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Towards New Understandings: Reflections on an Action Research Project with Japanese University Students

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International Perspectives on Teacher Research

Part of the book series: International Perspectives on English Language Teaching ((INPELT))

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Abstract

For teachers interested in developing their practice, there is no shortage of information about the basic practical details of designing and carrying out classroom-based research (see, e.g. Burns 2010; Freeman 1998; Wallace 1998). In addition, there are some public reports of teachers reflecting on their own research. Gregson (2004) reports on one experience and provides a fine example of the benefits and challenges of doing teacher research. Her investigation showed that implementing classroom change can lead to unexpected findings, where even failures can lead to important insights. She argues that teacher research is messy and the outcomes take time to unfold. This was certainly true of our investigation as well. Unfortunately, there are not enough reports such as Gregsonā€™s in the literature. Given the difficulties inherent in simultaneously fulfilling teacher and researcher roles, reflective accounts can give aspiring teacher researchers opportunities to vicariously learn from peers, make plain the challenges involved, and consider what becoming a teacher researcher actually involves. This is what our chapter aims to do.

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Ā© 2015 Gerald Talandis Jr. and Michael Stout

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Talandis, G., Stout, M. (2015). Towards New Understandings: Reflections on an Action Research Project with Japanese University Students. In: Borg, S., Sanchez, H.S. (eds) International Perspectives on Teacher Research. International Perspectives on English Language Teaching. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137376220_2

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