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Doing SLA Research with Implications for the Classroom: Reconciling methodological demands and pedagogical applicability
Edited by Robert M. DeKeyser and Goretti Prieto Botana
[Language Learning & Language Teaching 52] 2019
► pp. 201–216

Chapter 10
Discussion

Balancing methodological rigor and pedagogical relevance

| University of Toronto
In this chapter I reflect on the contributions to this volume with respect to two guiding criteria: Relevance to classroom applications and Advantages and challenges of methodology. I examine the goals, focus, and research questions investigated in the descriptive, quasi-experimental and experimental studies presented in this collection. I analyze their methodological characteristics in terms of cost, ethics, participant availability, experimental control, teacher collaboration, student motivation, and generalizability. I argue that all the ISLA studies presented in this volume are relevant to L2 pedagogy. Echoing the words of the editors, I also argue that placing experimental and descriptive research into a dichotomous relationship where the former is characterized as not relevant to the classroom and the latter as lacking validity is problematic. Such a categorization fails to acknowledge the different purposes of both types of research and the different contributions each can make to L2 pedagogy.
Keywords: research and L2 pedagogy, validity, generalizability, relevance
Article outline
  • Relevance to classroom applications
    • Descriptive research
    • Quasi-experimental research
    • Experimental research
  • Advantages and challenges of methodology
    • Cost
    • Ethics
    • Participant availability
    • Experimental control
    • Teacher collaboration
    • Student motivation
    • Generalizability
  • Conclusion
  • References
Published online: 7 March 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.52.10spa
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