Teachers' engagement with published research: How do teachers who read research navigate the field, what do they read, and why?

This project reported in this paper sought to uncover the reported practices and attitudes towards published research of English language teachers who worked in a
range of contexts around the world, and who reported reading or being interested in research and research-oriented publications. Aiming to give voice to and learn from these ‘research-interested’ teachers, the project examined the role of research publications and research-oriented literature in the teachers’ professional lives and in the development of their professional understandings and practices. It examined those factors which facilitated or created a barrier to such engagement, and additionally sought to uncover those key areas of research that the teachers saw as priorities, or of particular relevance to themselves. It also explored how, from the teachers’ perspective, such research findings might be made more accessible within the field. Ultimately, therefore, the project sought to find out how, from the standpoint of those teachers who are interested in engaging with research and research-oriented publications, the often-problematic relationship between research and practice in English language teaching (ELT) might start to be addressed.