My M.A. thesis... hhmmm...

[Karina]

Hey guys!!
I completed my english studies 1 year ago but I have to do my M.A. in a couple of years. I want to start it this September, but...hhmm..
In order to get to the university I want, I have to write a "plan" for my M.A. thesis.
At first I wanted to write about speaking, esp. how to encourage an oral production among young learners at the pre-intermediate level. And this topic would be the leading theme of my paper.
But..I have got one question. How can I "measure" speaking? esp the level of it? e.g.has it increased or not?
Can you help me?
Have you got any ideas I could use??
Thanks in advance!

[Rosko1234]

You can talk about the number of words used by young learners. That is, you can measure whether the number of different words has increased or not.
What do I mean by different words? I guess this is how different words it takes a young person to say their idea.
I imagine that before the learning starts the young person would use a few words that may not accurately describe his idea. When the learning process ends he may use DIFFERENT words that more accurately describe his idea.

[Karina]

I ment..soem methods to measure if the students speak more..and the write it down on a paper..hhmm...

[Karina]

I got ur point rosko...
but how can I don`t know..how can i prove that the students r better when speaking?

[Rosko1234]

well, if you are measuing if the students speak more, I guess you mean that they speak for a longer period of time, you could measure if they are speaking for a longer period of time or not.

[Karina]

But how can I put that on paper?
any methods come to your mind?
I have to write a thesis...

[Rosko1234]

Well, you could use a stopwatch and measure the time it takes for each speaker to say what they need to say.

[Karina]

[Rosko1234]

but how can I don`t know..how can i prove that the students r better when speaking?

You could use a test. Give the test to the students before they started learning and after they have completed the course. The results of the test would indicate whether the students have improved their skills or not.

Given that you are talking about oral presentations the test could be oral.

[Karina]

[Rosko1234]

Can I base my thesis only on observation?
Will it be credible???? Will somebody believe that it hapened actually??

Yes, your thesis can be based on observations. In fact you may first do the observations and later write the thesis based on these observations.

Will it be credible? Yes, it will certainly be credible as long as you can provide a proof. This is why you may need to keep records of your observations in case somebody asks you for a proof.
Will somebody believe that it happened actually? Yes, as long as you have a proof of what you have done.
This questions is actually very typical of Eastern Europeans. Will somebody believe me that it happened actually? Excuse me if I am wrong but is it related to the question of whether you are lying or not. Or to use a euphomism is it related the question of whether you did make all your data up or not?
This brings the issue of research ethics. I believe that Eastern Europeans are in general very suspicious of ethics in general. That is they are suspicious of ethics when it comes to every area of life including science.
Do not worry about what the "others" would say. Be confident and honest to yourself when you are conducting the research. Explore every fact and think the results for yourself. If you do this you may in fact create a brilliant paper.

Good luck

[Karina]

This questions is actually very typical of Eastern Europeans. Will somebody believe me that it happened actually? Excuse me if I am wrong but is it related to the question of whether you are lying or not. Or to use a euphomism is it related the question of whether you did make all your data up or not?

Yes, you hit the jackpot!
It is typical for us to do so and to say so!

Good luck[/quote]

Thanks a lot for your help!!!
I`ll keep in touch with you!!

[Karina]

i think that I can record my lessons and this will be a proof, right?
Thx again!

[Rosko1234]

i think that I can record my lessons and this will be a proof, right?

I think that you need to record the results of the test before and after the course. These results are going to be the data that you will need to use to develop your thesis.

However, I may have not understood you well. You mention lessons. How can you use lessons as data?

[Karina]

I have to use lessons - I am a teacher of English, I teach mainly teenagers (13-16) in a school so during some lessons I could conduct my research. I think this is the best solution. I`ll pick one specific group and I`ll do my research. I want to study english methodology.