ELT research in action : bridging the gap between research and classroom practice

Abstract

Research can be understood in several different ways, but at the most fundamental level it concerns simply trying to find answers to questions. If we take this basic definition, the researcher versus classroom practitioner divide disappears, because both groups spend a great deal of their time trying to understand issues and find answers and solutions to questions that are relevant to their profession. In this sense, the real difference between the two camps lies primarily in their research approach, that is, in how they go about obtaining the answers they need. Researchers often say that they are more systematic in their quest as they apply procedures that are more likely to produce enduring or generalisable answers; teachers on the other hand often respond that in contrast to the frequently too abstract and detached research results, they generate knowledge that is directly relevant to and applicable in their practice. If we are honest, neither side’s case is as clear-cut as they would like to make it out to be. On the one hand, we know all too well that the validity of the ‘scientific method’ that has dominated empirical research since the Enlightenment has been challenged ever since the appearance of qualitative research methodology in the mid-20th century, and such criticisms have gained further traction recently with the growing popularity of dynamic systems approaches and with several emerging problems concerning traditional statistical concepts such as significance testing.