• Austrian context

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Riskier was! -

The Application of the Linguistic Risk- Taking Initiative for German language learners in an Austrian University Context

Stefanie Cajka & Eva Vetter

ACLA/CAAL Annual Conference 2019 UBC Vancouver

5 June 2019

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Overview

• Austrian context

• Canadian data findings

• Developmental process and adaption

• Pilot study

2

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International Students in Austria

Canadian Data Developmental Process

Pilot Study

Austrian Context

43671 76265

0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000 70000 80000 90000

Winter Semester 2007/2008 Winter Semester 2017/2018 Number of International Students

Semester

International Students at Public Universities in

Austria

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German knowledge requirements

At the University of Vienna¹:

• Application for a degree programme held in German: A2

• _Admission to a degree programme held in German: C1

Pilot Study

Austrian Context

4

1https://slw.univie.ac.at/en/studying/knowledge-of-german/(last accessed on 4 June 2019)

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University Preparation Programme of the Vienna Universities (VWU)

• Aims to prepare international students for supplementary examinations²

• German courses are offered as part of this programme

• German courses are held by the Language Center of the University of Vienna

• German courses aim to prepare prospective students for their supplementary examination in German (EPD) à required for admission

• Participation in these courses is possible for four semesters³

Pilot Study

Austrian Context

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Main Idea

In this context, the Linguistic Risk-Taking Initiative (Slavkov &

Séror, in press) seemed to be expedient to accompany the learning process of the prospective students

à to raise awareness of possibilities to practice German

à to foster their engagement in situations of authentic language use

Pilot Study

Austrian Context

6

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Findings in Marshall (2018)

• Majority of the learners undertook more than the required 20 risks

• Interaction-based risks were the least frequently taken risks

• Risk-levels were not always indicated

• If indicated, low- and medium-level risks were the most frequent ones

Austrian Context

Developmental Process

Pilot Study Canadian Data

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Extended Analysis - Data

• 72 Passports from Fall term 2017 (27 ESL + 45 FLS)

• 107 Passports from Winter term 2018 (38 ESL + 69 FLS à same as used in Marshall (2018))

à total of 179 Passports

Austrian Context

Pilot Study

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Canadian Data

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Extended Analysis - Results

Austrian Context

Learners who wrote

no comment

70%

Learners who wrote

at least one comment

30%

USAGE OF COMMENT SECTIONS

Learners who proposed

no risks 58%

Learners proposed who

at least one risk

42%

PROPOSAL OF OWN RISKS

Figure 2: Usage of the comment sections Figure 3: Proposal of own risks

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Questionnaires - Explanation

• Analysis of 20 Canadian questionnaires

• Focus on a class with one of the lowest participation rates

• Questionnaire consisted of three open questions

Austrian Context

Pilot Study

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Canadian Data

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Questionnaires - Explanation

• Analysis of 20 Canadian questionnaires

• Focus on a class with one of the lowest participation rates

• Questionnaire consisted of three open questions

1. Have you participated in the Linguistic Risk-Taking Initiative? Yes/No, why?

2. If you haven’t participated in the Initiative, would you like to explain what would have motivated you to do so?

3. Do you like to add any other personal comments concerning the Linguistic Risk-Taking Initiative?

Austrian Context

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Questionnaires – Results

Question 1 – Have you participated in the Linguistic Risk-Taking Initiative? Yes/No, why?

• Only 3 learners explicitly marked “YES”

• Some learners filled out the passport but never submitted it

Austrian Context

Pilot Study

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Canadian Data

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Questionnaires – Results

• Question 1 – Have you participated in the Linguistic Risk-Taking Initiative? Yes/No, why?

Austrian Context

Reasons for participatingnot

…

…forgot about it

… not enough time

… lack of motivation

… lack of information

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Questionnaires – Results

• Question 1 – Have you participated in the Linguistic Risk-Taking Initiative? Yes/No, why?

Austrian Context

Pilot Study

14

Canadian Data

Reasons for participatingnot

…

…forgot about it

… not enough time

… lack of motivation

… lack of information

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Questionnaires – Results

• Question 2 – If you haven’t participated in the Initiative, would you like to explain what would have motivated you to do so?

Austrian Context

Suggestions

… … different timing

… make it part of the course

… easy challenges to begin with

… different format (à app)

… reminders … more advertisement

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LRT-Passport à ”Riskier was“- booklet

Austrian Context

Pilot Study

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Canadian Data

Feedback Language Center Including new risks

Compilation of the risks

Translation of the Linguistic Risk-Taking Passports

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Elements of the „Riskier was“- booklet

Austrian Context

Feedback Language Center

• 14 pages, 65 risks

• Welcome page

• Introduction to Linguistic Risk-Taking

• Rules of engagement

• Linguistic Risks

• Pages to propose own risks

• Profile of a Linguistic Risk-Taker

Figure 4: “Riskier was!”-booklet

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Elements of the „Riskier was“- booklet

Austrian Context

Pilot Study

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Canadian Data

Feedback Language Center

Figure 5: “Riskier was!”-booklet – page with risks Figure 6: “Riskier was!”-booklet – page to propose own risks

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Differences

• No similarity with a passport

• No personal information of the learners required

• No comment sections

• Different design to indicate the risk-levels

• No Self-Assessment-Page

Austrian Context

Figure 7: “Riskier was!”-booklet – illustration of how to indicate risk-levels

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Addressing the findings

• Actively involving teachers in the planning stage

• Additional motivation + reminders

• Possibility for learners to share their questions and experiences

• New design for risk categorization

• Impossible to forget to indicate the risk-level

Austrian Context

Pilot Study

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Canadian Data

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Research questions – Pilot study

• How do German language learners in a VWU-German course perceive their usage of the “Riskier was!”-booklet?

• How do German language learners in a VWU-German course assess the Linguistic Risk-Taking Initiative for their language learning?

• How is the Linguistic Risk-Taking Initiative assessed by the teachers who teach German in VWU-German courses?

Austrian Context

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Setting and Procedure

• Setting: Two VWU-German courses à two teachers, about 40 learners

• Procedure:

Austrian Context

Pilot Study

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Canadian Data

Briefing of the teachers

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Setting and Procedure

• Procedure:

Austrian Context

Presentation of the Initiative and

distribution of the booklets in

class

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Setting and Procedure

• Procedure:

Austrian Context

Pilot Study

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Canadian Data

Presentation of the Initiative and

distribution of the booklets in

class

Duration of the Initiative: 8 weeks

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Setting and Procedure

• Procedure:

Austrian Context

Presentation of the Initiative distribution of and the booklets in

class

Collection of the booklets questionnaire and survey in class

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Setting and Procedure

• Procedure:

Austrian Context

Pilot Study

26

Canadian Data

Presentation of the Initiative and distribution of

the booklets in class

Collection of the booklets questionnaire and

survey in class

Interviews with both

teachers and two learners per course

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Methodology

Austrian Context

Questionnaire survey with the German

language learners

• Perceived usage of the booklet

• Perceived impact on their language usage and language skills

• Language learning experience and motivation

Guideline-based expert interviews (Gläser & Laudel, 2010) with teachers

• More detailed description of their perceived usage of the booklet

• More detailed description of the perceived impact on their language usage and language skills

• Personal opinion about the risks, the booklet and the whole initiative

• Involvement of the initiative in the course

• Perceived impact on their students’ language usage and language skills

• Personal and professional opinion about the booklet and the initiative

Guideline-based expert interviews (Gläser & Laudel, 2010) with learners

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Next Steps?

• Analysis of the data

• Interviews: Qualitative Content Analysis (Mayring, 2015)

• Questionnaires: descriptive statistics

Austrian Context

Pilot Study

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Canadian Data

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Preliminary conclusion

Austrian Context

Pilot Study

Canadian Data à The Linguistic Risk-Taking Initiative can be adapted to another language and a different context

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Preliminary conclusion

Austrian Context

Pilot Study

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Canadian Data à The Linguistic Risk-Taking Initiative can be adapted to another language and a different context

à However, it is important to further investigate how to make use of this tool in a context that is not bilingual

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References

• Gläser, J. & Laudel, G. (2010). Experteninterviews und qualitative

Inhaltsanalyse: als Instrumente rekonstruierender Untersuchungen (4.

Aufl.). Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.

• Marshall, S. (2018). The Linguistic Risk Taking Initiative: An

Investigation into a New Educational Tool for Fostering Linguistic Risk- Taking amongst University-level Language Learners. Major Research Paper: University of Ottawa.

• Mayring, P. (2015) Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse. Weinheim, Basel: Beltz.

• Slavkov, N. & Séror, J. (to appear). The Development of the Linguistic Risk-Taking Initiative at a Bilingual Post- Secondary Institution in

Canada. Canadian Modern Language Review.