Does Reading the Research Make a Difference? A Case Study of Teacher Growth in FL German

Abstract

Although the research literature on Second Language Acquisition (SLA) has increased exponentially over the last few decades, it is not at all clear how its findings may or may not contribute to teacher growth or otherwise influence actual classroom praxis. The case study presented here shows one instructor, a native speaker of German, translating theory into practice in a beginning German as a foreign language college classroom. The theory employed in this case concerns corrective feedback in oral production, and the format follows an action research model. We note the instructor's initial treatment of spoken classroom errors, then his reaction to research articles on oral corrective feedback encountered in a pedagogy seminar, and finally how he implements those ideas in an action plan of his own design, for his subsequent teaching. Throughout the process, we find a series of cultural and conceptual filters at work that influence the reading of the research, the selection of ideas for the action research plan, and the way those ideas appear and mutate in actual classroom use. The study suggests (a) that the act of reflection itself, in tandem with the results and suggestions of the literature, produces change; and (b) that an emic view of classroom actions and reactions, where the instructor interprets his behaviors in light of a theoretical framework, is a critical component of classroom analysis. Freeman (1996), for one, is skeptical: DOES READING THE RESEARCH ON TEACHing and learning actually affect what teachers do?Over the years, the dominant conception of the relationship between research and classroom practice has been one of implied transmission. There has been an entrenched, hierarchical, and unidirectional assumption that interpretations developed and explanations posited through research can-and shouldinfluence in some way what teachers understand, and therefore what they do, in their classroom practice. Yet, as we know, this does not happen. (p. 89) His assessment of the research-classroom interface raises a number of questions, not the least of which is whether one should assume a relationship at all between second language acquisition The Modern Language Journal, 90, iii, (2006) 0026-7902/06/353-372 $1.50/0 C 2006 The Modern Language Journal(SLA) research and foreign language (FL) teaching. There are those, as Gass (1995) noted, who suggest that classroom concerns should not dictate the pursuits of SLA research or determine its goals. Yet most people in the profession, Gass among them, disagree, arguing that SLA research necessarily relates to pedagogy in significant ways to name only a few). The present study shares this conviction. It seeks to investigate the connection between research and praxis by tracing an actual path from the research journal to the classroom, focusing on a particular teacher in a particular classroom setting (beginning FL German). It looks not at research in general, but at the deliberately selected SLA debate on oral corrective feedback in the FL classroom. It asks this re...

The influence of academic articles on an ESL teacher's stated beliefs

“…In contrast, other studies have shown that teacher education had a large impact (Angelova 2005;Busch 2010;Kettle and Sellars 1996;MacDonald, Badger, and White 2001;Murray 2003). Such variation results, in part, because knowledge of teaching is not simply transmitted to, followed, or realized by prospective teachers; rather such knowledge is informed by prior experiences and beliefs (Freeman 1993(Freeman , 1996Johnson and Golombek 2002;Rankin and Becker 2006). In addition, Borg (2011) suggests that although a change in stated beliefs may not occur as a result of teacher training, a better ability to articulate one's beliefs is also a possible and important outcome.…”

“…Kamiya and S. Loewen and it is clear that John had a lot to say about Truscott's pedagogical claims, and many of his comments were framed in terms of his own classroom experiences. Although the articles did not appear to influence the nature of John's stated beliefs, they did succeed in raising John's awareness of his CF practices; such awareness raising has been argued to be a significant benefit of reading research studies for L2 teachers (Ellis 1997;Mackey, Polio, and McDonough 2004;Rankin and Becker 2006). As an experienced teacher, John admitted that he had not thought much about CF recently and that any CF in the classroom occurred 'naturally' and 'automatically.'…”

“…Borg (2007) found that only one-fifth of teachers in his study reported that research studies had a fairly strong influence on them, with the remaining teachers claiming that it had moderate or slight influence. Rankin and Becker (2006) described an action research study, conducted as part of a graduate-level pedagogy seminar, in which an inexperienced native-speaking teacher of German read three academic articles about CF. The articles impacted the consistency of the teacher's stated beliefs and classroom practices of CF; however, he was not always able to implement his beliefs in the classroom due to the diversity of student needs.…”

The Desirable Difficulty Framework as a Theoretical Foundation for Optimizing and Researching Second Language Practice

“…Although a variety of practice‐related variables are intertwined in the classroom, understanding how each variable and its combination influence L2 learning processes provides a strong theoretical backbone for teachers to think and act upon. The empirical findings may prompt L2 teachers to reflect on their classroom teaching such as design of materials, intervals of repeated practice, and individual differences of learners (Rankin & Becker, ), as well as provide emotional support for their teaching (Sato & Loewen, ).…”

Saying vs. Doing: A Contradiction in the Professional Development of Foreign Language Teaching Assistants

“…However, research studies that have considered how graduate students develop the first three professional and pedagogical components have been quite limited in number and scope. Interestingly, many of the published empirical studies that were cited by Allen and Negueruela‐Azarola () focused on, or were the product of, German departments (e.g., Gonglewski & Penningroth, ; Huffman, ; Rankin & Becker, ). Ryan‐Scheutz and Rustia () collected data about 290 TAs who were employed by Italian programs in North America in order to determine how these TAs were being prepared to teach, their background, and who prepared them for teaching.…”