Thoughts on final project

FIRST OFF: I apologize for the legnth of this post.
I've been really excited about getting to write the final project because there is one thing that I have always wanted to look at: how technology can be used in listening comprehension. I started becoming interested in this topic a few years back when I was first introduced to BBC Languages and their listening exercises, which are geared more towards listening comprehension than anything else. This semester, in a Portuguese class I am taking, we have also been introduced to an amazing listening website created by the University of Texas called "Tá Falado", which has only increased my interest in the subject. And then, of course, when we started to read the articles for this class and I came to realize that there has not been much investigation done regarding listening, I was decided.

My ideas for the project have gone through various stages, and I think I've finally come to the one that I want to pursue. Just like we read about in the Zhao article, the process of arriving at the point where I am now took focus. What I mean by that is that I had to take my raw idea and whittle it down to a more refined and specific topic. My original idea had to do with how listening exercises could be used to increase cross-cultural awareness, but I found that difficult to design and even more difficult to measure, so the idea changed. The second phase involved using listening exercises to measure students' comprehension, maybe by having them follow specific instructions given by the speaker through a podcast (well, they would all involve podcasts really). I thought about this for a while, but then it ceased to be clear to me what exactly I was trying to measure and how that would be carried out, especially if the students would be required to respond immediately to the aural input. So, after thinking it over for a while, I think I've gotten it more honed. Here's my current idea:

I would like to see if and how aural input (via a technological medium like a podcast) can increase the acquisition of prepositions. For me, prepositions are very difficult to acquire and yet they make very crucial connections in a language. Also, there hasn't been much done on the acquisition of prepositions. My idea, as of now, is to have the students listen to a series of podcasts over the course of a semester, and then immediately complete a sort of cloze activity that requires them to fill in the blanks with the correct prepositions. All of this work would be done via my webpage and the results would be emailed to me directly (through a script), that way I could potentially collect much more data without having the stress of getting all of the students in one place at one time. I would also like it to figure in as part of the homework grade so that students at least try to do the activities. And of course, I would hope to find support for the use of supplementary aural exercises via podcasts, or any other medium for that matter.

This study would clearly have to involve a pre-test and a post-test, and my current issue is finding a way to create a control group. Also, I am trying to decide which level would be best to conduct the research with, although I have to admit that I kind of want to see if level in Spanish could also be a factor in increased speed of acquisition. Another issue has to do with the prepositions themselves, meaning that I am not sure if I should limit myself to certain prepositions (por and para are very interesting to me) or just look at all of them. All that said, a few possible research questions could be:

1. Is there a significant difference in the level of correct use of prepositions between students who receive supplementary aural input via podcasts and those who do not?
a. Does previous experience with Spanish as a second language (i.e. level in Spanish) play a significant role in the potential benefits?

Last semester I wrote a descriptive study about the acquisition of the prepositions por and para by students at a beginning level in Spanish, and I was very surprised to find out two things: (1) there is a dearth of research on the acquisistion of these two prepositions (only 3 published studies!!!!), and (2) all of these studies point to the fact that the way we go about teaching these prepositions could potentially be what is affecting acquisition (meaning that the entire topic carries HUGE pedagogical implications). Since this is the case, I think that a study on the acquisition of prepositions (especially these two) could not only add to the current research in SLA and TIFLE (since it would involve podcasts), but also potentially give us some tips on how best to teach them. Since it was suggested on the homework page that we try and upload a Word document, I figured that I would just upload the study I wrote last semester (just mentioned) and if you want to have a look at it you can, just be warned: it's in Spanish and I'm not a native speaker :). Here it is: El sistema preposicional naciente: por y para.

Please leave me comments or suggestions! I'd really appreciate your input, oh yeah, and don't forget to take the new poll!!