Life Capital: An Epistemic and Methodological Lens for TESOL Research

Abstract

This paper draws on one of Pierre Bourdieu’s core dimensions of social theory: the notion of capital. Bourdieu's work has percolated various academic domains and transcended disciplinary boundaries, thereby leading to new vistas and questions. It is in the spirit of generating “new vistas” that this paper offers considerations which may serve as an epistemic and methodological drive to reinvigorate our social research practices within TESOL. In particular, I argue for a new application of Bourdieu's sociological concept to account more holistically for the complexities of TESOL research practices, and I present a proposal that may support the TESOL research community in addressing the “realities” and “dilemmas” of our field (McKinley & Rose, 2017). Ultimately, life capital will act as a catalyst to promote a fresh perspective on our research—a lens which, in the long run, may yield TESOL research that fully acknowledges, values, and celebrates the humanness of our inquiries.

A Reflexive Teacher: The Empathic Effect on the Teaching of Telling Chinese Stories Well

“…Ahsanu [1] categorizes teachers' selfreflection into three stages, highlighting their contributions to personal development. Wyatt [19] and Consoli [5] advocate for incorporating reflexive research based on Bourdieu's sociological field theory, emphasizing the importance of personal 'stories' in shaping pedagogical philosophies and teaching styles. Some researchers have explored the relationship between teacher reflexivity and empathy in the integration of reflexivity research with teacher research.…”

“…Voice recordings comprised our online voice communication on WeChat, transcribed and combined with textual recordings for discourse analysis [18]. The data analysis follows a reflexive research methodology, integrating my teaching experiences and Anna's learning experiences to analyze their impact on the teaching, learning process, and final outcomes [5].…”

Enhancing English Writing Proficiency in TESOL: Integrating Traditional and Technological Approaches for a Multifaceted Learning Experience

“…For example, a lesson might begin with a reading activity where students explore a text, followed by a group discussion to express their understanding and perspectives. This discussion serves as a springboard for a writing task, where students are encouraged to articulate their thoughts in writing, integrating new vocabulary and grammatical structures encountered in the reading and speaking activities [1]. This multifaceted approach not only reinforces language learning but also enhances critical thinking skills, as students are required to analyze, interpret, and express complex ideas across different modalities.…”

Intuition and Reflexivity: The Ethics of Decision-Making in Classroom Practitioner Research

“…Guillemin and Gillam's (2004) concept of reflexivity extends its scope beyond its traditional focus in qualitative inquiry, which is concerned with enhancing research quality and rigour through consciously acknowledging our presence as researcher in the research process. Reflexivity in this original sense means, for example, reflecting on potential subjectivity and bias in how we conduct our research and analyse our data (Dean, 2017), and explicitly acknowledging relevant life experiences or "life capital" (Consoli, 2022) that we bring as researchers to the inquiry (Consoli & Ganassin, 2023). As Guillemin and Gillam explain, reflexivity in the broader context of ethics in practice means also being constantly aware of the subtle micro-ethical dimensions of our research processes, reflecting on how we manage our evolving relationships with participants, thinking carefully about how we respond to any ethical concerns that may arise in these relationships, and consciously prioritizing our duty of care to our participants in the decisions we make.…”