1 Recent Trends in Applied Linguistics and Language Pedagogy Research Marianne Nikolov University of Pécs, Hungary

2 Overview of presentation What has been researched? How has research been designed and implemented? How to decide upon best focus and research method?

3 What has been studied? Who study whom and where? Tertiary education - frequent Asia has moved to the fore Non-native teachers English as a lingua franca Other target languages – minimal

What has been researched? 4 skills –frequently studied Testing: assessment of learning / for learning Classrooms Individual differences: affective and cognitive factors Early start programs Form- and meaning- focused instruction: explicit/implicit learning 4

What has not been researched? Language teaching methods Published teaching materials & proficiency, motivation How extracurricular exposure contributes to proficiency Impact of internet and IT – autonomous learning Work abroad Teachers’ cooperation 5

Main trends in research methods Diversity: shift from single method to mixed method Shift towards qualitative studies Case studies Identity – social construct Emic perspective Thick description Triangulation Feasibility Complex systems (Larsen-Freeman & Cameron, 2008) causal models do not work 6

Main trends in studies with a linguistic focus English – English as a lingua franca Focus on learner and teacher language in context Learners’ and teachers’ L1 in interaction with target L Corpus linguistics – authentic language Vocabulary; chunks, unanalyzed wholes Standards & curricula – assessment 7

Psycholinguistic trends Attitudes, motivation, willingness to communicate, anxiety Focus on processes vs. outcomes Memory-based learning vs. rule-based learning Implicit – explicit learning and knowledge Uses of think aloud protocol 8

Sociolinguistic trends Learners’ and teachers’ beliefs and identity Co-construction / scaffolding of knowledge Dynamic testing (Sternberg & Grigorenko, 2002) learning potential, mediated learning, testing FOR learning Intercultural communication Information technology – Internet Classroom research 9

10 Qualitative research gaining ground Analysis of 10 journals between (Benson, Chik, Gao, Huang, & Wang, 2009) 22% of papers are qualitative TQ: 43% - SSLA: 5% Two main categories: Case studyDiscourse analysis

11 How? Approaches A (people) & B (texts) Case study 225Discourse Analysis 53 Ethnography 49Classroom Interaction49 Longitudinal 19Conversation Analysis20 Think-Aloud 16Corpus Study 6 Narrative 12Genre Analysis 4 Self-Study 6Systematic Func. Analysis 1 Stimulated Recall 7 Action Research 4 Diary Study 4 TOTAL (Benson, et al., 2009, p. 84)

12 How? Single-method and Multi-method studies Types of data collectionTotal # studies Unclear 13 (Benson, et al., 2009):

13 How to choose a focus and a method? (1)Read (2)Discuss (3)Reflect (4)Find problem areas in context (5)Formulate questions (6)Discuss (7)Find participants (8)Decide (1)Replication study (2)New study (9)Method to match RQs (1)Instruments (2)Procedures (3)Feasibility

14 How to progress? Document every step in writing Process must be intrinsically motivating Don’t lose heart Keep going: read, discuss, reflect Ups & downs are typical You’ll eventually get there

15 References Benson, P., Chik, A., Gao, X., Huang, J., & Wang, W. (2009). Qualitative research in language teaching and learning journals. The Modern Language Journal, 93(1), Creswell, J. W. (2004). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (2 nd edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Duff, P. (2008). Case study research in applied linguistics. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum. Johnstone, R. (2009). Review on research on language teaching, learning and policy published in Language Teaching, 42(3), Mackey, A., & Gass, S. (2005). Second language research: Methodology and design. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Nikolov, M. (2009). The age factor in context. In M. Nikolov (Ed.), The age factor and early language learning (pp. 1-38). Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter. Richards, K. (2009). Trends in qualitative research in language teaching since Language Teaching, 42(2),