Developing language Teacher Autonomy through Action Research

Kenan Dikilitaş & Carol Griffiths

This book aimed to develop teacher autonomy by means of engagement in action research. Although acknowledging that the research process is not always linear, the book aimed to set out the action research process in a clear progression which teachers can adapt to their needs. It aimed to get teachers to engage with the process by means of examples, narratives, questions and tasks. Teachers who follow these tasks might be able to have a complete research project by the time they have finished working through the book. This means that the work they do will have a tangible and usable outcome. Examples of actual action research project material were included in order to provide teachers with concrete models which they might examine, adapt to their own needs, and, where appropriate, replicate. Teacher narratives from those who have engaged in the action research process are included to add a "human" touch, hopefully to inspire those who need encouragement, and to reassure those who are experiencing problems that they are not the only ones having these kinds of difficulties. The book was designed to be highly practical, giving multiple ideas for how to establish research questions, to choose appropriate methodologies, to adapt to the existing context, and to go about collecting data. It provides examples of possible instruments, clear instructions for how to carry out the most common kinds of statistical procedures, ideas for how to do presentations and write up research findings for those who want to do this. All of these steps can be very intimidating for a new researcher (or even, sometimes, more experienced ones!). In spite of the practical bias, the book aimed to be theoretically and ethically rigorous, and presents theoretically and ethically sound methodologies throughout. It also has an extensive glossary which explains in some detail the terms used in the book.

KEYWORDS: research questions/hypotheses, research methods, research context, data collection, data analysis

The book is available via www.amazon.com or via the publisher (www.palgrave.com)

Carol Griffiths

Everyone loves a story, and the accumulated body of literature represents a bottomless pit of potential authentic material. No need to write artificial material for more and more textbooks. The material is all here, just waiting to be recognised and enjoyed (and enjoyment has been established as a factor which enhances motivation and promotes learning. Although a number of books have been written on the topic of using literature to teach/learn language, literature remains under-represented as a language teaching/learning resource. This book attempts to redress this neglect by presenting a range of literary genres in a format that the author has found from experience work well in a language classroom and showing teachers how to use such stories to create motivating and enjoyable lessons which develop language skills and awareness.

KEYWORDS: folk stories, young children's literature, older children's literature, teen literature, short stories, non-fiction, poetry, drama, novellas, novels, sci-fi, fantasy

If you would like t0 purchase this book, it is available on www.amazon.com or via Palgrave's website: Using Literature to Learn and Teach Language: The L3 Approach | SpringerLink