Volume XIII: 2023
Inge Jones
The Effect of Music on the High School Foreign Language Classroom
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to investigate how the use of popular music in the target language, presented without the expectation of educational and academic outcomes, has an effect on Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA), engagement and Willingness to Communicate (WTC) in a High School foreign language class. This study was guided by two research questions: How does the use of popular music in the target language, removed from the expectation of academic outcomes and for enjoyment only, reduce FLCA? And how does the use of popular music in the target language, removed from the expectation of academic outcomes and for enjoyment only, increase student engagement and WTC? The fourteen participants of a German II class were observed in their reactions and behaviors over a six-week intervention. Participants completed a questionnaire measuring FLCA and Foreign Language Enjoyment at three points during the study. At the end of the study, participants completed an Exit Survey with open-ended questions. Results revealed a reduction in FLCA. Observation of classroom behavior supported an increase in engagement through recording students’ participation by count of hands raised. The mean of hands raised on days without music was 42 compared to the mean of hands raised on days with music at 58. This constitutes a difference of 38%.
About Inge
Inge Jones was raised in Germany and worked several different career paths before returning to school for a teaching degree in her thirties, all the while raising a family and working full time. Inge received her Bachelor’s Degree in Foreign Languages at EIU in 2007 and began teaching German at the High School level. She added an endorsement for Spanish in 2012 and has been teaching both languages since then. In 2022, Inge graduated from EIU with a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction.
Nicholas Flannery
The Effectiveness of Attendance-Based Rewards at an Alternative High School
Abstract
The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether an attendance-based rewards program had any effect on the attendance rates of regular education high school students placed in an alternative education setting. The research question that guided this study was: Does an attendance-based rewards intervention improve alternative high school students’ attendance? The teacher-researcher used attendance tracking software and surveys completed by participants to gather data for this six-week study. The surveys were used to gather more insight into the perspectives alternative education students had in relation to receiving rewards for their attendance. The participants in this study were 13 regular education high school students placed in an alternative education high school. The study found that although six participants strongly agreed and four participants agreed that rewards for perfect weekly attendance would motivate them to come to school more often, these rewards did not improve the overall attendance rates for seven of the participants. The mean number of absences during the five weeks prior to the study was 3.4 days (SD = 2.5). The mean number of absences during the six-week study increased to 4.6 days (SD = 3.4). The mean attendance rate as a percentage prior to the study was 85.1% (SD = 10.8). The mean attendance rate throughout the study decreased to 79.6% (SD = 19.3).
About Nicholas
Nicholas Flannery is the social studies teacher for the Turnabout Program at Plainfield Academy, a public alternative school. He has been teaching high school students at Plainfield Academy since 2018. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in History-Social Sciences Education from Illinois State University in 2017 and completed his Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction at Eastern Illinois University in 2023. Nicholas is the proud dog-dad of Layla, an Australian Shephard.
Allison Deters
The Effectiveness of Attendance-Based Rewards at an Alternative High School
Abstract
This study’s purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of explicitly teaching students affixes and roots to provide them with the tools to learn new words independently. It was hypothesized that by educating students on word parts, they would be more successful at independent word learning in the future. The researcher also speculated that students would use the word correctly in a sentence as long as they could identify the word’s meaning. Two research questions guided this study: (1) What effect does explicit instruction of affixes and roots have on eighth grade students’ ability to correctly define new words independently? (2) Does a relationship exist between students’ understanding of these new words and their ability to use them correctly in context? Eighty eighth graders participated in this six-week study. These students were divided into a treatment group and a control group. While the control group received the same vocabulary instruction that had been used previously, the treatment group received this instruction and explicit instruction in word parts. After six weeks, the treatment group demonstrated a percentage growth average of 29.54%, higher than the control group’s percentage growth average of 17.24%. These findings support the first research question and hypothesis that word part instruction has a positive effect on independent word learning. Regarding the second question and hypothesis, while there was a positive correlation between students’ understanding and their ability to use the word correctly, it was not strong enough to suggest that it was always the case.
About Allison
Allison Deters is in her sixth year of teaching middle school English and math at the Teutopolis Junior High School in Teutopolis, Illinois. In addition to teaching, she serves as the head coach of the Teutopolis High School girls tennis team. Allison is certified to teach both elementary and middle-level education, and she recently earned her master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Eastern Illinois University. Currently, Allison is expecting her first child with her husband of two years, so she has been spending much of her free time preparing for that new adventure. Other interests include reading, traveling, and spending time in nature.
