TESOL's web site takes advantage of basic web standards that your browser is unable to support. While our site will not display in the way it was intended, the page content should still perfectly viewable in any internet capable device.

You can choose from a variety of browsers (many of them are free), by visiting the Web Standards Project site

Login
Please allow pop-ups





    Need Help?
   Forgot Password?


Resources for Teachers...

Perspectives on Community College ESL Vol. 1

Pre-K-12 English Language Proficiency Standards

TESOL Research Agenda, June 2000: Part III
Home : Issues : Research

Print this page Print this page   E-mail this page E-mail this page

 

III. PRIORITY RESEARCH AREAS AND QUESTIONS

This section of the research agenda provides suggested areas of research priority, listing research questions within those areas and providing brief commentary on the research topic. The aim of this section is to provide a prioritized list of questions for the field of TESOL. The areas and questions listed are meant to be illustrative, not exhaustive, of TESOL's needs. Furthermore, it is recognized that priorities will vary for individuals in different settings according to their professional interests, commitments, and areas of greatest need, in addition to local contingencies. Research topics and directions are often negotiated between multiple parties (e.g., government agencies and school districts, students and dissertation committees). These negotiations, combined with fiscal and other constraints, may inform and impact possible lines of inquiry. Finally, this agenda acknowledges, but does not summarize or allude to, the substantial research on language, language education, and language acquisition that has been conducted over the past several decades. The intent here is to point to currently needed research that should build upon the findings of the past.

The research areas are organized under three major headings: Language Learners, Educational Settings, and Language in Society. Within each major heading, subheadings exist. Within subheadings, specific research questions and rationales are presented.

The reader will notice that there is no clear one-to-one relationship between the topics listed in Section II and the research priorities and questions that follow. Rather, overlaps between topics/contexts and research areas/questions exist, such that one question (or a group of similar questions) could appear within a number of different topics/contexts, depending on focus and interpretation.


LANGUAGE LEARNERS

Learner Variables

Research Priorities: What are the characteristics of specially defined populations, including those based on biological age, that impinge on success in learning a second or foreign language? What instructional methods, interventions, or diagnostic procedures best meet the needs of these special populations?

RATIONALE

This is a broad area representing extensive prior research and ongoing debate and challenges in TESOL. TESOL professionals teach students of all ages and therefore need consistent updates on research findings to inform their practice regarding learners in different age groups, with different backgrounds and histories, and with different cognitive attributes and abilities. Many groups of individuals for whom English is an additional language face difficulties: elderly learners; naturalistic learners with fossilized language; refugees and others whose education has been interrupted; teenage immigrants with social, academic, and linguistic difficulties in ESL or EFL contexts; and special needs (learning disabled) or otherwise nontraditional learners. We need to find appropriate means of addressing these language needs while respecting the dignity and rights of learners.

In addition, in most countries, educational policies determine the age at which English language instruction is introduced systemwide as a mandatory or optional subject. There are widespread ramifications as a result, within the educational system, in students' lives and in society at large. Economic, social, political, and military discord and/or instability can foster the movement of large numbers of persons across national and cultural boundaries. It is important to identify ways in which the specific language learning needs of these groups can be identified and addressed, while they are in transition and after their settlement in a new permanent location. Finally, persons with significant physical, cognitive, or psychological challenges or disabilities may face a doubly difficult task when acquiring an second language (L2) or foreign language (e.g., a poststroke patient).

SAMPLE QUESTIONS
  1. Age-Related Issues
    • What is the relationship of age to L2/foreign language learning, and how can that relationship be utilized to the benefit of learners?
    • What are the special age-related needs of the population of older learners, and what instructional approaches or interventions are most successful?
    • What is the optimal age to begin L2/foreign language instruction in different contexts?
    • What are the costs versus the benefits of starting English language education at different ages in terms of
      • students' acquisition of English
      • attitudes toward the language and cultures of English speakers
      • the learner's motivation for learning the L2
      • the impact on teachers and institutions
      • teacher education and ongoing professional development
      • instructional practices
      • the impact on the teaching/learning of other languages, including the students' first language (L1)
      • future opportunities to learn/use English for work, study, or other purposes
    • What are the differential effects of immigration at different ages on students' long-term well-being?
  2. Issues of Ability Versus Disability
    • How is the learning of an L2 or foreign language constrained by physical, cognitive, or psychological challenges or disabilities?
    • What instructional methods, interventions, diagnostic procedures, technological aides, and assessment procedures exist for the education of language learners with special needs?
    • What policies, if necessary, should be suggested for the education of special needs students?
    • How can learning difficulties be assessed and diagnosed in an additional language, and what are the policy implications of such findings?
    • What procedures, materials, and curricula are effective for teaching English to deaf learners?
    • What are the English language learning needs of deaf persons in academic and/or workplace settings?
  3. Issues of Displacement, Settlement, and Shifting Identities
    • What are the factors affecting language acquisition among displaced (e.g., refugee) groups?
    • What diagnostic procedures and interventions are appropriate for different populations with specially defined needs?
    • What strategies can be adopted to foster language acquisition; linguistic and cultural maintenance; and successful settlement, integration, education, and employment among such groups?
    • In terms of changing demographics, what differences exist in the contexts, experiences, and outcomes of learning for students in high-concentration immigrant populations (heterogeneous or homogeneous) versus less concentrated immigrant populations?
    • What are the impacts and outcomes of language-skills learning opportunities for refugee and immigrant populations on their lives and on their family and community?
    • What are the most pressing issues facing immigrant populations and families in English-speaking contexts today? How can TESOL research best understand, study, and respond to these issues?
    • To what extent does the separation of a social group, whether by choice or because of discrimination, from mainstream educational institutions and practices contribute to a lack of mastery of the standard language over the course of an individual's life or across generations?
    • To what extent does lack of community models/lack of access to good quality education, including models of and practice in standard forms of the country's dominant language and literacy, contribute to individual resistance to learning standard English as an additional language or standard dialect?


LANGUAGE LEARNERS

Language and Literacy

Research Priorities: What is the relationship between the development of L1 oral and literacy skills and L2 literacy development? To what extent does learning in one language transfer to an L2?

RATIONALE

Further research needs to examine issues concerning the relationships between L1 and L2 literacy development, the transfer of knowledge and skills from one language to another (i.e., the use of the L1 to scaffold learning through the L2), and the academic achievements and outcomes of students with varying degrees of L1 literacy proficiency. More research needs to examine research on family literacy initiatives, the development of critical literacy, and multiple literacies.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS


EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS

Curriculum Design, Development, Delivery, and Evaluation

Research Priorities: What are the most effective methods of determining the linguistic needs of students within particular curriculum/vocational contexts? What principles should determine how pedagogical activities (or tasks) are graded, organized, sequenced, and integrated within the curriculum? What kinds of assessment instruments and practices contribute most to successful language learning and to understandings of variable competencies across topics, tasks, and settings? What practices and procedures in monitoring and evaluating TESOL instructional programs most effectively meet the needs of the various stakeholders in language programs?

RATIONALE

There is much to be learned about how teachers set and pursue their goals; how teachers interweave their goals and objectives with the results of needs assessments; how this information is translated into methodology; and how teaching and learning processes and outcomes are most effectively monitored, evaluated, and modified. In addition, research on methods of language assessment is crucial because assessment both directly and indirectly influences decisions made about progress, further instruction, and proficiency. These decisions, in turn, influence learners' lives in important ways. With the increasing emphasis being placed on accountability in TESOL programs around the world, it is important to investigate the variety of factors that may affect the quality of program outcomes. Information from such research is vital for purposes of demonstrating accountability to funding authorities and for program improvement.

We also see technology--particularly computers and the Internet--as a growing and significant force in all language education, including English language education. The principle that should guide our actions in this regard is one of benefit to the learner and to society. Technology should not be adopted for its own sake but, rather, should have some demonstrable benefit to learners.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS
  1. Goal and Objective Setting
    • How do teachers set course goals and objectives? In what terms do they express them?
    • How useful do teachers find goals and objectives?
    • How much information do learners want about the teacher's goals and objectives?
    • How specific can, and should, objectives be?
    • How can objectives be made clear to, and negotiated with, learners?
    • How are objectives modified in the light of ongoing instruction and assessment?
  2. Needs Assessment
    • What procedures and techniques do teachers find useful for assessing needs?
    • Which needs do teachers prioritize and why?
    • How are differing individual needs reconciled within a group?
    • What do teachers do when the teachers' and the learners' perceptions of learners' needs differ?
    • How and why do learners' needs change and how do teachers deal with this?
    • How and why do teachers' needs change?
  3. Methodology
    • How do teachers translate goals and objectives into learning activities?
    • On what basis do teachers select learning activities?
    • What principles do teachers use to grade, sequence, and integrate these activities?
    • What principles do teachers use to evaluate language learning tasks and resources?
    • How do teachers address the problem of accommodating different learning styles and preferences within a group?
  4. Materials, Including New Media and Technology
    • What principles do teachers and administrators use to select and evaluate language learning materials?
    • How do teachers adapt learning materials to individual learners' needs?
    • How do learners use materials in self-access mode?
    • What factors increase the availability and effectiveness of self-access centers, particularly in developing regions?
    • How do teachers integrate technology into their instructional practices?
    • What are the implications of new forms of electronic communication for program organization, program delivery, and teacher professional development?
    • What kinds of technology foster language acquisition, and in what ways?
    • How does technology transform instructional practices?
    • How does the growing use of English as a medium of technological communication shape language learning, language contact, language policy, and language change?
    • What is the impact and potential of technology (media and electronic communications) in language learning, teacher education, and research?
    • How might research address critical issues of differential access to technology in TESOL within and across countries, along socioeconomic lines, and along gender lines?
    • What kinds of technology can serve as appropriate research tools?
    • In resource-poor programs or contexts with limited access to computer technology, what kinds of locally developed or otherwise commercially viable and culturally appropriate print-based and audio materials most effectively support English language teaching and learning? What activities and instructional practices best utilize existing educational resources to maximize English language learning within those contexts?
  5. Learner Assessment
    • What criteria do teachers use to assess learners' ongoing progress and overall proficiency gains?
    • What principles do they use in designing and selecting assessment procedures?
    • What demands does systematic learner assessment make on teachers?
    • What kinds of criterion-referenced procedures are the most appropriate for assessing learners' ongoing progress and overall attainment?
    • In what terms do learners perceive and talk about their progress?
    • What are the various types of systemic assessment in use (e.g., standardized normative tests, national assessment standards, state or provincial assessment) and what is their impact on language learners?
    • What can be done to improve the validity of decisions made from assessments?
    • What can be done to improve the reliability of assessment instruments?
    • What assessment practices external to the classroom contribute to successful language acquisition?
    • What is the appropriate role of technology in learner assessment?
    • How can the impact of participation in ESL programs on the lives of participants be effectively assessed?
  6. Program Monitoring and Evaluation
    • What criteria are used to evaluate language programs by different stakeholders (e.g., accrediting agencies, school districts, employers, the public, teachers, parents, students)?
    • Can differences in criteria be reconciled?
    • How can program evaluation be carried out as a collaborative exercise among various stakeholders?
    • What are the cognitive, linguistic, and social demands of participating in learning activities (other than ESL/EFL instruction) through the medium of English?
    • Why do learners stay in or leave particular programs?
    • What is the relationship between English language proficiency and access to educational and vocational opportunities?
    • How can information about learners' summative language attainment best be gathered and presented to funding authorities and other audiences outside the program?
  7. Program Support and Resourcing
    • What support structures are required to introduce major new initiatives into the program (e.g., a change of focus from classroom to individualized learning)?
    • What are the consequences for teacher development and materials development?
    • What is the effect of different learning environments on student learning (e.g., self-access centers, bilingual teaching arrangements)?
    • How cost-effective are "specialized" programs that attract increased resources (e.g., remedial pronunciation)?
    • How effective are new types of learning arrangements in terms of their desired outcomes (e.g., specific purpose programs, individualized contract learning, electronic distance learning)?
    • What is the effect of class size on learner outcomes in ESL/EFL contexts?
    • What factors contribute to successful and unsuccessful curriculum innovation?
    • What is the effect of technology-enhanced learning environments on different school populations?


EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS

Teacher Education and Professional Development

Research Priorities: What knowledge, skills, and attitudes should an effective TESOL teacher have, and how are such attributes obtained? How can practicing teachers maintain their enthusiasm and professional commitment? How do language teachers continue to upgrade their skills and knowledge throughout their professional lifespans?

RATIONALE

It is extremely difficult to isolate the attributes of successful teaching in such a way as to claim that a particular attribute (or cluster of attributes) is directly related to the quality of a teacher's preservice education or to some particular type of in-service program. However, the preservice model of teacher education and certification remains the major social model by which people become teachers. In addition, in-service workshops and short courses are relied on heavily in many educational systems. The challenge for research in this area is to carefully unpack and describe the impact of preservice and in-service training in precise and real terms.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS


LANGUAGE IN SOCIETY

Sociocultural and Sociopolitical Contexts

Research Priorities: What is the most effective means of teaching about cultural aspects (values, practices) of different languages, communities, and varieties of English without denigrating some cultures or representing cultures of English-speaking communities as stereotypical or superior? How can intercultural communication be enhanced among NNSs using English across different social and political sectors?

RATIONALE

TESOL is an international organization spanning several continents. Its members and the learners they serve come from many different languages and cultures. By its very nature, the teaching of English to speakers of other languages involves intercultural contact, communication, and the different worldviews, perspectives, and practices of teachers, learners, materials writers, publishers, policy makers, and others across sociocultural and sociopolitical contexts. TESOL is an inclusive field, committed to respecting cultural differences in teaching and learning and committed to fostering linguistic and cultural maintenance among English language learners. Yet, given the differences that exist, a number of research questions deserve attention.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS


LANGUAGE IN SOCIETY

English in the Developing and Changing World

Research Priority: What are the costs and benefits of introducing or changing widespread English language education in developing countries?

RATIONALE

English language education has a long history in many countries, particularly in what were formerly British colonies. However, in the postcolonial era, language policies, English language education, and the role of English is changing in many of these countries. In other regions, with a different constellation of linguistic, cultural, and political influences, the introduction of widespread English education and the use of English in particular social spheres is a relatively recent phenomenon, one that is linked with economic opportunity, development, and globalization. Finally, as social and political change occurs in various regions of the world, some populations are displaced and must settle elsewhere, often in English-speaking countries. Examining the complex and changing role of English in international contexts and the experiences of language learners in new contexts is therefore timely and important for a number of reasons. Here we suggest questions that could guide future research, some of which could be done in collaboration with researchers in other fields (e.g., with economists for cost-benefit analyses).

SAMPLE QUESTIONS
  1. Issues in International English Education
    • What are the costs and benefits of changing the existing status of English language education in postcolonial societies?
    • What are the costs and benefits of introducing widespread English language education in developing countries?
    • What positive role can English play in the economic, social, and intellectual development of societies undergoing major transformations?
    • How does English language education and/or English language use among professionals in different sectors help developing countries reach short- and long-term goals they have identified?
    • What are the corresponding needs in terms of the professional development of teachers and other leaders who may require high levels of proficiency in English?
  2. The Coexistence of English and Other Languages
    • How can English language/literacy education complement and not threaten or replace indigenous and other language education?
    • How do people develop and maintain their skills in multiple languages? In other words, what factors contribute to success in bilingual and multilingual individuals?
    • What policies help ensure the rights of English language learners to preserve, maintain, and develop competencies in indigenous and other additional languages?
    • How can local cultures, languages, literacy practices, and forms of learning and performing language coexist productively with English-medium or English L2 instruction?
    • What is the relationship, if any, between, social, political, and economic development and L1 or additional language development?
  3. The Changing Status of English in World Regions
    • What is the changing status and function of English in countries and regions experiencing major political, economic, and/or demographic transition? To what extent does the availability of English language resources in these countries facilitate such transitions?
    • To what extent is the role of English in postcolonial societies, in particular, changing and what are the implications of such changes?
    • What role does (or could/should) English play in primary, secondary, and tertiary education in developing countries?
    • What are the effects (negative and positive) of English-medium instruction on the education, careers, and achievements (linguistic and nonlinguistic) of people in developing regions?
    • What role does (or could) English play in effecting local (grassroots) economic, educational, and social development, according to locally determined needs, interests, and priorities?
    • What are the special linguistic, sociocultural, and other needs of displaced (e.g., refugee) populations who move to English-speaking countries? How are these needs best addressed?
    • What are the economic, social, and linguistic effects of English dominance in electronic communications on local populations?


LANGUAGE IN SOCIETY

English in the Global Economy

Research Priority: What are the implications of the changing nature of work, communication, and global economics for the teaching, learning, assessment, and use of English in the information era?

RATIONALE

An increasing number of people learn and use English via global communications, in multilingual workplaces (which may be mediated electronically across geographical regions) or workplace-oriented programs. The nature of work and of literacies needed for work is changing. TESOL research needs to respond to this situation with research on the changing workplace, changing vocational and higher education, and programs designed to better prepare language programs, teachers, and learners for these changes. At the same time, research needs to consider the impact of these changes on participants and on society as a whole.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

TESOL Research Agenda


More Resources:

 

Home : Issues : Research