ABSTRACT
The chapters in this book all have as their topic second language classroom research (SLCR). Contrary to what might be called mainstream SLCR, however, they do not report on the results of experiments of either developmental or analytical studies. Rather, they focus on what Duff and Early (chapter 1) call the “problematics” of conducting SLCR. What makes these chapters particularly interesting is that problematics are so rarely discussed in the mainstream SLCR literature. The problematics of conducting SLCR identified in this book include a wide range of factors, such as the impact of various sociocultural constraints on the research enterprise; the role of SLCR as a tool for implementing social change (whether in a society as a whole or in the more restricted context of a single classroom); the importance of good communication between the various stakeholders who participate in educational change; the importance of resolving questions such as who “owns” project data and any resulting classroom applications; and, last but not least, the costs and benefits that may accrue to different project participants from adopting or rejecting educational innovations.
