Part 1:
What factors cause a live language to become a dead language
What are the weaknesses in the tests used to place ESL learners in English classes
What are the characteristics of romance languages
Should knowledge of English be a requirement for permanent citizenship?
What are the benefits of using a content based approach for teaching English as a second language
Part 2:
A good question, in terms of research, has to have a certain set of characteristics. What makes a good research question is largely dependent on the size and scope of the projects, and the interests of the writer, though all good questions do also have certain features in common. First, a good research question should be of interest to the writer, and “context related”, or related to the topic of the larger conversation or coursework (Andrews 2003, p.2) This insures that the project will stay on topic and meet the larger aims of the project. This also implies that the question posed, in order to be a good question must be answerable (Andrews 2003, p.2). Part of being answerable mean that it must be appropriate to the scope of the concept. If a question is too broad, it will not be answerable within the confines of the given project, because it is so large that can only be generally defined within the given space. Similarly, if the question is too narrow, it may not hold enough weight to fill the space given.
Another characteristic of good literature is that it is of interest, in that an argument can be made about it. A good question inspires a thought process, or raises a pressing issue, which the writer can take a strong stance on (Vanderbuilt 2007). This also means that to be interesting, with respect to the larger audience, it should do something different than existing literature on the topic. This can be done by taking a different approach to an old problem, trying to solve the problem in a new way, or providing new insight into an old discussion.
Finally, in order for the research on the question to be executed well, with respect to the first two characteristics, it must be readily researchable (Vanderbuilt, 2007). This means that the research must adhere to a methodology that can be executed in the given timeframe, and that resources must be available for its completion. This means considering what information is needed in order to answer a question, and how, or if, that information can be obtained. If information on the topic is not attainable, then the question is not a good question, and should be replaced with something more readily researchable.
Writing a question that meets these characteristics can, however, be a significant challenge. Perhaps first, and most important, it is important that the writer adjust their expectations and realize that writing a research question is not a one-step process. Developing a good research question often takes time to develop a question that meets all the qualifications which were listed for a good question (Anderson 2003). Often, writers want to write the final version of the research question before beginning, but the final and most appropriate research question often comes out while completing the related literature review (Anderson 2003). This is in part because of a second significant challenge in writing questions, which is selecting the best, most specific language for the question. Ensuring that the question truly asks the question that you intend to answer (Anderson 2003). Another major challenge can be the availability of information. Occasionally, the research question has to change because support for the question is limited, or impossible to get. For example, if the question is posed about a company or a government agency, but they have not made the necessary information public, it could be impossible to answer, and so a new question would have to be selected. These are among the most significant challenges that creating a good research question faces.
Creating a good research question is key because it will lead the researcher to their hypothesis. When crafted correctly, the hypothesis is actually the answer to the research question (Anderson 2003). As such, the hypothesis states what you believe will happen, when tested with evidence (Wyselyn University, 2011. It provides an answer to a question, or an explanation for an observation. In contrast, the null hypothesis provides a test for the accuracy for the hypothesis. It states that there is no relationship between two variables (Wysleyan University, 2011). So for example, if you said “emersion increases language fluency” as your hypothesis, the corresponding null hypothesis would be “emersion is unrelated to language fluency.”
As these hypotheses are tested, both inductive and deductive reasoning will likely be applied in moving toward a logical conclusion. Deductive reasoning starts with the hypothesis, and then examines possible outcomes as it moves towards a deductive, or logical conclusion. This means that the prediction is given, assuming the hypothesis is true, and if the prediction is proven true, then the hypothesis stands. In contrast, inducting reasoning starts at a broad, generic statement, and then tries to explain in through inference. Alternatives are essentially ruled out until a single theory remains, rather than trying to prove a single theory.
References:
Anderson, R (2003) Research Questions. Minneapolis, MN: Consortium
Vanderbilt University. (2007). Formulating Your Research Question.
Wesleyan University (2011). Formulating/Extracting Hypotheses. 31 January 2011 Retrieved from http://govthesis.site.wesleyan.edu/what-is-research/formulatingextraction-hypotheses/. 16 February 2016
Part 3:
Why should the government finance English classes for immigrant families?
Broad research questions which would require some redefining before the question could be investigated
What are the characteristics of the “good language learner?”
Issues which would need to be completely redefined before research questions could be stated
3. Does articulatory explanation improve students’ ability to produce the high front [+ATR] vowel and the high front [-ATR] vowel?
Questions which are clearly stated research questions
Do high-anxiety students make fewer “errors” on compositions than low-anxiety students?
Issues which would need to be completely redefined before research questions could be stated
Do vocabulary exercises help students learning a new language acquire vocabulary more effectively than using textual and implicit contexts?
Broad research questions which would require some redefining before the question could be investigated
What is direct vocabulary instruction?
Library research question
UG more than transfer is responsible for the “errors” students learning English make.
Broad research questions which would require some redefining before the question could be investigated
Relative clauses with pied-piping are harder to understand than other types of relative clause.
Broad research questions which would require some redefining before the question could be investigated
9. Languages with no case marking require more processing time than languages with morphological case systems
Questions which are clearly stated research questions
10. What are best practices for teaching pronunciation in a new language?
Library Research question
11. Does a particular language control the way its speakers think?
Library research question
12. Does Yoda speak a human language?
Library research question
13. When do people use the quotative be all?
Broad research questions which would require some redefining before the question could be investigated
14. How do we understand garden path sentences?
Issues which would need to be completely redefined before research questions could be stated
15. Does the language describing potato chips change with their price?
Broad research questions which would require some redefining before the question could be investigated
Part 4:
What social factors lead a live language to become a dead language, or lead languages to stop evolving and fall out of use?
In what ways are the IELTS tests inaccurate in assessing the verbal and written performance levels of ESL learners?
What are the characteristics of romance languages, which set it apart from non-romance languages?
Should knowledge of English be a requirement for permanent citizenship in the United States?
What are the benefits of using a content based approach for teaching English as a second language?
