Measuring something that cannot be grasped – Reflections about Methodology in Elicitation of Spoken Competence

Abstract

The focus of this article is on reflections about methodology and the methodical choices in empirical research into the role of consciousness in the acquisition of spoken competence in German as second or third foreign language. Seeing language as a complex, dynamic system, I want to show how learning fluctuates. I would like to demonstrate that there is a continuous fluctuation between nonlinearity and stability which depends on particular driving forces. These forces have to be captured by methods whose aim is to increase the certainty of data. These reflections were proved by a case that wants to demonstrate how a multi-methodical approach works in this direction.