About action research

An intervention program
Research Design
What is the focus of your research ?
Why using action research, experimental research,
case study, classroom research, textbook (content,
discourse, critical discourse) analysis ?
What are the concrete procedures in conducting this
research ?
Research Design (an example)
The focus of my research is to investigate ways to best help students
identified at risk (based on the diagnostic test scores) of failing the speaking
component of the course. Following the diagnostic test we wondered how
these students should be best helped. We decided that an action research
approach would be a suitable way for us to design and systematically
evaluate the effectiveness of our new pronunciation intervention program.
We hope to analyze and reflect upon our intended innovations in teaching
practice so that any future reforms to the ESP: BEP course were evidence
based (Burns, 2009) rather than relying on teachers intuition. We also saw
an opportunity for collaboration, to pool our strengths as teachers to
achieve both better student performance in the short term and an
improvement in the curriculum in the long term.
Research Design
Research context
The setting of the research project is ..
What curriculum is used ?
- What education & language philosophy is adopted
How English is taught in this school ?
- how many hours per week ?
- what textbooks are recommended to use ?
- what teaching methods are used ?
What facilities are available to support students in learning
English ?
Research Participants
Who are the participants ?
- e.g. (7th grade students)
- How many participants are involved ? What sample
technique is employed ?
- Why to involve them as the participants ?
(participants characteristics)
Design of (action) Intervention
1. Tasks focusing on psychological aspects of pronunciation (tongue
placement and lip movement) (Dalton & Seidlhofer, 1994).
2. We selected particular activities targeted the different language
backgrounds of the students and the individual sounds that learners
from those background typically have difficulty with (Power, 2011)
3. The speech production element of the course was covered by
recorded production tasks ranging from imitative (listen & repeat)
at the beginning of a course, through rehearsed speech (a short
prepared talk) and finally extemporaneous speech (a conversation)
(Morley (Ed), 1994)
Design of (action) Intervention
3. The final crucial component of our design was the explicit
inclusion of individualized feedback from us as teachers of
the program. Our primary goal was for clarity of
pronunciation in order to achieve intelligibility.

4. Schedule the activities. For example, Week 1 is a

pronunciation workshop and a chorus rehearsal with the
research team. In the next 7 week , we offered two extra
activities for at risk students per week: pronunciation
workshop and a chorus rehearsal.
Action research as a way of improving classroom practice

The concept of educational action research was developed as a

reaction against other types of research that neglect the function
of research as a tool for improving practice (McKay 2006). The
idea that research studies should attempt to offer practical ways to
improve classroom practice is one of the main tenets of action
research (Carr and Kemmis 1986; Elliot 1991; Kemmis and
McTaggart 1988). In action research, a problem is identified and a
systematic study, which combines action and reflection, is carried
out with the intention of improving practice (Burns 2010a; Ebbutt
1985).
Nunan (1992, 17) proposed that action research has
three major characteristics: it is carried out by
practitioners, is collaborative and is aimed at changing
things. The first refers to Stenhouses (1975) idea of
considering teachers as researchers and this aspect of
action research is emphasised by a number of authors
(for example, Burns 2010b; Kemmis and McTaggart 1988;
McNiff, Lomax, and Whitehead 1996; Wallace 1998). This
is underpinned by the assumption that it is teachers who
are aware of the current situation of the class..
Secondly, action research requires a collaborative
environment through involving different stakeholders such
as teachers, colleagues, and students in the research
process (Elliott 1991). This leads to an understanding of
the situation from different perspectives. This important
aspect of action research reflects the view that teacher
reflection on its own is not sufficient: systematic and
collaborative ways of understanding a situation are also
essential (Kemmis and McTaggart 1988)
The third characteristic centres on the philosophy of
improving practice. In this respect, Elliot (1991, 69) defines
action research as, the study of a social situation with a view
to improving the quality of action within it. This refers to the
role of action research in filling the gap between theory and
practice. According to McNiff, Lomax, and Whitehead (1996),
classroom practice can form the basis of action research, and
hence action research studies are useful for promoting
dialogue between theory and practice in educational settings.
The outcomes of action research studies in terms of improving ELT classroom practice have
been conrmed by previous studies. For example, Lo (2009) conducted action research in
Taiwan where the Triarchic Intelligence Theory (analytical, creative, and practical intelligence)
was applied in teaching English reading and writing at university level. The author contends
that action research improved teaching quality through being self-critical towards the
classroom procedures. Diab (2008), who carried out an action research at a university in
Lebanon to elucidate the effects of peer and self-edition on learner autonomy in second-
language writing, also claims that action research is useful for finding solutions to specific
classroom problems. Banegas (2011) study, which was designed to create a collaborative
environment through giving EFL teachers a voice in evaluating the 2003 curriculum in
Argentina, also showed that collaborative action research enables teachers to reflect on
practice, and hence build an awareness of issues to consider in improving the effectiveness of
classroom teaching. This is supported by Kebir (1994), who conducted an action research
study in South Australia to understand the role of teaching communication strategies in
developing learners strategic competence. She asserted that implementing action research is
useful for incorporating the findings into everyday teaching practice. These studies conrm
that action research can serve the purpose of understanding classroom problems.
Listening to students voices to improve classroom practice
A number of research studies implementing student negotiation have been carried out
and these studies revealed positive aspects of student negotiation. For example, Xie
(2010) conducted a study in China with the aim of investigating the role of teacher
student interaction on learners reticence to speak. Xie concluded that involving students
in critical thinking allowed students to choose their own topics, which increased
opportunities to participate in classroom interaction. Zhang and Head (2010) carried out
a study in a similar context in which they actively involved students in designing their
speaking courses and planning activities. The results showed that involving students in
decision-making resulted in positive attitude change and increased motivation. Tsafos
(2009) conducted an action research study that offered opportunities for student
negotiation in a literature course in a high school in Greece. Teacherstudent negotiation
was reported to promote the effectiveness of classes and transform students roles from
passive receivers to active participants. The main findings of the studies discussed above
show that student negotiation seems to improve classroom practice through making it
possible to provide classes relevant to students needs and wants.
Data collection methods
What data do you collect ? (based on the research questions)
What are the data sources ? (documents/ artefacts, English
teacher, students, parents)
What are the instruments used to collect data ?
(observation guide, interview guide, field notes, checklist, rating scale, test)
Who will collect the data ? (researcher him/herself, field
workers, English teachers, collaborators )
How and when to collect the data ? (face-to-face, online,
by phone, video recording; e.g. 1 & 2 May 2017)
Examples
How does the use of portfolio contribute to teaching
and learning in the classroom ?
What are students attitudes towards the learning
portfolio ?
How do photographs help students to develop content
and write a coherent text ?
 Data Data sources Methods Instruments Who How When

Attitudes Students Questionnaire Likert scale Data collectors Visit target schools 2nd of May 2017

Portfolio Artefacts Documentation Documentation

contributions (students work guide
to teaching & progress &
learning product)
Teachers Diary Self-report Reflective journal