Action Research, Teacher
Research and Classroom
Research in Language Teaching
Warm up: Memory Game!
Action research is an actual
research method.
Teacher research is defi ned by
who conducts the research (a
teacher).
Classroom research is defi ned
by the setting or place in which
the data are collected.
What is Language
Classroom Research?
Classroom Research
Bridget Long defi ned
classroom research as all or part
of whose data are derived from the
observation or measurement of
the classroom performance of
teachers and students.
If students fi ll out a questionnaire
about their participation in language
lessons or classroom, would it fi t the
defi nition of classroom research
according to what Long said?
So, if the answer is NO. What can we do to add a classroom research in this activity?
Classroom Research according to Allwright
Classroom
research is just that research that
concentrates on the inputs to the
c lassroom ( the sy l labus , the teaching
mater ia ls ) or the outputs ( learners
achievement scores) . So , for Al lwr ight
“c lassroom research” is not just the
sett ing or p lace for invest igat ion but ,
more important ly, as the object o f the
invest igat ion.
What is teacher research?
According to Brindley
“teacher research” is often connected with the
concept of teacher development and
empowerment because by investigating
teaching and learning processes in classroom,
we (teachers) ourselves learn more about the
craft (ability) and the science of teaching so
that we may improve our work as teachers.
So, according to what Allwright says about Teacher Research, does it always take
place in classrooms?
So, if the answer is NO, Could you give an example of
Teacher Research out the classroom?
What is Action Research?
The term action research is an approach to
collecting and interpreting data that involves a
clear, repeated cycle of procedures.
The researcher follows the next steps to
achieve an action research:
1. The researcher begins by planning an
action to address a problem. Ex: Asking
questions to prove students' understanding
to the topic during three classes.
2. The next step is the systematic observation
of the outcomes (results) of the action. The
observation is done through a variety of
procedures (audio or video recordings,
teacher's diary entries, observer's notes, etc.)
for collecting data.
Ex: if students have problems to understand
the topic, the teacher may record his/her
students' answers in order to discover the
main reason of the problem.
3. After observing the apparent results of
the action, the researcher reflects on the
outcome and plans a subsequent action,
after which the cycle begins again.
Ex: After the teacher has observed which is
the main problem of their students'
understanding. He can try to bring more
integrated activities in order to help
students to understand the topic quicker.
Summery To summarize, we can say the following:
1. Classroom Research refers to the location
and the focus of the study.
2. Teacher Research refers to the agents who
conduct the study.
3. Action Research denotes a particular
approach, a codified but flexible set of
procedures.
Can classroom research, teacher
research, and action research fit
together?
The answer is Yes, and the following statement proves
it:
Classroom research conducted by teachers using the
action research approach.
Ex. Inside the classroom (classroom research) the
teacher (teacher research)wants to know why his/her
students have some problems with pronunciation, so
he/she decides to carry a tape recorder (action
research)in order to listen which are the most difficult
phonemes to his/her students.