Review

Reviewed work: Language Teaching Research and Language Pedagogy

Registered Office: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West
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Review by: Dawit Daniel
Source: Language teaching research and language pedagogy
Author: Rod Ellis
This edition first published 2012
© 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Bibliographical references and index is:
ISBN 978-1-4443-3610-8 (cloth): ISBN 978-1-4443-3611-5 (pbk).
Published by: A John Wiley and Sons: Ltd, Publication.
A catalogue record for Ellis book is available from the British Library. Set in 10.5/13pt Minion
by Aptara Inc., New Delhi, India
ELLIS, ROD R. Language Teaching Research and Language Pedagogy. Malden, MA: Wiley
Blackwell, 2012. Pp. xi, 387. $49.95, paper. ISBN 978-1-4443-3611-5.

Review

Review is conducted to fulfill the requirement of term paper for Post Graduate Program Course
called Academic Reading and Writing (TEFL 605). Investigation discussed in Rod Ellis book is
classified in terms simple typology of L2 classroom research combining process-product studies,
which are arguably the most informative. In this book he has included both the normative and the
interpretative paradigms to show that both can provide valuable information about teaching and
its relationship to learning. It presents the overview of Rod Ellis book entitled Language
Teaching Research and Language Pedagogy that was first published by A John Wiley and Sons
in 2012. The Rod Ellis book states language instruction in relation with conducting research to
attain educational process successful in the classroom teaching. In this area many studies has
done are concerned with theoretical aspects of second language acquisition(SLA) and
pedagogical effects that make language teacher good at language instruction by improving their
teaching practice and knowledge via study and different training. This book aimed for both
teachers and researchers and students. It enables teachers to be familiar with current language
teaching research that will help them to conducting research for their own classrooms purpose. It
also opens door for researchers to identify the key issues that have pointed in language teaching
research. Rod Ellis book illustrates Language Teaching Research and Language Pedagogy with
the intention of providing knowledge to teachers interested in conducting research and using
research to improve their teaching and problems that they face in the SLT classroom. He
organizes the research into topics and subdivides them theoretically and methodologically.

Chapter one talks about the importance of language teaching research developments that were
developed since 1988 by Chaundron and different language teaching scholar researchers’ books
and most probably used research methods. The rational of this unit is language teaching research
and language pedagogy claiming that over the years, there has no an enormous amount of
research that has investigated various aspects of language teaching – much of it completed since
Chaudron’s (1988) book. While some of this research has been driven by theoretical issues in
second language acquisition research (SLA), much of it has had a pedagogical motivation – that
is, it was carried out with a view to gain a better understanding of the practice of language
teaching and how it can be improved. This chapter states a brief background of language
teaching research, comparative method studies, and second language classroom discourse, focus
on the teacher and students, investigating tasks, interaction and SL acquisition, form focused
instruction, and the mediating role of individual difference factors. It is explained well with clear
and precise definitions about each element in the each topic and sub-topics. The author
sequenced every information explicitly step- by-step.

Chapter two provides the general image of language teaching research that is discussed in the
next units and it provides a general account of the methods used to conduct research in the SL
classroom rather than offering principles about how to carry out research and consults a relevant
book on research methodology (e.g. Brown and Rodgers, 2002; Dornyei, 2007; Mackey and
Gass, 2005; Nunan and Bailey, 2009).The details of the different research methods states
methods that is important for conducting research to improve second language classroom
teaching. It includes formal SL classroom research, practitioner research, action research,
exploratory practice, practitioner research, main research traditions, confirmatory research and
descriptive research and it is well organized with very good ways including formal SL classroom
research, practitioner research, and action research, and confirmatory research, descriptive
research with their explanation and sub topics.

Chapter three raises about comparative method studies that have not dried up despite the
rejection of ‘method’ as a useful construct for investigating language teaching. The question that
arises, then, in this point is ‘Is there anything to be gained by continuing to carry out comparative
method studies?’ the unit is about comparative method studies of audiolingual and
communicative approaches for example, comparative method studies, large scale comparative
methods studies in the 1960s, and comparative studies investigating super-learning, comparative
studies investigating comprehension-based language teaching, comparative studies investigating
communicative approach. The chapter four focuses on Second Language Classroom Discourse---
interaction analysis like interaction analysis, discourse-based interaction systems, strengths and
limitations of interaction systems, the communicative orientation of language teaching
observation scheme and discourse frameworks types of language use, conversation analysis and
the SL classroom, sociocultural theory: scaffolding, and ethnographic accounts of the SL
Classroom.
Two chapters focus on approach to study second language classroom discourse, starting with the
early interactional analysis systems which examine classroom talk in terms of discrete
categories, moving on to different approaches to describing the structure of classroom
communication and concluding with approaches based on theoretical views of language learning
and examining research that has focused narrowly on the teacher. Chapter six has listed out many
important characteristics of learner-talk in the classroom. It also explains task-based language
teaching studies it has attempted to answers two key questions: What do teachers say and do
when they teach an L2? Why do they do it? To answer the first question Ellis has focused on a
number of general and more specific aspects of teacher-talk. To answer the second question he
examined the teachers’ beliefs about these different aspects and the extent to which these beliefs
inform their practice of teaching. In generally, he pointed out the teacher-talk, teacher questions,
use of the learner’s L1, and meta-language, teachers’ cognitions about language teaching and
focus on the students’ longitudinal studies of SL classroom learners, aspects of learner-talk in the
SL classroom, learner-talk in small group work, and investigations of discourse frameworks and
language use are reported and added with clear examination. The main topics of interest in
teacher-directed classroom discourse research include characteristics of teacher-talk, teacher
questions, use of learners’ L1, use of metalanguage, and corrective feedback.

Chapter seven illustrates many studies that have been carried out by researchers that have taken
place in a laboratory setting for this reason. Number of which are classroom-based and, for this
reason, potentially of greater relevance to teaching. It states broad body of classroom-based
research and evaluation studies that can inform task-based teaching and the research reviewed
studies various facts of task-based language teaching studies including the setting, input-based
tasks, learner-learner interaction, task complexity, production based tasks, planning, form-
focused tasks, focus-on-form tasks, and evaluation of tasks. Mostly Rod Ellis characterizes most
of the critiques as misunderstanding of task-based language teaching frame work.

Chapter eight has describes two very different theoretical perspectives. Socio-cultural theory
sees interaction as a site where learning takes place. It emphasizes acquisition-as-participation.
Interactionist-cognitive theories view interaction as providing learners with input, feedback and
opportunities to modify their own output, which connect with learner-internal processing to
foster acquisition. focuses on investigating second language learning in the classroom and
classroom interaction research and includes several topics but focuses on corrective feedback.
There are studies conducted about sociocultural theories of language learning, which overviews
interaction itself as development, and studies conducted in interactionist-cognitive perspective,
which see interaction as providing opportunities for second language acquisition. Ellis is more
critical of the former, claiming that sociocultural studies have not done enough to prove that
learners have internalized the “learned” feature.

Chapter nine provides a set of research-based proposals for FFI. It is about form-focused
instruction and second language learning. The definitions of terms are also provided clearly. This
instruction studies are different to telescope instructional targets, implementation, and measures
of effects that it is difficult to make generalizations about the research. Ellis argues that teachers
fail to choose appropriate methodology. Chapter ten focuses with the much smaller body of
research that has explored the relationship between individual learner factors and instruction and
individual differences and second language learning ways: cognitive, affective, and motivational
and their interactional techniques of the instruction. The book recognizes that teachers have a
limited ability to apply the findings of such research to a heterogeneous group in the classroom.

In chapter eleven Ellis concludes Language Teaching Research and Language Teaching
Pedagogy and he criticizes Chaudron’s research done in 1988 that says while the field has
matured in several ways, some studies are still lacking in terms of validity, techniques for data
analysis, and to a less extent, theoretical specification.

Additionally, Ellis suggested ways that enable teachers to conduct research in their professional
purposes and he sets principles to empower their researching for teaching purposes and he
declares that teachers should be provided information particularly related with contexts, learners,
and goals to be researchers but not only teachers. Ellis defines most important terms, but it may
accounts challenges to understand the book specially teachers who do not have prior knowledge
of L2 acquisition research because there are many unfamiliar words that need higher
understanding. The topics are organized logically into topics and sub-topics that are relevant to
teachers’ profession and professional developments, for researchers and students as well. Each
study explains the terms, and methodological limitations of each study to provide readers with
enough ideas for how they could contribute to language teaching research.