The Interface between Second Language Acquisition Research and Second Language Pedagogy: Iranian EFL Teachers' Perspectives (original) (raw)
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Second Language Teaching and Research: Teachers’ Perspective
JEELS (Journal of English Education and Linguistics Studies)
This study aims to know teachers’ perception regarding research and throw a shadow of light on this critical issue with respect to teaching pedagogy. For this study, data were collected through survey questionnaire with close ended items from 104 secondary school teachers (SSTs) (grade 6 to 10) and English language centers of Karachi. The data analysis revealed that most of the teachers believed that the knowledge they gain from the teaching is more effective and valuable rather than the knowledge acquired from research. In both categories, majority of the participants declared that they have limited sources available in order to access the Second Language Acquisition (SLA) articles, whereas half of them stated that they do not have enough time to conduct SLA research, a few of them reported as lack of interest, one of the SSTs indicated that research articles are difficult to understand and no ability to conduct research. Furthermore, majority of the teachers agreed that a teacher ...
A principled approach to incorporating second language acquisition research
Second language acquisition (SLA) researchers have not been slow to assert the importance of SLA research for language pedagogy (LP). There is, however, no consensus on the nature of the relationship between SLA and LP. A number of sometimes conflicting positions can be identified, ranging from a super-cautious "don't apply" to a confident "go ahead and apply" while also claiming that the relationship should not be one-way but symbiotic. In this paper, the relationship in terms of a framework that links (1) SLA researchers, (2) classroom researchers, (3) teacher educators, and (4) language teachers is probed. Using this framework, I propose a set of general principles that can inform the SLA/LP relationship and serve as basis for designing a course as part of a graduate programme in TESOL or foreign language teaching. The principles concern both the "what" and the "how" of the relationship between SLA and LP, that is, what SLA topics are of relevance to teachers and how technical knowledge drawn from SLA can interface with the practical knowledge that informs actual teaching. These principles are then applied to examine one particular aspect of teaching-corrective feedback-and how this is informed by SLA.
Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 2019
This mixed methods study investigated the contextual and educational dimensions of engaging language teachers in second language acquisition (SLA) theory and research to inform second language pedagogy. To this end, 132 Iranian English teachers completed the questionnaire designed by Nassaji (2012) that includes both Likert-scale items and openended questions. The participants had academic degrees in majors related to English language. They constituted two groups of public sector (n=66) and private sector (n=66). Each group was divided in two subgroups , one with Bachelors of Arts (B.A.) and the other with Master of Arts (M.A.). Quantitative data analyses revealed a significant difference between the perceptions of the participants of public and private sector with B.A and M.A. degrees towards the relevance and usefulness of SLA research, the role of teachers and researchers, and perceiving teacher as researcher. Moreover, analyzing the open-ended questions revealed instances of attitudes, motivations, and challenges experienced by the participants reflecting the need to use SLA theory and conduct research to enrich pedagogical practices, ability to conduct research, access, understanding research articles, and dealing with institutional constraints. The findings have implications for policy makers to encourage practice-oriented research courses and research-oriented practicums across both contexts of public and private sectors.
This study explores TEFL teachers' and non-TEFL teachers' perceptions about the relationship between second language acquisition (SLA) research and language pedagogy with regard to familiarity, involvement, accessibility, consultation, relevance, and usefulness of SLA research in L2 pedagogy. To this end, 83 teachers, 40 TEFL teachers and 43 non-TEFL teachers, participated in this study. They filled out a questionnaire addressing their perceptions about SLA research and language pedagogy. The results revealed that the majority of TEFL teachers involved in doing research, at least as their educational term projects, while mostly no contribution was reported by non-TEFL teachers. In addition, TEFL teachers insisted that L2 teachers need to be involved in SLA research to be successful in their teaching career, while non-TEFL teachers were of the opposite opinion. Moreover, it was revealed that TEFL teachers considered the knowledge gained from research studies relevant and useful to their classroom actions, whereas non-TEFL teachers saw their experience more important for managing their classroom actions. Although both groups had contradictory perceptions of the relationship between SLA research and language pedagogy, they showed some common points in this regard. That is, both groups reported on their difficulty in having access to the research materials; they also expressed their willingness to do research.
The relationship between SLA research and language pedagogy: Teachers’ perspectives
Language Teaching Research, 2012
There is currently a substantial body of research on second language (L2) learning and this body of knowledge is constantly growing. There are also many attempts in most teacher education programs around the world to inform practicing and prospective L2 teachers about second language acquisition (SLA) research and its findings. However, an important question in this context has been to what extent SLA research has been able to influence L2 teaching. There is extensive discussion and debate among SLA researchers about the applicability of L2 research to language teaching. However, there is little empirical research in this area. This research was conducted to shed some light on this issue by examining how English language teachers perceive the relationship between SLA research and language teaching and to what extent they believe the findings of SLA is useful and relevant for L2 pedagogy. Data were collected from 201 teachers of English as a second language (ESL) and English as a for...
The Relevance of SLA Research to Language Teaching from Teachers" Perspective
2015
Second language acquisition (SLA) research, the mostly said and heard term in recent years among second language researchers, is regretfully a kind of Cinderella term for the majority of EFL teachers. Strictly speaking, when SLA research began to emerge as a separate discipline, one of the hopes was that it would benefit language teaching (Corder, 1973). Oddly enough, in recent years SLA research has mostly seen its role as raising teachers" awareness of SLA concepts rather than affecting teaching directly. By and large, it supposedly sounds that EFL teachers" taking advantage of SLA research results is not widespread. Accordingly, the current paper is an attempt to meticulously analyze and evaluate some articles so as to reach a sound conclusion in this regard. The overall result revealed that although there are some gaps between SLA research and teachers, those gaps can universally be bridged by moving EFL teachers from the more usual and traditional role as consumers of...
Second Language Acquisition Research in the Language Classroom
1991
The state of second language acquisition research, particularly that which is classroom-oriected, is examined in a review of 50 empirical investigations undertaken over the last 25 years. The studies were analyzed according to the following dimensions: the environment in which the data were collected (classroom, naturalistic, simulated classroom, or laboratories); rationale of the research; research design and data collection; type of data collected (quantitative or qualitative); and type of analysis conducted (grammatical, statistical, and/or interpretive). It is concluded that while there have been considerable advances in the field, future research would benefit by incorporating: more contextualized (classroom-based rather than classroom-oriented) research; an extension of the theoretical bases of research agendas; extension of the range of research tools, techniques, and methods, adopting and adapting them where appropriate from content classroom research; re-evaluation of the distinction between process-oriented and product-oriented research; and a more active role for classroom practitioners in applied research. (MSE)
Pakistan Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2021
This research paper highlights the issue of the lack of connection between second language acquisition (SLA) theory and research, particularly with regard to language pedagogy and its practical implementation in language teaching materials/textbooks. Based on a theoretical review of the major theoretical perspectives in SLA, the paper underscores that a gap exists between the theory developers (who develop theories through research) and the practitioners (who bear the responsibility for the implementation of theoretical knowledge) in the fields of SLA and materials development. This lack of cohesion between the theory developers and the practitioners causes the development of ineffective English language teaching (ELT) materials which, consequently, fail to make a substantial contribution to effective English language teaching and learning. The paper highlights that it is important to explore SLA theory and research and ensure its implementation in ELT materials. Similarly, there is...
—While the number of English Learners (ELs) in the United States is steadily growing in most states, teacher preparation for working with ELs is far from universal. It fact, it is contested terrain as to whether information about topics like Second Language Acquisition (SLA) are helpful generally, and if so, what theories teachers are willing to adopt. The purpose of this study was to learn whether teachers in an SLA theory course would declare intentions to change their notions about SLA and express them as desire to shift practice. We also wondered if there were differences in pre-service versus in-service and international versus domestic students. The results confirmed that the participants were willing to change their initial theories because of participating in a second language acquisition course that presented information about SLA theories at a Completely Different or Somewhat Different level by the end of the course.
Second Language Acquisition Theories and What It Means For Teacher Instruction
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The United States has seen a large increase in the number of ELL students in schools nationwide over the past twenty years. This literature review evaluates and compares different second language acquisition theories, teacher practices, learning strategies to help determine what teaching strategies will best help the ELL population close the achievement gap while becoming fluent in the English language. In order to provide each child an equal, high-quality education as required under the ESSA, more teachers need to be trained and well-equipped with the knowledge and tools to effectively teach ELL students in their classrooms. School leaders and stakeholders need to invest in appropriate professional development to support the learning of teachers who are faced with the task of meeting every students' needs. Explicit instruction from teachers in areas of vocabulary, reading comprehension, and listening strategies are a few key strategies that teachers need to become effective in when teaching in their classrooms.