Case Study Research in Applied Linguistics (Second Language Acquisition Research: Theoretical and Methodological Issues)

246 Pages·2007·3.49 MB·English

by  Patricia Duff

Case Study Research
in Applied Linguistics
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Second Language Acquisition Research:
Theoretical and Methodological Issues
Susan M. Gass and Alison Mackey, Editors
Monographs on Theoretical Issues
Schachter/Gass,Second Language Classroom Research: Issues and Opportunities (1996)
Birdsong,Second Language Acquisition and the Critical Period Hypotheses (1999)
Ohta,Second Language Acquisition Processes in the Classroom: Learning Japanese (2001)
Major, Foreign Accent: Ontogeny and Phylogeny of Second Language Phonology (2001)
VanPatten, Processing Instruction: Theory, Research, and Commentary (2003)
VanPatten/Williams/Rott/Overstreet, Form-Meaning Connections in Second Language
Acquisition (2004)
Bardovi-Harlig/Hartford,Interlanguage Pragmatics: Exploring Institutional Talk (2005)
Dörnyei,The Psychology of the Language Learner: Individual Differences in Second
Language Acquisition (2005)
Long, Problems in SLA (2007)
VanPatten/Williams, Theories in Second Language Acquisition (2007)
Ortega/Byrnes,The Longitudinal Study of Advanced L2 Capacities (2008)
Liceras/Zobl/Goodluck,The Role of Formal Features in Second Language Acquisition (2008)
Monographs on Research Methodology
Tarone/Gass/Cohen, Research Methodology in Second Language Acquisition (1994)
Yule, Referential Communication Tasks (1997)
Gass/Mackey, Stimulated Recall Methodology in Second Language Research (2000)
Markee,Conversation Analysis (2000)
Dörnyei,Questionnaires in Second Language Research: Construction, Administration, and
Processing (2002)
Gass/Mackey, Data Elicitation for Second and Foreign Language Research (2007)
Duff,Case Study Research in Applied Linguistics (2008)
Of Related Interest
Gass,Input, Interaction, and the Second Language Learner (1997)
Gass/Sorace/Selinker, Second Language Learning Data Analysis, Second Edition (1998)
Gass/Selinker, Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory Course, Third Edition (2008)
Mackey/Gass,Second Language Research: Methodology and Design (2005)
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Case Study Research
in Applied Linguistics
Patricia A. Duff
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Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Taylor & Francis Group Taylor & Francis Group
270 Madison Avenue 2 Park Square
New York, NY 10016 Milton Park, Abingdon
Oxon OX14 4RN
© 2008 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business
Printed in the United States of America on acid‑free paper
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International Standard Book Number‑13: 978‑0‑8058‑2359‑2 (Softcover) 978‑0‑8058‑2358‑5 (Hardcover)
No part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming,
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used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data
Duff, Patricia (Patricia A.)
Case study research in applied linguistics / Patricia A. Duff.
p. cm. ‑‑ (Second language acquisition research theoretical and methodological
issues)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN‑13: 978‑0‑8058‑2359‑2 (alk. paper)
ISBN‑10: 0‑8058‑2359‑X (alk. paper)
1. Applied linguistics‑‑Case studies. 2. Applied linguistics‑‑Case studies. 3. Applied
linguistics‑‑Research‑‑Methodology. I. Title.
P129.D84 2007
418‑‑dc22 2007009270
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at
http://www.taylorandfrancis.com
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Contents
Preface vii
Chapter 1 Case Study Research in Applied Linguistics 1
Chapter 2 Defining, Describing, and Defending Case Study
Research 21
Chapter 3 Examples of Case Studies in Applied Linguistics 61
Chapter 4 How to Conduct Case Studies (Part 1) 99
Chapter 5 How to Conduct Case Studies (Part 2) 153
Chapter 6 Writing the Case Study Report 181
References 203
Author Index 223
Subject Index 229

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Preface
As a graduate student at the University of Hawaii, I learned a great deal
about important advances made in the field of second-language acquisition
(SLA) on the basis of a relatively small number of well-documented cases
of learners of English as a second language (ESL) by scholars there and at
the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), where I later studied.
The researchers included Evelyn Hatch, Roger Andersen, Thom Huebner,
John Schumann, Richard Schmidt, Charlene Sato, and their colleagues and
students. Their case studies were accessible, intriguing accounts of indi-
vidual language learners that had a huge impact on the young subfield of
SLA within applied linguistics. Vivid, complex, and theoretically interest-
ing, the case studies were a valuable means of illustrating developmental
issues connected with learning another language.
Although my master’s degree research was a large cross-sectional study
of the syntactic development of English language learners from Mandarin
and Japanese backgrounds that did not involve the in-depth analysis of any
particular case, I began a study of a Cambodian learner of English in 1986
(see Chapter 1). The impetus for this book came from that research and
my earlier graduate studies. My first publication on case study research
methods in SLA (Duff, 1990) convinced me that some of the complexities
of applied linguistic research can be studied and presented meaningfully
within the fullness of cases, and that an introductory text on case study
research was needed in our field. Despite the many intervening years and
delays in completing this manuscript, no other applied linguistics text-
books on this method have been written.
Yet, increasing numbers of case studies have been conducted by grad-
uate students and established scholars without coursework or dedicated
ii
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Preface
applied linguistics research methods texts to guide the process. This book
does not argue that case studies or other qualitative approaches to applied
linguistics research are the best or most valid approaches. The research
methods one employs may be a matter of personal preference, but choice of
method is also determined in large part by the questions one seeks answers
to, the body of knowledge that already exists on that topic, the domain of
inquiry and context, and the methods the questions lend themselves to.
I learned from Brian Lynch at UCLA that all research has an underly-
ing epistemology and ontology as well as methodology. Researchers using
case study may approach it from different philosophical positions and may
also favor different approaches to data analysis, accordingly.
This book is intended for undergraduate and graduate students and
other scholars wishing to understand more about case study methods and
also about their application in research on language learners and language
users in a variety of contexts. Since the number of case studies conducted
each year is growing steadily, this book provides an overview, but is not
a comprehensive survey of all significant existing case studies. In addi-
tion, although I have tried to include case studies of people’s encounters
with languages other than English, most of the research reported involves
teachers and learners of English in Canada and the United States, since I
am most familiar with that work. Finally, applied linguistics is more than
language teaching and learning, but most of my examples are related to
these topics. The book should contribute to our understanding of the com-
plexities, difficulties, and discoveries of how people learn or are taught
another language. However, it is my hope that applied linguists working in
other subfields will find the book useful as they undertake their own stud-
ies and evaluate those by others.
This book could not have been published without the supreme patience
and goodwill of the series editor, Susan Gass, and the publishing team
at Lawrence Erlbaum, especially Cathleen Petree. Sue and Cathleen have
prodded me along for many years, since I first started — and stopped —
then restarted this project (many times over). I also acknowledge the inspi-
ration of my former professors and their own case study research, referred
to earlier. However, my interest in case studies was piqued even before that,
by the celebrated urban researcher and anthropologist Oscar Lewis. His
1961 book The Children of Sanchez, an “autobiographical” account of five
iii
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Preface
members of a poor family in a Mexico City slum, had an enormous impact
on me as a young teenager and convinced me of the power of case study.
To my many graduate students over the years (and particularly my
Amigos group), and to colleagues near and far, friends and family, I give
big thanks not only for putting up with me while I talked endlessly about
this project, but also for giving me excellent examples of case studies to
draw upon. I thank Kathi Bailey, Wayne Wright, and especially Lourdes
Ortega for their helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.
My wonderful research assistant, Sandra Zappa-Hollman, helped me with
library and editorial tasks, and provided some graphic support as well,
for which I am very grateful. To my former case study participants and
research collaborators, I also extend my deep gratitude. Additional special
thanks go to Nancy Duff, Jane Duff, Nelly and Bonnie Duff, Linda Cor-
rigan, Maria Andersson, and Duanduan Li for helping me to keep a bal-
anced perspective and for allowing me to drone on, far too often, about my
fears that I would never finish. As an indication of just how long its incuba-
tion has been, I started the manuscript using WordStar, later migrated to
WordPerfect, and in more recent years switched to Microsoft Word. In the
meantime, I have acquired multiple revised editions of the same case study
and qualitative research methods textbooks, which have been updated
every few years. My own research epistemologies have also shifted in the
interim, from (post)positivist to interpretive.
Funding for my research and for the writing of this book has been pro-
vided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
and the (U.S.) National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation. I am
very grateful to both organizations.
Finally, I dedicate this book to my loving parents, Lawrence and Eliza-
beth Duff, who have looked forward to its completion perhaps most of all. I
also acknowledge, with deep thanks, their unwavering encouragement and
support over the years, and my father’s assistance with my case study of
the Cambodian learner of English presented in Chapter 1.
Patsy Duff
Vancouver, Canada
ix
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