely to lead to a comprehensive understanding of the effectiveness of the new curricula as well as documenting the overall student academic progress, and the satisfaction levels of the various stakeholders. Devers and Frankel (2000) determined that qualitative research is oftentimes used for purposive studies such as the one that is being discussed herein; they surmised that most qualitative research takes place in a real-world context very similar to the real-world of the local school district involved in this study.

On the other hand, the study is also looking to measure the impact that the curriculum has had on the student achievement level(s) and whether any discernable pattern can be distinguished based upon the implementation of the curriculum. Such measurements are not qualitative but are quantitative since they involve numbers and not perceptions or thoughts. Ingham-Broomfield (2014) writes that using quantitative research is a way of testing objective theories through the examination of relationships between variables.

The variables can be manipulated and then reexamined in order to determine the impact of the variables on the subject. The subject of the study is of course to discover whether the curriculum is having a positive impact on the grades of the ESL students.

Specifically, the paper is seeking to determine whether the Stanford English Language Proficiency test scores of the students involved in the program are positively impacted by the curriculum, as well as the overall effectiveness of the new curricula overall on the students at the first grade level. This paper is discussing the curriculum that is being used within a school district, that curriculum can best be described as one of the variables. Introducing that curriculum should have some impact on the student's test scores and overall grading process.

Measuring the results of implementing the curriculum therefore can be tested using a quantitative analysis. Hence both the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data will take place and then discussed at length in order to determine the validity of the hypothesis. Setting and Sample The setting of the study will be determined by the school district but will most likely take place during normal school hours within the confines of the school classrooms, specifically targeting the students in the ESL classrooms.

The sample size of the study will be determined based upon the number of students enrolled in the ESL classroom(s) at the initiation of the study. The study is seeking to determine any changes (improvements) in the grades of the students after a one-year time frame, so the best setting would like include to random groups of ESL first-grade students. One group would receive the curriculum and one group would receive the previous teaching methodologies.

Each group would be tested before embarking on the one-year program in order to establish a baseline for comparison. Data Gathering Since there are two types of data that is being collected by this study (quantitative and qualitative) there will be two different approaches to collecting the data. Qualitative data will be collected using surveys, small-group interviews, questionnaires with open-ended questions, and notes taken by the researcher(s).

Quantitative data will be collected using the test results and a baseline established by testing the ESL students at the beginning of the study, and then continued testing throughout the year. Vaterluas and Higgenbotham (2009) found that once the research question(s) have been established the data can then be gathered from the appropriate sources using the appropriate data gathering tools.

Once the data has been collected, an analysis using verifiable research methodologies and tools will allow the researcher the ability to sift through the data in order to determine trends and patterns. Evaluation Tools and Methodologies The tools needed for this particular study include surveys, questionnaires and testing. Testing will take place using the Stanford English Language Proficiency Test which will be administered at the beginning of the school year, periodically throughout the school year, and at the end of the school year.

The surveys and questionnaires will be distributed at the beginning of the year and the end of the year. The qualitative methodology will include a Likert Scale survey with rankings for how the stakeholders like/dislike the curricula. A Likert Scale is unique in that it quantifies qualitative data in a manner that allows for charting perceptions, thoughts, and ideals. The quantitative methodology will use a Chi Square test with a scatter gram to display the data.

A scatter gram allows the researcher to test a wide variety of participants and plot their specific grade(s) in a chart that clusters the information in a way that patterns and graphs are easily created with the data. Data Presentation After the data has been analyzed, the researcher will present the data using electronic media, charts, graphs and written reports. The presentation will be compiled in a form that allows for a PowerPoint presentation along with a written in-depth report on the research findings and results.

Privacy Protection It is important that the participant's privacy is protected especially since the participants in this particular case are minors. One of the main goals of this study is to provide an environment where the participant will never be personally known to the researcher. In order to accomplish that specific goal, the researcher(s) will be constrained from interacting with the participants outside of the study confines. Each student who wishes to participate must receive written permission from a parent or guardian. A privacy form will be presented.