An Analysis of the Research Processes Involved in an Action Research Project: A Case Study

Abstract

This article explores the process followed by an English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher when conducting action research in her conversation class. Action research helped the teacher in this case study solve a real problem with her beginning students: their lack of understanding of her oral instructions. Documenting her experience serves a two-fold purpose: a) to underscore the benefits of action research and its validity to seek improvement in the language classroom and b) to shed light on the process of carrying out action research, from the stages prior to topic selection to the ones involved in the project itself, which is seldom discussed in detail in the final version of a study. Thus, this case study, carried out in an MATESOL program, offers students and novice practitioners a practical account of the process of undertaking teacher research.