How Important are the Learner's Past Experiences and Attitudes?
by Joanna Sturiano
Sample Survey One
Second Language Learning
Instructions: Please read each question carefully and either circle the appropriate answer or check the answers that are applicable to you.
1. Have you ever studied German before? (circle one) Yes No
--- if you answered "Yes", go to question 2. If "No", skip to question 7.
2. Where did you learn German? (check all that apply)
___ Parents spoke it at home, or are native speakers of German
___ School: you took a German course in the high school
___ School: you took a German course in the middle school
___ School: you took a German course in elementary school or earlier schooling
___ School: you took a German course in a college environment
___ you learned German from spending time in a German-speaking environment
___ you took a self-taught German course over the Internet or from another source
___ other (please specify) ___________________________________________
3. For how long did you study German?
___ over two years
___ one - two years
___ six months - one year
___ two months - six months
___ less than two months
4. What methods did you use to learn German? (check all that apply)
___ speaking & oral drills, repeating what others/teachers said, memorizing German dialogues
___ copying down vocabulary & memorizing lists of words & phrases in German
___ writing paragraphs/short papers/written assignments in German
___ free conversation with classmates/family/friends/peers/teacher in German
___ watching videos/tv programs in German
___ singing songs in German
___ reading texts, magazines, novels, etc. in target language
___ other (please specify) ________________________________________________
5. What were your attitudes/feelings regarding the effectiveness of your previous learning of German?
___ you feel you have learned well & effectively by the methods used to teach you
___ you feel that only some of the methods you used to learn German helped you; others did not
___ you feel that your learning experience was not the best for your needs & situation; you feel the methods used were not well-suited to your learning needs & preferences
6. What were your favorite methods for learning German? the methods that you felt most comfortable with & that helped you learn the most? the methods you would choose to use in this semester's intensive elementary class, to aid you in your new learning experience? ( please describe these methods briefly)
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
7. Have you ever studied any other foreign or second language? (circle one) Yes No
--- If "No", skip to question 15. If "Yes", proceed on to question 8.
8. Which language/s was/were it/they that you studied? (please list languages here)
_________________________________________
9. If you have studied more than one foreign or second language besides German in the past, please now refer only to the first foreign language you learned, and here list the foreign languages you have learned, in the order in which you began to study them. (And, if for example, you have learned German as your first foreign language, and then another foreign
language, you need only list those languages here and then skip to question 15.)
1. __________________
2. __________________
3. __________________
4. __________________
10. Where did you learn that language? (check all that apply)
___ parents spoke it at home or are native speakers
___ school: you took a course on this language in high school
___ school: you took a course on this language in middle school
___ school: you took a course on this language in elementary school or earlier schooling
___ school: you took a course on this language in a college setting
___ you learned this language from spending time in an area where this language is spoken
___ took a self-taught course over the Internet or from another source
___ other (please specify) _________________________________________
11. For how long did you study that language?
___ over two years
___ one-two years
___ six months-one year
___ two months-six months
___ less than two months
12. What methods did you use to learn that language? (check all that apply)
___ speaking & oral drills, repeating what others/teacher said, memorizing dialogues in that language
___ copying down vocabulary & memorizing lists of words & phrases in that language
___ writing paragraphs/short papers/written assignments in that language
___ free conversation with classmates/family/friends/peers/teacher in that language
___ watching videos/tv programs in that language
___ singing songs in that language
___ reading texts/magazines/novels/etc. in that language
___ other ( please specify ) ____________________________________________
13. What were your feelings/attitudes regarding the effectiveness of your previous learning of that language?
___ you feel you have learned well & effectively by the methods used to teach you
___ you feel that only some of the methods you used to learn language helped you; others did not
___ you feel that your learning experience was not the best for your needs & situation; you feel the methods used were not well-suited to your ways & preferences of learning
14. What were your favorite methods for learning that language? the methods you felt most comfortable with & that helped you learn the most? the methods you would choose to use in this semester's intensive elementary class, to aid you in your new learning experience? (please briefly describe these methods here)
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
15. Why are you taking this class? (check all that apply)
___ to satisfy & fulfill language requirement
___ interest in the German language
___ you need to learn German so you can communicate in future travels abroad
___ desire to be able to communicate with family/friends who are native speakers of German
___ you want to German quickly so as to leave room in your schedule for other courses; language-related or not
___ you want to try a new foreign language from the one/s you have learned in the past
___ desire to know German to be able to read texts in German & language understand textual/literary references made in/to German
___ other (please specify) ______________________________________________
16. What language learning methods do you expect to be using during this semester?
___ speaking & oral drills, repeating what others/teachers say, memorizing dialogues in German
___ copying down vocabulary & memorizing lists of words & phrases in German
___ free conversations with classmates/peers/family/friends/teachers in German
___ watching videos/tv programs in German
___ singing songs in German
___ reading texts/magazines/novels/etc. in German
___ other (please specify) _______________________________________________
17. How would you rate yourself in your knowledge of the target language at the present?
___ I have never formally learned this language or been immersed in a setting where German is spoken; I have no knowledge or experience of this language.
___ I have a background in German, but need further instruction to be able to communicate well.
___ I have a background in German, and at one time I was able to communicate in German and understand it, but I need further instruction to brush up & refresh my skills and enhance them with new knowledge.
___ I am confident that my background in German is strong -- however, I am taking this course as a prerequisite for other courses I want to take in the future.
18a. Would you consider yourself a good language learner? In other words, if you have taken a foreign language course, was it one of your "best" courses, grade-wise?
___ Yes
___ No
___ I have had no experience with foreign languages.
18b. Was your foreign language class(es) your favorite class?
____ Yes
____ No
____ I have had no experience with foreign languages.
19. Do you find that learning languages is easy and exciting? Why or why not?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
20. Do you agree that learning a foreign language is an important, worthwhile part of a college student's curriculum and course of study?
___ Yes
___ No
___ Not sure
21. Are you looking forward to taking this class, that is, do you consider yourself to be approaching this course with a positive attitude?
___ Yes
___ No
___ Not sure/sort of
22. What language is your native language, the language you grew up speaking as a child? (name more than one language if you grew up speaking multiple languages)
_______________________________________________________
23. What language is spoken in your household every day, that is, what language do you speak mainly? (list more than one language if you speak multiple languages almost equally)
________________________________________________________
return to introductory page ** feedback: e-mail me
see sample survey 2 ** see procedure
see results/conclusion ** go to case studies
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