Research Methods in Language Teaching and Learning A Practical Guide

A practical guide to the methodologies used in language teaching and learning research, providing expert advice and real-life examples from leading TESOL researchers

Research Methods in Language Teaching and Learning provides practical guidance on the primary research methods used in second language teaching, learning, and education. Designed to support researchers and students in language education and learning, this highly accessible book covers a wide range of research methodologies in the context of actual practice to help readers fully understand the process of conducting research.

Organized into three parts, the book covers qualitative studies, quantitative studies, and systematic reviews. Contributions by an international team of distinguished researchers and practitioners explain and demonstrate narrative inquiry, discourse analysis, ethnography, heuristic inquiry, mixed methods, experimental and quasi-experimental studies, and more. Each chapter presents an overview of a method of research, an in-depth description of the research framework or data analysis process, and a meta-analysis of choices made and challenges encountered. Offering invaluable insights and hands-on research knowledge to students and early-career practitioners alike, this book:

• Focuses on the research methods, techniques, tools, and practical aspects of performing research
• Provides firsthand narratives and case studies to explain the decisions researchers make
• Compares the relative strengths and weaknesses of different research methods
• Includes real-world examples for each research method and framework to highlight the context of the study
• Includes extensive references, further reading suggestions, and end-of-chapter review questions

Part of the Guides to Research Methods in Language and Linguistics series, Research Methods in Language Teaching and Learning is essential reading for students, educators, and researchers in all related fields, including TESOL, second language acquisition, English language teaching, and applied linguistics.

Kate Mastruserio Reynolds is Professor of TESOL and Literacy at Central Washington University, USA. She has authored and edited many works in the field of TESOL, including Introduction to TESOL: Becoming a Language Teaching Professional with Kenan Dikilita?? and Steve Close (Wiley Blackwell, 2021). She was Associate Editor of the vocabulary volume of The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching (Wiley Blackwell, 2018).

Contents

List of Figures vii

List of Tables viii

Notes on Contributors ix

Introduction to Research Methods in Language

Teaching and Learning 1

Kenan Dikilitaş and Kate Mastruserio Reynolds

1 Learning to Use a Qualitative Case Study Approach to Research Language Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs 9

Mark Wyatt

2 Researching the Language Classroom Through Ethnographic Diaries: Principles, Possibilities, and Practices 24

Graham Hall

3 Grounded Theory: A Means to Generate Hypotheses on the Possible Impacts of Student Negotiation in an EFL Speaking Context 41

Mehmet Sercan Uztosun

4 Narrative Inquiry in Applied Linguistics: A Storied Account of Its Procedures, Potentials, and Challenges in an Empirical Project 59

Vahid Bahrami, Mehrdad Hosseini, and Mahmood Reza Atai

5 Positioning Analysis in Longitudinal Classroom-Based Research 73

Hayriye Kayi-Aydar

6 Online and Hybrid Research Using Case Study and Ethnographic Approaches: A Decision-Making Dialogue Between Two Researchers 87

Faridah Pawan and Chaoran Wang

7 Ethnography and a Heuristics of the Heart: Allied Solidarity With Indigenous Language and Literacy Activism 104

Ari Sherris

8 Action Research in Teacher Education: Practical and Theoretical Challenges and Opportunities From Norway 118

Dag Husebø

9 Discourse Analysis as a Research Methodology for L2 Context 132 

Hatime Çiftçi

10 Conversation Analysis in TESOL 147

Olcay Sert

11 Combining Corpus-Based Methods With Interviews in Applied Linguistics Research 166

Duygu Çandarlı

12 Exploratory Survey Research 182

 Jason Anderson and Amy Lightfoot

13 Using Mixed Methods Design to Investigate Vocabulary Acquisition 200

 Andrea B. Hellman

14 Correlational Analysis in SLA: Insights From the Study Abroad Research 215

 Zeynep Köylü

15 Conducting a Non-Experimental Design Quantitative Study and the Application of Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling 230

Hilal Peker

16 Behind the Scenes of a Longitudinal Large-Scale Randomized Controlled Trial Study With Native Spanish Speakers: Lessons Learned 257

Rafael Lara-Alecio, Beverly J. Irby, Fuhui Tong, Cindy Guerrero, Kara L. Sutton-Jones, and Nahed Abdelrahman

17 Quantitative Systematic Reviews: A Lived Experience 273

Tamara Kalandadze

18 Exploring the (Un‐)explored in Applied Linguistics: Conducting a Systematic Review in Intercultural Communicative Competence 288

Maria Iosifina Avgousti and Stella K. Hadjistassou

Index 311 

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