Previous research has found that among language students who study under the performed culture approach (PCA), the amount of time spent studying outside of class is negatively correlated with in-class performance (Curtin 2012, Luft, 2007). The current study investigates whether or not it is because lower performing students are overemphasizing form and neglect focusing on meaning during their out-of-class study that they were found to spend more time studying than higher performing students.
Data were collected primarily by means of stimulated recall. 20 1st year Japanese language students were video recorded preparing for class. Following this video recording the students described to the researcher what they had been thinking during their study as they watched the video. These data were then analyzed to identify instances of form-focus and meaning-focus. Pearson product-moment correlations were used to assess the relationship between in-class performance scores on the one hand and instances of form-focus and meaning-focus on the other hand.
This study finds that lower performing students do not focus on meaning less than higher performing students. On the contrary, a slight trend in the opposite direction was found (r=-0.097). This study also finds a very strong correlation between instances of form-focus and meaning-focus (r=0.714). This latter finding is interpreted as suggesting that not only lower performing students, but PCA students in general were not neglecting meaning-focus in favor of form-focus in their out-of-class study. Recommendations for future research include investigating the extent to which prior language study, language aptitude, and language strategy use are able to explain lower performing students spend more time studying outside of class than higher performing students in PCA.