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Field
Trial Start Date
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Before
January 31, 2019
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After
March 01, 2019
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Field
Trial End Date
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Before
July 31, 2019
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After
July 31, 2020
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Field
Last Published
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Before
November 13, 2018 04:49 PM
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After
May 23, 2019 10:03 AM
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Field
Intervention (Public)
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Before
In order for the study to be policy relevant, the intervention will be encouraging the use of existing and free of charge German language learning applications.
The sample will consist of 2 equally distributed groups: 1 treatment and 1 control group.
The intervention will include:
1) A video promoting highly-rated and free German learning apps, we will tend to focus on the application “Ankommen” in specific. The video will explain how the application "Ankommen" works, why it is useful and how to download it. The video also includes the experiences of migrants with MALL and it's advantages in general.
2) In addition, promotional material like posters will be hanged in the classroom for constant reminiscence.
3) Flyers will be handed out in order to induce constant usage.
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After
In order for the study to be policy relevant, the intervention will be encouraging the use of existing and free of charge German language learning applications.
The sample will consist of 2 equally distributed groups: 1 treatment and 1 control group.
The intervention will include:
1) A video promoting highly-rated and free German learning apps, we will tend to focus on the application “Ankommen” in specific. The video will explain how the application "Ankommen" works, why it is useful and how to download it. The video also includes the experiences of migrants with MALL and it's advantages in general.
2) In addition, promotional material like posters will be hanged in the classroom for constant reminiscence.
3) Flyers will be handed out in order to induce constant usage and provide traceable download links for language learning apps.
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Field
Intervention Start Date
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Before
January 31, 2019
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After
November 01, 2019
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Field
Intervention End Date
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Before
July 31, 2019
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After
June 01, 2020
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Field
Primary Outcomes (End Points)
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Before
1) German test scores
2) Self-reported German language skills
3) Self-reported social integration levels
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After
1) German language proficiency level through test scores
2) Self-reported German language skills
3) Self-reported social integration levels
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Field
Primary Outcomes (Explanation)
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Before
1) Sample questions for the Evaluatory German test will be taken from Goethe institute test banks.
The test will be focussing on reading and writing skills.
2) The main focus of the integration outcome is social integration, in specific daily life satisfaction level. One of the estimators is the number of German-speaking friends.
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After
1) We will count on the average final course grade of the student as an indicator for the student's German proficiency level.
2) The main focus of the integration outcome is social integration, in specific daily life satisfaction level.
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Field
Experimental Design (Public)
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Before
The aim is to estimate the effect of encouraging the use of Mobile-assisted language learning on immigrants' and refugees' German language skills. A randomized post-experimental research design will be used, with a treatment group and a control group. The treatment being in its nature non-excludable, we will have to use randomized promotion experiments, which will take place in integration schools in Germany. There will be no pre-test since we are in a suitable position to assume that on average the language level of students starting an A1 integration course is the same, moreover, students that want to start an integration course are subjected to a placement test which identifies the student’s language level.
A typical integration school offers one A1-level course every 2 months, clustering will occur on a class level within schools. 4 classes from each participating school will be randomly assigned to treatment or control. Our sample will include about 60 schools offering integration courses that are within a radius of about 200 km around Göttingen.
We will employ a matched-pair cluster-randomized design, assigning treatment to half of the study population and clustering on a class level. We will use optimal Mahalanobis matching. Covariates to be matched on are the size of the school, the maximum German level offered by the school, size of the city and socioeconomic status of the neighborhood the school is located. Within each pair, treatment is randomly assigned for every treatment phase. All A1-students of the courses are invited to participate.
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After
The aim is to estimate the effect of encouraging the use of Mobile-assisted language learning on immigrants' and refugees' German language skills. A randomized post-experimental research design will be used, with a treatment group and a control group. The treatment being in its nature non-excludable, we will have to use randomized promotion experiments, which will take place in integration Institutions in Germany. There will be no pre-test since we are in a suitable position to assume that on average the language level of students starting an A1-level or A2-level integration course is the same, moreover, students that want to start an integration course are subjected to an obligatory placement test which identifies the student’s language level.
A typical integration school offers one A1-level/A2-level course every 2 months, clustering will occur on a class level within schools. 4 classes from each participating school will be randomly assigned to treatment or control. Our sample will include about 60 schools offering integration courses.
We will employ a matched-pair cluster-randomized design, assigning treatment to half of the study population and clustering on a class level. We will use optimal Mahalanobis matching. Covariates to be matched on are the size of the school, the maximum German level offered by the school, size of the city and socioeconomic status of the neighborhood the school is located. Within each pair, treatment is randomly assigned for every treatment phase. All A1 and A2-level students of the courses are invited to participate.
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Field
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
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Before
110 classes in the control group
110 classes in the treatment group
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After
90 classes in the control group
90 classes in the treatment group
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Field
Did you obtain IRB approval for this study?
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Before
No
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After
Yes
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