E-Learning and foreign languages

Table of Contents

1.) Executive Summary

2.) Introduction
a.) A General outline of the development in Europe
b.) Elearning of foreign languages
c.) The part of New Product Development

3.) Literature Review
a.) Introduction
b.) Elearning from the pedagogical point of View
c.) Problems of New Product Development
i.) Perceptual Mapping
ii.) Customer Needs and Perceptual Mapping
iii.) Factor Analysis
d.) Online Features offered at the Market
e.) Summary

4.) Research Methods
a.) Introduction
b.) Primary Data
i.) General Information
ii.) The Design of the Questionnaire
(1). General Requirements
(2). The Design Process
(3). Scales and Precoding
c.) Secondary Data
d.) Summary

5.) Definition of the Target Group
a.) Introduction
b.) Selection by socio-demographic Aspects
c.) Evaluation

6.) Evaluation of the Needs of Target Group
a.) Introduction
b.) The Strategic Dimensions
i.) 1st Purposes
ii.) 2nd Motives for learning a Foreign Language
iii.) 3rd Judgement on Effectiveness
iv.) 4th Hurdles
c.) Evaluation

7.) Analysis of the importance of the value added features for the Target Group
a.) Introduction
b.) The Analysing Method
c.) The Analysis
i.) General Data
ii.) Overall Result
iii.) By Condensed Dimension
iv.) Dimensions separated by socio-demographics and cultural Aspects
v.) Distinctive characteristics
d.) Results
e.) Evaluation of the already available offers

8.) Conclusion

9.) Recommendations

10.) References

11.) Appendix
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter two: The demographic and socio-cultural Environment
Chapter three: The technological environment
Chapter four: The political-legal environment in the European countries
Chapter five: The political-legal environment - The European Union
Chapter six: The pedagogical aspect
Chapter seven: The current situation
Data key & Questionnaire

1.) Executive Summary

Language learning software has been available on the market for a couple of years.

So far the most common form of delivering the product is a CD-Rom.

The Internet offers not only the possibility to deliver this product in an immaterial way, but also to add new features to it.

The goal of the thesis is to find out, which additional features an online offered language learning software must possess, to satisfy the needs of the customer.

This task is part of the so called new product development process. It is a very complex process and refers to all departments of a company, even though, for a long time it has been considered to be only the job of the R & D department. But to solve the above mentioned task, the technical component, of new product development is not important. For this piece of work only the point of view of the marketing department is important, as it is their duty to observe the market expectations. Therefore this thesis only covers the first part of new product development, the opportunity identification, and partly the design.

Firstly the different environments were studied and secondary data were collected. A main part of the secondary data were delivered by a European Union study from the year 2000. This research was focused on the knowledge and habits of EU inhabitants regarding foreign languages.

After the examination of the available secondary data, the required primary data were collected, to find out how the single features satisfy the requirements of the target group.

Other secondary data were delivered by pedagogical departments of universities. They researched and evaluated, from the pedagogical point of view, possible online features like:

- E-mail, newsgroups and Chat
- Videoconferences
- Downloadable Video / Audio files
- “Up to date” Articles

This thesis objective is to find out, how these possible features meet the requirements of the customer, or to be more precise of the target group. Therefore the target group had to be defined. Defined by profession, the target group consist of :

- Students in higher education and universities
- Managers
- White Collar Worker

Thanks to the secondary data, the needs of the target group are known. To obtain the required primary data, on how the possible product features satisfy the market needs, a questionnaire was designed. The interviews took place in two countries and at international courses in order to be able to consider domestic differences. The universities were:

- The University of Applied Science, Bielefeld, Germany
- Universidade do Minho, Braga Portugal.

The results were analysed and afterwards the few available offers, of online language learning products, were evaluated according to the obtained results.

Resulting from this work one can state that there is a general positive attitude of the respondents regarding the new possible features, even though different attitude groups exist.

The features that are considered to be the most valuable and helpful ones are “ E-mail, newsgroups and Chat” and “Downloadable Video / Audio files”.

At present there is not even a handful of companies, which are offering one or all of the new possible features, on the Internet. This means the entry barrier for this emerging market is still very low and that makes this market quite attractive.

2.) Introduction

a.) A General outline of the development in Europe

Within the last ten years a base has been founded, that now is supposed to lead to the so called “multimedia era”. What once started in the United States is today, for a high percentage of the European population, a normal part of their every day life, whether we consider the usage of personal computer, the Internet or cellular phones.^[1]

The European Union, as well as each Single Member State, reached – sooner or later – during recent years a point of no return to the old customs. Consequently, Europe as a whole reacted to this fact and set up the “eEurope Action Plan”. The program is supposed to transform Europe into a multimedia society, establish life long learning habits, and let Europe become a strong brand name and competitor at the global market.^[2]

These changes in the technical environment, together with the increasing availability of Personal Computer and the Internet, lead to new ways of teaching and studying.

Additionally, language skills became more and more important, and are seen as one of the three basic needs to unite Europe as a society. Languages are not only important for working purposes, but also to communicate with other European inhabitants. The education systems reacted to this new need and adapted policies for language learning, as well as for elearning.^[3]

The combination of a higher demand for language learning tools, on the one hand, and new teaching techniques and tools on the other, created an interesting and constantly expanding new market.

b.) Elearning of foreign languages

Already now electronically language-learning products are available in a large variety.

With the start of the new multimedia era, faster Internet connections and decreasing online prices the elearning market is supposed to grow even more.

It is forecasted, that new services and features, like E-mail, Newsgroups and Chat, Videoconferences, downloadable Video / Audio files and “Up to date” Articles, will become available, when demanded by the market.^[4]

The objective of the following examination is to analyse, which of these additional online features a language learning software must have, to create an additional benefit for the customer.

The basic product is the language learning software. This language learning software enables people to study the following topics:

- Grammar exercises.
- Writing skills based on writing exercises.
- Listening and comprehension from audio files.
- Reading and pronunciation with the help of texts and the possibility to record your voice.

The latest “Euro barometer special” examined the habits of Europeans on foreign language learning. This report delivers high quality results. As there were - on an average – about 1000 persons per country interviewed, the answers can be seen as representative.^[5]

The questions of the “Euro barometer special” were focused on key points like motivation, requirements or habits and show market expectation.

c.) The part of New Product Development

New Product Development, as shown in the literature review, carries some heavy risks regarding the failure of products. To reduce these risks it is important, to find out the customers need and to meet them.

A product, that includes features, that deliver additional benefits to the customer, would be perceived as more valuable than a competitive one.

To find out, on how the possible product features add a benefit to the product, 168 people, of the later defined target group, were interviewed.

The market research task will be, to evaluate the customer expectations to know, which benefits the new product features deliver.

The software solution itself serves as the base, with which to compare the results, and to find out, whether an additional benefit would be created, or not.

Finally, a sample of companies, mentioned in the literature review, that already have some products available online, will be assessed based upon the results of this analysis.

3.) Literature Review

a.) Introduction

Following are several points mentioned, that must be considered, when drawing up a product concept, for online-based language learning tools. On the one hand it is important to find out, which online features exist, that can be combined with the pedagogical requirements on how to teach a foreign language.

The process of New Product Development is very complex in itself, and is nowadays not only the task of the R & D department. To be successful on the market it is very important to meet the customer requirements, as mentioned later on.

Also the legal and technical environment has to be examined, to assess any restrictions, and to evaluate the market. As this would go into to much detail, one can find this part in the Appendix Chapter 3, 4 and 5.

In a short summary one should mention, that the legal environment is supposed to stimulate the need for elearning features in general, as for the technical environment, there could be some restrictions in the South East of the EU, but not in the North. However, there is an overall fast changing positive tendency towards usage of the Internet, by it’s decreasing cost.

b.) Elearning from the pedagogical point of View

The following results are taken from the Thesis of J. Graus, published in 1999. The topic of this thesis was “An Evaluation of the Usefulness of the Internet in the EFL Classroom”^[6]. As the author is a teacher, the thesis is more focused on the educational, than on the economical aspects.

The Internet offers several advantages to the old fashioned ways of learning a foreign language. Namely:

- The possibility to use the language in practice, not just in theory. This can be achieved by e-mail, IRC or newsgroup communication and in the future by Internet telephone and video conferencing. Also video or audio files, with further questions, can show typical situations. One can choose a text that refers to one’s own interest, like for example sport, politics and so on. The idioms of these texts can be explained afterwards.
- Due to this, the students understand that the language is rather an instrument of communication, than merely the memorization of grammar rules and words. The student will start to use the language for personal enjoyment and enrichment. That turns the student into a life long learner.
- Thus the student is less inhibited and more willing to take the risk of making mistakes. This leads to a faster increasing vocabulary and the student will get a greater variety of language functions.
- Finally, the most important point is, that the student will be motivated to study. This is an incentive to study conscientiously and with perseverance.

The drawbacks are: the poor language one can find on the Internet, a lack of speed of data transfer, and the fact that one can easily get lost. About the poor language, one cannot do much. The best way is to make the student conscious that there are certain grammar rules to follow and to learn these rules. There should be easy access to a well-structured grammar tool that makes it possible for the students to check some of their doubts immediately while writing or reading. The speed of course depends on several items; the server used, the hardware, how many people are trying to access the page and so on. If the graphic content is not to high or non frame-sites are offered, this should not be a problem. To get lost in the Internet is indeed easy, and as shown in chapter one people easily get bored and dissatisfied. Therefore, a homepage should be designed in a way that avoid this, i.e. not too many links to other pages, but offering a unique user control mechanism.

c.) Problems of New Product Development

New Product Development has changed dramatically since the 80’s, from a purely technical focused to a customer focused development process. Considering Urban / Hauser^[7] one can state, that the more a new product is designed to meet the market requirement of their target group the more successful it is.^[8] The recognition of technology as a major idea source is crucial to success, but customer needs and users solutions are equally important as a source of ideas.

The full process of New Product Development refers to all departments and can be shown as follows:

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There is a “go or no” decision after each step. As this thesis does not cover the full process of New Product Development, it will be focused only on the first stage, and the beginning of the second one - the product concept. A product conception always starts with the identification of the opportunities like the market description and the Idea generation. The second step is the design. From the point of view of the marketing department the design has to include the needs of the customer.^[9] The importance of the responding to market needs is higher, than that of possible technical advantages.^[10] As mentioned by Urban / Hauser there have been several studies published about the key facts of new product success. They stated that the strongest factor of success is to match customer needs. In the identification of opportunities, the focused target group has to be defined carefully and ideas must be generated to address their needs.^[11]

On the other hand, there are many other points one has to take into consideration, to avoid failures. These points are: a too small market, poor match for the company, not new, poor positioning, forecasting error.

i.) Perceptual Mapping

Referring to Urban / Hauser customer buy based on perceptions. The goal is, to build quality products, that create better value for the customers than the competitors.

With perceptual maps it is possible to find out the relationship of the Core Benefit Proposition and customers choice process. Once knowing the desires of the customer, one is able to offer customers the kind of product that is preferred. These desires are subjective.

The Brunswick’s Lens model that follows states this theory. This model indicates that customers form their preferences for products based on subjective perceptions.

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To affect preference, the Core Benefit Proposition must be selected, that is based on the perceptions.^[12]

ii.) Customer Needs and Perceptual Mapping

An analysis of customer perceptions begins with a search for customer needs.

Urban Hauser states three kind of needs:^[13]

- Basic needs. Those needs, that the customer will just assume that the product satisfies.
- Articulated needs. Those needs which the customer can articulate readily. They are usually met by at least one current solution.
- Exciting needs. Needs such that the customer will be delighted and surprised if they are fulfilled. They are usually not met by current solutions and, in many cases, the customer find them hard to articulate.

iii.) Factor Analysis

A way of assessing these needs is the so-called factor analysis. The aim of the factor analysis is to find out a reduced set of dimensions that represent a larger set of customer needs.

Factor analysis begins by asking 100 to 300 customers to rate the product on a set of measurement rates as shown in Chapter 4. The results can be shown by average, which is more detailed, or through some aggregation to strategic dimensions. A PC based statistical package, like for example SPSS, can be used to run the analysis.^[14]

d.) Online Features offered at the Market

Further on some companies are listed, that are already offering some of the online features.

In which way they meet the requirement of the target group, will be shown in Chapter 7, later on.

A general problem, if searching for companies with online features, is to find the feature, one is looking for. Referring to a EU survey of language learning tools^[15], the hurdles are:

- To find courses,
- To eliminate “blind offers” and “dead links”,
- To eliminate service provider with unserious or no other content, than offered offline
- To eliminate pure link compilations
- To find the target language. If this is one other than English, it is quite difficult to find a service provider
- To evaluate the quality of price and content

This problem, of finding companies with online features, becomes even more understandable if looking at the following chart^[16]

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The Data are from November 2000, so it can be assumed, that the number of offers have already increased. However, it shows the difficulty of finding a service provider that offers, beside the software based features, one of the new possible features.

Four companies, that offer already some of the new features, are listed below. They represent a variety of the most learned foreign languages. The unlimited offer, for all the mentioned features, can be only guaranteed for English as a foreign language.

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e.) Summary

The new features like e-mail, newsgroups and IRC (further on called “chat”), Internet telephoning, videoconferences and “up to date” articles are supposed to motivate people to learn. One of the most important aspects of New Product Development is, to develop a product, that meets the customer requirements.

More precisely, to meet the exciting needs, that have not yet been satisfied. Even though it has been shown which are the general benefits of online language learning features it is by now unknown, how these features will be evaluated by the target group.

Factor analysis is a way to measure, how product features satisfy customer needs, in a way that is understandable at a glance.

A set of defined factors replaces several other smaller factors to reduce the amount of data.

The factors are in this case the purposes and needs.^[18]

Several companies offer already one, or more, of the mentioned online features. The four companies, which have been shown above, offer together all of the identified possibilities. In which way these offers meet the requirements of the target group will be shown in chapter 7.

4.) Research Methods

a.) Introduction

In this Chapter the following will be explained,

- which sources of data were used,
- in which way the data were collected,
- where do they come from and
- the methods involved.

The overall question, of whether to use secondary or primary data stems from whether the gained knowledge from the primary data justifies the over proportionally higher cost.^[19]

Secondary data are used if a primary data research doesn’t make sense from the economical point of view or is impossible for the company (e.g. census).

A basic rule, according to Kamenz, is to use in principle secondary data first and, only if required, primary. The weakness of secondary data could be, that the quality is limited, due to the fact that the purpose of the collection was different and the exclusivity is missing.

Nevertheless, it is a basis for the primary data collection. There are some general criteria, if using secondary data, that must be obtained. To evaluate the usefulness one has to consider:

- The methods used
- Why the data were collected
- Are they reliable (client, control, qualification)
- Are they representative
- Are they delivered in a way that allows one to work further

b.) Primary Data

i.) General Information

The secondary data, which are shown in this piece of work, indicate the requirements of the target group. The primary data are necessary to show whether the features the Internet offers as a language-learning instrument add a subjective benefit to the basic software solution. With the primary data, it will be possible to measure these additional benefits.

The primary data were collected through a questionnaire. The interviewed people belong to the target group. The interviews took place at:

- The University of Applied Science, Bielefeld, Germany
- Universidade do Minho, Braga Portugal.

The time period was between the 8th and 11th of January 2002. As indicated in the Literature Review, the quantity has to be between 100 and 300 questionnaires.

From the collected 220 questionnaires 168 could be used. 32 had been filled out incorrectly, 9 not completed, and due to the lack of the English language 11 questionnaires could not be used .

ii.) The Design of the Questionnaire

(1). General Requirements

The steps of the development process of a questionnaire are as follows ^[20] :

1. Formulating tasks, why do we need the information
2. Establish questions
3. Formulate questions and answers
4. Layout
5. Pre-test & Correction

The rules of phrasing questions are:

1. Use simple language
2. Build short sentences
3. Ask concrete questions
4. Ask unambiguous questions
5. Ask a neutral formulation of the questions
6. Don’t demand too much of the respondent
7. Questions should be answerable by common sense

Location of questions on a questionnaire to consider: ^[21]

1. Screens, first questions asked to select the respondents type
2. Warm-ups, easy to answer; to motivate the respondent
3. Transitions, statements that notify the respondent, that the kind of questions will change
4. Complicated and difficult to answer questions, they should come together with the personal question towards the end of the questionnaire

Choosing the scale and pre-coding the questionnaire: ^[22]

There are different levels of measurement of scales. There are four levels of measurement:

1. Nominal; typically “yes/no” answers, as it just describes a state, but does not allow rankings.
2. Ordinal; this scale permit to rank-order the respondents. The scale still doesn’t show how fare the descriptors are on the scale. It does not possess distance or origin:
3. Interval; here a distance between each description is possible. The distance is defined as one scale unit like a ranking from one to five, where three is one unit away from four. This kind is used to evaluate characteristics.
4. Ratio; at this scale a true origin exist, as it would be the case in a time period.

(2). The Design Process

Beside the questions derived from the secondary data, as mentioned later on, the questionnaire also contains the questions 01 to 05 that allow an analysis by objective characteristics like:

- 01 The age
- 02 The Nationality
- 03 Number of foreign languages spoken
- 04 Usage of the basic product (language learning software)
- 05 Awareness of the existence of language learning software

The development of the content of the questionnaire is based upon the above mentioned “Rules of phrasing a questionnaire”.

Two pre-tests were conducted on the 18th and 19th of December 2001 at the Hes/Iser, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The arising uncertainties were corrected afterwards.

The location of questions was grouped as suggested by Burns / Bush.

The questions 1 to 17 are derived from the results of the secondary data. The results from the secondary data indicate the purpose the language is used for, as well as the motives for studying, the judgement of the effectiveness of ways used to study, or obstacles that can lead to give up studying. Just those answers with a high respond rate were considered.

(3). Scales and Precoding

Question 01

This question is assigned to the ordinal scale and grouped as follows:

- Age divided into three groups “≤ 20”, “21-24” and “≥ 25”. The two groups that consider foreign language skills most important are by age the 15 to 24 year old (87%) followed by the group 25 to 39 years (78%). As can be expected, most of the students are under 25, thus the group 15 to 24 was re-divided, to obtain more detailed information.^[23]

Questions 02 and 03

These questions are grouped in a way, that requires a nominal scale. The grouping was as follows:

- Nationality is divided by southern and northern Europe. As shown in Chapter 3 at the Appendix, more northern EU citizens utilised the Internet. Therefore this division will show whether the responses are equal or significantly different. To the southern part belong France, Italy, Portugal, Greece, and Spain and to the northern part the other EU countries.

- The number of foreign languages was grouped into the following two parts:
- for those who speak only one foreign language, and
- for those who speak two or more.

The reason for which is that the first foreign language has already been taught at school. This means that people, who speak two or more foreign languages, are more likely to have already tried different ways of learning a foreign language.

Questions 04 and 05

These questions allow only a “yes/no” answer, which means they are nominal.

Question 05 is only interesting, if the respondent answered question 04 with a “no”.

Question 1 to 17

These questions require an interval scale, as the purpose is an evaluation through the respondent. The chosen scale is the modified Likert-Scale^[24], in which respondents are asked to indicate their agreement or disagreement, or in this case helpfulness or unhelpfulness, on a symmetric agree- disagree scale for each series of statements. The ranking is from one to five.

The single foreign language learning software serves as a base to compare the additional features. The features, as explained at Chapter 3, were grouped in the questionnaire, and named as follows:

A. The language learning software
B. E-mail / Newsgroups / Chat
C. Videoconferences
D. Video / Audio files
E. “Up to date” Articles

There is a clear description given, before the questions 1 to 17, what each feature means and how it could look.

Later on in the analysis, the product features will be shown in graphs, by using these abbreviations (A to E).

c.) Secondary Data

The European Coordination Office S.A. published in February 2001 a report on Europeans and foreign languages. It covers the following aspects:

- Languages known
- Languages deemed useful to know
- Use of foreign languages
- How Europeans have learned these languages
- Language learning
- Reasons for learning or not learning a language
- Opinions on language knowledge and learning

The method used: The figures given for the European Union as a whole are a weighted average of the national figures. For each Member State, the weighting used is the ratio of the national population aged over 15 to the corresponding Community population.

Why the data were collected: It was part of the “Eurobarometer”, which is published regularly by the European Union. The purpose is, to inform each country about the current situation in the Member Countries. The language research has been added as a special.

Are they reliable (client, control, qualification): As the European Union publish the “Eurobarometer” regularly and the purpose is to inform all Member Countries the data can be considered as reliable.

Are they representative: They are representative as 16.078 people were interviewed. It was conducted in the Member States between the 30th of November and the 24th of December 2000. On an average more than 1000 people per country were interviewed, depending on the number of inhabitants.

Are they delivered in a way that allows one to work further with them: They are, but with some limitations regarding the target group. Some of the data contain all interviewed people, not only the target group. However, there are separated figures that show the preferences of the target group. Therefore it is possible to evaluate, how the target group responded to the questions.

d.) Summary

The secondary data, as shown, present a good quality of answers. They indicate the reasons why the Europeans learn foreign languages, what motivates them to learn foreign languages, which ways they consider to be effective and for which purpose the foreign language is used.

The goal is to find out how the new online features serve these needs and thus primary data must be collected.

5.) Definition of the Target Group

a.) Introduction

The most important person for the marketing department is the customer.^[25]

Hence the starting point must be to find out, who is my customer (target group).

There are two aspects to consider according to Kamenz.

- 1st: The aspect of quantities
- 2nd: The aspect of qualities.

The first one includes questions like: who is the customer, or how big is the market segment.

The second one asks, what the customer expects and what would satisfy the customer. The second aspect belongs to the next chapter, the evaluation of the needs of the target group.

In this case the target group is defined by their willingness to learn foreign languages.

These are the potential customers.

As elearning on the Internet without the necessary technological equipment is not possible, this aspect was also examined, with the result that the technological restrictions for the target group are fewer, than on average.^[26]

b.) Selection by socio-demographic Aspects

Knowledge of foreign languages by age

illustration not visible in this excerpt

The tendency to know languages in addition to the mother tongue diminishes with age.

This will be also true in the future but on a much higher level. The reason for this is a change in the educational systems of the Member Countries.^[27]

Knowledge by education

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The higher the level of education, the greater the likelihood of knowing another language.

Students, managers and white-collar workers are leading the field. Housewives and pensioners are closing it.

Usefulness by age

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We find the same result as above, the younger the people, the more important they consider it to learn foreign languages.

Usefulness by education

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The higher the level of education, the more they feel that knowledge of a foreign language is or would be very useful or fairly useful.

Time people are prepared to devote to learning

In general, the younger and the better educated are the ones most willing to devote time to study a foreign language.

Managers (9%), self employed persons and manual workers (8%each) are least likely to spend less than one hour per week to language learning.

White-collar workers (39%), managers (35%) and students (34%) are the most likely to be prepared to devote between 1 and 2 hours per week to language learning.

Students are the most willing to devote between 3 and 4 hours per week (30%), and also to devote between 5 and 6 hours per week, together with the unemployed (each 8%).

These two categories are also the most prepared to devote more than 6 hours per week (9% and 6% respectively).

c.) Evaluation

The socio-demographic results show that the better skilled people, who were longer in education have a better knowledge of foreign languages than the rest of the population, even though 80% of Europeans consider language skills to be important.

The longer people were in education and the better their skills are, the more willing they are to learn and the more willing they are to devote time to learn. This result is true for Europe as a whole. This means that this group is a potential customer.

Therefore the target groups, defined by profession, consist of:

- Students in higher education and universities
- Managers
- White Collar Workers

One cannot ignore that schools (regular or language ones), universities and companies are important as customers. However, they are not important for the definition of the target group.

This is because of the fact that in the end, whoever is learning the language will be a normal person. And they will be the ones that judges the method being used.

When coming to a later phase of the product development process, like sales and promotion mix, the markets are evaluated from different points of view.

6.) Evaluation of the Needs of Target Group

a.) Introduction

Following Kamenz it is important, when defining the target group, to consider the (aspect of) quality. This means to find out the customers expectations, the needs and requirements he or she has.

There are four topics given in the EU report that enables one to derive important needs of the target group, when learning a foreign language. Each of these four groups is called a strategic dimension. Namely these dimensions are:

- Purposes the foreign language is used for
- Motives for learning a foreign language
- Judgement on Effectiveness
- Hurdles; Reasons that cause avoiding or giving up learning a foreign language

The content and relevancy of each dimension is as following.

b.) The Strategic Dimensions

i.) 1st Purposes

illustration not visible in this excerpt

These are the main six circumstances, when a foreign language is used.

By far and away, the most common circumstance in which Europeans use a foreign language is on holiday abroad. 47% gave this answer.

The answers given do not only represent the target group, but all people who speak one or more foreign languages. The tendency for the target group is on average higher than the percentages represented here.

ii.) 2nd Motives for learning a Foreign Language

illustration not visible in this excerpt

For 47% of Europeans who already know at least one foreign language, the main motive for learning a new one would be “to use it on holiday abroad”, while for 37% the motive would be “personal satisfaction”. This is followed by the motives “To use it at work” with 26% and “To understand foreign people” with 24%.

Again the answers given represent all people and not only the target group. The tendency for the target group is on average higher, than the percentages represented here.

iii.) 3rd Judgement of Effectiveness

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Even though by now the most common way to learn a foreign language is group language lessons, the other methods together have a percentage of almost 55%, and therefore need to be considered as also important.

[...]

^[1] For further information see Appendix Chapter 3.

^[2] For further information see Appendix Chapter 4 and 5.

^[3] For further information see Appendix Chapter 5.

^[4] See therefore Chapter 3.b.

^[5] More about this is mentioned in Chapter 4.

^[6] Homepage of the Thesis at http://home.plex.nl/~jgraus/, detailed information are presented at the Appendix Chapter 6.

^[7] Design and Marketing of New Products, G.Urban and J.Hauser, 1993, Prentice Hall, Second Edition

^[8] Design and Marketing of New Products, G.Urban and J.Hauser, 1993, Prentice Hall, Second Edition, page 31

^[9] Design and Marketing of New Products, G.Urban and J.Hauser, 1993, Prentice Hall, Second Edition, page 39

^[10] Design and Marketing of New Products, G.Urban and J.Hauser, 1993, Prentice Hall, Second Edition , page 49

^[11] Design and Marketing of New Products, G.Urban and J.Hauser, 1993, Prentice Hall, Second Edition , page 51ff

^[12] Design and Marketing of New Products, G.Urban and J.Hauser, 1993, Prentice Hall, Second Edition , page 202

^[13] Design and Marketing of New Products, G.Urban and J.Hauser, 1993, Prentice Hall, Second Edition , page 224

^[14] Design and Marketing of New Products, G.Urban and J.Hauser, 1993, Prentice Hall, Second Edition , page 253

^[15] Europäische Erhebung über Material für den Sprachlernunterricht, Tony Fitzpatrick, Dez.2000, Center for Information on Language Teaching, 20 Bedfordbury, Covent Garden, London WC2N, 4LB, UK, page 9-11

^[16] Data taken from Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research, http://language-research.org/ellms/

^[17] “In Detail” means, that a high variety can be studied. For the grammar part i.e. not only the tenses, but also modal and auxiliary verbs and further grammar topics. “Limited” on the other hands means that some is missing.

^[18] As shown in Chapter 6.c.

^[19] Marktforschung, by Uwe Kamenz, 1997 Gabler, page 61 and following

^[20] Marktforschung, by Uwe Kamenz, 1997 Gabler, page 125 and following

^[21] Marketing Research, by A.C.Burns / R.F.Bush, 2000 Prentice Hall 3rd edition, page 361 and following

^[22] Marketing Research, by A.C.Burns / R.F.Bush, 2000 Prentice Hall 3rd edition, page 310 and following

^[23] For information about this see also Chapter 5

^[24] Marketing Research, by A.C.Burns / R.F.Bush, 2000 Prentice Hall 3rd edition, page 318 and following

^[25] Marktforschung, by Uwe Kamenz, 1997 Gabler, page 31 and following

^[26] Further information about the technical environment are available in the Appendix chapter three.

^[27] Further information about the educational Systems are available in the Appendix chapter four and five.