EDUC5928 Research Methods for TESOL

Worksheet for Session 6

Please complete these activities as you listen to the Session 6 recorded lecture and bring
your completed sheet with you to your module seminar.

Activity 1 A memorable incident

Recall a memorable incident from the time you were learning a new language (English
or another language) at school.
Write notes on the incident, so that you will be able to tell another student about it.

Activity 2 Narrative inquiry in TESOL: An example

Read this example, where Garold Murray (2009: 45-46) offers an example of Narrative
Inquiry. Answer the questions that follow.

A commonly held belief is that in order to become proficient in a language, learners

need to live in a target language community, and thereby immerse themselves in
that language and culture. However, I began to question this notion when I was
doing my dissertation research in Canada in the mid-1990s. As I interacted with my
fellow graduate students, a number of whom were from China and Japan, it became
clear to me that many people learn to communicate in English without leaving their
home country. I wanted to conduct a study that explored the learning experiences of
people like these. How do learners develop the proficiency necessary to
communicate in a foreign language while living in their first language community?
Several years later when I relocated to Japan, I had the opportunity to carry out this
project. I decided I would ask people to tell me the story of how they learned
English. This decision led me into the area of narrative inquiry. I began to collect the
language learning stories of Japanese who had acquired intermediate to advanced
levels of English language proficiency without having studied or lived outside of
Japan. To document their stories, I interviewed them and configured stories from the
interview transcripts. I then sent the stories to the learners for their input. As I
analyzed the stories, I often contacted the learners by e-mail or telephone in order
to clarify points, ask additional questions and share my interpretations. Through
these stories I have been able to explore the role of learner autonomy, pop culture,
communities of practice, and identity in language learning. In addition to this,
insights I have gained into the learners’ use of learning strategies have been helpful
in my work to develop self-access language learning programs.

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What is the author’s Research Question?
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What data did he generate to answer the question?

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Why do you think he chose narrative inquiry as his approach?

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How did he analyse the data?

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Does he mention any findings?

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Activity 3 Reading about observation in research
Here is an extract from a research paper which discusses the findings from a qualitative
research study on language use in English language (EFL) classrooms.

Illés, É & Akcan, S. (2017) Bringing real-life language use into EFL classrooms. ELT
Journal 71/1, 3-12 (available on Minerva and via the library catalogue).
Read the extract taken from the context section.
Answer the two questions that follow.
The research outlined in this article took place in EFL classrooms in Budapest,
Hungary, and Istanbul, Turkey, with students aged between 10 and 17. One of the
reasons for the choice of these two countries was the assumption that since
Hungarian and Turkish are both inflectional languages, there might be overlaps
regarding the difficulties teacher candidates face when speaking and teaching
English. The data were collected in 2012–2013. The participants, 25 in Turkey and 9
in Hungary, were pre-service English teachers who were undertaking their practicum
at the time. It must be noted that whereas recording prospective teachers’ lessons is
a compulsory part of Turkish teacher education, participants in the research in
Hungary were volunteers. This explains the marked difference between the
participant numbers and the need for convenience sampling in Hungary. [...]

The data came from class observations, video-ed lessons, and semi-structured
interviews which included stimulated recall of classroom observations. In Turkey,
one lesson by each teacher candidate was video-ed by their peers. The prospective
teachers felt comfortable during the video-ing because they were already familiar
with both the mentor and the learners, as they had observed them and their classes
the semester before. In Hungary, two lessons by each prospective teacher were
video-ed either by one of us (the authors of this article) or by two PhD students who
were involved in the project. In Hungary, too, the participants’ teaching practice was
preceded by class observation and by the teacher candidates familiarizing
themselves with the school environment. This, and the fact that the observed
lessons were not followed by any kind of evaluation, enabled the researchers to
create as relaxed and familiar an atmosphere as possible. The video-ings in both
countries were followed by a semi-structured interview during which the recordings
were replayed and the participants were invited to comment on relevant incidents in
the lesson. The interview included questions about norms and correctness, the
linguistic and pedagogic challenges prospective teachers faced during their
practicum, and the linguistic model they chose for themselves and their students. In
the transcribed interviews and the field notes kept by us, emerging themes were
identified and categorized. The themes included the topics of the interview
questions and additional issues such as the role of coursebooks, adherence to lesson
plans, and the constraints teaching and the practicum in particular presented. The
thematic analysis was followed by drawing illustrative examples from the data to
explain the themes.

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1. How did the researchers record what happened in the lessons?
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2. What observation data did they collect / generate?

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Activity 4 Classroom observation
Watch the recording – a short extract from a lesson – on Minerva (Endah 0-4).
Make notes on what you see.

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Activity 5 Types of lesson observation
Here are some situations in which teachers are being observed.
a. What is the purpose of the observation in each case?
b. Who is learning from the observation?

1. A teacher is observed by her colleague as she teaches the class they share, as part of a
teacher-initiated classroom-based action research project.

a.___________________________________________________________________________________________________

b. __________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. A lesson is scrutinized by an inspector during a formal inspection.

a.___________________________________________________________________________________________________

b. __________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. A teacher trainer watches a class being taught by a new trainee teacher.

a.___________________________________________________________________________________________________

b. __________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. A researcher studying students’ use of ICTs observes a group of language students

working in their college’s ICT suite.

a.___________________________________________________________________________________________________

b. __________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Activity 6 Classroom observation note-taking
Whatever you are observing, note-taking will be essential for your research, as your notes will be the data (unless you are video/audio
recording). This activity relates to lesson observation, but the principles are the same whatever the concern. A researcher might take
general ‘field notes’ to record thoughts as they go about their tasks. If observing a class, notes will need to be systematic and focussed.
Now watch the video of the class again:
• Imagine you are interested in ‘10’, specifically learners’ speech in the classroom.
• Use the observation chart to take notes while you watch. In the seminar you will compare your notes to others’.

Types of speech (e.g. question, answer, joke, private comment, Who? (all? Individuals? Language? (English or How long?)
presentation, dialogue role play etc.) Pairs?) Indonesian?) (secs/
mins)
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References and further reading for Session 6
(*available online and/or electronically via library catalogue)
There is no shortage of published work on qualitative research. The work listed below is
an indication of what is available.
Some works listed below are not yet available online yet, but a request is in to make
them so.
It is also useful to read methods sections of journal articles carefully, as they often
describe innovative approaches to data collection.

Good for Narrative Inquiry (including work cited in the lecture)

Barkhuizen, G., Benson, P. and Chik, A. (eds.). (2014) Narrative Inquiry in Language
Teaching and Learning Research. Routledge.
*Bathmaker, A. and Harnett, P. (2010). Exploring Learning, Identity, and Power through
Life History and Narrative Research. Routledge.
*Bell, J. (2002) Narrative Research in TESOL. TESOL Quarterly 36, 207-113.
*Benson, P. (2014) Narrative inquiry in applied linguistics research. Annual Review of
Applied Linguistics, 154-170.
Block, D. (2006) Multilingual Identities in a Global City: London Stories. Palgrave
Macmillan
*Harvey, L. (2015) ‘I am Italian in the world’: A mobile student's story of language
learning and ideological becoming. Language and Intercultural Communication
16/3, 368-383.
*Juzwik, M. M. and Ives, D. (2010) Small stories as resources for performing teacher
identity. Narrative Inquiry 20/1, 37-61.
Kalaja, P., Menezes, V. and Barcelos, A.-M. (eds.) (2008) Narratives of Learning and
Teaching EFL. Palgrave Macmillan.
Kouritzin, S. (1999) Face(t)s of Language Loss. Erlbaum.
*Murray, G. (2009) Narrative inquiry. In J. Heigham and R. A. Croker (eds.), Qualitative
Research in Applied Linguistics (pp. 45-65). Palgrave Macmillan.
Murray, G. and Kojima, M. (2007) Out-of-class language learning: One learner’s story. In
P. Benson (ed.) Learner Autonomy 8: Insider Perspectives on Autonomy in
Language Learning and Teaching (pp. 25–40). Authentik.
*Norton, B. (2013) Identity and Language Learning: Extending the Conversation.
Longman.
*Oxford, R. and Green, J. (1996) Language learning histories: Learners and teachers
helping each other understand learning styles and strategies. TESOL Journal 6(1),
20–23.
*Pavlenko, A. (2007) Autobiographical narratives as data in applied linguistics. Applied
Linguistics 28/2, 163-188.

Good for observation – classroom and otherwise

All books on educational and Applied Linguistics research methods will have sections
on observation.
*Cowie, N. (2009) Observation. In J. Heigham and R. A. Croker (eds.), Qualitative
Research in Applied Linguistics (pp. 165-181). Palgrave Macmillan.

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*Hopkins, D. (2002) A Teachers' Guide to Classroom Research (3rd ed.). Open University
Press. Chapters 6 and 7.
*Malderez, A. (2003) Key Concepts in ELT: Observation. ELT Journal 57/2, 179-181.
Nunan, D. (1989) Understanding Language Classrooms. Prentice Hall. Chapter 5.
Robson, C. (2002) Real World Research (2nd ed.). Blackwell. Chapter 11.
*Walsh, S. (2006) Investigating Classroom Discourse. Routledge.
*Wragg, E.C. (1999) An Introduction to Classroom Observation (2nd ed.). Macmillan.
Chapter 5.

Good for participatory research and action research

*Bradley, J. and Harvey, L. (2019) Creative inquiry in applied linguistics: Researching
language and communication through visual and performing arts. In C. Wright, L.
Harvey and J. Simpson (eds) Voices and Practices in Applied Linguistics:
Diversifying a Discipline. White Rose University Press.
https://universitypress.whiterose.ac.uk/site/books/e/10.22599/BAAL1/
*Burns, A. (2010) Doing Action Research in English Language Teaching: A Guide for
Practitioners. Routledge.
*Facer, K. and Enright, B. (2016) Creating Living Knowledge. University of Bristol/AHRC
Connected Communities.
https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/75082783/
FINAL_FINAL_CC_Creating_Living_Knowledge_Report.pdf
*Hanks, J. (2017) Exploratory Practice in Language Teaching: Puzzling About Principles
and Practices. Palgrave.
See also *Anne Burns’ website for a video presentation on Action Research, where she
discusses observation: http://www.professoranneburns.com/arvideo.htm

The “Whose Integration?” example (Participatory research)

*Bryers, D., Winstanley, B., and Cooke, M. (2013) Whose Integration? ESOL Nexus,
British Council. http://esol.britishcouncil.org/sites/esol/files/Whose
%20Integration2.pdf
Cooke, M., Winstanley, B. and Bryers, D. (2015) Whose integration? A participatory
ESOL project in the UK. In J. Simpson and A. Whiteside (eds.) Adult Language
Education and Migration: Challenging Agendas in Policy and Practice. London:
Routledge.
*Freire, P. (1972) Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum.
*Winstanley, B. and Williams, J. (2010) Using Reflect ESOL Visualisation Approaches in
ESOL Teacher Training. London: Tower Hamlets College.
https://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/content/import-pdf4359
The example in the lecture was based on work done by the NGO Action Aid
International: https://actionaid.org/