The field of second language acquisition (SLA) doesn’t have a long history as a discipline but the use of quantitative research methods and statistics in the field has increased considerably since the field’s inception. Although qualitative-oriented research is slowly increasing, most SLA research today relies on stats in some form or another. Recently, the status quo of quantitative research methods has received some scholarly and editorial attention. Now, more researchers are interested in the current state of statistical literacy in the field. I am so happy that the Second Language Studies program here at Michigan Stats(!) University is playing a pioneering role in this area of research. My advisor, Dr. Shawn Loewen, I and some other stats aficionados in the program are investigating the development and assessment of statistical literacy among SLA researchers. In a few years from now, we might see a couple of studies addressing this research topic in SLA journals.
Talip Gönülal 