Action Research As EFL Teachers' Professional Development

"Action Research", a research model was initiated by J. Colier and K. Lewin in America to research on social science, was applied in the educational field in the 1950s. As a research approach and a bridge over theory and practice, action research is learning by doing - a group of people identify a problem, work out to resolve it, see how successful their efforts are, and, if not satisfied, try again. With these distinctive features, action research echoes the new trend of improving professional skills from the inside and changing a traditional training system into an efficient one.Educationists in the West have accumulated rich experience in using action research as teacher professional development, but this concept is comparatively new to China. Since the introduction of the notion by professional Wang Qiang in Beijing Normal University, educational action research has gained increasing importance in foreign language teaching research. Since 1991, Guyuan Teachers College, an institute in the western province of Ningxia, has sponsored an action research center under the guidance of AR experts from England.From April, 2004 to June, 2004, the author spent three months there investigating the AR center and with a focus on the impacts of action research on the teachers' professional development. In this study, priority was given to qualitative study as the main approach to get information through the means of interview and observation. To maximize objectivity, quantitative study is also used on the basis of two sets of questionnaires. The teachers questionnaire was designed to gain evidence of their changing beliefs. The students questionnaires were distributed to more than one hundred students to get their evaluations on classroom atmosphere, teaching effects and students' autonomy before and after AR.Several findings came to light after the data collection and analysis:1) This action research exercise has equipped participants with the means to further their quest for professional recognition. The participants reported that they have improved professional skills, increased confidence, increased reflectivity and changed teaching beliefs.2) In western regions, unfavourable factors such as lacking teaching and human resources will not impede action research as teacher development. On the contrary, action research can greatly facilitate the teachers' professional development and improve the teaching environment.3) According to the correlation analysis of teachers' experience and their effect on their classroom AR, the two variables are not significantly related, indicating that there must be some other factors which influence the impact of AR. This new finding presents AR practitioners with a new research orientation.In addition to the investigation on the teachers AR project, an independent case study was conducted with a focus on how to foster non-English majors' interest and motivation. In the process, the author adjusted teaching behaviour to the unpredictable classroom and achieved a deeper understanding of the theory of action research. The professional development process was recorded and the study was so productive that the author finally presented her new understanding about the relationship between interest and motivation.The finding not only serves as a complement of current educational theory but also can be seen as evidence that teachers are capable of creating their own theories, a process which is valued by the Living Theory approach. Therefore, this personal experience of AR is consistent with the outcomes of prior investigations on teachers, pointing to the fact that AR is a potential means of professional development for language teachers.It is concluded that, in relation to the New Curriculum, AR can serve as a means to an end. However, the relationship goes beyond this in the sense that, on the one hand, AR can help teachers avoid departing from the original intention when implementing the NC. On the other hand, the NC can broaden the vision of teachers and prevent teachers' AR concerns from being too narrow. Consequently, a combination of the two is helpful to the current foreign language teaching reform.Based on the investigation and the author's own experiences in action research, the hypothesis that action research can be an alternative for teachers' professional development is testified. The shift from the outside demand to inside request is a powerful force that will push the cause of teachers' professional development forward. Furthermore, considering the unfavourable teaching situation in China, AR is more meaningful for teacher development in western regions. In the end, suggestions are put forward for the expansion of AR, which places new demands on the part of administrators at different levels of language teaching organizations.