Overview of research setting, participants, purpose

Purpose- Constructivism is a common teaching technique used in United States ESL class rooms. It has
replaced teachers lecturing; a practice commonly used in the home country of many ESL students.
Because lecturing is common in many other countries, ESL students may arrive with the cultural
expectation that instructors will lecture in ESL classes as well. This study specifically examines Ukrainian
students to gather details about whether they prefer lecturing or constructivist teaching in an ESL
classroom based on their cultural expectations. The study uses a focused action research approach and
qualitative research methods to provide BTC ESL instructors with the data to determine if they should
continue a constructivist framework with Ukrainian students or switch to lecture.
Participants The sample for this study was selected from Ukrainian students enrolled in ESL classes at
Bellingham Technical College (BTC). Students were selected using a convenience sample from three
different classes. The students are enrolled either in intermediate or advanced courses. Ukrainian
students were selected because they make up a significant portion of ESL students at BTC. Students
length of stay in the United States ranges from several days to several years.
Research setting The study takes place inside an ESL classroom at BTC.
Research questions: 1. Do experiential learning techniques such as group discussion, pair work and
activities teacher lecturing work more effectively than lecturing for Ukrainian students?
2. What are experientially-based teaching techniques that a teacher can use to effectively overcome
preset cultural expectations from Ukrainian students?
Initial assumptions or hypotheses: Based on what I have observed at BTC, Ukrainian students are willing
to participate in experiential activities. I assume that even if they bring the cultural expectation that all
classes will be taught using traditional lecturing, they are willing to shift their learning preference and
learn with constructivism.
Research Design: For this study to work, I need compare the effectiveness between lecturing and
constructivist activities. Since cultural expectations are behavioral traits, I will use a qualitative study. To
begin, permission is needed from BTC administrators and faculty to modify curriculums in classes so that
they are divided evenly between lecturing and constructivist techniques. Taped interviews with
students before starting the study would provide insight into their cultural expectations of ESL
instructions. Some open-ended questions would include: which teaching technique do they prefer, how
they learned in their home country, what were their cultural expectations for type of teaching when
they came. During both the lecture and constructivist classes, I will record the classes several times to
look for signs of either engagement or disinterest from the students. Field notes taken from
observations will also be kept throughout the study. Toward the end of the study, I will again interview
the Ukrainian students to learn if their opinions changed.
Data collection All answers from the initial and second interviews will be transcribed into notes.
Observing of the class through recordings gives me an understanding of the natural environment of the

classroom, without altering or manipulating it. Field notes provide a method of giving a detailed
description of what I see during the study and an opportunity to reflect on my observations.
Data-analysis procedures: By examining notes from the initial interview helps me to decide if students
have any preset assumptions after a few days in class. Its also an opportunity to have a deeper
understanding of their initial cultural expectations to instruction. I can gather data from the taping and
field notes by observing verbal and non-verbal cues as well. Data taken from the second interview will
be used to compare data from the first interview to gauge if the Ukrainian students support the
experiential learning techniques used in the class. Field notes provide me with a descriptive resource of
what I have seen and heard in the days of class and reflections based on what I observed. Artifacts, such
as portfolios and blogs, are written sources that demonstrate whether the ESL student understands
what they are learning. In addition, artifacts collected through the quarter should demonstrate progress
in English if the pedagogy is effective.
Required materials and resources:
Note pads
Permission forms
Visual and audio Recording equipment
Access to classroom
Rationale:
The idea for this research study comes from an article studying how English as a second language
Students have several challenges at North American universities. Specifically it talks about how Chinese
students coming from very different cultural background and that North American universities fail to
meet their expectations. They prefer instruction through lecturing and are uncomfortable with the
student behaviors and reliance on discussions common in American classrooms. (Huang and Brown,
643-644)Because cultural expectations play such a key role in how Chinese view the effectiveness of
education in North America, I concluded that students from other countries may also be as strongly
impacted by their cultural expectations.
This study specifically focuses on Ukrainian students. Ukrainian students represent almost half the
students in many of the BTC ESL classes. Little research, however, has been conducted on the role of
cultural expectations in their learning. Conducting a study in this setting, coupled with research already
conducted on other students, would give teachers and administrators a broader view of the impact of
cultural expectations on the effectiveness of teaching methods. Action research was chosen because it
provides a systematic inquiry in a teaching-learning environment to gather information about how
students learn (Gay, Mills, Airasain, 18). If cultural expectations are not met with instruction techniques,
the teachers may face problem daily problems, such as a lack of motivation or a poor attitude from
students unhappy with the instruction technique. Another feature unique with this study is that by
doing action research in a BTC classroom, the results are limiting. Action research is done to improve
conditions within a particular setting, without concern for applying the findings elsewhere (Mertler and
Charles, 30). Therefore, despite collecting data using qualitative collection techniques that would
probably be generalizable to ESL classes at other schools, this study only has relevance to Ukrainian

students at BTC. Although with the lack of studies for the role of cultural expectations among Ukrainian
students, I would encourage other researchers to pursue further research of this topic with a wider
scope.
I selected tape-recorded interviewing because I wanted to gather the perspective of the Ukrainian
students about cultural expectations before the study starts and after it ends. I only have assumptions
about their cultural expectations based on what I have observed in classrooms. Having a series of openended questions provides an opportunity to explore and probe participants responses to gather indepth data about their experiences and feelings. (Gay et. al, 386) Learning about their experiences and
feelings before and after the study is a powerful tool when making conclusions about the study.
Field notes are a data collection that provides an extensive description of research setting and the
participants. I can make daily reflections about students reactions to both constructive and lecturing.
Students interactions with each other, the physical set up of the room, what the teacher uses as
material for lecture or constructivist material are all details that I can include in field notes. In summary,
its a data collection tool that provides a detailed description of daily activities and progression through
the quarter not available through other data collection approaches. (Gay et. al., 382)
A visual recording provides an opportunity to look at non-verbal reactions to classes in a natural setting.
If I sit and stare at someone or stay at the back of the room to observe, its impossible to observe
reactions to assignments. With a camera, I can see if someones bored, focusing, frustrated, or
disengaged. These nonverbal cues are strong indicators of which instructional technique is better.
Visual recording provides a beneficial tool for data analysis as well. If the body language exhibited during
either constructivist or lecturing matches what the student told me was his or her preference based on
cultural expectation in the interview, then the data will have more validity. If the body language does
not match, then I need to set up another interview with the student to give them a chance to clarify
what they said in the first interview.
Special precautions must be taken with Ukrainian students. With the violence in their home country,
they may be in the U.S. as a refugee or they are undocumented. Before starting the study, I would ask
that each student sign an informed consent form with the assurance that I will protect their identities
with confidentiality. That includes removing their names from any transcripts, using initials in field notes
and not allowing anyone besides myself hear the recordings . (Gay et. al 21)
1. Gay, L.R, Mills, G.E., Airasian, P. (2012) Educational Research: Competencies for analysis and
applications. Boston, MA: Pearson
2. Huang, J., Brown, K. (2009) Cultural factors affecting Chinese ESL students academic learning.
Education. 129(4) 643-653
3. Mertler, C., Charles, C.M. Types of Educational Research and Corresponding Sources of Data. pp. 23 41