Chapter published in:
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: 07 March 2019
https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.52.10spa
References
Collins, L., & Muñoz, C.
(2016) The foreign language classroom: Current perspectives and future considerations. The Modern Language Journal, 100(Supplement 2016), 134–147.Google Scholar
Clarke, M.
(1994) Dysfunctions of the theory/practice discourse. TESOL Quarterly, 28, 9–26. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
DeKeyser, R.
(2012) Interactions between individual differences, treatments, and structures in SLA. Language Learning, 62, 189–200. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Housen, A.
(2014) Difficulty and complexity of language features and second language instruction. In C. Chapelle (Ed.), The encyclopedia of applied linguistics. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Larsen-Freeman, D.
(1996) The changing nature of second language classroom research. In S. Schachter & S. Gass (Eds.), Second language classroom research: Issues and opportunities (pp. 157–170). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Lightbown, P.
(2000) Classroom SLA research and second language teaching. Applied Linguistics, 21(4), 431–462.Google Scholar
Li, S.
(2013) The interactions between the effects of implicit and explicit feedback and individual differences in language analytic ability and working memory. The Modern Language Journal, 97, 634–654. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Loewen, S., & Plonsky, L.
(2016) An A-Z of applied linguistics research methods. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Norris, J., & Ortega, L.
(Eds.) (2006) Synthesizing research on language learning and teaching Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ortega, L.
(2005) Methodology, epistemology, and ethics in instructed SLA research: An introduction. The Modern Language Journal, 89, 317–327. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Plonsky, L., & Gass, S.
(2011) Quantitative research methods, study quality, and outcomes: The case of interaction research. Language Learning 61, 325–366. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Roshenshine, B., & Furst, N.
(1973) The use of direct observation to study teaching. In R. Travers, (Ed.), Second handbook of research on teaching (pp. 122–183). Chicago, IL: Rand McNally.Google Scholar
Schachter, J., & Gass, S.
(1996) Second language classroom research: Issues and opportunities. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Spada, N.
(1990) Observing classroom behaviours and learning outcomes in different second language programs. In J. C. Richards & D. Nunan (Eds.), Second language teaching education: Content and processes (pp. 293–310). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Spada, N., & Tomita, Y.
(2010) Interactions between type of instruction and type of language feature: A meta-analysis. Language Learning, 60, 1–46. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Varadarajan, P. R.
(2003) Musings on relevance and rigor of scholarly research in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 31, 368–376.Google Scholar
Yalçın, S., & Spada, N.
(2016) Language aptitude and grammatical difficulty: An EFL classroom-based study. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 38, 239–263. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 7 other publications

Ambrosini, Maria Vittoria & Paolo Della Putta
2021. Problemi di apprendimento di tre perifrasi fra spagnolo e italiano. Osservazioni acquisizionali e proposte pedagogiche. Cuadernos de Filología Italiana 28 ► pp. 11 ff. DOI logo
Comisso, Elena & Paolo Della Putta
2023. Fostering the learning of the Russian motion verbs system in Italian-speaking students. Review of Cognitive Linguistics DOI logo
Gyllstad, Henrik, Pia Sundqvist, Erica Sandlund & Marie Källkvist
2022. Effects of Word Definitions on Meaning Recall: A Multisite Intervention in Language‐Diverse Second Language English Classrooms. Language Learning DOI logo
McDonough, Kim, Ahlem Ammar & Gabriel Michaud
2022. L2 Peer Interaction before and after Writing: How Does Each One Promote Writing Development?. The Canadian Modern Language Review 78:1 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Sato, Masatoshi
2022. Chapter 4. Mixed methods research in ISLA. In Instructed Second Language Acquisition Research Methods [Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 3], ► pp. 79 ff. DOI logo
Sato, Masatoshi & Shawn Loewen
2022. The Research–Practice Dialogue in Second Language Learning and Teaching: Past, Present, and Future. The Modern Language Journal 106:3 ► pp. 509 ff. DOI logo
SUZUKI, YUICHI, TATSUYA NAKATA & ROBERT DEKEYSER
2019. The Desirable Difficulty Framework as a Theoretical Foundation for Optimizing and Researching Second Language Practice. The Modern Language Journal DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 05 february 2023. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.