Araceli Salas

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47133/tegc_ch53  

ABSTRACT

Doing research has become a priority in undergraduate classrooms that prepare teachers to enter the English language teaching (ELT) profession and teach in diverse ELT contexts and with diverse modalities. This priority is based on the personal, academic, and professional benefits experienced by pre-service teachers who complete research projects. Yet, despite such benefits, many pre-service teachers feel anxious about conducting their own research and sharing their findings in a thesis. In this chapter, you will learn why it is important to have a positive attitude about this research requirement. You will learn about the purpose for conducting your own research project and the basic steps for successfully finishing it. You will also learn that, by exploring your ELT classroom through research, you will create new knowledge for your current and future teaching practice. Moreover, by sharing your findings with others, you will create new knowledge for the practice of other professionals. 

Keywords: undergraduate research, pre-service research projects, thesis requirement, conducting research, creating new knowledge

How to cite this chapter: 

Salas, A. (2023). Doing Research in the ELT Undergraduate Classroom. In V. Canese & S. Spezzini (Eds.), Teaching English in Global Contexts, Language, Learners and Learning (pp. 646-655). Editorial Facultad de Filosofía, UNA. https://doi.org/10.47133/tegc_ch53

INTRODUCTION

Teacher preparation programs in English language teaching (ELT) are faced with the challenge of preparing pre-service teachers for real-life classroom situations. When pre-service teachers begin their ELT practicum, most are not yet ready for solving problems by themselves or for making classroom-based decisions. This situation became more acute during and after the pandemic when our teaching contexts changed, and all teachers (including pre-service teachers) encountered uncertainties. New challenges and scenarios have since emerged that are changing education across the globe. Many pandemic and post-pandemic situations have led ELT educators to innovate, find solutions, and become even more creative. As a result, the English as a foreign language classroom has become a space for new ways to interact, new ways to teach, and new ways to learn. To be a successful English teacher, explore your classroom and other ELT classrooms to acquire a better understanding of these changes and challenges. In other words, discover what is currently happening. Then, to prepare for your future in the ELT profession, embark on systematic explorations by conducting research and participating in your own professional development.  

BACKGROUND

During the first half of the 20th century, English teaching was often an activity carried out by people who spoke the language, regardless of their preparation. During the second half of that century, many universities in Latin America upgraded English teaching by offering teacher preparation programs. Then, during the early 21st century, ELT professionals began to focus not just on transmitting knowledge but also on generating new knowledge for this growing field. This new focus led to research becoming an integral part of the ELT profession. To better prepare pre-service teachers for doing research as future ELT professionals, most teacher preparation programs started including research courses in their respective ELT curriculum (Méndez García, 2019; Nakata, 2015). These research courses provided support to pre-service teachers for conducting research projects, fulfilling their program’s research requirement, and earning an undergraduate degree.

In the ELT field, research is often defined as an investigation or inquiry that involves several steps: planning, organizing, gathering data, analyzing data, interpreting results, and drawing conclusions (Paltridge & Phakiti, 2015). These conclusions are based on evidence and systematic inquiries or inferences with the goal of making contributions to the field in which researchers perform or apply their knowledge. The best way to start your journey as an ELT researcher is to view research as a “disciplined inquiry” (Dörnyei, 2007, p. 15). By pursuing your inquiry in a disciplined manner—that is also systematic and consistent, you will be able to plan and conduct research that is well grounded, rigorous, and ethical. Moreover, when you finish your research study, you will feel confident of yourself, proud of your achievement, and prepared to continue growing as an ELT professional.

MAJOR DIMENSIONS

Prior to initiating your own research study, become informed about the following aspects: 

Stages of the Research Process

Within the ELT field, many teacher education programs require students to conduct a research study for the purpose of increasing their “understanding of a topic or issue” (Creswell, 2012, p. 3). As with all such studies, “research is a process of steps used to collect and analyze information” (p. 3). In general, these steps can be grouped into three main stages: 

• pose a question, 

• collect data to answer the question, and 

• present an answer to the question. 

In ELT research studies, we gather information as “empirical data and insights to bear on timely topics” (Duff, 2008, p. 103). This information is based on our experiences and direct observations about aspects related to the teaching and learning of languages. We conduct our research by talking, listening, and reading about what generally happens in language classrooms and, also, by observing what specifically happens in certain classrooms. 

After collecting and analyzing data, we share our findings and conclusions based on the premise that doing research is not useful until the findings are shared with other professionals. In other words, sharing is an essential conclusion of the research process. For students, sharing consists of writing and defending a thesis. After defending your thesis, consider sharing your findings with a wider audience by presenting at a conference and writing a journal article.

Benefits

Conducting a research study and writing a research thesis are experiences that will benefit you, as a future professional, in many ways. By doing research and writing a thesis, you will benefit academically and professionally from

• having fulfilled a requirement for earning your degree,

• learning how to identify issues in your teaching context and to seek solutions, 

• knowing how to conduct a study that allows insightful understanding of issues and that generates findings leading to implications and doable actions, and

• participating in an ELT research community and, from this early-career experience, being motivated to continue doing research throughout your career.

You will also benefit personally by feeling satisfied at successfully completing this study, empowered as an ELT professional, and self-affirmed that your findings and opinions are worthy of being shared. Nonetheless, even after acknowledging these (and other) benefits, you might feel overwhelmed when thinking about everything you need to do for conducting your research study and writing your thesis. Fortunately, concrete steps exist for making this process systematic and manageable. While following these steps, always remember that, by doing research, you will reap benefits at the academic and professional levels and, also, at the personal level. 

Challenges

After learning about the benefits of conducting research during your initial preparation as an ELT professional, you need to become aware of challenges that you might encounter during this process (Tapia Carlin, 2013; van Gelderen et al., 2004). By knowing about these challenges in advance, you will be better prepared to successfully carry out the necessary tasks for doing your research project. Some of these challenges are feeling unmotivated, not knowing how to start, and having a distant relationship with a supervisor. To successfully overcome these and other challenges, do the following:

• Establish plans for managing your time and money.

• Identify sources of positive feedback.

• Seek guidance from a supportive mentor.

• Recognize your own feelings and emotions.

Affective Factors

Doing research can be more meaningful for student researchers if they have a positive attitude and perform appropriate steps as recommended (Tarman, 2012). In this way, even undergraduate students can provide valuable contributions to the ELT field. To build a positive attitude about your required research project, do the following:

• Before starting your research, identify the affective factors (e.g., feelings, emotions, attitudes) that might impact your performance and mood during this relatively long process (Borg, 2010; Dörnyei, 2007). 

• To positively manage these affective factors, interact regularly with peers and mentors who can provide emotional and academic support throughout this research process. 

• Whenever you need help, ask your peers and mentors for guidance.

• Follow up by regularly seeking support from these peers and mentors. 

Academic Writing

Another issue is the type of academic writing needed to write a research paper. Academic writing is formal non-fiction writing used in academic reports and scholarly publications to communicate ideas, information, and research to a broader academic community. Such writing provides objective evidence and offers critical, balanced views; it is precise and structured. To produce quality academic writing in your thesis, do the following:

• Support the basic characteristics of academic writing (coherence, cohesion, clarity, objectivity) through topic building and global coherence. 

• Include reader–writer interactions to make your writing more dynamic and interesting (Wang & Xie, 2022). 

• Develop strategies for using academic writing in your research paper to meet institutional requirements and, at the same time, reach a wide audience. 

• Support your writing process by following the format for citations and style required by your institution or by the American Psychological Association (APA). 

• Place ethical considerations at the center of your research process and, as needed, talk with your supervisor about confidentiality, identity protection, and plagiarism. 

As you can see, doing research is not an easy task. However, by meeting this challenge, you will reap enormous benefits. In addition to fulfilling a degree requirement, research is an excellent way for you to examine current issues and generate local knowledge based on your own teaching experiences. By knowing how to conduct research, you will have strategies to solve problems and implement innovations in your current and future classrooms. To better understand your own context and experiences, start by exploring your proposed research question through information provided by educators in other contexts and at all levels of education. While learning about these other ELT contexts, keep in mind that you are the only person who knows your own context as well as you do. No one else works in your same context. Nor does anyone else have your same experiences. Therefore, you are the perfect person to do research about your ELT context and experiences.

PEDAGOGICAL APPLICATIONS

When conducting your research study, follow Creswell´s (2012) six steps for guiding researchers along the research process. To help you understand these steps, I created the graphic in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Six Steps in the Research Process

Note. Compiled from Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research (4th ed.) (p. 7) by J. W. Creswell, 2012, Pearson.

As illustrated in Figure 1, the six steps in this research process (Creswell, 2012) are 

• identifying a research problem, 

• reviewing the literature, 

• specifying a purpose for the research, 

• collecting data, 

• analyzing and interpreting the data, and 

• reporting and evaluating research. (Creswell, 2012)

A detailed explanation of each step is provided below. Use these steps and explanations as a guide when identifying, designing, and conducting your research study.

1. Identify a Research Problem

When you see the array of themes or topics related to ELT research, you may feel confused and overwhelmed. So, as a first step in identifying a research problem to guide your study, think about some topics that interest you. The topic you choose will become the central idea for your study. To guide your thinking, ask yourself these questions:

• What problems or situations have you identified from your experiences as a teacher or as a student? 

• What topics are people in the field talking about? 

Choose a thesis topic that is of utmost interest to you because you will be spending considerable time reading, writing, and thinking about aspects related to this topic. 

2. Review the Literature

After choosing a topic for your research (and perhaps, also, an alternative topic), explore existing literature on that topic. To conduct an extensive search related to this topic, follow these suggestions:

• Look for recent studies on the topic in books and journals. 

• Use a search engine such as Google or Google-Scholar.

• Do a search for your selected topic in databases (e.g., Scopus or Redalyc).

• Use the virtual library at your educational institution. 

• Participate in courses or workshops (perhaps offered by your library) for learning to conduct efficient information searches.

By following these suggestions during your literature review, you will become aware of the literature that is available and, also, of the relevancy related to your topic.

3. Specify a Purpose for the Research 

Now that you have chosen the topic for your research, specify a purpose for doing this research. In other words, be specific about what you want to find out. Start by writing the objectives for your study, which, in turn, will become your research questions. These research questions will guide your study, influence your research design, and determine the instrument that you will use to conduct your study. Here are two examples of the relationship between the purpose of your research and the corresponding research design:

• Are you interested in what your participants say or write? If so, select a qualitative approach as the most appropriate design for your study. 

• Are you interested in statistics and numerical results? If so, select a quantitative approach as the most appropriate design for your study. 

4. Collect Data 

For whichever approach you select, plan to collect your data in a systematic manner. Start by describing the context of your study and creating a profile of your participants. Then, in preparation for doing the data collection, consider the following questions: 

• How will you collect information to answer your research questions? 

• Will you use a questionnaire? 

• Will you interview your participants? 

• Will you create one or more focus groups? 

Next, design your data collection instrument. Be sure to include your contact information on this instrument so that participants can contact you if they have any questions. After you have designed your data collection instrument, pilot this instrument to make sure your targeted participants will understand your questions as intended and be able to answer accordingly. Based on your experience with piloting the instrument, answer the following questions:

• How will you apply your instrument(s)? 

• Will you distribute it by mail or email? 

• Will you meet with your participants face-to-face? 

• Or will you use an online platform for distributing your instrument? 

After you have answered these questions, administer your instrument and collect the data. Such data can be in the form of oral or written responses from your participants as well as stories and recordings (audio or video). 

5. Analyze and Interpret Data 

After you have collected your data, the next step is analyzing and interpreting your data. For this step, do the following:

• Read and review your data several times until you can identify meaning in your participants´ responses. 

• Look for repeated words and phrases, and then try to find similarities and differences. 

• Determine the best way to organize the results of your study. Visually illustrate these results by creating figures, charts, and graphs. 

• Interpret and discuss your results based on existing theories. 

• Based on these results, draw conclusions. 

6. Report and Evaluate Research

The last step in the research cycle is reporting the results and evaluating the research. Reporting the results occurs when you write and defend your thesis. Reporting can also occur later when you deliver a presentation at a conference or write an article for a journal. When preparing to report the results from your study, consider evaluating your study at this same time. To evaluate your study, answer these questions: 

• What worked well and what did not work well? 

• What were the challenges and limitations? 

• What recommendations do you have for applying the results from this study and, also, for doing follow-up studies? 

You might feel that writing a thesis is challenging and that orally defending your thesis is stressful and perhaps frightening. However, it is only through this final step that other people can read your thesis or listen to your defense and, thus, be able to benefit from your research. Contrary to what some students might believe, your thesis defense is a time to celebrate. You deserve a big celebration!

In this chapter, you learned about doing research in an ELT classroom. You learned about the six steps of the research process as well as the benefits, challenges, affective factors, and academic writing associated with conducting research. It is now time for you to put your new knowledge and skills into practice by designing and conducting your own research study.

Here are some key concepts about conducting research:

• Meet the requirements to earn your degree by designing and conducting a research project. By doing this, you will also become a member of the ELT research community.

• Choose a research topic that really interests you. This will keep you focused and motivated throughout the process.

• Follow the basic research steps proposed by Creswell (2012) so that you always know where you are in your research journey.

• Follow your institution’s guidelines and your supervisor’s advice while carrying out your research. This will keep you headed in the right direction.

• Take initiative and be sure to trust your knowledge and intuition. Your research is a story that only you know well and that, as such, only you can tell. 

Based on your own ideas and what you have learned from this chapter, answer these questions:

1. How do you feel about doing research as a pre-service teacher?

2. How can conducting a research study influence your growth as an ELT professional?

3. How can doing this research improve your performance as an English teacher?

To optimize your research process and to organize plans and actions, follow these steps:

1. Upon starting this research journey, create a timeline to organize your time and activities.

2. Write a research diary. Based on systematic notes of your research activities and personal reflections, this diary will be a record of your academic progress and personal growth.

To support your research experience, visit these websites:

• Channel for novice researchers. https://www.youtube.com/c/MassarikCanalEducativo 

• Open resources for researchers. https://www.gse.harvard.edu/library/educator-resources 

• Resources for academic writing. https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/discussion  

• Style manual based on the American Psychological Association (APA). https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_author_authors.html 

Several aspects of conducting research are also addressed in the following chapters of this book: 

Chapter 51 Observing in the Transformational Teaching Process by V. Sánchez and Y. Puón

Chapter 52 Becoming a Reflective Practitioner Through Action Research by V. Canese

Chapter 54 Promoting Collaborative Professionalism Among Pre-Service Teachers by D. Pineda

Chapter 55 Building and Engaging With your Professional Community by M. Algren 

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Verónica Sánchez Hernández has a doctorate in applied linguistics from the University of Macquarie (Australia) and has worked as a teacher-researcher at the Facultad de Lenguas, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (Mexico). Verónica has also presented at national and international events such as MEXTESOL, the Congreso Internacional de Formadores en la Enseñanza de Lenguas, TESOL International Association, and American Association of Applied Linguistics. Her areas of interest in research and publications are teacher education, professional development, supervision, mentoring, development of academic literacy, and accreditation processes in language teacher training programs. 

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3894-2250 

Email for correspondence regarding this chapter: veronica.sanchez@correo.buap.mx

Yonatan Puón Castro has been teaching English as a foreign language since 2005. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in ELT from the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (Mexico) and a doctorate in applied linguistics from the University of Southampton (England). Yonatan has been overseeing the Access Microscholarship Program since 2011. He has also participated in several quality assurance evaluations for the Comites Interinstitucionales para la Evaluación de la Educación Superior and the Consejo para la Acreditación de Programas Educativos en Humanidades. His research interests are language teacher education, heritage languages, and language policies and ideologies.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1842-4093 

Email for correspondence regarding this chapter: yonatan.puon@correo.buap.mx

Cover Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash