This article was downloaded by: [University of Warwick] On: 13 January 2013, At: 12:39 Publisher: Routledge Informa

Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Teacher Development: An international journal of teachers' professional development

Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rtde20

A hands-on experience of English language teachers as researchers

Demet Yayli
a a

Foreign Languages Education Department, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey Version of record first published: 26 Jun 2012.

To cite this article: Demet Yayli (2012): A hands-on experience of English language teachers as researchers, Teacher Development: An international journal of teachers' professional development, 16:2, 255-271 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2012.688680

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-andconditions This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

Teacher Development Vol. 16, No. 2, May 2012, 255271

A hands-on experience of English language teachers as researchers

Demet Yayli*
Foreign Languages Education Department, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey (Received 29 March 2011; nal version received 22 December 2011)

Downloaded by [University of Warwick] at 12:39 13 January 2013

This study presents the results of a teacher research project. The analysis aimed to explore both the four teacher researchers interpretations of conducting research in English language teaching and the nature of their collaboration with their supervisor in the procedure. The results showed that qualitative data analysis and interpreting the ndings were the most troublesome stages for the participants so they needed more support. Also, in terms of their collaboration with their supervisor, a power imbalance was observable. Some statements of the teacher researchers signalled a sublimation of their supervisor as the holder of knowledge, therefore of power. Keywords: teacher research; collaborative research; English language teaching; power

Introduction In the diverse eld of teacher education, the expanding scope of second language (L2) teacher education was rst based on training in knowledge and skills and moved to the development of the individual teacher, the importance of teacher inquiry and research and then to a broader analysis of the common professional learning process and of what is learnt in the process (Crandall 2000; Freeman 1998, 2009; Freeman and Johnson 1998). Rather than limiting itself to disciplinary knowledge or classroom pedagogy, L2 teachers professional development started to be more focused on participative inquiry such as classroom interactions, teaching and learning processes, socialization of teachers in their teaching contexts and using their own contexts as the focus of their professional development and research (Burns 2005; Darling-Hammond 1994; McDonough and McDonough 1997; Wallace 1998). By and large, this stemmed from the fact that many trends inuencing L2 teachers, L2 teaching and L2 teacher learning moved from behaviorist to cognitive and then to situated and social directions (Johnson 2009b; J.C. Richards 1998; J.C. Richards and Lockhart 1994; Widdowson 1997) by repositioning teachers as reective, enquiring and self-motivated practitioners (Schn 1983; Wallace 1991; Zeichner and Liston 1996). Due to the shift in the understanding of language, language learning and L2 teaching from cognitive to socially situated, teachers are believed to reframe their teaching through forming a link between expert knowledge and their experiential
*Email: demety@pau.edu.tr
ISSN 1366-4530 print/ISSN 1747-5120 online 2012 Teacher Development http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2012.688680 http://www.tandfonline.com

256

D. Yayli

knowledge. Similar arguments on the dialectical relationship between the two types of knowledge exist in general education as well (Kennedy 1999). Teachers use expert knowledge as a tool to describe and interpret their own lived experiences of teaching (Johnson 2009a). They enrich expert knowledge with their own intentions to create an instruction appropriate to their context, which is highlighted in the socially situated nature of teacher learning (Ball 2000). In other words, teacher learning is not based on the direct internalization of expert knowledge from the outside in. Teachers are never passive receivers of theory but active users and producers of theory in their own right for their own purposes and contexts (Cochran-Smith and Lytle 1993). In their seminal work, Cochran-Smith and Lytle (1993) depicted the movement toward recognizing teachers knowledge and thinking as indispensable and valuable components in teaching and they also examined teacher research. Most of the 50-year history of research into teaching investigates teachers and their work. In studies conducted by university-based teachers, school-based teachers serve as the subjects and are the eventual consumers of the knowledge emerging in research. Ironically, throughout their careers, teachers are expected to learn about their own profession not by studying their own experiences but by studying the ndings of those who are not themselves school-based teachers (Cochran-Smith and Lytle 1993, 1). Cochran-Smith and Lytle argued that relying heavily on university-based research may hinder signicant contributions from teachers. Therefore, they believe that with teacher research some of the expertise of teachers could be made accessible, which in turn provides both university and school communities with unique perspectives on teaching and learning (5). From a sociocultural perspective, teachers are seen as the learners of teaching, therefore understanding the cognitive and social processes that teachers go through is of paramount importance in the eld of L2 teacher education (Johnson 2009a). Adopting a teacher research perspective that emphasizes systematic and intentional inquiry by teachers merits attention to studies on teachers research engagement (Cochran-Smith and Lytle 1993; Darling-Hammond 1994; Zeichner and Noffke 2001). As Borg (2007, 2009) reminded us, unlike the ample amount of research on teachers research engagement in education generally, there are only a limited number of studies of teachers conceptions of research in the eld of English language teaching (ELT). The work which does exist started to emerge only in the 1990s (Burns 1999). Drawing on surveys, Sowa (2009) for instance examined the ways in which action research projects are used. The ndings reveal that projects help to make teachers more aware of their teaching and mindful about their presentation of materials and assessment. Also all the participating teachers noted that as a result of conducting the projects, they grew more critical and reective about their teaching. The case study reported in Reis-Jorges (2007) research investigated nine overseas teachers views of teacher research and found that their involvement in dissertations appeared to have made positive contributions but its potential for making research a part of teachers future professional lives was questionable. In a recent study, Borg (2007) administered a self-report questionnaire to 62 teachers on a Freshman English program at a university in Turkey to collect data on the respondents background, their views about research, their perceptions of institutional culture in relation to research, and their engagement in reading and doing research. Although several teachers in the study felt that doing research was personally and professionally benecial and of value in enabling them to explore

Downloaded by [University of Warwick] at 12:39 13 January 2013

Teacher Development

257

issues related to their own teaching (743), some stated that their job was to teach, not to do research and they were not interested in research. Lack of time was the commonly cited reason so the study recommended that the time research requires should be acknowledged beforehand and built into institutional systems. In a follow-up study, Borg (2009) examined the conceptions of research held by 505 teachers of English from 13 countries around the world. With a multi-method strategy design, the study adopted a questionnaire to nd that the participants conceptions of research were aligned with conventional scientic notions of inquiry. Therefore, to increase teacher engagement in research, broadening teachers awareness of forms research could take was suggested. Since teachers commonly stated that they were not engaged in research because they lacked support and time, Borg suggested formal courses that teachers may attend as a supportive and structured route for them to do research. In another study conducted in Turkey, Atay (2008) investigated the research experiences of Turkish English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers in a researchoriented in-service education and training (INSET) program. The participants, 18 EFL teachers in an English preparatory school of a state university, volunteered to attend the INSET program. After receiving some theoretical knowledge on some issues such as student motivation, learning strategies and classroom management, they discussed and reected on the issues that they wanted to investigate in their own classroom settings. After they conducted their research, they handed in their reports which included a research question, data collection and a brief discussion of results. The results revealed that after the program, the participants gained a positive attitude towards research. They stated that research led to an increased sense of professionalism (144) and renewed their enthusiasm about teaching. The studies reviewed highlight a number of areas in the eld of teacher research requiring further systematic inquiry in their diverse contexts. In her analysis of the new teacher education argument, Cochran-Smith (2005) proffered that in addition to operating at the intersections of research, policy, and practice, teacher education can be understood as social, ideological, rhetorical and political practice (3). Therefore there is a need for detailed analyses of underlying premises that are embedded in teacher education and teacher research in diverse local contexts. The advocates of teacher research (e.g. Allwright and Bailey 1991; Nunan 1989a, b) believe that practitioner involvement may help bridge the gap between research bodies and the teaching profession. They also see it as an empowering tool for teachers to be engaged in research. Supporting similar initiatives, Cochran-Smith and Lytle (1993) made a comparison of research on teaching with teacher research (see pages 12, 13, Figure 1.1); the former refers to the large body of literature accumulated over the last several decades that has attempted to open the black box of classroom teaching and learning (10) and the latter refers to a growing body of literature on teachers work from teachers own perspectives. The split between teaching practice and research on teaching and/or between teacher and researcher has however been debated over the past decade in the eld of teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) (Stewart 2006). Since the language of power is theoretical language (Morgan 1998) and the researcher s language is the privileged one while the practical knowledge of teachers is undermined, the effects of this split are easily observed. This power inequality and the marginalization of teachers of English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) merits an exploration of attempts to challenge it. One of these attempts suggested

Downloaded by [University of Warwick] at 12:39 13 January 2013

258

D. Yayli

in the literature is collaboration between teachers and researchers (Dudley-Evans and St John 1998). Drawing on a notion of teacher research which sees research as one of the routes to teacher emancipation and which supports collaboration with professionals to weaken power tensions, this study aims to both reect the hands-on experience of four in-service teachers engaged in the practice of conducting research and analyze their collaboration with their supervisor. In line with Atays study (2008), the underlying goal of the study was for teachers to see teacher research as an opportunity to question their own belief systems (145) and the research questions addressed were as follows: (1) What are the four teacher researchers interpretations of conducting research in ELT? (2) What is the nature of the collaboration of teacher researchers with their supervisor in the procedure?

Downloaded by [University of Warwick] at 12:39 13 January 2013

Method Context and the participants This study was conducted in the spring semester (200809) in a Materials Development and Evaluation course offered in a Master s degree program on ELT in a state university in Turkey. It aimed to explore both the research experience of four teacher researchers, Sevgi, Naciye, Zeliha and Kemal (not their real names) ranging in age from 24 to 36 and their collaboration with their supervisor (one of the academics in the program and the author of this paper). The teacher researchers, all native speakers of Turkish, were new students enrolled in the program. They were also practicing teachers at three institutions; two of them were instructors at a school of foreign languages, one was at a primary school and another one was at an Anatolian High School (AHS). Three of them held a Bachelor s degree in ELT and the other in English Language and Literature. They were all practicing teachers who had taught from 2 to 13 years in a variety of school settings, both public and private. Although all the teacher researchers stated that they had attended various seminars given by the Turkish Ministry of National Education, none had ever carried out research. In the preceding fall semester, the participants took a Research Methods course and the idea of conducting a research study emerged in our last discussions in the course. They expressed their willingness to be not only the passive recipients of theoretical knowledge provided in the program but also the active researchers of issues in ELT. During the semester break, they had time to think over the problematic issues about materials used in ELT classes because they were to take the Materials Development and Evaluation course in the following spring semester. In our rst meeting in the spring semester we agreed to work collaboratively to experience conducting research. A very important source of motivation for me was to have them experience all the processes involved in empirical research before they started to conduct their own studies for their dissertations. Throughout their research engagement, I urged them to be active in forming purposes for their research, designing the steps of it and examining this experience through their own assumptions and values. Said another way, I encouraged them to be reective teacher

Teacher Development

259

researchers owing to the recognition that teachers have ideas, beliefs, and theories too, that can contribute to the betterment of teaching (Zeichner and Liston 1996, 5) and research. While they were engaged in their teacher research project, I was always at their disposal both supervising and interpreting their teacher research experience. Data collection The data for the study were drawn from three sources: (1) participating teacher researchers written work, namely their reection papers which they wrote throughout their research engagement, (2) their stances which I observed in our discussions and noted in my eld notes, and (3) also their stances which I audiotaped and videotaped in my interview sessions with them. In their reective reports, the teacher researchers reected on their experiences of conducting mainly qualitative research. The eld notes I kept and my recorded interviews with them helped me to probe further into the details of their hands-on experience and the nature of their collaboration with me throughout this process. The research element in their teacher research project was based on the systematic collection of data followed by an analysis of what was gathered and interpretation of the ndings for further observation. Thus, the main steps of their study included outlining, data collection, data analysis, interpreting ndings and nal remarks. In line with these steps, before, during and after they collected their data, they wrote reection papers which included: (1) the initial papers to describe themselves as teachers and researchers, (2) the papers they wrote after piloting their interview questions, (3) the papers they wrote after each formal interview they held, and (4) the nal papers to reect on their data analysis. Besides these written data, they shared their ideas, beliefs and observations orally in our weekly group discussions and I took some eld notes. In the group discussions that we held throughout the semester, they shaped the scope of their study, their interview questions, their targeted interviewee group, how they would reect on this research experience and so forth. I also interviewed the participating teacher researchers so that I was able to probe deeper into the details of their reported perceptions of the issues under study. I audiotaped all the interviews and the nal focus group interview was videotaped. Data analysis This collaborative study was based on a qualitative analysis of the teacher researchers interpretations of conducting research in ELT and the nature of their collaboration with me. As mentioned before, the data for the study were based on the teacher researchers reection papers, the eld notes I took during our weekly discussions and the transcriptions of interviews I held with them. The reection papers and the eld notes were written in English but I conducted interviews in Turkish and then translated the transcripts into English. In essence, there were three main sources of data collected and methodological triangulation was accomplished through a simultaneous display of all these three sources of realities (Denzin and Lincoln 2005). For this display, I rst read all the data to identify some regularities and patterns. These regularities and patterns formed the main coding themes. I then analyzed and interpreted the ndings (i.e., the data under these themes) related to my research questions (Bogdan and Biklen 2003; Creswell 2004; Drnyei 2007).

Downloaded by [University of Warwick] at 12:39 13 January 2013

260

D. Yayli

Finally, these ndings that were enriched with direct quotations from the participating teacher researchers were used to elaborate on the qualitative analysis of the two research questions. In essence, there are two main limitations to highlight. Firstly, this study presented the research engagement experience of four EFL teacher researchers so the analysis of the ndings might not indicate typical EFL teacher research engagement in the eld of ELT. Secondly, although varied data collection tools were used to allow for detailed analysis of emerging ndings, there may still be a gap between actual and reported ideas and beliefs. To minimize this gap, the reection papers of the teacher researchers were analyzed in tandem with a thorough examination of the interview transcripts and my eld notes.
Downloaded by [University of Warwick] at 12:39 13 January 2013

Findings and discussion The ndings of the study were discussed in relation to the two research questions posed earlier. The ndings for the rst research question were presented parallel to the steps involved in the teacher researchers qualitative research project: (1) outlining, (2) data collection, (3) data analysis, (4) interpreting ndings and (5) nal remarks. The written data (i.e., their reective reports and the transcriptions of interviews) helped me to capture their interpretations of conducting research in ELT. By directly quoting from the participants, I was able to present an enriched description of the ndings related to their research engagement. For the second research question, I reected on their collaboration with me by referring to their stances in their reective reports, my eld notes and the interview transcripts. Teacher researchers interpretation of conducting research Outlining The outlining process the teacher researchers followed included three steps: (1) deciding on a problem in the eld, (2) forming the research questions and (3) negotiating the research design. According to Berthoff (1987), teachers have all the information needed for their study so what they need to do is reexamine or in her words REsearch their own experiences. Therefore, constructing a rationale for their research started with brainstorming and emerged from the problems they observed in their teaching practice. In the Master s degree program they attended, they were involved in discussions on the place of culture (e.g., target, local and intercultural culture) in language teaching and they complained about the ignorance of the target culture and about the lack of target culture elements in the textbooks they used when they were students and in the ones that they were using at that time. Since all of the teacher researchers were graduates of AHSs and one was employed in one, they said they were familiar with the teaching practices offered in these schools. They decided to investigate the opinions of a group of EFL teachers working in AHSs on culture, its place in their teaching practices and in the textbooks that EFL teachers use nationally in AHSs, the New bridge to success series. Overall, the aim was to understand the place of teaching cultural elements in an EFL context and how this aim emerged in our discussions was stated by Zeliha as follows:

Teacher Development

261

In our discussions, the issue of culture came up to be the common concern of everybody in the group. It is probably because all of us suffered from cultural misunderstandings because of the lack of target culture elements in our previous foreign language education.

For the second step of outlining, research questions were formed in the light of the problem. I prompted the teacher researchers to state clear and succinct research questions which would guide them through all steps of their study (Alvermann and Reinking 2006). I reminded them that they should equally take into account both the theoretical background and the focus of their study while writing research questions to create cohesiveness throughout their research. Their difculties were put forward by Naciye and Sevgi as follows:
Downloaded by [University of Warwick] at 12:39 13 January 2013
Although we had read several studies, we found it very difcult to compose the research questions for our project. I do not think we could have done it without the help of our supervisor. At rst, we offered several options such as What is the importance of culture and teaching culture?, What do the AHS teachers think about teaching target culture? and How do the AHS teachers view their teaching practices and the textbook they are using in terms of cultural integration? Through our discussions with the supervisor, we came up with the last form of the rst research question as How do a group of EFL teachers working in AHSs view incorporating culture into their teaching? Also, our second question was How do these teachers view the textbook in terms of the cultural elements included? (Naciye) Research question writing took us a long time but we were able to come to a decision getting support from the supervisor. In my opinion, this is one of the hardest parts of research because it is the backbone of a study as suggested in the literature. Our biggest problem was that our initial research questions sounded broad and lacked some necessary information. Now I can say that a good research question should reect all the possible qualities of the study by giving specic information about the participants and the main concern of the study. Also, after our piloting experience with our interview questions, we made a small change in the rst research question. We specied it further to include target culture only. We excluded the other cultures (i.e., local and international cultures) in order to focus on one thing. (Sevgi)

While outlining the research design, we discussed the types of empirical studies and decided to take some hints from the analytical framework put forward by Cochran-Smith and Lytle (1993, 27). Among empirical research types, [o]ral inquiry processes are procedures in which two or more teachers jointly research their experiences by examining particular issues, educational concepts, texts and other data about students (30). The teacher researchers in this study decided to gather their data through semi-structured interviews with AHS teachers. This is a type of oral inquiry proposed in the framework that necessitates collaborative interpretation and exploration of relationships between cases and theories. In sum, while the research interest and research questions were set in our group discussions, the teacher researchers also agreed to follow a qualitative research design based on interviews for data collection. The main reason for that was the readings they did in the Research Methods course in the fall semester. After gaining some theoretical background in various research types (i.e., case study research, introspection research, classroom research, descriptive research, correlational research and quasi-experimental research), they read some research articles as examples for each of these research types. These research articles were mostly the ones with a focus on participative

262

D. Yayli

inquiry such as teachers and learners socialization processes, their learning processes, classroom interaction and language acquisition. The participating teachers were determined to design a qualitative study, stating that they were greatly inuenced by the study designs of some previous research. Also, another reason which directed all of us towards qualitative methods was that it is hard to measure culture as a construct with quantitative methods. After this decision was given, I asked them to peruse the relevant literature on qualitative research methods (e.g., Bogdan and Biklen 2003; Denzin and Lincoln 2005; Drnyei 2007) and some research articles conducted in the eld. A teacher researcher, Kemal, said:
In the fall semester, we had a Research Methods course with you [the supervisor] in which we studied both qualitative and quantitative research designs and data collection tools. We also analyzed the research methods used in several articles on language teaching, learning and conducting research. Since culture is an abstract issue, we all agreed that we should go and collect data through interviews with teachers in the eld.

Downloaded by [University of Warwick] at 12:39 13 January 2013

Data collection The data collection procedure followed in the teacher research project was comprised of three consecutive steps: (1) forming the interview questions, (2) piloting the interview questions and (3) conducting formal interviews. For the participating teacher researchers, forming the interview questions caused a lot of constructive debates. In the project, interviewing was the dominant strategy for data collection. Following one of the tasks suggested by K. Richards (2003, 99) for designing interview questions, as soon as the teacher researchers decided on their focus of inquiry and wrote down the main question (i.e., their research questions), they went on to identify key interview questions deriving from these questions. Their interview questions were What types of cultures do you include in your teaching and why?, What is the place of target/local/international cultures in your teaching and why? and What is the place of target/local/international cultures in the textbook you are using and what are your opinions on these? Before the formal interviews, they piloted their interview questions with two other respondents. This enabled them to experience how it feels to conduct an interview and also they came up with some suggestions on how their interview questions might be improved. For example, Sevgi said:
The rst things I had to do were meet the English teachers at an Anatolian High School and inform them about my purpose of doing research. Most of them did not want to take part in it but still there were a few of them who volunteered. I felt really lucky to have one of the volunteering teachers to pilot the interview questions that day.

Another teacher researcher, Naciye, said:

I had my piloting experience with a teacher I already knew so I was not nervous but conducting an interview was somewhat exciting. I told the interviewee that I would record his voice and assured him that his name would not be given in the study. When we started with the interview questions, I realized that some of them were too broad and needed to be narrowed down. Instead of asking for instance for the types of cultures that they include in their teaching, I think we should limit our questions to the

Teacher Development

263

target culture only. Otherwise we need to explain what each type of culture is and it may misdirect their attention. Another thing is that piloting before the formal interviews was edifying because it showed me what kind of a feeling it is to conduct an interview.

Downloaded by [University of Warwick] at 12:39 13 January 2013

After sharing their suggestions with their classmates, the interview questions that they used in formal interviews came up. They decided that they should focus on target culture only in the interviews with the AHS teachers. They expected that they would have more focused conversations with their respondents in formal interviews as they decided to focus on the place of the target culture other than the local or international culture in language teaching. In sum, after the investigatory work was completed in the piloting procedure, they structured their interview questions in order to get comparable data across a larger sample or to focus on particular topics that emerged during the preliminary interviews (Bogdan and Biklen 2003, 96). As said earlier, this decision caused a small change in their rst research question as well. It also concerned the target culture only. The piloting step in the project was followed by the formal interviews, which did not cause much trouble as stated by Sevgi:
I did my rst formal interview today. The respondent said that she had been teaching at AHSs for nine years and using the textbook for four years. Different from my piloting respondent, she believed that reecting the target culture should be a part of language teaching and to do so, English life style and famous places in Britain could be introduced to students and some videos could be used to accompany the textbook. The thing I found interesting was that I used more probes this time as you suggested and things went better. I think piloting gave me the condence and exibility I needed. Plus, with our restructured interview questions I believe all of us did much better at collecting relevant data.

Data analysis After the teacher researchers conducted the formal interviews with EFL teachers working at AHSs, they transcribed them to code the main emerging themes. The themes they identied in the transcriptions and the meanings and reasons attached to these themes for interpretation were discussed in our group discussions successively. As emphasized in literature (Leung, Harris, and Rampton 2004), they found it a messy enterprise to work with qualitative data:
I understood that data analysis in qualitative research could be messy and hectic. You swim in the ocean of data and try to hunt for proper information to choose. Fortunately, identifying the themes helped me a lot. (Sevgi) Transcribing the data was very hard and boring because it was time-consuming and I felt distracted while doing this monotonous task. (Kemal) While coding the main themes, I had to read my transcriptions again and again. I sometimes felt lost. But I felt relieved when I discovered that my friends had come up with similar themes in the discussion sessions. The themes that emerged in our data were how much target culture the AHS teachers integrate, their reasons for doing so, their reasons for not doing so, the target culture elements in the textbook they are using and whether they nd them sufcient or not and their reasons for that. (Naciye)

264

D. Yayli

While analyzing my data, I saw that my respondents said a lot of unnecessary things. [Supervisor: What do you mean?] I mean most of their answers were not related to the questions. Some of them complained about students lack of motivation, noise in their classes or their wish to have better class hours to be able to teach better. This showed me that I failed as an interviewer because I could not pay attention to what they were saying. (Zeliha)

Downloaded by [University of Warwick] at 12:39 13 January 2013

Similar to the statements of teachers in Atays study (2008) who participated in an in-service training program in Turkey, the teacher researchers in this project found it a daunting task to carry out a qualitative study with interviews. As mentioned by Zeliha, a good interview for instance may turn out to be disappointing when the transcription is read. It is because judging the quality of data we get from interviews is sometimes difcult (Bogdan and Biklen 2003, 97). Interviewers may be more concerned with how they feel about their subjects and how comfortably conversations are proceeding rather than the richness of the data being collected. In sum, like transcribing the verbal data and coding the main themes, gathering relevant interview data was another problematic dimension the participants complained about while analyzing the qualitative data that they had collected. Interpreting ndings The ndings they gathered from data analysis formed the basis for our discussions on how to interpret them. I warned them that in qualitative studies researchers are confronted with ample amounts of data so it is a daunting task to have analysis and interpretation that rise from the data and not from the perspectives researchers hold (Bogdan and Biklen 2003). Due to time constraints, I asked them to report their ndings and their interpretations of these ndings orally in our group discussions. Although they did not write them as in a research paper, they brought up their observations and interpretations of their ndings in group discussions so that they all shared them with their peers and me. These sessions helped them to establish a sound basis on which they were able to reect on their own interpretation processes:
In our rst reading, we identied the main themes and discussed about them in our group discussions. In the second reading, we coded the data according to these main themes. However there was so much data so it took a long time to reread the data again to mark each sentence with the appropriate theme. I went through some qualitative studies we read in the Research Methods course to get some tips for scrutinizing sentences to locate them in the right theme category. For careful interpretation, we again needed your support. You reminded us the research questions of our project, which helped us to limit our interpretations to be presented as research questions provide the main framework to work on. In sum, it took a lot to learn how to form the link between the themes we had already identied and the research questions for sounder interpretation. I must admit that for most of the statements identifying the theme and interpreting its value were easy but for some statements it was hard. For instance, some AHS teachers talked about the values of teaching Turkish culture as well but this was not directly related to the research questions of our study. Since local culture integration is an issue per se I included such statements in an additional theme category in my analysis matrix. (Kemal) Although we had four respondents for the formal interviews, I was faced with a lot of data. At rst it looked like a big challenge for me. I found it really hard to connect

Teacher Development

265

Downloaded by [University of Warwick] at 12:39 13 January 2013

the research questions with the interpretation of ndings I had to present. I tried to overcome this problem by reading the verbal data again and again which had already been divided into themes. Reading my data for several times helped me to get better interpretations of them. [Supervisor: What do you mean by better interpretations?] I mean I better identied the meanings and reasons of certain words or phrases that repeat and stand out. For instance, for the teachers who strongly support the integration of target culture into language teaching, it was inevitable to inform their students about American or British life style, important cities in the USA or the Great Britain, customs, holidays celebrated and so on. They used some words like native speakers, native-like uency or the need to go abroad. But for the teachers who do not favor teaching target culture a lot, there was a stronger emphasis on local and international culture values. They told me that they teach English so that their students can communicate with many people from different countries not only with native speakers of English. So I interpreted such statements considering the status of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF). It took some time to observe this. Also, I can say that my peers suffered from similar problems as well. So I was not alone. (Naciye)

While searching for relevant points in their data, the teacher researchers especially made use of different qualitative research articles they examined in the Research Methods course they took in the previous semester. Bogdan and Biklen (2003, 184) suggested reading published studies related to ones own research as one of the ways to move the interpretation of the data collected along. This is one of the strategies advised for the interpretation of the ndings. Also I observed that the challenges of interpreting the ndings stated by Kemal and Naciye were experienced by all the teacher researchers. It mostly stemmed from the fact that analyzing and interpreting ndings is one the biggest challenges in social science research (Bogdan and Biklen 2003; Drnyei 2007). To meet this challenge, I suggested that the teacher researchers form analysis matrices so that they could match the research questions with the themes on a grid. Also, the teacher researchers identied some additional theme categories such as teaching local culture while resisting target culture, teaching international and local cultures rather than target culture and teaching ELF. Since they found these themes relevant to their interpretation, they included them in their analysis matrices. As we all know, amongst the researchers responsibilities is to share research results with the wider community and to pay attention to its potential for positive impact on societal and educational problems (Ortega 2005, 430). Therefore, the teacher researchers in this project may be said to feel under pressure while trying to gain control of a series of discrete decisions, which is plausible as they were all rst-time researchers.

Final remarks The interpreting ndings step was followed by a nal remarks step in which the participating researchers and I took part in a videotaped focus group interview. First they expressed some general comments on conducting research and being a teacher researcher. They also shared their views in relation to the challenges and limitations stemming from our local context. Finally, they provided some comments on how to improve the existing teaching and research conditions in Turkey.
I think conducting a research study is a time-consuming activity and nearly impossible for teachers working in Turkey. [Supervisor: Why do you think so?] The rst reason is that teachers are very busy with their loaded schedules. Also you do not do it if

266

D. Yayli

you do not have to. I mean teachers are not appreciated more if they are engaged in research. Finally, teachers do not know how to conduct research. As we are Master s degree students, we need to know about the eld and research. Also, I think this process would be harder without your feedback and support. (Sevgi) I feel very lucky to be a student in this program. Interviewing my colleagues made me feel knowledgeable and special. Therefore I am planning to conduct a study like this for my dissertation. Although some steps in the procedure were harder than I had thought, I still liked to be a part of this project. (Zeliha) I agree with Sevgi. I think very few teachers will attempt to do research in state schools. In private schools, more teachers will be willing to participate in a research study as it might help them resign the contract for another year. (Naciye)

Downloaded by [University of Warwick] at 12:39 13 January 2013

We have to admit that teachers are not motivated enough to do research in their classes. I know some teachers who take their coats with them to the last class so that they do not have to go back to their ofces on their way home. Unfortunately, this is the case. (Sevgi) Under these circumstances, it is nearly impossible to motivate teachers for research engagement. I think doing research should be a step for promotion and bonus. (Kemal)

The ndings of Worralls (2004) and Borgs (2007, 2009) studies mainly highlight teachers reasons for not doing research as follows: (1) lack of time and motivation, (2) lack of external pressure, (3) an attitude that research is an activity done by outside experts, (4) colleagues do not do it either and (5) lack of knowledge about research. Similar reasons were given by the teacher researchers about their colleagues limited research engagement. Their views corroborate the teachers views in Reis-Jorges study (2007) stating that involvement in formal academic research was seen more as an academic or job description imposition than as a path to professional autonomy and empowerment (411). The notion teachers are not appreciated more if they are engaged in research as aptly pointed out by Sevgi is an unfortunate fact in Turkey, where schools have no research budgets. Therefore, teachers are not nancially supported for their academic efforts and achievements such as conducting research, publishing research articles or attending symposiums and conferences. Some administrators do not even allow teachers to attend symposiums. The research studies which a limited number of teachers could carry out do not inuence their promotion but only exist on their CVs. All of these indicate that teachers in Turkey are not perceived as researchers in primary and secondary education institutions. However I also observed that, when criticizing their colleagues, the teacher researchers in this study felt themselves to be superior as they were enrolled in a Master s degree program and enjoyed being engaged in a small-scale study with their supervisor. Teacher researchers collaboration with their supervisor Unfortunately, the traditional divide in the TESOL profession between researchers and teachers has led many teachers to believe research is what is done on teachers rather than by teachers (McKay 2009, 286, italics in original). This unequal distribution of power was also observable in the teacher research project which we were

Teacher Development

267

engaged in. Following the advice of Dudley-Evans and St John (1998), I attempted to design a collaborative study with a group of teachers. In his analysis of the implications of the concept teacher-researcher collaboration, Stewart (2006) stated that there is a difference of status between the one with the title of researcher over the one who claims to be the teacher. He went on to say that the label of collaborative teacher-researcher disenfranchises teachers by signaling a masterapprentice relationship. Similarly, in our collaborative study I observed that I was assigned a master s role in the eyes of the participants who perceived me as the experienced knower. The following statements by the teacher researchers signaled a sublimation of the supervisor as the holder of knowledge, therefore power:
I do not think we could have done it without the help of our supervisor. (Naciye)

Downloaded by [University of Warwick] at 12:39 13 January 2013

You reminded us of the research questions of our project, which helped us limit our interpretations to be presented as research questions provide the main framework to work on. (Kemal) Also, I think this process would be harder without your feedback and support. (Sevgi)

Another source of assistance and support came from the readings they did in the two courses (Research Methods in the fall semester and Materials Development and Evaluation in the spring semester) which I taught. Their references to their previous readings empowered me, their supervisor, because they saw me as the provider of theoretical knowledge who therefore speaks the language of power (Morgan 1998). Some of the statements by the participating teacher researchers were as follows:
The thing I found interesting was that I used more probes this time as you suggested and things went better. (Sevgi) I went through some qualitative studies we read in the Research Methods course. (Kemal) In the fall semester, we had a Research Methods course with you in which we studied both qualitative and quantitative designs and data collection tools. (Kemal)

As noted by McKay (2006), interviewers hold a powerful status compared to the one held by interviewees. The case was not different in this study. While interviewing the teacher researchers I was able to observe my higher status in their stances. Following Drnyeis (2007) and McKays (2006) suggestions, I did my best to lessen the effect of the power relationship by being neutral without imposing any personal bias and listening carefully and sympathetically. While trying to be as neutral as possible in my interviews, I also kept in mind the fact that the value attached to speech cannot be understood apart from the person who speaks and the person who speaks cannot be understood apart from the larger networks of social relationships (Bourdieu 1991). Therefore, language is not a neutral medium but rather populated with the intentions of others (Bakhtin 1981, 294). In a related vein, my respondents did not perceive me as an outsider interviewing them but as their supervisor who was keen on capturing their stances about their research engagement. The teacher researchers sublimation of their supervisor as the holder of knowledge and power clearly revealed the existing power inequality.

268

D. Yayli

A similar point was that one teacher researcher (Zeliha) stated that interviewing made her feel knowledgeable and special. This indicated that their researcher role empowered them when faced with their colleagues who were respondents in their research project interviews. Therefore, it could be concluded that both interviewing situations corroborate the inevitable existence of a power relationship between the interviewer and the interviewee. Conclusions With this collaborative study, I aimed to collaborate with the participating teacher researchers in their hands-on experience of conducting research in English language teaching. With this purpose in mind, I encouraged them to see both teacher research as an opportunity to question their own belief systems (Atay 2008, 145) and their potential for future research in the presence of assistance. The teacher researchers in this project stated they had difculties at different phases of their hands-on experience of research but they examined previous literature and gained assistance and support from their supervisor for their challenges as the project unfolded. They complained that they felt lost at different stages of their project. Data analysis and interpreting the ndings were the most troublesome stages. Therefore, they needed more assistance during these stages. They had to read their data several times rst to identify the main themes then to code the data according to these themes. While working with the interview data, they used analysis matrices to ease their interpretation. At the beginning of the project, they were not so familiar with what they would experience in a real research project. They stated that their previous readings equipped them only with a supercial idea of what conducting research in ELT means. After this hands-on research experience, however, they stated that they gained a more accurate idea of the challenges in doing research and the ways to overcome these by making use of previous research and the assistance provided by their supervisor. They also had a chance to observe themselves as researchers and the difculties a typical teacher researcher might face within the contexts in which they teach. To defeat the unequal distribution of power between researchers and teachers, collaborative research is one of the suggested ways, and many ESOL teachers today are gaining control over their professional development by doing research on their practice in mainstream contexts. However, it is not that easy in some other contexts. Similar to the view that critical practice is situated and contextual, therefore one model of critical language teacher education cannot be adequate for diverse contexts (Kumaravadivelu 2005; Norton 2005) as the nature of teachers research engagement is also context bound. Although it is a fact that when power is distributed and shared, its potential for social change is enhanced (Hawkins and Norton 2009, 37), teachers may show resistance to gain power in their research engagement in some locales. As put forward by Johnston (2009), there are two fundamental challenges that are inherent to collaborative teacher development. The internal challenge refers to the power imbalance in the teacher and researcher partnership and the external one stands for the contexts where the collaboration takes place. In the project we carried out collaboratively, it was evident that the participating teacher researchers experienced both challenges. They showed a strong preference for the voice of the researcher (Johnston 2009, 245) for the troubles they encountered in the procedure. As for the external challenge, they complained about the lack of

Downloaded by [University of Warwick] at 12:39 13 January 2013

Teacher Development

269

resources, motivation and time on the part of overworked teachers. In light of these facts, it could be concluded that the context-bound nature of teacherresearcher collaborative relationships is worth investigating. Studies that reect on the possibilities and limitations of teachers research engagement in any given context should be encouraged to promote and support enhanced opportunities for research engagement by teachers. Future research might also contribute to the development of a comparable evidence base (Borg 2007, 745) for a better understanding of teachers research engagement in the eld of ELT. Notes on contributor
Downloaded by [University of Warwick] at 12:39 13 January 2013
Demet Yayli is an assistant professor in the Department of Foreign Languages Education at Pamukkale University, Turkey. She holds a PhD in English Language Teaching. She was a visiting scholar at Pennsylvania State University for a year, mentored by Dr Suresh Canagarajah. Her main research interests are genre analysis, genre-based writing and EFL teacher education.

References
Allwright, D., and K. Bailey. 1991. Focus on the language classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Alvermann, D.E., and D. Reinking. 2006. Writing for research journals. In Beating the odds: Getting published in the eld of literacy, ed. S.B. Wepner and L.B. Gambrell, 7284. Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Atay, D. 2008. Teacher research for professional development. ELT Journal 62, no. 2: 13947. Bakhtin, M. 1981. The dialogic imagination: Four essays by M.M Bakhtin. Austin: University of Texas Press. Ball, A.F. 2000. Teachers developing philosophies on literacy and their use in urban schools: A Vygotskian perspective on internal activity and teacher change. In Vygotskian perspectives on literacy research: Constructing meaning through collaborative inquiry, ed. C.D. Lee and P. Smagorinsky, 22655. New York: Cambridge University Press. Berthoff, E. 1987. The teacher as researcher. In Reclaiming the classroom: Teacher research as an agency for change, ed. D. Goswami and P.R. Stillman, 2839. Upper Montclair, NJ: Boynton/Cook. Bogdan, R.C., and S.K. Biklen. 2003. Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Borg, S. 2007. Research engagement in English language teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education 23: 73147. Borg, S. 2009. English language teachers conceptions of research. Applied Linguistics 30, no. 3: 35888. Bourdieu, P. 1991. Language and symbolic power. Cambridge: Polity Press. Burns, A. 1999. Collaborative action research for English language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Burns, A. 2005. Action research: An evolving paradigm? Language Teaching 38, no. 2: 5774. Cochran-Smith, M. 2005. The new teacher education: For better or for worse? Educational Researcher 34, no. 7: 317. Cochran-Smith, M., and S.L. Lytle. 1993. Inside/outside: Teacher research and knowledge. New York: Teachers College Press. Crandall, J.A. 2000. Language teacher education. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 20: 3455. Creswell, J. 2004. Educational research: Planning, conducting and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

270

D. Yayli

Darling-Hammond, L. 1994. Professional development schools: Schools for developing a profession. New York: Teachers College Press. Denzin, N.K., and Y.S. Lincoln. 2005. Introduction: The discipline and practice of qualitative research. In Handbook of qualitative research, ed. N.K. Denzin and Y.S. Lincoln, 141. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Drnyei, Z. 2007. Research methods in applied linguistics: Quantitative, qualitative and mixed methodologies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Dudley-Evans, T., and M.J. St John. 1998. Developments in English for specic purposes: A multi-disciplinary approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Freeman, D. 1998. Doing teacher-research: From inquiry to understanding. Boston: Heinle and Heinle. Freeman, D. 2009. The scope of second language teacher education. In The Cambridge guide to second language teacher education, ed. A. Burns and C.J. Richards, 1120. New York: Cambridge University Press. Freeman, D., and K.E. Johnson. 1998. Reconceptualizing the knowledge base of language teacher education. TESOL Quarterly 32: 397417. Hawkins, M., and B. Norton. 2009. Critical language teacher education. In The Cambridge guide to second language teacher education, ed. A. Burns and J.C. Richards, 3040. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Johnson, E.K. 2009a. Second language teacher education: A sociocultural perspective. New York: Taylor & Francis. Johnson, E.K. 2009b. Trends in second language teacher education. In The Cambridge guide to second language teacher education, ed. A. Burns and C.J. Richards, 2030. New York: Cambridge University Press. Johnston, B. 2009. Collaborative teacher development. In The Cambridge guide to second language teacher education, ed. A. Burns and J.C. Richards, 24150. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Kennedy, M. 1999. Schools and the problem of knowledge. In What counts as knowledge in teacher education? ed. J. Rath and A. McAninch, 2945. Stanford, CT: Ablex. Kumaravadivelu, B. 2005. Understanding language teaching: From method to post-method. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Leung, C., R. Harris, and B. Rampton. 2004. Living with inelegance in qualitative research on task-based learning. In Critical pedagogies and language learning, ed. B. Norton and K. Toohey, 24267. New York: Cambridge University Press. McDonough, J., and S. McDonough. 1997. Research methods for English language teachers. London: Arnold. McKay, S.L. 2006. Researching second language classrooms. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Associates. McKay, S.L. 2009. Second language classroom research. In The Cambridge guide to second language teacher education, ed. A. Burns and J.C. Richards, 2819. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Morgan, B. 1998. The ESL classroom: Teaching, critical practice and community development. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Norton, B. 2005. Towards a model of critical language teacher education. Language Issues 17, no. 1: 127. Nunan, D. 1989a. The teacher as researcher. In Research in the language classroom, ed. C. Brumt and R. Mitchell, 1632. London: Modern English Publications and the British Council. Nunan, D. 1989b. Understanding language classrooms: A guide for teacher-initiated action. New York: Prentice Hall. Ortega, L. 2005. For what and for whom is our research? The ethical as transformative lens in instructed SLA. Modern Language Journal 89, no. 3: 42743. Reis-Jorge, J. 2007. Teachers conceptions of teacher-research and self-perceptions as enquiring practitioners A longitudinal case study. Teaching and Teacher Education 23: 40217. Richards, J.C., ed. 1998. Teaching in action: Case studies from second language classrooms. Alexandria, VA: TESOL.

Downloaded by [University of Warwick] at 12:39 13 January 2013

Teacher Development

271

Downloaded by [University of Warwick] at 12:39 13 January 2013

Richards, J.C., and C. Lockhart. 1994. Reective teaching in second language classrooms. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Richards, K. 2003. Qualitative inquiry in TESOL. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Schn, D.A. 1983. The reective practitioner. New York: Basic Books. Sowa, P.A. 2009. Understanding our learners and developing reective practice. Conducting action research with English language learners. Teaching and Teacher Education 25: 102632. Stewart, T. 2006. Teacher-researcher collaboration or teachers research? TESOL Quarterly 40, no. 20: 4219. Wallace, M.J. 1991. Training foreign language teachers: A reective approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wallace, M.J. 1998. Action research for language teachers. Cambridge: New York. Widdowson, H.G. 1997. Approaches to second language teacher education. In Encyclopedia of language and education, ed. G.R. Tucker and D. Corson, vol. 4, 1219. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer. Worrall, N. 2004. Trying to build a research culture in a school: Trying to nd the right questions to ask. Teacher Development 8: 13748. Zeichner, M.K., and D.P. Liston. 1996. Reective teaching: An introduction. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Zeichner, M.K., and S.E. Noffke. 2001. Practitioner research. In Handbook of research on teaching, ed. V. Richardson, 293330. Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.