This article examines the relationships between second language acquisition (SLA), instructed second language acquisition (ISLA), and language teaching by examining them from the lens of the research on the acquisition and teaching of second language (L2) tense-aspect in the last 20 years (2000-2021). Review 1 examines 56 instructional effect…

Language teachers report having limited direct contact with research and research findings despite generally positive perceptions of research (Borg 2009; Marsden and Kasprowicz 2017; Nassaji 2012). Key reasons teachers give are 1) practical - a lack of time and access, and 2) conceptual - academic papers can be difficult to read (Plavén-Sigray et…

Consistent with recent calls to bridge the research-practice divide in second language acquisition, this article reports on the findings of a collaborative autoethnographic study that we, authors of this article, conducted as critical second language teacher educators. Conducting a series of constructive dialogues among ourselves for a semester,…

In this chapter I address what I see as the cornerstone for advancing our understanding of how results from empirical research into L2 interactional development can usefully be brought to bear on L2 education--be it curriculum design, teaching or testing--, namely an epistemologically coherent understanding of interactional competence and its…

This article explores ways in which a dialogue between researchers and practitioners can be bidirectional, effective, and beneficial for the two professional communities. We suggest concrete directions for second language (L2) research: (a) a collaborative mindset, (b) the nature of research, (c) venues for dialogue, and (d) institutional support.…

Research has seen a growing recognition of the crucial role pronunciation plays in teaching English as an International Language (EIL), in achieving effective communication and its close link to the mastery of other aspects of language teaching and learning. In spite of its recognised importance, pronunciation is still a marginalised skill in many…

In her 2017 article 'Research into practice: Listening strategies in an instructed classroom setting,' Suzanne Graham outlines ways that research-derived principles of listening instruction have (not) been adopted in second language (L2) classrooms. She organizes her argument into three categories, discussing research findings that have not been…

Purpose: Despite the growing interest in the applicability and value of educational research for improving educational policy and practice, few studies have demonstrated how English-as-a-second-language (ESL) teachers apply research findings in their second language (L2) teaching. This paper reports on a study in which four Hong Kong ESL teachers…

This paper first provides a brief overview of the history and current usage of the concept of competence in academic research, and then undertakes a critical discussion of how the term is currently used in educational policy. The running example used throughout the paper is competence in foreign language learning. The PISA study is discussed to…

Little is known about how language teacher educators become, and also develop professionally as, teachers of teachers. One avenue for teacher education professional development is that of teacher research, whereby teacher educators can not only improve their practices in their immediate context but also help develop transformative pedagogies in…

Second language (L2) research relies heavily and increasingly on ANOVA (analysis of variance)-based results as a means to advance theory and practice. This fact alone should merit some reflection on the utility and value of ANOVA. It is possible that we could use this procedure more appropriately and, as argued here, other analyses such as…

This paper considers research and practice relating to listening in instructed classroom settings, limiting itself to what might be called unidirectional listening (Macaro, Graham & Vanderplank 2007)--in other words, where learners listen to a recording, a TV or radio clip or lecture, but where there is no communication back to the speaker(s).…

The nature of second language pronunciation research often precludes its application to the classroom. And even when research findings do have direct applicability to classroom practice, open channels of communication between researchers and practitioners are often lacking. We have subtitled this issue of "The CATESOL Journal"…

This article is concerned with a group of language teachers' reading and interpretation of a peer-reviewed journal article. It draws empirical materials from a larger study, which explored how teachers addressed the 'crises' of representation, legitimation and praxis in educational research. In this article, I present a subset of data to…

Winner of the 2015-16 Kenneth W. Mildenberger Prize awarded by the Modern Language Association Many educators aim to engage students in deeply meaningful learning in the language classroom, often facing challenges to connect the students with the culture of the language they are learning. This book aims to demonstrate that substantial…