In the third section of the chapter, McKay argues in favor ofethical research and describes ways this may be achieved.Ĭhapter 2 describes several research methods that have been used to''examine the behavior, beliefs and thoughts of second language learners andteachers'' (p. The second section also includesa brief overview of the research methods that will be presented in greaterdetail in chapter 2 and a process for determining research questions anddesigns. McKay also presents van Lier's notions ofcontrol and structure (van Lier, 1988) as a framework for understandingdifferences between the two traditions and between research methods.Further insight into the qualitative/quantitative distinction is providedby the author's discussion of how each tradition characterizes thequalities of validity, reliability, and generalizability, which again drawson the concepts of control and structure. While McKay brieflydiscusses the key paradigmatic distinction between basic and appliedresearch, her main focus is on contrasting the qualitative andquantitative research traditions, which are introduced by describing tworepresentative studies and discussing how they illustrate the majordifferences between the qualitative and quantitative traditions in theirassumptions about reality, the role of the researcher, the purpose ofresearch, and research design.
Shebegins by examining the construct of 'research' using Richards' (2003)distinction between paradigms, traditions, and methods. In the second section,which is the largest, McKay outlines the major types of research. In the first section, McKay argues briefly, butcogently, in favor of teachers undertaking classroom research due to thepotential for them to (a) generate beneficial insights into teaching andlearning by conducting original research and (b) develop the expertisenecessary to critically evaluate other's research. In particular,the book focuses mostly on qualitative methods, which are seen by theauthor as generally more feasible for implementation by individualclassroom teachers (who would appear to be the book's primary audience).The book is divided into 4 main chapters, each of which contains a numberof application activities and ends with suggestions for further in-depthreading on each of the topics covered in the chapter.Ĭhapter 1 provides a general introduction to research and is divided intothree main sections.
Researching Second Language Classrooms is a textbook that introduces noviceresearchers to the research methods commonly used to gather ''evidence toanswer questions about L2 teaching and learning'' (p. Julian Heather, California State University, Sacramento
Sandra lee mckay literature as content professional#
Subject: Researching Second Language ClassroomsĪUTHOR: McKay, Sandra LeeTITLE: Researching Second Language ClassroomsSERIES: ESL & Applied Linguistics Professional SeriesPUBLISHER: Lawrence ErlbaumYEAR: 2006 Message 1: Researching Second Language Classrooms Hundreds of millions of people the world over routinely make use of two or three or four languages in their daily lives.LINGUIST List 17.2186 Fri Review: Applied Linguistics: McKay, Sandra Lee (2006) Most nations have speakers of more than one language. In this chapter, selected aspects of multilingualism as a societal phenomenon and their implications for language teaching are discussed.īilingualism is a worldwide phenomenon. When it is viewed as a societal phenomenon, one is concerned with its institutional dimensions, that is, with issues such as the status and roles of the languages in a given society, attitudes toward languages, determinants of language choice, the symbolic and practical uses of the languages, and the correlations between language use and social factors such as ethnicity, religion, and class. When it is viewed as an individual phenomenon, issues such as how one acquires two or more languages in childhood or later, how these languages are represented in the mind, and how they are accessed for speaking and writing and for comprehension become central.
Multilingualism can be, and has been, studied both as an individual and as a societal phenomenon. This practice will be continued here, but we must allow for the possibility that multilingualism may be more than just a magnified version of bilingualism. The terms bilingualism and multilingualism have been used interchangeably in the literature to refer to the knowledge or use of more than one language by an individual or a community.
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