Szegedi Tudományegyetem  University of Szeged

Angol-Amerikai Intézet  Institute of English and American Studies

Angoltanár-képző és Alkalmazott Nyelvészeti Tanszék 
Department of English Language Teacher Education and Applied Linguistics
Szeged, Egyetem utca 2. Hungary H-6722 / Tel/Fax: +36 (62) 544-024
www.arts.u-szeged.hu/elteal, elteal@lit.u-szeged.hu
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Guidelines for the Classroom Research Paper needed for completion of
the English teaching degree
(Tantárgypedagógiai szakdolgozat)

2009/2010

Statement of purpose

The Classroom Research paper contributes to the courses in the teacher training
program and the teaching practice, and thus forms a part of the graduation examination.
As per the state requirements for receiving a teaching diploma (Kormányrendelet a
tanári képesítés követelményeiről.111/1997. [V. 27.]) and as announced in the 1998
IEAS First Things First booklet, this short thesis is required for the completion of the
English teaching degree. The paper relies on the input received during the Basics in
ELT methodology lecture, the two-semester ELT Methodology seminar and the
Research Methods in ELT lecture, and it consists of a summary and analysis of
classroom observations on a selected area of ELT methodology, backed up by the
relevant literature. Research for this paper can be carried out during the compulsory
supervised teaching practice and school visits.

The goals of this short thesis are to:

 give students the opportunity to focus their thinking in a particular area of classroom
practice
 provide students with a chance to sharpen their research skills in classroom
observation
 give students a place in which to reflect on their own development as a teacher
 provide students with a space in which they can demonstrate their ability to show a
transparent relationship between theory and practice in the profession.

Content of the paper

The Classroom Research Paper will be in the form of a report on a piece of well-
designed and thorough EFL classroom research carried out by the student using
classroom observation as the research methodology on a specific and principled issue
relevant to EFL teaching and discussed in the EFL and/or applied linguistics literature.
The research must be based on non-invasive research methods, that is, based on
observation of classroom practices and reference to work normally produced by
students, where no changes need to be made in classroom practices and subjects of the
research (both teachers and students) are not required to produce extra work.
If the research has a different methodology (such as data collection with

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questionnaires, student products, or lesson plans) the paper will automatically be
failed.

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Following the usual outline of data-based research papers, the main body of the
Classroom Research Paper will consist of the following sections:
1) Introduction
2) Literature review
3) Research question(s)
4) Research Methodology
5) Results and discussion
6) Conclusions and implications
7) Bibliography
8) Appendices

Formal requirements for the paper

 • Prior to beginning work on the paper, full-time students and the supervisor for the
Classroom Research Paper must sign the contract agreeing on the general topic.
(This contract can be found attached to the present document.) Correspondent
students can choose a supervisor if they need advice, but a contract is not required.
This agreement can only be made after the presentation of a project proposal to the
potential supervisor. (Requirements for this proposal can be found further down in
this document.)
 • The length of the paper must be between 20,000 to 24,000 characters, without
spaces (approximately 3,500-4,000 words, or 8-10 pages with 1.5 line spacing).
Material outside the main body of the paper (that is, everything excluding 1-6 above
mentioned in Section II) as well as long quotations, figures, graphs and charts are
not contained in the character count.
 • The paper must follow the formatting rules set up in the IEAS Style Sheet for
papers in linguistics.
 • The bibliography for the paper must contain at least seven items, except for
methodology compulsory coursebooks and coursebooks (see Appendix). The
downloaded website literature cannot exceed 3 items out of the seven. Each item
must be cited in the text.
 • A facsimile of each data collection instrument must be contained in the
appendices. Furthermore, five completed examples of each data collection
instrument also need to be included in the appendices.
 • Students must hand in with the completed paper a form (which can be found
attached to this present document) that indicates that they have met the obligations
in signing a contract with the supervisor and met all deadlines.
 • Students must formally meet with their advisors three times during the course of
the project.

Steps for completion of the paper

For students graduating in January 2010 (1st deadline) and June 2010 (2nd deadline),
the following steps/deadlines must be followed:

1) Find a general topic area and narrow it down to a specific issue within that
topic.
2) Contact the supervisor to agree on a specific issue within a topic area. 1st

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 meeting: September 28, 2009 (for both 1st and 2nd)
3) Create a proposal for the research and hand it in to your advisor no later than
October 5, 2009 and November 30, 2009. (See section VI below for
proposal guidelines.)
4) Organize a meeting with your supervisor to discuss the details of the project
and to sign the Classroom Research Paper contract. Deadline for the 2 nd
meeting: October 12, 2009 and December 14, 2009.
5) Carry out the research and write up the first complete draft. You must hand
this in to your advisor no later than November 9, 2009 and April 12, 2010.
6) Meet with supervisor to discuss the first draft. 3rd meeting.
7) Create the completed paper, and hand it when the MAT is due.
8) Papers should be handed to the ELTEAL office in Ady tér in a single copy
preferably ring-bound with your e-mail address written on the cover page.

III. Topics, issues and research questions for the paper

 General topics for the classroom observation paper can come from the materials
presented in the following courses: Basics in EFL Methodology, the two 4th year
methodology seminars, Research Methods for Language Teachers and Option
courses. Furthermore, the methodology final exam (Záróvizsga) topic list can
serve as a general guide for topics. Other topics can possibly come from applied
linguistics courses in general.
 Specific research questions directly come from narrowing down an issue in a
general topic area. Research questions must be principled, that is they must
directly follow from topics and issues raised in the literature. All research
questions must be descriptive and not evaluative. That is, research questions
must not attempt to determine what is "best" or "good" or "bad" in a particular
language classroom, but must simply describe what happens in a classroom
concerning a specific topic and issue. (This, of course, does not exclude the
possibility of evaluation of the data in the results and discussion, and
conclusions and implications sections of the paper.)
 Good resources for finding specific topics and issues and developing specific
research questions are, but aren't limited to, the following: notes from required
methodology courses; required readings from methodology courses including
the source books themselves that these readings come from; general
methodology books, guides to classroom research, and books on second
language acquisition; and journals on English language teaching, such as: ELT
Journal, TESOL Quarterly, and novELTty.
 The different websites must be treated with care.

IV. Contents of the paper proposal

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The more specific and detailed your research proposal is, the easier it will be for your
advisor to help you with your project. Therefore, the paper proposal must be organized
around the sections noted below. This format must be followed for the proposal to be
considered.
1) Background Here, like in a literature review, you briefly present,
contextualize, and justify the importance of the general topic area and issue
you would like to do research on. This section should make reference to
published sources on the topic and any specific studies which have
previously been carried out.
2) Research question(s) These questions should be stated as explicit formal
research questions.
3) Research methods Here you need to describe the observation instrument(s)
which you propose using to collect your data. The use of previously used
instruments from published sources is highly encouraged and should be
described here.
4) Comments In this section you can address your paper advisor with specific
questions or concerns you have about this specific topic, or address other
relevant issues.
5) Bibliography Be sure to include the complete bibliographic references for
any source you cite in the previous three points.
6) Appendices If you plan to use a previously published observation instrument
or have a draft copy or your own, this is the place to include it.

V. Assessment criteria
Each paper will be assessed by two readers independently using the following rating
scale:

ASPECT POINTS
Concept & research design: Use of appropriate research instruments; 0-1-2-3-4-5
appropriateness, clarity and sophistication of research questions;
feasibility of the project.
Argumentation and analysis: development of the issue in the literature 0-1-2-3-4-5
review; treatment of the problem; quality and coherence of the analysis
and discussion of the data; conclusions drawn; demonstrated relationship
between theory and practice.
Language and format: clarity and accuracy of expression; organization 0-1-2-3-4-5
on the paragraph and section level; application of formatting rules as
shown in the IEAS Style Sheet.
Conversion into grades:
points grades
15 5
13-14 4
12-10 3
9-8 2
7-0 1
Students will be required to make a short presentation of their project and answer brief
questions on it which arise during the methodology exam part of the graduation exam.
This performance will be marked and be included into the final calculations for a mark

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in methodology which will include, the grade on their paper, the final exam grade and
the presentation of the classroom observation project.

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Appendix

Books that can be included in the reference list if consulted but they will be over
the seven items required:

Methodology coursebooks:

Doff, A. (1988 or any later edition). Teach English. Trainer’s handbook. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Doff, A. (1988 or any later edition). Teach English. Teacher’s workbook. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Harmer, J. (1998 or any later edition). How to teach English. London: Longman.
Harmer, J. (1991 or any later edition). The practice of English language teaching.
London: Longman.
Hubbard, P. et al (1983 or any later edition). A training course for TEFL. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Larsen-Freeman, d. (1986 or any later edition). Techniques and principles of language
teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Example of a coursebook:

Soars, L. & Soars, J. (2000). New Headway English course. Elementary. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.

Example of a collection of tasks:

Gedeon, É., N. Tóth, Zs. & Rádai, P. (1994). 165 ötlet nyelvtanárok számára. Budapest:
Nemzeti Tankönyvkiadó.

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 Szegedi Tudományegyetem  University of Szeged
Angol-Amerikai Intézet  Institute of English and American Studies
Angoltanár-képző és Alkalmazott Nyelvészeti Tanszék 
Department of English Language Teacher Education and Applied Linguistics
Szeged, Egyetem u.2 Hungary H-6722 / Tel/Fax: +36 (62) 544-024
www.arts.u-szeged.hu/elteal, elteal@lit.u-szeged.hu
—————————————————————————

Student and advisor contract for the Classroom Observation Paper

Student’s name

Advisor’s name

Paper topic

Signatures below signify an agreement for the student to produce a paper,

and the supervisor give the student guidance, on researching and writing
the Classroom Observation Paper as noted above.

Student’s signature

Advisor’s signature

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 Szegedi Tudományegyetem  University of Szeged
Angol-Amerikai Intézet  Institute of English and American Studies
Angoltanár-képző és Alkalmazott Nyelvészeti Tanszék 
Department of English Language Teacher Education and Applied Linguistics
Szeged, Egyetem u.2 Hungary H-6722 / Tel/Fax: +36 (62) 544-024
www.arts.u-szeged.hu/elteal, elteal@lit..u-szeged.hu
—————————————————————————

Certification of the completion of the requirements of Classroom

Observation Paper

Student’s name

Advisor’s name

Paper topic

Signatures below signify that the student has produced the paper, and the
supervisor has given the student guidance, on researching and writing the
Classroom Observation Paper as noted above.

Student’s signature

Advisor’s signature