ABSTRACT
This chapter details the mixed-methods, longitudinal research design of the present investigation including the objectives and research questions, recruitment of participants, methods and materials utilized, and procedures involved in the collection of speech samples and data input and analysis. The main objectives are to describe the prosodic features of student-directed speech in Spanish second language classrooms, how and why different teachers vary in their use of pitch, intensity, and duration, and how these modifications change over the academic semester. Conversational speech data from semi-structured focus groups provide a baseline for individual prosodic behavior. Data involves qualitative evidence from background questionnaires about the linguistic, educational, and professional experiences of each participant and one-on-one interviews with the researcher. This information is used to interpret findings from quantitative data including descriptive and statistical analyses of acoustic measurements from naturally-occurring speech.
