Exploratory Practice: rethinking practitioner research in language teaching

Abstract

This paper is an introduction to the rest of this Special Issue of Language Teaching Research devoted entirely to Exploratory Practice (EP), a form of practitioner research. It is also an introduction to EP itself, telling the story of the development of its practices and its principles over the last ten or so years. Readers already familiar with EP may wish to go directly to the other seven papers in this issue, for illustrations of EP in practice, for research about EP, and for a more thorough review of the relevant research literature (see especially the papers by Miller and by Perpignan). The case for EP presented below is based on a perceived need for practitioner research to be rethought: to be refocused on understanding, and ultimately on a concern for the quality of life in the language classroom, for both teachers and learners. The paper includes, in Section VII, a brief introduction to the other papers in this volume.