Uso de diferentes matrices comerciales

It is important to keep in mind the limitations associated with any research project. This study is limited both by its context-bound nature and the limited number of participants in the sample.

4.8.1 Context

Although the goal of this research is to investigate the effects of English- medium instruction in UAE universities, because of its initial exploratory nature and the limited amount of time available to do the research, looking at other institutions and collecting data in them was not feasible. Thus, the study investigates the

experience of students and teachers at only one institution in the UAE as a case study. Because there are a multitude of contextual factors that may affect language learning and acquisition (e.g., student motivation, a teaching focus on language skills,

institutional support for developing language skills, etc.), the results found in this study may not be applicable in other circumstances, though they will provide insight into this particular context and possibly be useful in understanding similar situations in higher education in the Gulf States where students have backgrounds and

educational experiences similar to the participants in this study. 4.8.2 Sample

This study is also limited regarding the population because only female undergraduate Emiratis were used as participants as this was the available student population at the time of the research at the case study institution. It should be noted, however, that in the UAE four out of five baccalaureate degree holders are women (MOHESR, 2007), so it does represent the majority of the Emirati undergraduate population in the country, though there could be other cultural or environmental factors which may increase or decrease female language acquisition that would be different in the male population of the country. For example, in general females are more limited in the range of activities that they are permitted to do outside of a protected environment (such as the university or the home). They are not allowed to leave campus between classes and often are chaperoned between home and the

university, whereas male students have wider access to the world outside of the family and the university. They can freely interact with the international population that makes up most of those living in the country, while many females are limited in their interaction to family members, and faculty and staff at the university.

There was a limited number of student participants in the study due to unavailability of records from entry to the university for some of the potential participants. Also four years ago was the first time the IELTS was administered at this institution and thus the potential sample group was small to begin with. Follow-

up studies with various cohort groups should continue as now almost all entering students possess IELTS scores, whereas four years ago most were still admitted with a TOEFL score. It also would have been beneficial to have access to direct entry

student scores to compare with those entering via the foundation program. That may have given a broader range to the initial entry scores of students, since some research shows that score gains in IELTS are related to where students start (i.e., those with lower scores tend to make greater gains in a shorter period of time than those with higher scores).

Only 59% (35) of the student participants took the online survey and the research would have been fuller had all the students participated. Faculty participation was only about 33% (53 teachers). A fuller picture of teacher sentiment on student ability would have emerged had more teachers participated in the online survey. It is also difficult to make comparisons between departments with the limited amount of responses to the survey, though as an initial exploratory study, it will provide

information that can be followed up on in more directed research at a later time, and it offers insights as to what generally is occurring in terms of score gains on IELTS (which has previously not been researched at this institution).

4.8.3 Validity Constraints

4.8.3.1 Level of Commitment of Participants at T2

In the first round of testing there was high motivation for doing well on the IELTS exam as it was the basis for admission into the undergraduate program. Without achieving at least a minimum level on the exam, students would not be able to move into the baccalaureate program, whereas for T2, it is unclear how much motivation there was for students to do well. In the case of education students, it is needed later for employment if they will work in a public school. Others may have been motivated because further education such as admission to graduate school in the UAE is often based on obtaining a set IELTS score.

4.8.3.2 Synchronization of T2 Timing

Students took the second IELTS test at various times during the second semester. It was not possible to have them sit the exam at the same time due to space limitations at the testing center and student scheduling issues. Due to the standardized

nature of the exam and testing conditions, this is expected to have little impact on the validity of results.

4.8.3.3 Different exam versions

A different version of the IELTS exam is used at each test date administration. While most students took the same version in June 2007, in 2011 they would have taken different versions depending on the date they took it. This should not have a major impact on the results as the different versions of the exam are statistically equated (IELTS, 2010b).

4.8.3.4 Lack of Piloting

Piloting of instruments was limited due to time constraints. Piloting would have been beneficial in the faculty questionnaire to turn some of the open-ended questions into selected response questions. Because they take more time and effort to respond to, open-ended questions are often not answered on surveys and some of my participants skipped these on the questionnaire, choosing only to answer those with options that could be selected. This was compensated for during the interviews by covering questions that may have been left blank on the initial online questionnaire. Other participants wrote full responses to the questions which is one of the reasons I decided to use them in this study. While closed-questions are quicker and easier for respondents to answer, oftentimes they may also feel limiting to the respondent. Open-ended questions allowed participants to respond with as little or as much information as they liked providing me with a more fully extended range of answers than may have been available through closed-question types.

4.9 Conclusion

Chapter 4 has laid out the research framework and design for this study. It explained the manner of data collection, offered a description of the participants in the study, and explained the instruments used to collect data, along with discussing the limitations of the research, and the data handling and analysis process. The next chapter will present and discuss the findings of this research.

CHAPTER 5 – Results and Discussion