Capítulo Libro 2009 Investigación en el aula en L1 y L2_A Pathway To Teacher Autonomy And Learner...

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Original article published in :

Investigación en el aula en L1 y L2: Estudios, experiencias y reflexiones. Melba Libia

Cárdenas (Ed). Biblioteca abierta, Colección general Lenguas Extranjeras, Universidad

Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, Departamento de Lenguas

Extranjeras, pp. 131-145, 2009.

Revised version created by author on June 18, 2009.

A PATHWAY TO TEACHER AND LEARNER AUTONOMY: A STUDY ON

SOCIOAFFECTIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES

SUMMARY

The growing popularity of learning English as a foreign language generates a

substantial degree of sociocultural pressure for adults to learn or improve their language

skills. However, there are indications that many EFL learners do not seem to either have

appropriate beliefs, attitudes, anxieties, and motivations or make a good use of proper

language learning strategies. EFL teachers in general and Colombian EFL teachers in

particular should address these issues by engaging in critical reflections to provide their

students with appropriate activities to face up to the emotional difficulties of social

interaction and language learning, but more importantly, to open their own work to

inspection and to construct valid accounts of their educational practices. Action research

(AR) and reflective teacher-learning on socioaffective language learning strategies

appear to be powerful means for developing both teacher autonomy and learner

autonomy. Teacher autonomy is developed because new methodological and

pedagogical opportunities are opened up for teachers to develop an appropriate

expertise of their own. Learner autonomy is also developed because students can

become aware of and identify their strategies, needs and goals as learners in order to

reconsider and refashion approaches and procedures for optimal language learning. A

particular action research study examined these issues by focusing explicitly on

affective factors and socioaffective language learning strategies among learners in a

monolingual EFL classroom at the Centro Colombo Americano in Bogota, Colombia.

The results of the study suggested that explicit strategy instruction in socioaffective



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language learning strategies is helpful in heightening learner awareness of the

importance of paying attention to their own feelings and social relationships as part of

their learning process. The results also showed that when teachers reflect on their

practical pedagogical know-how, it becomes rich personal pedagogical knowledge.

KEY WORDS

EFL, language learning strategies (LLS), socioaffective factors, critical reflection,

practice-as-inquiry, living educational theories, reflective practice, action research (AR),

teacher autonomy and learner autonomy.

INTRODUCTION

In the current economic climate of our countries and the growing integration of

the modern world, here appears to be a considerable degree of sociocultural pressure for

adult learners become proficient at English. However, EFL students seem to be unaware

of the impact that certain socioaffective and personal factors play in their success in

learning and speaking a foreign language (Rubin & Thompson, 1994). Most of themtend to have poor or limited language learning strategies (LLS) such as literal

translation, rote memorization, inadequate note-taking, etc. (Griffiths, 2003).

Specifically, Colombian EFL students seem to lack the basic skills to start and maintain

their language learning process successfully. Many students, for instance, do not display

awareness of how to use a dictionary, knowledge about how to store basic vocabulary,

familiarity with the use of classroom instructions, etc. (Fandiño, 2007). Noticeably, EFL

students in general, and Colombian EFL students in particular, are not accustomed to paying attention to their own feelings and relationships in class or taking note of their

use of language learning strategies.

The inadequate familiarity with LLS and the negligible awareness of

socioaffective and personal factors that EFL students have are issues that EFL teachers

need to address in order to aid their students successfully in mastering English; a tool

that can assist them in satisfying certain personal, social, professional and cultural



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needs, wants, and goals. With this aim in view, EFL teachers should ponder on the

impact of socioaffective factors and the importance of language learning strategies in

students’ learning process. If EFL teachers want their students to develop their inherent

potential to learn, socioaffective factors such as anxiety, motivation, self-esteem, beliefs

and attitudes can no longer be denied, the inner needs of the learners can no longer be

neglected (Andres, 2002). Similarly, teachers can enhance the language learning process

by making students aware of LLS, helping students understand good LLS, training them

to develop them and, ultimately, encouraging their use (Graham, 1997). Definitely,

socioaffective factors and LLS are issues that EFL teachers need to reflect on, not

simply to improve language teaching and education in the process, but also in order to

help students live more satisfying lives and be responsible members of society.

EFL teachers need to reflect on how to provide their students with appropriate

activities, materials and principles to face up to the emotional and sociocultural

demands of language learning. However, teachers’ efforts must go beyond merely

achieving instructional aims. Instead, teachers must strive to observe, question and

understand the teaching settings in which they work and the teaching practices they

follow. In other words, teachers’ reflections should be directed at bringing to light theimplicit rationale behind what, why, and how things are done in class and at examining

the beliefs and values that form or shape actions in class. This way, teachers can not

only focus on the learner as an individual with affective needs and reactions that must

be considered as an integral part of their language learning, but also open their own

work to critical inspection and construct valid accounts of their educational language

practices (Finch, 2000).

CRITICAL REFLECTION

In the last 30 years, several authors have assumed that teachers are researchers

who should permanently submit their daily practice to rigorous self-examination to

overcome their repetitive routine by continuously reflecting on and transforming their

practices (See Stenhouse, 1993; Elliot, 1994; McKernan, 1996; Kemmis, 1998, etc).

Educational research should aim to explain what actually happens inside the classroom,



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the direct and indirect influence of internal and external factors related to the student,

the teacher and the ELT curriculum (Van Lier, 1998). At the heart of teachers’

educational research, there should be a focus on critically inquiring their own practice.

In other words, teachers should use educational research to think about their own

contexts, to analyze their judgments and interpretations and to distance themselves to

make the basis of their work open to inspection.

One way to critically open teachers’ work to inspection is what Donald Schön

called practice-as-inquiry . This inquiry occurs when the practitioner reflects both while

engaged in action and subsequently on the action itself as an attempt to make his or her

own understanding problematic to him or herself. The teacher-researcher strives to test

his or her constructions of the situation by bringing to the surface, juxtaposing, and

discriminating alternate accounts of reality. The point is to see the taken-for-granted

with new eyes to be able to come out of this experience with an expanded appreciation

of the complexity of learning, of teaching, and a stronger sense of how external realities

affect what the teacher-researcher can (want to) really do (Schön, 1983, 1987).

Another proponent of practice-as-inquiry is Jack Whitehead (1988). He regardedit as a way to construct a living educational theory from practitioner's questions of the

kind: How do I improve my practice? Valid accounts of a teacher’s educational

development, explained Whitehead, should be accepted when teachers ask themselves

how to improve their practices, undertake to improve some aspect of their practice,

reflect systematically on such a process and provide insights into the nature of their

descriptions and explanations. With this standpoint, Whitehead did not deny the

importance of propositional forms of understanding. Instead, he argued for areconstruction of educational theory into a living form of question and answer which

includes propositional contributions from the traditional disciplines of education.

In a similar vein, Bernando Restrepo Gómez (2000) explained that teachers, in

fact, do research when they submit their daily practice to rigorous self-examination to

face and transform their everyday practices in ways that respond adequately to their

working environment, the needs of their students and their sociocultural agenda. To



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him, teachers as educational practitioners can use retrospection, introspection and

participant observation to clarify guiding theories and to specify pedagogical

interventions in order to re-signify and transform unsuccessful practices. He argued that,

if done systematically and consistently, the empirical doing of teachers can become a

reflective doing, a reflective practice. This “pedagogical know-how” can allow teachers

both to overcome their repetitive routine and to objectify their practices, which can

ultimately help them reflect on and transform their practices simultaneously.

ACTION RESEARCH

As stated before, EFL teachers should not simply aim at doing research to create

new or improved activities, practices and principles; they should do research to bring to

light their rationale behind those activities, practices and principles. In particular,

research should allow EFL teachers to engage in critical reflection about their set of

beliefs or expectations about what language learning is, how a foreign language is

learned and why certain practices or activities are acceptable or not in a foreign

language classroom. Evidently, the integration between teaching, researching and

learning requires a type of research that proffers reflection and self-examination toteachers. This integration also requires a type of research in which teachers can search

for solutions to everyday, real problems experienced in classrooms, or look for ways to

improve instruction and increase student achievement (Finch, 2005). Based on these

requirements, EFL studies can and should use action research (AR) to provide for a type

of research in which teaching, learning, reflection and self-actualization can take place

in the classroom. Rightly, Martin Parrot (1996, cited in Madrid, 2000) defined AR as:

…not so much something that we do in addition to our teaching as something

that we integrate into it. In many ways it is a state of mind – it is skepticism

about assumptions and a willingness to put everything to the test… It is a way of

ensuring that we continue to learn even as we teach. It helps stave off staleness

and routine.



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In AR, a variety of procedural plans have been evolved by different scholars. All

adopt methodical and iterative sequences of research. These sequences are meant to

offer a systematic approach to introducing innovations in teaching and learning. They

seek to do this by putting the teacher in the role of producer of educational theory and

user of this theory. The process of researching in AR brings theory and practice

together. According to Daniel Madrid (2000, p. 22), there are four classic

developmental phases of AR:

• Phase 1: Develop a plan of action to a) improve what is already happening or b)

identify and examine a "puzzle" or problem area in your teaching;

• Phase 2: Act to implement the plan;

• Phase 3: Observe the effects of action in the context in which it occurs, and

• Phase 4: Reflect on these effects.

These basic phases can be seen in the following diagram:

Develop aPlan of Action

Reflect Act

ObserveEffects

Figure 1. Basic Stages of Action Research (Madrid, 2000, p. 22)

Based on the previous theoretical considerations, AR can be regarded as a

reflective activity dealing with issues arising from the formative quality of the curricular

experiences of the students and about the pedagogical conditions that make them possible. In this endeavor, teachers can be learners interested in studying the curricular

and pedagogical considerations surrounding their practices and, at the same time,

researchers who regard their practices as provisional and unsatisfactory and who use

research to achieve changes that are educational worthy. Thus, AR can be the basis for

teachers’ personal and professional development and autonomy.

TEACHER AUTONOMY



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Apart from systematization, documentation, understanding and knowledge, AR

provides teachers with autonomy . Here, I am in agreement with Richard C. Smith

(2000) on understanding autonomy not just as a generalized “right to freedom from

control” (Benson, 2000) or as “a teachers’ capacity to engage in self-directed teaching

(Little, 1995), but as a capacity for self-directed teacher-learning. Smith explained that

the idea that education should embrace teacher autonomy is not at heart a new

proposition – advocates of teacher development, teacher-research, classroom-research

and so on would appear to share this goal implicitly. To him, what might be a relatively

new idea is the emphasis on the development of autonomy through reflective teacher-

learning (2000, p. 95). This autonomy can be understood as a critical reflection that

teachers do on when, where, how and from what sources they (should) learn. This type

of autonomy mainly takes place when teachers monitor the extent to which they

constrain or scaffold students’ thinking and behavior, when they reflect on their own

role in the classroom, when they attempt to understand and advise students, and,

ultimately, when they engage in investigative activities.

Actual engagement in and concern with reflective teacher-learning appear, then,to be a powerful means for developing teacher autonomy; particularly, when it is

explicitly linked to action research. Reflective teacher-learning and AR are essential for

teachers to construct autonomy. This autonomy takes place when teachers gain better

abilities and a greater willingness to learn for themselves. It emerges when teachers

develop an appropriate expertise of their own. The point I am trying to make here is that

teachers become autonomous when they use AR and reflective teacher-learning as a

methodology to develop a capacity to open their own work to inspection, to constructvalid accounts of their educational development and, ultimately, to foster learner

autonomy.

LEARNER AUTONOMY

As Little (1991, p. 4) explained, cast in a new perspective and regarded as

understanding the purpose of their learning programme, explicitly accepting



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responsibility for their learning, sharing in the setting of learning goals, taking

initiatives in planning and executing learning activities, and regularly reviewing their

learning and evaluating its effectiveness, learners, autonomous learners, that is, are

expected to critically reflect on and take charge of their own learning. To Little, the

autonomous learner takes a (pro-) active role in the learning process, generating ideas

and availing himself of learning opportunities, rather than simply reacting to various

stimuli of the teacher. In other words, the autonomous learner is a self-activated maker

of meaning, an active agent in his own learning process. He is not one to whom things

merely happen; he is the one who, by his own volition, causes things to happen

(Rathbone, 1971, p. 100 cited in Candy, 1991, p. 271).

However, learner autonomy does not mean that the teacher becomes redundant

abdicating his/her control over what is transpiring in the language learning process.

Instead, learner autonomy involves a dynamic process learned at least partly through

educational experiences and interventions (Candy, 1991, cited in Thanasoulas, 2000, p.

115). What permeates this article is the belief that in order to help learners to assume

greater control over their own learning, it is important that teachers help them to

become aware of and identify the strategies that they already use or could potentiallyuse. In other words, autonomous learning is by no means teacherless learning. As

Sheerin (1997, cited in Benson & Voller, 1997, p. 63.) succinctly put it, “…Teachers--

have a crucial role to play in launching learners into self-access and in lending them a

regular helping hand to stay afloat” . Thus, the teacher's role is to create and maintain a

learning environment in which learners can be autonomous in order to become more

autonomous.

Learner autonomy can, then, be promoted through AR studies on language

learning strategies because, as Dimitrios Thanasoulas (2000) explained, learner

autonomy mainly consists in becoming aware of and identifying one's strategies, needs

and goals as a learner and having the opportunity to reconsider and refashion

approaches and procedures for optimal learning. AR studies on language learning

strategies can do just that. They can help students become aware of and familiar with

thoughts, behaviors, mental steps or operations to comprehend or retain new



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information, to learn a new language and to regulate their efforts to do so. They can also

encourage them to assume greater responsibility for their own language learning and

help them assume control over their own learning process. AR studies on language

learning strategies can launch students into generating new or improved behaviors and

ideas in their learning process and into availing themselves of learning opportunities,

which ultimately brings about their own autonomy.

ACTION RESEARH ON SOCIOAFFECTIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING

STRATEGIES

A particular action research study examined critical reflection, teacher autonomy

and learner autonomy by focusing explicitly on affective factors and socioaffective

language learning strategies among learners in a monolingual EFL classroom at the

Centro Colombo Americano in Bogota, Colombia. The overall purpose of this action

research was to explicitly teach affective factors and socioaffective language learning

strategies in order to make them more accessible and usable for beginner EFL students

(See appendix B). Seventeen beginner EFL students participated in this action research

study. An initial semi-structured questionnaire and a rating scale gave first data onfactors and strategies that needed to be addressed. Observation and teaching logs

provided information about how affective-based instruction was conducted and how

students responded to it. A post-questionnaire was used to determine the effectiveness

and usefulness of this type of instruction.

This action research aimed at contributing theoretical findings and pedagogical

suggestions to the investigation of socioaffective matters in the ESL/EFL field. It did it by first identifying and describing the beliefs, attitudes, anxieties and motivations of a

group of beginner students in a three-month course. Afterwards, it analyzed what

affective factors seemed to play a greater role in the language learning process of this

group of beginner students. Subsequently, it implemented strategy-based instruction on

socioaffective language learning strategies through affect-related activities. Then, it

assessed the usefulness of affect-based instruction. On the whole, this study sought to



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promote a critical consciousness, which exhibited itself in new educational as well as

practical actions for beginner foreign language teachers, students and classrooms.

This study adopted Anne Burns’ (1999, p. 35) model of action research because

it allows for practical, but critical classroom enquiry and self-reflection which provide a

sound source for pedagogical planning and action (See appendix C). It also enables EFL

teachers to easily frame the local decisions of the classroom within broader educational,

institutional, and theoretical considerations. This study also followed and adopted

Whitehead’s (1993) set of reflective questions to help the teacher-researcher to be as

critical and reflective as possible because, as McNiff (2002) claimed, these questions

also entail a methodology of action research in which one wants to assess and reflect

about what one is doing (See appendix D). In doing this type of reflective research, one

is not only giving an account of oneself, but also one is showing that one can justify

what one is doing with good reason.

The results of the study suggested that explicit strategy instruction in

socioaffective language learning strategies is helpful in heightening learner awareness

of the importance of paying attention to their own feelings and social relationships as part of their learning process. This increased awareness about the socioaffective

dimension of foreign language learning seemed to ultimately improve the frequency and

the quality of students’ participation and interaction in class. The results also showed

that when teachers reflect on their practical pedagogical know-how, it becomes rich

personal pedagogical knowledge.

I believe that action research studies on language learning strategies andaffective factors make it possible for EFL students to become agents in their own

learning process. Such studies can lead them to see that language learning is mainly the

result of their own self-initiated interaction with their teachers, their classmates, their

materials and their own personal, social, affective and cultural attributes. On the other

hand, this type of studies can allow EFL teachers to critically and systematically analyze

their students, identify potential problems, modify their teaching practices, and evaluate

the results. EFL teachers can even face and transform their daily practices in ways



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which let them respond adequately to their students’ needs and sociocultural agendas. In

the end, action research studies on language learning strategies can help EFL teachers

and students realize that they can and should be active, reflective and autonomous

agents of their language teaching and learning processes.

CONCLUSION

Colombian EFL teachers should address issues of socioaffective factors and

language learning strategies by engaging in critical reflections. Not only can these

critical reflections provide their students with appropriate activities to face up to the

emotional difficulties of social interaction and language learning, but also they can open

their own work to systematic inspection and construct valid accounts of their

educational practices. Critical reflections in general and AR in particular appear to be

powerful means for developing both teacher autonomy and learner autonomy. On the

one hand, teacher autonomy is developed because new methodological and pedagogical

opportunities are opened up for teachers to develop an appropriate expertise of their

own. On the other hand, learner autonomy is developed because students can become

aware of and identify their strategies, needs and goals as learners in order to reconsider and refashion approaches and procedures for optimal language learning. In the end, AR

certainly helps to bring out to the open the fact that teachers and students’ actions are

based on implicitly held assumptions allowing them to make explicit the justifications

for their actions and to question the bases of those justifications. The ensuing practical

applications that follow are, then, subjected to further analysis in a transformative cycle

that continuously promotes changes in the daily practices, activities and materials of the

EFL classrooms.

REFERENCES

Andres, V. (2002, March). The Influence of affective variables on EFL/ESL learning

and teaching. In The journal of the imagination in language learning and teaching. Vol.

7. Retrieved August 20, 2006 from http://www.njcu.edu/CILL/vol7/andres.html



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Benson, P. (2000). Autonomy as a learners and teacher’s right. In Sinclair, B., McGrath,

I. and Lamb, T (Eds.), Learner autonomy, teacher autonomy: New directions (pp. 111-

117). London: Addison Wesley Longman.

Burns, A. (1999). Collaborative action research for English language teachers .

Cambridge, UK: Cambridge university press.

Candy, P. (1991). Self-direction for Lifelong Learning . California: Jossey-Bass.

Fandiño, Y. J. (2007). The explicit teaching of socioaffective language learning

strategies to beginner EFL students at the Centro Colombo Americano: An action

research study . Bogota, 298 p. Master’s thesis. Division of advanced education,

University of La Salle, Colombia.

Finch, A. E. (2000). A Formative Evaluation of a Task-based EFL Programme for

Korean University Students . Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis. Manchester University, U.K.

Retrieved August 10, 2006 from http://www.finchpark.com/afe/affect.htm

________. (2005). Action Research: Empowering the Teachers. Pleiades: Journal of

Teaching Young Learners of English, 1 (1), 30-48. Retrieved August 4, 2006 from

http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/articles/index.pl?read=950

Graham, S. (1997). Effective language learning . Clevedon, England: Multilingual

Matters.

Griffiths, C. (2004, February). Language learning strategies: Theory and research. In

School of foundations studies , Occasional paper, No. 1. AIS St Helens, Auckland: New

Zealand. Retrieved August 20, 2006 from

http://www.crie.org.nz/research_paper/c_griffiths_op1.pdf

Little, D. (1991). Learner Autonomy 1: Definitions, Issues and Problems . Dublin:

Authentik.



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________. (1995). Learning as dialogue: The dependence of learner autonomy on

teacher autonomy. In System, 23 (2), 175-181.

Madrid, D. (2000). Observation and research in the classroom. In Teaching English as a

Foreign Language , Barcelona: The Australian Institute, pp. 1-100.

McNiff, J. (2002). Action research for professional development: Concise advice for

new action researchers. At Jean McNiff , booklet 1, No. 6. Retrieved August 20, 2006

from http://www.jeanmcniff.com/booklet1.html#6

Parrot, M. (1996). Tasks for language teachers: A resource book for training and

development . UK: Cambridge University Press.

Rathbone, C. H. (1971). Open Education: The Informal Classroom . New York: Citation

Press.

Restrepo, B. (2000). Maestro investigador, Escuela investigadora e Investigación. InCuadernos Pedagógicos 14. Medellín: Universidad de Antioquia.

Rubin, J., and Thompson, I. (1994). How to be a more successful language learner (2nd

ed.). Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle.

Sheerin, S. (1997). An Exploration of the Relationship between Self-access and

Independent Learning. In Benson, P. and Voller, P. (Eds.), Autonomy and Independencein Language Learning . London: Longman.

Schön, D. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action . New

York: Basic books.

________. Educating the Reflective Practitioner . Presentation to the 1987 meeting of

the American Educational Research Association, Washington, D.C.



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Smith, R. (2003). Teacher education for teacher-learner autonomy. In Gollin, J., G.

Ferguson and H. Trappes-Lomax (eds), Sysposium for Language Teacehr Educators:

Papers from Three IALS Symposia (CD-ROM). Edinburgh: IALS, University of

Edinburgh. Also available online via

http://www.warwick.ac.uk/~elsdr/Teacher_autonomy.pdf

Thanasoulas, D. (2000, November). What is learner autonomy and how it can be

fostered? In The Internet TESL journal 6 (11). Retrieved July 17, 2007 from

http://iteslj.org/Articles/Thanasoulas-Autonomy.html

Van Lier, L. (1988). The classroom and the language learner. Ethnography and second

language classroom research . Harlow: Longman.

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How do I improve my practice? In Cambridge journal of education . Vol. 19, No.1., pp.

41-52. Retrieved August 20, 2006 from

http://www.bath.ac.uk/%7Eedsajw/writings/livtheory.html

________. (1993). The growth of educational knowledge: Creating your own living

educational theories . Hyde: Bournemouth.

Appendix AAffective Factors and Socioaffective Language Learning Strategies (Yamith Fandiño,2007)

AFFECTIVE FACTORS SOCIOAFFECTIVE LANGUAGELERANING STRATEGIES

Beliefs The constructedassumptions, opinions,conceptions andexpectations that EFLlearners have aboutthemselves as learners, thelanguage, their classroom

and the learning process.

Affective language learning strategies

Lowering one’s anxiety: Using progressive relaxation, deep breathing or meditation; using music, and usinglaughter.

Encouraging oneself (self-reinforcement):



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Attitudes The evaluative andsocioaffective reactions,thoughts and

predispositions that EFLstudents have towardlanguage learners, Englishand its culture, the learningsituation itself, and thevalue of the learning

process.

Providing personal motivation byarranging rewards for oneself, making

positive statements and taking riskswisely.Taking one’s emotional temperature:Listening to your body; using a checklist;writing a language learning diary;discussing your feelings with someoneelse.

Self-talk: Mental techniques that makeone feel competent to do a learning task

Anxiety A subjective state of apprehension, nervousness,and worry associated with

an arousal of the autonomicnervous system whichoccurs at the learner,language, classroom andlearning level when astudent is expected to

perform in a foreignlanguage.

Social language learning strategies

Asking questions : Asking for explanation,

verification, rephrasing, or examplesabout the material; asking for clarificationor verification about the task; posingquestions to the self.

Cooperating with peers (others): Workingtogether with peers to solve a problem,

pool information, checking a learningtask, modeling a language activity, gettingfeedback on oral or written performance,cooperating with proficiency users of the

new language.

Motivation The desire, the interest, thesatisfaction, the persistence

and the effort that learnershave to achieve tasks or reach goals satisfactorily atthe learner, language,classroom and learninglevels.

Social-mediating activities (Exposingoneself to social activities in TL) andtransacting with others: Active

participation in learning tasks, start andmaintain conversations (show interest, usefollow-up questions, make comments,etc).

Empathizing with others: Developingcultural understanding and becoming

aware of others thoughts and feelings.

Appendix BAnne Burns’ Model of Action Research (1999, p. 35)

Exploring This is a very open and uncertain phase where teachers “feel their way” into the research questions. It involves identifying andagreeing upon a general idea or issue of interest.

Identifying This involves a “fact finding” process which enables theresearchers to refine their ideas about the general focus area and to

prepare for more systematic investigation. At this stage, a short



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period is spent recording and documenting observations.Planning This phase involves developing a viable plan of action for

gathering data, and considering and selecting a range of appropriate research methods. The plan is aimed at trialing a

particular course of action and collecting data on the outcomes of this action.

Collecting data During this period, the procedures selected for collecting data aredeveloped and put into action. These might not be the only datagathering events, but this period begins the process of going moredeeply into the issue being researched.

Analysing /reflecting

This phase is considered as a combination of both analysis andreflection. At this stage, the data are analysed using a systematic

process of analysis and interpretation according to agreed criteria.Hypothesising /

speculating

In this phase, teachers may be in a position to draw out hypothesis

or predictions about what is likely to occur. These hypotheses are based on the data that have been collected to this point, on their analysis and on the reflections that have arisen from the analysis.

Intervening This phase involves changing classroom approaches or practices inresponse to the hypotheses one has made. It may involve somefurther deliberate experimenting with different or non-usualteaching methods or testing out developing hunches or predictions

by moral means.Observing This phase involves observing the outcomes of the intervention and

reflecting on its effectiveness. This involves a new set of teachingstrategies and activities and a recycling back into a period of further data collection.

Reporting This phase involves articulating the activities, data collection andresults that have come out of the research process. Verbalisingthese activities through discussion results in “problematising” theanalyses and observations by extending and critiquing them withother members of the community.

Writing andpresenting

This is a “summative” phase where the research questions, thestrategies developed, the process of the research, and the analysesand results observed are drawn together by writing up an accountin a report or article. This phase also aims at ensuring that theresearch is presented to a wider audience.

Appendix CJack Whitehead’s Set of Reflective Questions (1993)

• What issue am I interested in researching? Ask yourself: What is especially highin my mind at the moment? You should be practical and ask: Can I influence thesituation, or is it outside my scope?

• Why do I want to research this issue? You need to be reasonably clear why youwant to get involved. The reasons for our actions are often rooted in our values

base, that is, the things we believe in and that drive our lives.



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• What kind of evidence can I gather to show why I am interested in this issue? You need to gather data about the situation, and you can use a variety of methodsfor this – journals, diaries, notes, audio and videotape recordings, surveys, attitudescales, pictures, etc.

• What can I do? What will I do? You need to imagine ways in which you might begin taking action. You might want at this stage to consult your critical friend or validation group about how you could move forward. You need to consider your options carefully and decide what you can reasonably expect to achieve, given thetime, energy and other resources you have.

• What kind of evidence can I gather to show that I am having an influence? This is your second set of data, which will also turn into evidence by meeting your nominated criteria. You can use the same, or different, data-gathering methods thatyou used before. You should try to show, through this set of data, whether there isan improvement in the situation, even though that improvement might be verysmall.

• How can I explain that influence? You are aiming to show a development of influence, an unfolding of new understandings and actions from people workingtogether in new ways, and their influence on one another, that is, how they learnwith and from one another. To gauge your impact on them, you need to get their reactions or perceptions about their relationship with you.

• How can I ensure that any judgments I might make are reasonably fair andaccurate? If you say, “I think that such and such happened”, you can expectsomeone to say, “Prove it.” The answer is that you can’t. You can’t prove anything.You can, however, produce reasonable evidence to suggest that what you feelhappened really did happen, and you are not just making it up. You need that other

people consider your claim and agree that you have good reason for making your claim.

• How will I change my practice in the light of my evaluation? You will probablycarry on working in this new way because it seems to be better than the way youwere working before. This does not mean closure. Each ending carries its own

potentials for new creative forms.

Author

Yamith José Fandiño holds a BA in philology and languages from the NationalUniversity of Colombia and an MA in teaching from La Salle University. He has

worked at different EFL institutes and has attended and participated in different

symposia and conferences. His research interests range from learner empowerment to

educational research. Currently, he is working at La Salle and Distrital universities in

Bogotá, Colombia.

Capítulo Libro 2009 Investigación en el aula en L1 y L2_A Pathway To Teacher Autonomy And Learner...

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