Abstract
Abstract
Over the past three decades, action research (AR), which is part of a more general movement toward “teacher research,” has found a growing presence in language teaching accredited courses and in‐service professional development. AR is a flexible and dynamic approach to research, which usually has considerable appeal for educators, because of its localized and contextualized applications. In this brief overview, the main theoretical and developmental backgrounds and processes of AR are explained, and the humanistic roots of AR's development delineated. Some recent empirical findings that show the impact of AR in language teaching and how conducting AR can benefit language teachers and further their professional development are summarized. Some of the barriers and challenges to teachers conducting AR are discussed, and the kinds of conditions and strategies that might mitigate against these challenges are suggested. The discussion is ended by projecting the directions that might be taken for AR development in language teaching in the future.