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7 - Action Research: Developments, Characteristics, and Future Directions

from Part II - Methods

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 June 2019

By
Anne Burns
Edited by
John W. Schwieter  and
Alessandro Benati
John W. Schwieter
Affiliation:
Wilfrid Laurier University
Alessandro Benati
Affiliation:
American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
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Summary

Action research has become increasingly prevalent in the field of English language teaching over the last two decades. It can be considered as a form of professional learning for language teachers which takes a socio-constructivist approach in which teachers are seen as agentive actors and investigators within their own social contexts. This chapter begins by providing a brief overview of the origins of action research and its development in the field of English language teaching, considering also some of the more recent initiatives that have contributed to the spread of this form of research in the field. It then discusses what various recent studies have shown about the impact on teachers of conducting action research. The discussion ends with a brief consideration of future directions for this research.

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The Cambridge Handbook of Language Learning , pp. 166 - 185
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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