Quantitative Methods in Language Acquisition Research

Abstract

This article attempts to clarify and define quantitative research as it is applied in the study of language acquisition. Trends in the use of quantitative and nonquantitative methods in applied linguistics are reported, and suggestions are made concerning useful paradigms and procedures for further research in language acquisition. In recent years considerable concern has arisen over the misapplication or avoidance of appropriate quantitative methods in language acquisition research. Brown (1986) expressed concern that established conventions in quantitative research methodology were not consistently adhered to by quantitative researchers in applied linguistics. His primary data source was articles appearing in the major professional journals of applied linguistics, such as the TESOL Quarterly and Language Learning. Similarly, Ediger, Lazaraton, and Riggenbach (1986) noted that there is a paucity of formal statistical preparation on the part of the majority of educators responsible for guiding graduate research in applied linguistics in general. Their survey of a large cross section of university graduate thesis and dissertation advisers in applied linguistics revealed that respondents had completed, on an average, fewer than two formal courses in research design or statistics and that the majority reported no formal preparation at all. Henning (1985) reported on common problems in quantitative language acquisition research, including unreliability and invalidity of data-elicitation techniques, failure of experimental studies to state a formal hypothesis for testing, failure to report frequencies with percentages or standard deviations with means, and insufficient use of appropriate inferential statistics. In light of these concerns, this article has three purposes: (a) to provide a definition of quantitative research, as opposed to qualitative or anecdotal research; (b) to report on trends in