Unit 1

FUNDAMENTALS OF LANGUAGE EDUCATION RESEARCH

One of the duties expected of teacher in general is to conduct researches. DepEd is

mandated to “undertake national educational research and studies” which can become part of the
basis for necessary reforms and policy inputs (Chapter 1, Section 7 (5) of RA 9155). The current
administration also recognizes the need for evidence-based policy development by instituting
reforms that strengthen transparency and accountability among government entities. It follows
then that RA 9155 mandates DepEd to require all schools divisions to engage in research
activities. It means that all teaching and non-teaching personnel in the Department are enjoined
to fully implement research in terms of doing priority improvement projects for future referrals
and modifications. In this Unit, you are expected to understand the nature and rudiments of
research and why it is essential to a teacher’s life.

In this Unit, you are expected to –

 discuss the importance of understanding the key concepts, theories, methods

specific to language education research through a summary paper;
 justify the choice of the topic for research by using the concepts specific to
language teaching; and
 submit a concept paper of the chosen topic.

1 NATURE AND CONCEPTS OF LANGUAGE RESEARCH

Learning Competencies

At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

 Explain the characteristics of research
 Cite the benefits of doing research
 Describe the kinds of researches

A major observation among language teachers is their negative attitude towards doing
researches in the classroom. Such attitude is attributed to the perception that research is a
difficult task – not all teachers can conduct one. They do not only know that it can be learned by
doing it. As one does a research, the skills are developed along the way. To be able to design
researches, the language teachers need to have a full grasp of the meaning of research – why it is
necessary, what is its nature, and what kinds of research can be conducted. In this lesson, you
will learn the nature and concepts related to language research. Hopefully, with the initial
concepts, your interest to do research builds up.
 Read the anecdote below and answer the questions that follow.

One sunny day a rabbit came out of her hole in the ground to enjoy the fine weather. She
met the fox.
“What are you doing my friend,” the Fox asked the Rabbit.
"Well, I am just finishing my thesis on 'The Superiority of Rabbits over Foxes and
Wolves'," answered the Rabbit.
"Are you crazy? Where is your academic honesty? Everybody knows that a fox will
always win over a rabbit," the Fox questioned.
"If you like, you can come into my hole and read it for yourself. If you are not convinced,
you can go ahead and have me for lunch."
Since the fox was curious and had nothing to lose, he went with the rabbit. The fox never
came out. A few days later, a wolf came out of the bushes and asked what the Fox was doing.
"I am almost finished writing my thesis on 'The Superiority of Rabbits over Foxes and
Wolves'," the Fox responded.
The wolf laughed so hard.
"Come and read it for yourself. You can eat me afterward if you disagree with my
conclusions."
So the wolf went down into the rabbit's hole...and never came out.
The rabbit finished her thesis and was out celebrating in the local lettuce patch. Another
rabbit came along and asked, "What's up? You seem very happy."
"Yup, I just finished my thesis."
"Congratulations. What's it about?"
"'The Superiority of Rabbits over Foxes and Wolves'."
"Are you sure? That doesn't sound right."
"Oh yes. Come and read it for yourself."
So together they went down into the rabbit's hole. As they entered, the friend saw the
typical student abode, a rather messy one after writing a thesis.
The computer with the controversial work was in one corner. To the right there was a pile
of fox bones, to the left a pile of wolf bones. And in the middle was a large, well-fed lion.

1. What is academic integrity?

__________________________________________________
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 2. Explain this moral derived from the story: The title of your thesis doesn't matter. The
subject doesn't matter. The research doesn't matter. All that matters is who your advisor
is.
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To understand the relationship between the previous activity and this lesson, read the
materials and process the concepts and principles related to the nature and characteristics
of language research.

Defining Research

The American Heritage College Dictionary defined research as "scholarly or scientific

investigation or inquiry" or as a verb "to study (something) thoroughly" (2000). Thus, in its most
basic and simplest form, research is a way of finding out answers to questions. Research is
usually consists of -

o Asking a question that nobody has asked before;

o Doing the necessary work to find the answer; and
o Communicating the knowledge you have acquired to a larger audience.

Several authors describe research as a systematic, controlled empirical and critical

investigation of propositions about the presumed relationships about various phenomena
(Kerlinger, 1986). It is a systematic investigation to find answers to a problem. It is also a
structured inquiry that utilizes acceptable scientific methodology to solve problems and creates
new knowledge that is generally acceptable.

As indicated by the definition, there are four major characteristics of research, namely:
 Systematic – The investigation uses procedures that follow a logical sequence (step-
by-step process). In doing a language research, you follow the scientific process in
doing the research, shown below.
 Research is different than other forms of discovering knowledge (like reading a
book) because it uses a systematic process called the Scientific Method. The Scientific
Method consists of observing the world around you and creating a hypothesis about
relationships in the world. A hypothesis is an informed and educated prediction or
explanation about something. Part of the research process involves testing the hypothesis,
and then examining the results of these tests as they relate to both the hypothesis and the
world around you. When you form a hypothesis, this acts like a map through the research
study. It tells you which factors are important to study and how they might be related to
each other or caused by a manipulation that the researcher introduces (e.g. a program,
treatment or change in the environment). With this map, you can interpret the information
you collect and can make sound conclusions about the results (Nebeker, et al., 2015).
 Controlled – Effects of other factors on the outcome is minimized or reduced. If it is
an experiment, the effect (changes) of the introduced intervention should be attributed
mainly to it, not to other factors. For instance, if simulated speaking technique
(teaching strategy) is made to increase speaking ability (expected change) of the
learners, all other factors that contribute to the increase in speaking ability should be
made constant to all learners.
 Empirical – Conclusions are based upon hard evidence (data, information) gathered
from real life experiences or observations. Thus, you use questionnaires, language
tests, interviews, performance tests to collect evidence to answer the research
questions.
 Critical – Process of investigation should be foolproof and free from any drawbacks.
It means that experts in the same language discipline will agree to all the steps you set
in the research. Whatever questions they raise against each step, you have a ready
answer to justify that what you will do or performed is correct and acceptable.

Goals of Conducting Research

The purpose of research is to inform action. Thus, your study should seek to
contextualize its findings within the larger body of research. Research must always be of high
quality in order to produce knowledge that is applicable outside of the research setting
(http://www.uniteforsight.org/research-methodology/module6).

In general, there are four goals of research: description, classification, exploration, and
prediction.
 Description – research is the process of giving an account or explanation of a
phenomenon, like why junior high school learners have poor reading comprehension or what
explains the faulty grammar of senior high school students.

Results of research can describe natural or social phenomenon, such as its form, structure,
activity, change over time, relationship to other phenomena, etc. The descriptive function of
research relies on instrumentation for measurement and observations. The descriptive research
results in our understanding of what happened.

Classification – research aims to categorize individuals into defined groups on the basis
of identified characteristics. For instance, you may want to describe the good readers from the
poor readers or to characterize the high achievers and low achievers in the grade you teach.

Exploration - an investigation or the study of something or the consideration and testing

of something as possible courses of action to resolve a problem. For example, Will the conduct
of Saturday classes increase the possibility of producing good writers? Will the use of
cooperative reading increase the level of participation of readers?

Prediction – research strives to make a statement or forming of an opinion about what

will happen in the future. For example, How much do we know about the communicative
performance score of the learners when we know their multiple intelligence, self-efficacy, level
of exposure to mass/social media, and their English language grades?

Prediction research is intended to predict a phenomenon that will occur at time Y from
information at an earlier time X. It could also be to predict parameter A (dependent variable)
based on parameter B (independent variable). This usually requires that models or equations be
developed from collected data which can predict the dependent variable from the independent
variable. In educational research, researchers have been engaged in:
o Acquiring knowledge about factors that predict students' success in schools and in the
world of work

o Identifying students who are likely to be unsuccessful so that prevention programs can
be instituted.

Kinds of Researches

There are several kinds of research according to application, namely:

1. Basic Research: The purpose of this research is to understand and explain, i.e. the
research is interested in formulating and testing theoretical construct and propositions
that ideally generalize across time and space. This type of research takes the form of a
theory that explains the phenomenon under investigation to give its contribution to
 knowledge. This research is more descriptive in nature exploring what, why and how
questions.

Along language and language teaching, basic research in speech and the lateralization
of language is shown to illuminate the problems of reading and some of its disabilities.
First, it is pointed out how speech, or language for the ear, differs markedly from reading,
or language for the eye. Though the sounds of speech are a very complex code and the
optical shapes of written language are a simple cipher or alphabet on the phonemes, we
all perceive speech easily but read only with difficulty. 

2. Applied Research: The purpose of this research is to help people understand the nature of
human problems so that human beings can more effectively control their environment. In
other words, this type of research pursues potential solutions to human and societal
problems. This research is more prescriptive in nature, focusing on HOW questions.

In language research, an example that is considered applied research is determining the

best instructional intervention to help children with reading disabilities. The focus of the
study is How to resolve the problem of children with difficulties to read and comprehend
what they read.

3. Evaluation Research (summative and formative): Evaluation research studies the

processes and outcomes aimed at attempted solution. The purpose of formative research
is to improve human intervention within specific conditions, such as activities, time, and
groups of people; the purpose of summative evaluation is to judge the effectiveness of a
program, policy, or product.

In language research, analyzing the results of the English segment of the National
Achievement Test (a summative test) to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the
learners after finishing elementary or junior high school education is a form of evaluation
research.

4. Action Research: Action research aims at solving specific problems within a program,
organization, or community. Patton (1990) described that design and data collection in
action research tend to be more informal, and the people in the situation are directly
involved in gathering information and studying themselves.

Research of this nature is location-specific and usually classroom-focused because the

intention is to resolve the problems encountered by the teacher in his/her class. A good
example is study why learners cannot write grammatically correct sentences. The teacher
can come up with an innovative strategy that he/she designs and can try it out with his/her
own class. If it works, the intervention is effective in solving the problem in this specific
class by the teacher.
` On the other hand, another classification of research is according to the type of
information sought, namely: quantitative and qualitative research (McLeod, 2019).

Quantitative research is expressed in numbers and graphs. It is used to test or

confirm theories and assumptions. This type of research can be used to establish generalizable
facts about a topic. Common quantitative methods include experiments, observations recorded
as numbers, and surveys with closed-ended questions.

Example: Mrs. Cruz, Grade 9 English Teacher, would like to determine the level of
linguistic proficiency of the learners in the school. She constructs a 70-item linguistic
proficiency tests, validates it, and administers it to the Grade 9 learners in her school. After
analysing the results (scores) of the test, she presents the status of the linguistic proficiency of
the learners.

Qualitative research is expressed in words. It is used to understand concepts, thoughts or

experiences. This type of research enables you to gather in-depth insights on topics that are not
well understood. Common qualitative methods include interviews with open-ended questions,
observations described in words, and literature reviews that explore concepts and theories.

Example: Mr. Matias would like to explain what is going on in the minds of the learners
as they read a short story. After asking learners to read the story, he gave a quiz (10 questions)
to check their understanding of the story. During the break, he calls for five (5) learners who
were able to answer 9 or 10 questions and another group of five (5) learners who only answered
a few (2 or 3) of the comprehension questions. In the individual interview, he asks them what
was in their mind while answering each of the questions or what made them answer the questions
that way or this way. From the responses, he made a conclusion on what differs a learner who is
good or poor in comprehending the story read.

Now, try to summarize what you learned by performing the tasks

below.
Activity 1.
Guided by the graphic organizer, explain in your own words (in writing) the meaning research
and its characteristics. Be brief in your explanation.

Characteristic
1

Meaning
Characteristic
4 of Characteristic
2
Research

Characteristic
3
Activity 2. Guided by the graphic organizer below, explain briefly in writing at least three
uses/benefits of doing research in the English language classroom?

Benefits Benefit 1
of Doing
Benefit 2
Language
Research Benefit 3
Activity 3. In your own words and
in 15 words, explain briefly the terms indicated.

1. Quantitative and qualitative

research___________________________________________
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2. Basic and applied research
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Try firming up your learning in this lesson by undertaking the following

activities.
Activity 1. Gather from Internet sources at least 3 language researches taking note of their title
and objectives. Then classify each research according to purpose and method used. Give a short
justification of your answer. Use the matrix below to present your answers.

Type of Research
Title of the Objectives or According to Purpose Type of Research According to
Language Research Questions (Basic, Applied, Method (Quantitative vs.
Research Evaluation, Action) Qualitative)
Activity 2. As a future language teacher, what do you see as the benefits of doing a classroom
research to your job as a facilitator of language learning? Explain briefly but substantially.
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Now that you have Directions: Identify the term described in the following
finished applying what statements. Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.
your learned in the
lesson, answer the 1. The process of knowing in which a problem is identified,
following questions to relevant data is gathered, a hypothesis is formulated from
demonstrate retention of this data, and the hypothesis is empirically tested.
your learning. 2. The procedural investigation conducted to establish the
association among natural phenomena.
3. This characteristic establishes that research is an orderly process of knowing.
4. This statement tells the answer to a problem or identifies what is to be answered.
5. This type of research is limited to finding the answer of the specific problem encountered
by a teacher in the classroom.
6. This criterion indicates limits of the study in terms of the area to be studied.
7. It is the purpose of research to describe what is happening at the moment to a particular
group or place.
8. The research whose main purpose is to generate knowledge for knowledge sake.
 9. The research problem/question that is already made clear by the researcher about
clarifying and delimiting it.
10. This research is done to make judgment as the effectiveness of an intervention introduced
to solve a problem.
11. The characteristic of research that requires that concrete facts are used as evidence to
make sound conclusions.
12. The purpose of research which aims at making statements of what is likely to happen if
certain conditions exist in the context described.
13. This research is intended to discover a solution to a pressing problem in life.
14. This research collects numerical empirical data to make valid conclusions.
15. This kind of data are expressed in quantities like scores, amount, volume, weight, etc.

Congratulations! You have done successfully the activities of the initial lesson. Go over the
experiences in this lesson and reflect on them, as you fill up the Exit ticket below.

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References:

American Heritage College Dictionary (2020)

Kerlinger, F. N. (1986). Foundations of Behavioral Research. New York: Holt, Rinehart and
Winston

http://www.uniteforsight.org/research-methodology/module6)

McLeod, S. A. (2019, July 30). Qualitative vs. quantitative research. Simply Psychology.

https://www.simplypsychology.org/qualitative-quantitative.html
Nebeker, C., Simon, G., Kalichman, M., Talavera, A., Booen, E., & Lopez-Arenas, A.
(2015). Building Research Integrity and Capacity (BRIC): An Interactive Guide for
Promotores/Community Health Workers. San Diego, CA: BRIC Academy.

Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (2nd ed.). California: Sage
Publications