Screener and Baseline Study Outline

Team Rottweiler

Target User Group

Primary target: Working professionals who do self-directed language learning in their free time (not required by their job), and whose routine may fluctuate week to week.

Why this group:

Employed full-time (or near full-time) -> time constraints, fatigue, commuting, meetings, variable workloads -> hard to establish routines + learning habits
Learning a language outside of formal class time -> practice is up to them and it’s easier to observe increases/decreases
Uses at least one language-learning method (app, tutoring, flashcards, podcasts, journaling, conversation partner) -> we can measure “practice minutes + type of practice”
Has a baseline habit (already practicing) but not perfectly consistent -> we can capture shifts
Varied contexts: after work, commuting, weekends, travel, social plans -> can look at different environments + triggers for habits

Create a Screener

Eligibility criteria:

Must-have

Post-graduate working professional (prefer age 22-55)
Works 30+ hours/week
Learning a non-native language primarily outside work
Practices ≥3 days/week
Has a smartphone and can submit a daily entry for 5 consecutive days
Comfortable writing short daily reflections in English

Nice-to-have

- Uses a primary tool consistently (e.g., Duolingo, Babbel, Anki, YouTube lessons, tutor)

Has a personal goal (travel, family, career change, hobby)

Disqualifiers

Works at a language-learning company (bias risk)
Currently enrolled in an intensive language class/bootcamp (practice may be externally forced)
In school

Screener questions

Age:

1. - Under 18 (disqualify)
  - 18–21
  - 22–34
  - 35–44
  - 45–55

Location / Time zone: (open text)

Employment status:

1. - Full-time (30+ hrs/week) -> what we want
  - Part-time (<30 hrs/week)
  - Unemployed
  - Student

Other: ___
(Eligible: full-time; optionally include part-time if you want.)

Typical work schedule:

1. - Standard daytime (roughly 8am–6pm)
  - Evenings/nights
  - Variable shifts
  - Frequent travel
  - Freelance/contract
  - Other: ___

Which language are you learning? (open text)

Why are you learning it? (multiple)

1. - Travel
  - Family/relationships
  - Career/certification
  - Culture/media
  - Moving/immigration
  - Personal challenge

Other: ___

How long have you been learning this language?

1. - <1 month
  - 1–3 months
  - 3–12 months
  - 1–3 years
  - 3+ years

How often do you currently practice in a typical week?

1. - 0–1 days
  - 2 days
  - 3–4 days
  - 5–6 days

Daily

About how much time do you spend practicing in a typical week?

1. - <30 minutes
  - 30–59 minutes
  - 1–2 hours
  - 2–4 hours
  - 4+ hours

What methods do you use? (multiple)

- Language-learning app (Duolingo/Babbel/etc.)
- Flashcards (Anki/Quizlet)
- Tutor/class
- Conversation partner
- Watching videos/TV in target language
- Podcasts/audio
- Reading articles/books
- Writing/journaling

Other: ___

Are you willing to complete a diary entry once per day for 5 days (5–8 minutes/day)?

- Yes

No (disqualify)

Preferred submission time each day:

- Morning
- Afternoon
- Evening

Flexible

Do you work at a language learning company?

- Yes (disqualify)

Do you expect any major disruptions in the next week that would prevent daily entries? (open text)

Design a Week-Long Diary Study

Study objective:

Measure behavioral change in language practice among working professionals: amount of practice and what factors cause it to increase or decrease day-to-day.

Core research questions

What is the daily practice volume (minutes, sessions, consistency)?
What contexts (time, place, situation) predict more/less practice?
What triggers start practice? What frictions stop it?
What type/quality of practice happens when time is limited?
How do mood, energy, workload correlate with practice changes?

What participants do each day (5–8 minutes)

Log practice (quick quantitative)
Reflect on what influenced it (short qualitative)

Daily entry structure (same each day)

A) Logistical data (quick checkboxes + numbers)

Did you practice today? (Y/N)
Total minutes practiced today: ___
Number of sessions (separate practice moments): 0 / 1 / 2 / 3+
When did you practice? (morning / lunch / after work / night / commute / other)
Where were you? (home / office / commute / café / gym / other)
What did you do? (select all)
- App drills
- Flashcards
- Listening
- Speaking
- Reading
- Writing
- Tutor/class
If you used an app/tool, which one(s)? (optional open text)

B) Content data (short reflections)
What made you decide to practice (or not practice) today? (1–3 sentences)
9. Biggest friction today (time, energy, forgetting, stress, boredom, environment, other): explain briefly
10. How did you feel before and after practicing? (choose + 1 sentence)

Before: tired / stressed / neutral / motivated / curious / other
After: proud / neutral / relieved / frustrated / energized / other

Rate today’s practice quality (1–5): __

Why that rating? (1 sentence)

C) “Change detector” question (the key for increase/decrease)
Compared to your typical day, was today:

Much less practice
Slightly less
About the same
Slightly more
Much more
What explains the difference? (1–2 sentences)

Day-specific prompts (adds depth without adding much time)

Day 1 — Baseline + setup

What’s your current goal and what does “success” look like in 1 month?
What’s your usual practice routine (when/where/how)?

Day 2 — Triggers

What specifically cued practice today? (notification, boredom, commute, social plan, guilt, streak, calendar, etc.)
If you didn’t practice: what cue could have helped?

Day 3 — Friction + interruption

What got in the way, and at what moment did you drop off?
If you practiced: what nearly stopped you, and how did you push through?

Day 4 — Motivation + reward

What felt rewarding (or unrewarding) today?
Did anything about your tool/content make you want more/less practice?

Day 5 — Reflection + intention

What patterns did you notice across the week?
What one change would most increase your practice next week?

4. Data collection plan

Collection format

Primary channel:

Google Form

Submission timing

Participants submit once per day, ideally between 7–11pm local time (or their preferred slot from the screener)
Each entry should take 5–8 minutes.

Reminders + check-ins

Automated reminder email daily at participant’s chosen time
Mid-study “pulse check” after Day 2: a 1–2 minute email: “Any issues? Anything confusing?”

Review cadence

Daily quick scan for missing entries + any red flags (confusion, too long, off-topic).
End-of-study synthesis steps:
- Quant: total minutes, sessions/day, variance, “more vs less than typical”
- Qual: code triggers/frictions, context patterns, motivational drivers

Data handling

Store responses in a single sheet + backups

5. Study materials

A) Introduction document

Title: 5-Day Language Learning Diary Study
Purpose: We’re a group of Stanford students studying how working professionals practice language learning in their free time, and what makes practice increase or decrease day-to-day.

What you’ll do

- For 5 days, complete one diary entry per day (5–8 minutes)

You’ll answer a few quick questions about if/how long you practiced, plus short reflections

What counts as “practice”? Any intentional language activity, including:

- App lessons, flashcards, reading/listening/speaking exercises, journaling, conversation practice, tutoring sessions

Scrolling social media in the language only counts if you consider it intentional practice and can describe what you did (e.g., “watched a 5-min lesson and repeated phrases”)

Time commitment

~5–8 minutes/day for 5 days

Privacy

Your responses are confidential and will only be used for the purpose of our class (CS247B)
Please don’t include private work information or identifying details about others

Contact

B) Discussion Guide (Daily Entry Instructions)

Each day, please fill out the Google Form we send you.

The form will ask a few quick questions about:

Whether you practiced your language that day
How long you practiced
What kind of practice you did
A short reflection on what helped or got in the way

On some days, there will be one extra short question to reflect on your experience. Most entries should take 5 minutes or less. Please answer honestly, there are no right or wrong answers. Short answers or bullet points are completely fine.

C) Emails
Intro:

Subject: You’re in! 5-day Language Learning Diary Study — next steps

Hi there,

Thanks again for agreeing to participate in our 5-day diary study on language learning habits among working professionals.

What this study is about
We’re trying to understand how language practice changes day-to-day (what makes it increase or decrease), especially alongside a busy work schedule.

What you’ll do (5–8 minutes/day for 5 days)
Each day, you’ll fill out one short diary entry that includes:

Whether you practiced and for how long
What kind of practice you did (listening, speaking, app drills, etc.)
A few quick reflections on what helped or got in the way

Your daily link
[INSERT DIARY LINK]

When to submit
Please submit once per day, ideally around: ______
What counts as “practice”
Any intentional activity (apps, flashcards, listening, speaking, reading, writing, tutoring, conversation practice). If you’re unsure whether something counts, include it and describe what you did.

If anything is confusing or you run into issues, just reply to this email.

Closing:

Subject: Thank you! Diary study complete — quick wrap-up

Hi there,

Thank you so much for completing the 5-day language learning diary study. Your entries are incredibly helpful for understanding how real workdays shape practice, and what causes practice to increase or decrease. If you have any additional thoughts you didn’t get to include, feel free to share them as well.