Question 1

What is the study for?

Accepted Answer

The study is exploring how students learn a language (in this case German) through different tasks, activities, and exercises. It also investigates how learners feel during these different activities.

Question 2

Why do I have to fill out all this information about my background in German and my learning strategies?

Accepted Answer

It is very important to me to learn about your practices, strategies, and ways of how you have been learning German or other languages so far. This knowledge will add to more understanding of how students learn languages and will help in designing better materials and practices for instruction.

Question 3

Why do you ask about so many emotions in the Emotion Form (EF)? Some of them are hardly applicable to the situation.

Accepted Answer

The 20 emotions are general emotions that help determine a positivity ratio, meaning the level of positivity present in the moment. Each emotion is described in three words and you should determine which of the three are the most applicable to you in the situation. If an emotion is completely inexistent in the moment you are taking the survey, just mark it as “not at all”. It is important that you, however, indicate to what extend you are experiencing every single of these 20 emotions.

Question 4

Why do I need to clock in and out?

Accepted Answer

The clocking in and out serves two goals: 1. I need to see how much time you are spending in the German activities to know where to give you the second German test and to tell you that you completed the study. 2. I can ask you to fill out the Emotion Form (EF) only during the time when you are doing some activities in the program. Therefore, you will receive the EF at random times only while you are clocked in.

Question 5

What if I forget to clock in?

Accepted Answer

In a situation when you forget to clock in, just do it as soon as you remember and let me know the situation. If you don’t miss a lot of time, I will apply your approximate missed time to your overall time. I may also ask you to fill out one or a few more EFs during other activities.

Question 6

What is I forget to clock out?

Accepted Answer

If you forget to clock out, just let me know about it as soon as you can so I can adjust your online time. Usually, you will know you forgot to clock out if you receive an EF from me during your offline time. Make sure you then do not fill out the survey and clock out as well as let me know about the situation and your actual online time.

Question 7

What if I don’t feel like I want to continue with the study?

Accepted Answer

Your participation in the study is completely voluntary and you can withdraw at any time and for any reason without any consequences.

Question 8

If I withdraw from the study, will I still have a chance to win Kindle reader?"

Accepted Answer

No, unfortunately, the entry for drawing a Kindle reader is only available for participants who complete the study with the minimum of 10 hours overall and fill out all or almost all received EFs. However, you will still keep your $10 and a full one year access to all German resources after the study completes.

Question 9

Why do I have to give you my email address?

Accepted Answer

Your email address is only used by me to send you necessary information about the study and your ID number. It will be only associated with your ID number and not with your name and will be safely stored and available only to me. Once the study is complete, your email will be automatically archived and not used for any further communication unless you chose to be informed about similar future projects.

Question 10

Why do I have to share my phone number?

Accepted Answer

I need your phone number only to register you for the clock-in app that you will use on your phone. Your phone number will not be used for any other purposes and all communications will happen either through your email, Coursesites platform, or the clock-in app. After the completion of the study, your phone number information will be archived and not used for any further communication.

Virtual German

ilech1@niu.edu

Frequently asked questions