Calling all classroom learners!

Mods if I'm breaking any rules, please let me know :sorry:

Right now I'm a grad student studying to be a Japanese teacher and as someone who grew up in the big boom of anime, internet and Japanese language learning I'm interested in finding ways in how the two connect to learners (and how to bridge the gap in my classroom). To that end, I'm conducting some research on learner strategies for students who are both enrolled in a class (high school, university) and actively using internet forums, mixi/facebook, skype, anime, jdrama, manga, etc. to find uses of Japanese outside of their classroom.

So, to make a long story short, I'm looking for some people who might answer some questions for me via email or PM regarding typical classroom activities and how you utilize the internet as a resource. Everything is anonymous and I have a consent form for the IRB and all that jazz (which I will send you personally). I cannot compensate anyone for their time, unless, that is, they want help with Japanese.

Thanks in advance to anyone who wants to participate and I apologize to anyone who may have seen this on another forum. If you have any questions, just message me. :3

よろしくお願いします！

ashleigh said:

...So, to make a long story short, I'm looking for some people who might answer some questions for me via email or PM regarding typical classroom activities and how you utilize the internet as a resource. Everything is anonymous and I have a consent form for the IRB and all that jazz (which I will send you personally).

Click to expand...

Why don't you post the questions here? You will get more responses for your research that way.

What came to MY mind when I first read your post was, "You contact her via e-mail, she asks you if you are satisfied with the progress you are making through your classes/online tutorial, then, offers you Japanese lessons for a very reasonable fee".

Good question, I thought about posting them here before I wrote up my post, but as the research process is highly regulated I wasn't sure.

I have to receive written consent from each participant before they can answer my questions, and as that consent has some personal information on it, I didn't really want to post it for all on the internets.

After your suggestion, however, I'm making a different version of my consent form to post in here so readers can see it and decide before PMing. Additionally if people want the contact info that's left out, they can PM me.

As for selling lessons, I'd probably have to pay people to take them at this point



So without further ado, here's the modified consent form. If you want to know my contact info or the contact info for the committee on human studies (with any questions about the research process) PM me and I'll gladly provide the info!

Consent:

AGREEMENT TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH
Researcher: Ashleigh DeBord​

Purpose of this Research:

The purpose of this research is to find out how learners position themselves in the learning environment outside of the classroom.

What you will be expected to do:

If you agree to participate in this research you will be agreeing to:

1. Allow me to ask you interview questions through email/private messaging.
2. Allow me to follow-up with you via email if any further questions exist.

Your Rights:
To confidentiality:

• The recorded interviews and your class work will remain totally confidential so that you cannot be identified. This means that your name will not be mentioned anywhere in the research paper, publications, or presentations.

To ask questions as any time:

• You may ask questions about this research at any time. Please contact me via PM or my personal email (4shleigh AT gmail DOT com) if you have any questions or concerns. (I'll provide my school email via PM if desired)

To withdraw at any time:

• You may ask me to erase or destroy any data at any time without consequence.

Benefits:

This study will help me to better understand how learners view their own learning experiences.

Possible Risks:

There will be no potential risks or discomforts involved in this study.

As this is an anonymous interview, this is no requirement for a signature. However, I will ask you for your verbal consent prior to the beginning of the interview (or written consent if you agree to conduct the interview via email). When you agree to participate you are saying that:

• I have read this agreement form and, understanding everything, I want to participate in this research study.
  
• I know that I can ask any question at any time about the research.
• I know I can stop participation in this research at any time (even after agreeing to participate) without any penalty.
• I understand my rights written above.
• If the researcher cannot answer my questions or comments I can contact:
  
• Committee on Human Studies (CHS)

And my initial questions (as mentioned above I'll need to consult with participants multiple times for clarification and to search further, but as for the scope of the study, what you see is what you get):

1) Age:
2) Home country/native language:
3) Current residence:
4) How long have you studied Japanese (n a classroom)?
5) What is your motivation for studying Japanese?
6) What kind of setting has your classroom been (high school, university, study abroad, all of the above)?
7) What kind of classroom instruction have you typically been exposed to (pair work, worksheets, translations, native interactions)?
8) What resources do you frequently use outside of the Japanese classroom? (Internet forums, anime, manga, jdrama, skype, mixi, facebook, lang-8, etc.) Please list all applicable items and how long you've been using them.
9) Why do you use these? (a reason for each resource as listed above would be great!)
10) How do you feel these affect your knowledge and utility of the Japanese language?

Thanks for the tip