This presentation will provide an intuitive and accessible framework for bridging the personal and professional benefits of action research with the illustrative power of CA.
Conversation analysis (CA) has been shown to provide English as a foreign or second language (EFL/ESL) teachers with insights into not only classroom-discourse dynamics but also the language-learning processes (Markee, 2000; Seedhouse, 2004; Wong & Waring, 2010). As exposure to CA becomes increasingly common in language teacher education programs, there is an opportunity to integrate CA with the broader curricular trends in teacher development and reflection. Action research is widely taught in such programs as its goal is to enhance teacher-awareness and lead to improved classroom practices. CA is a natural fit for action research. It can provide teachers with a powerful analytic lens through which to view language use in their classrooms-both their own, and that of their students-in order to make pedagogical changes that can enhance learning. However, CA as a methodology for action research can seem intimidating and time-consuming to novice, as well as experienced teachers. Currently, the literature connecting CA to classroom-practices, while enlightening in terms of helping teachers identify and classify features of talk likely to occur in institutional settings, does not generally offer an accessible framework for how language teachers can connect the illustrative power of CA to their own teacher reflection and professional development. This presentation will provide an intuitive and accessible framework for bridging the personal and professional benefits of action research with the illustrative power of CA.
