English Language Teachers Engagement with Published Research

Funded by the British Council’s ELT Research Partnership Awards (ELTRA) scheme

The relationship between practice and research, and between practitioners/teachers and researchers, has been the subject of considerable debate within ELT. Some suggest that reading and engaging with often inaccessible research publications and their findings is not part of a teacher’s role, and that research offers little of value for ELT practice. Others, however, suggest that an interface or dialogue between research and practice, and between researchers and practitioners, is important in order for the profession, and for individual teachers, to develop.

This project aims to explore the extent to which, and how, English language teachers’ engage with research and the disciplinary knowledge it conveys, uncovering their perceptions, priorities and the possible impacts on their pedagogy. The project will focus on teachers’ engagement with published research and research-oriented professional publications, i.e., ideas and perspectives that they engage with as readers/’critical consumers’ of research.

Thus central to this proposal are its implications for teachers, for researchers, and for teacher educators and other stakeholders in the field. For teachers, the project will give voice to and legitimize practitioners’ perceptions (and concerns) regarding the relationship between research and practice, while also providing routes towards professional development through engagement with published research. For researchers, it will also map out ways in which the presentation of research might be made more impactful on the profession. And for teacher educators, trainers and other stakeholders in the field, it will consider the role of research publications in the development of possible pathways towards CPD.