Measuring everyday language use is of central importance for Informal Second Language Learning (ISLL) research. Many past studies have employed questionnaires which require learners to estimate their 'typical' level of informal language use, or to report the extent to which they engaged in informal activities in the past (e.g., over the last month). This implies that ISLL is a relatively stable 'trait variable', even though longitudinal research suggests that it tends to vary considerably over time (Kusyk 2017). Some ISLL researchers have used daily surveys or diaries as an alternative method for collecting data on informal language use. While better suited to capturing the dynamic nature of ISLL, they also require participants to recall and summarise their experiences (albeit across a shorter time span). Psychometric research shows that people's ability to recall, summarise, and generalise their past experiences is limited by a range of cognitive biases, such as overestimating the duration and frequency of past events and giving more weight to more recent and emotionally salient experiences (e.g., Wearden 2008). Such inaccuracies can be further amplified when estimates are aggregated across many items targeting different informal activities.
The Experience Sampling Method (ESM; Hektner et al. 2007) offers an alternative approach for measuring language use, which involves prompting learners to answer short, easy-to-complete questionnaires about their current or very recent experiences several times a day, at fixed or random intervals. ESM yields exceptionally rich, highly contextualised data which can be analysed in a variety of ways, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Originating in behavioural psychology, this method holds great potential for strengthening ISLL studies, by helping researchers to investigate not only informal language use, but also the context in which it occurs and learners' concurrent mood, thoughts, and feelings. The immediacy and high ecological validity of the ESM contribute to the strong reliability and accuracy of the collected data (Hektner et al., 2007). Furthermore, the nested structure of ESM data (many data points per day, across multiple weeks) enables the study of dynamic changes in informal language use and other related factors across time and contexts.
To facilitate the application of the ESM in SLA research, we have developed the LANG-TRACK-APP, a smartphone application for signalling participants and collecting survey responses. Drawing on two recent studies of everyday language use, we show how the LANG-TRACK-APP can be used to implement the ESM in research on learning in the private sphere. We present selected findings which illustrate different ways in which ESM data can be analysed, and the ways in which it can further our understanding of the complexity of informal language use and acquisition.
Hektner JM, Schmidt JA & Csíkszentimihályi M (2011) Experience Sampling Method: Measuring the Quality of Everyday Life. Sage.
Kusyk M (2017) The development of complexity, accuracy, and fluency in L2 written production through informal participation in online activities. CALICO Journal, 34(1), 75-96.
Wearden JH (2008) The perception of time: Basic research and some potential links to the study of language. Language Learning, 58(Suppl. 1), 149-171.
