Conducting Action Research in the Foreign Language Classroom

CONDUCTING ACTION RESEARCH IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM
Northeast Conference 1998
New York, NY

Anna Uhl Chamot Sarah Barnhardt Susan Dirstine Materials Contributor: Jennifer Kevorkian

National Capital Language Resource Center 2011 Eye Street NW Suite 200 Washington, DC 20006

THE NATIONAL CAPITAL LANGUAGE RESOURCE CENTER GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY/ THE CENTER FOR APPLIED LINGUISTICS/ THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY NORTHEAST CONFERENCE 1998 CONDUCTING ACTION RESEARCH
Foreign language teachers develop insights into their students’ learning from observing their behavior. Reflective teachers analyze the students’ behaviors, identify potential problems, modify their teaching practices, and evaluate the results. Some ideas succeed; others fail—sometimes surprisingly. This process is called action research. Action research is classroom-based research conducted by teachers in order to reflect upon and evolve their teaching. It is a systematic, documented inquiry into one aspect of teaching and learning in a specific classroom. The purpose of teacher research is to gain understanding of teaching and learning within one’s classroom and to use that knowledge to increase teaching efficacy/student learning. Reflective teachers do this every day, only not as carefully and systematically. With training and support, you can learn how to systematize your inquiry from informal reflection and teacher story sharing to formal research. The following paragraphs give an overview of the process of teacher research. The first step is choosing a research question: it should be specific, answerable, and lead to significant information on an aspect of teaching or learning. Reflective teachers generally have questions in their minds about what they observe in the classroom; this can be a good place to start. If you don’t have a question in mind, keeping a teaching journal of observations and questions can provide potential questions. As you choose a question, be sure that it is

Bibliography: Abbott, S. (1994). What would happen if…? A teacher’s journey with teacher research. English Journal, 83 (6), 59-61. [A novice teacher-researcher talks of the value of the practice of action research and the encouragement of her professional community, especially teaher-researcher colleagues, and of the value of insights gleaned from the daily recordings entered into her classrooms research log.] Chamot, A.U. (1994). The teacher’s voice: Action research in your classroom. FLES News, 8 (1), 4p. Washington: EIRC. [This article describes research that foreign language teachers can conduct with their students and how such research is carried out.] Cochran-Smith, M. & Lyrtle, S. L. (1992). Communities for teacher research: Fringe or forefront? American Journal of Education, 11 (3), 298-324. [These authors are reliable reviewers and synthesizers of the state of teacher research. (See also Lyrtle, S.L. %Cochran-Smith, M.)] Drennon, C. Adult literacy practitioners as researchers. National Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education. Washington: Center for Applied Linguistics. [This digest examines the thinking that underlies practitioner inquiry and gives examples of processes and projects.] Duckworth, E. (1986). Teaching as Research. Harvard Education Review, 56 (4), 481-495. [This author makes excellent contributions to the field of teacher research by framing the process of uncovering how the learner learns and under what conditions.] Goswami, D. &Stillman, P. (1987). Reclaiming the classroom: Teacher research as the agency for change. Upper Montclair, NJ: Boynton/Cook. (EDRS No. ED 277 022). [This book is classic in teacher research.] Levine, M. (1992). Teacher research. In Alkin, M.C. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Educational Research. (16th ed.) New York: Macmillian, 1366-1369. [This article traces the history of teacher research from the 19th century science in education movement against which Dewey favored imbedding teacher research in the definition of teaching, through action research of the 1940’s done by teachers to improve classroom environment and conditions. It also identifies special kinds of knowledge and various methodologies characteristic of its practice as well as its implications.] Nunan, D. (1992). Research methods in language learning. Cambridge University Press. [This author has written extensively. Although Nunan has taught TESOL, his action research in the foreign language classroom offers a paradigm in our field.] Smith, K. (1992). Action Research on action research: A teacher trainer’s reflections on her trainees’ action research. 20p. (EDRS No. ED 362 019). [This trainer of ESL teachers in Israel believes teacher training must empower teachers to create theory from an integrated system of knowledge, experience and values. This study reflects on the use of classroom research to know.] Stringer, Ernest T (1996). Action Research: A handbook for practitioners. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, Inc. [This text is required in the action research course of Columbia’s School of Education.] 9