INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN A RESEARCH PROJECT
Project Title: Social and affective factors in home languagemaintenance – Croatian in Australia
Investigator:Dr Jasna Novak Milic, jasna.novakmilic@mq.edu.au
You are invited to participate in a research projecton the maintenance of the Croatian language in Australia. Please read thissheet carefully and be confident that you understand its contents beforedeciding whether to participate. If you have any questions about the project,please ask one of the investigators.
The researcher will ask you to sign a separate written consent form prior to the interview. If you choose to do the online survey, no signature is needed as by submitting the survey you accept terms and conditions of this research project. Please see below for details.
Who is conducting the research?
Jasna Novak Milic has been working in the field ofapplied linguistics for the past 20 years, most of which she has spent workingas a lecturer and researcher at the University of Zagreb. She has publishednumerous scholarly articles and book chapters in applied and general linguistics,mostly focusing on second and foreign language acquisition.
In the past five years Jasna has been teachingCroatian at Macquarie University and is, since February 2020, holds theposition of Director and Lecturer in Croatian Studies.
Why is the research being conducted?
You might be aware the number of Croatian speakers inAustralia is drastically declining year by year. In our attempt to help themaintenance of Croatian in Australia, our aim at this point is to explore inmore detail motivesand factors impacting language learning and home language maintenance and tounderstand the current situation and potential needs, especially after thecoronavirus pandemic.
Therefore, we need your help. We would like to hear about yourexperience and what you do to preserve the Croatian language in your familyand/or community.
What you will be asked to do
You are expected to sit (face-to-face, online or via phone) with a researcher for approximately 30 to 40 minutes and answer the questions such as why you think maintaining Croatian in your home is important, whether Croatian is spoken in your family and in what circumstances.
The researcher will ask you if the interview can be recorded for research purposes. You can decline, and still participate in the research. In that case, the researcher will take notes. Alternatively, you can choose to compete an online survey (links available below) which could take 15 to 30 minutes.
Who can participate?
Ifyou have at least one child currently involved in Croatian classes, primary orsecondary, or if you are actively learning Croatian in a formal setting, youare eligible to participate in this research. Whether you yourself are fluentin Croatian or not is not important. You can answer the questions either inEnglish or in Croatian.
How will this benefit me?
Weexpect the data collected through the interviews will help us detect successfulstrategies/practices in home language maintenance. This information can furtherhelp us prepare workshops and/or publications for teachers and parents.Therefore, we hope the research will have a positive impact on the maintenanceof Croatian in Australia and that way be of use to the whole community.
Your confidentiality
Wedon’t need your name, your address or any other personal data. It would be useful though if you could tellus the ages of your children / your age, if you are the learner enrolled inCroatian classes and how you rate their /your Croatian proficiency.
Allrecordings/notes will be safely stored and only the researcher will have accessto them.
Onceanalysed, the data will be submitted for publication in a scholarly journal.The article will not contain any information that can be linked back to you.
Inother words, any information or personal details gathered in the course of theresearch are confidential, except as required by law.
Your participation is voluntary
Bychoosing to participate in the interview, you are giving your consent to usethe information for research purposes. However, the participation is completelyvoluntary, and you can change your mind at any time during theinterview or even afterwards, before data is published (6 months to a yearafter the interviews).
Survey
Ifyou choose to do the online survey, please choose one of these two links,depending on whether you are a learner yourself or a caregiver of one.
For caregivers: https://limesurvey.mq.edu.au/index.php/975255?lang=en
For adult learners: https://limesurvey.mq.edu.au/index.php/277613?lang=en
If you would prefer to do an interview, please call (2) 9850 7040 or send an email to jasna.novakmilic@mq.edu.au.
Questions / further information
Ifyou have any questions, before or after the interviews or you need moreinformation, be free to contact the researcher (contact details providedabove).
The ethical conduct of this research
Theethical aspects of this study have been approved by the Macquarie UniversityHuman Research Ethics Committee. If youhave any complaints or reservations about any ethical aspect of yourparticipation in this research, you may contact the Committee through theDirector, Research Ethics (telephone (02) 9850 7854; email ethics@mq.edu.au).Any complaint you make will be treated in confidence and investigated, and youwill be informed of the outcome.