137
REFERENCES:
1. Bean, J.C. Engaging ideas: The professor‘s guide to integrating writing, critical thinking and active
learning in the classroom, 1996. - p. 60.
2. Bereiter, C., &Scardamalia, W.R.Commentary on Part I: Process and Product Problem-Based Learning
(PBL) Research. Problem Based Learning: A Research Perspective on Learning Interactions, 2000. - p.
248.
3. Mahwah, N. J: Lawrence Erlbaum. Beyer, B. K. Critical thinking: What is it? Social Education, 2005. -
p. 149.
4. Correia, R. Encouraging Critical Reading in the EFL Classroom. English Teaching Forum, 2006. - p.
218.
5. Dods, R. F. An action research study of the effectiveness of problem-based learning in promoting the
acquisition and retention of knowledge, 2007. - p. 258.
THE ROLE OF ACTION RESEARCH IN EDUCATION
Abdieva A.
a master-teacher, Turkistan high multi profile craft college, Kazakhstan
Аннотация:
Мақалада шет тілін оқытуды жетілдіру, қабылданған нәтижеге қол жеткізудің тиімді
әдістерінің бірі ретінде іс-әрекет арқылы зерттеу әдісі қарастырылады. Бұл әдіс Батыстың
ғалымдары мен мамандарының тарапынан ӛткен ғасырдың ортасынан бастап қолданыла бастады.
Іс-әрекет арқылы зерттеу ғылыми-зерттеу әдісімен салыстырғанда тұрақты емес. Іс-әрекет арқылы
зерттеу спираль формасы болып табылады және зерттелетін тақырыпты мән-жайларға байланысты
ӛзгерте алады. Сондай-ақ, зерттеу барысында біздің зерттеуізге тікелей мҥдделі тараптардың
пікірлерін, әріптестердің пікірлерін және осы мәселе бойынша студенттердің кӛзқарастарын
ескеруіміз керек.
Кілт сӛздер:
action research, іс-әрекет арқылы зерттеу, шет тілі, әдіс
Аннотация:
Статья рассматривает способ улучшения обучения иностранного языка. Action
research, исследование в действии, как один из эффективных способов достижения необходимого
результата. Этот метод начал использоваться учеными и профессионалами Запада с середины
прошлого века. Исследование в действии не является постоянным, в отличие от академического
метода исследования. Исследование в действии имеет форму спирали и может сменить тему
исследования в зависимости от обстоятельств. Также необходимо обратить внимание, при
проведении исследования мы должны учитывать мнения заинтересованных сторон в нашем
случаи мнению коллег и мнения студентов по данному вопросу.
Ключевые слова:
Action research, иностранный язык, преподавание, метод, исследование в
действии
Summary:
The article considers one of the ways of improvement of teaching, in particular, English.
Action Research, studying in operation, as one of the effective ways of achievement of the necessary
result. This method began to be used by scientists and professionals of the West from the middle of the
last century. The research business is not static, unlike the academic method of a research. It has the form
of a spiral and can change a research subject depending on circumstances. In addition, it is necessary to
pay attention that when carrying out a research we have to consider the opinion of stakeholders, in our
case opinion of colleagues and opinion of students.
Keywords:
action research, teaching, foreign language, method, studying in operation
Action research is either research initiated to solve an immediate problem or a reflective process
of progressive problem solving led by individuals working with others in teams or as part of a
"community of practice" to improve the way they address issues and solve problems. There are two types
of action research: participatory and practical.
Action research involves actively participating in a change situation, often via an existing
organization, whilst simultaneously conducting research. Action research can also be undertaken by
larger organizations or institutions, assisted or guided by professional researchers, with the aim of
improving their strategies, practices and knowledge of the environments within which they practice. As
designers and stakeholders, researchers work with others to propose a new course of action to help their
community improve its work practices.
Kurt Lewin, then a professor at MIT, first coined the term "action research" in 1944. In his 1946
paper "Action Research and Minority Problems" he described action research as "a comparative research
on the conditions and effects of various forms of social action and research leading to social action" that
138
uses "a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action and fact-finding about
the result of the action" [1, p. 43].
Action research is an interactive inquiry process that balances problem solving actions
implemented in a collaborative context with data-driven collaborative analysis or research to understand
underlying causes enabling future predictions about personal and organizational change. After six decades
of action research development, many methods have evolved that adjust the balance to focus more on the
actions taken or more on the research that results from the reflective understanding of the actions. This
tension exists between
1.
those who are more driven either by the researcher's agenda or by participants;
2.
those who are motivated primarily by instrumental goal attainment or by the aim of personal,
organizational or societal transformation; and
3.
1st-, to 2nd-, to 3rd-person research, that is, my research on my own action, aimed primarily at
personal change; our research on our group (family/team), aimed primarily at improving the group; and
'scholarly' research aimed primarily at theoretical generalization or large-scale change.
Action research challenges traditional social science by moving beyond reflective knowledge
created by outside experts sampling variables, to an active moment-to-moment theorizing, data collecting
and inquiry occurring in the midst of emergent structure. "Knowledge is always gained through action
and for action. From this starting point, to question the validity of social knowledge is to question, not
how to develop a reflective science about action, but how to develop genuinely well-informed action –
how to conduct an action science". In this sense, performing action research is the same as performing an
experiment, thus it is an empirical process.
The term action research was coined by the social psychologist Kurt Lewin in the United States in
about 1944 in connection with research which aimed to promote social action through democratic
decision making and active participation of practitioners in the research process. The target group for
Lewin's programme of action research was field workers who were trying to improve relations between
minority groups in American society. Lewin believed that through action research advances in theory and
much needed social change might simultaneously be achieved. Under Lewin's influence, the idea of
action research was adopted by educationalists and Lewin himself worked on action research programmes
with teachers. His ideas were particularly influential at Teachers' College, Columbia University in the
areas of curriculum research and collaborative research with teachers, schools and school districts [1].
In spite of the continuing interest in action research in other fields of social inquiry, in education
it was subject to criticism on the basis of the methodology, effectiveness, and practicality, and interest
declined in the late 1950s only to re-emerge in the 1970s in a different guise under the influence of
Stenhouse.
Many educators have been concerned with the apparent gap between research and theory on the
one hand and daily practices of education on the other: educational problems as defined by researchers
and as defined by practitioners can be very different. Action researchers try to close this gap between
research and practice by creating a situation in which practitioners define research problems and conduct
research in such a way that the outcomes are directly useful to classroom or other educational situations.
Kemmis (1988), who himself contributed to the renewal of interest in the potential of action
research, attributes the revival of interest to several factors:
1. A strong interest among educational researchers in helping practitioners deal with problems of practice.
2. A broad methodological interest in interpretative or illuminative methods which attempt to define the
problems of the field in ways which represent the understandings of practitioners.
3. A growth of collaborative curriculum development and evaluation work.
4. An explicit commitment to addressing social and political problems of education through participatory
research carried out by practitioners on problems of immediate and more general public concern.
During its re-emergence in the 1970s, action research took on a different kind of rationale than in
its original form. Lewin's early work, though it emphasized field work, did not seek to abandon the
scientific rigour of traditional research in the social sciences. What he was trying to do was make sure that
research ended in real life applications rather than just written accounts of theory.
Later, under the influence of curriculum theorists such as Stenhouse, Schwab, Elliott and
Skilbeck emphasis shifted to the idea of practical deliberation, focusing on human interpretation,
negotiation and detailed descriptive accounts in place of measurement and statistical analysis. With this
trend came the assumption that the enquiry processes must develop naturally rather than being
constrained by preconceived ideas. Hence the expectation that there should be a continuing number of
cycles of enquiry. According to this interpretation, action research aims to develop teachers who are not
only active practitioners in the field but also reflective professionals. It leads to a new and enhanced status
for the activity of teaching in that it is now seen as an activity which can be investigated, considered and
139
improved. The outcome of this process is to enable teachers to provide a clearer rationale for what they
do, based upon their own professional observation and experience.
In this process, Lewin's model of a spiral of planning, action, observation and reflection is
nevertheless maintained. Each of the models of action research can be and are used for improving
teaching in higher education-indeed it is difficult to conceptualise them as totally separate. From our
experience it is not always possible to begin a project using a critical emancipatory model of action
research [1, p. 75].
Action research is known by many other names, including participatory research, collaborative
inquiry, emancipator research, action learning, and contextual action research, but all are variations on a
common theme. In nut shell, action research is ―Research in Action‖ – a group of people identify a
problem, do something to resolve it, see how successful their efforts were, and if not satisfied, try again.
Kurt Lewin, a German social psychologist, has been credited with the development of the idea of
action research. He first found that experimental methods, in many cases, were inadequate and
unsatisfactory. He then tried to seek for a method that based on people‘s real world experience; from that
time on, action research has entered the world of researchers.
According to Kurt Lewin, action research is ―a comparative research on the conditions and effects
of various forms of social action and research leading to social action‖; this type of research uses ―a spiral
step,‖ each of which is ―composed of a circle of planning, action and fact-finding about the result of the
action‖.
A more succinct definition is, is given by Thomas Gilmore, - ‖Action research…aims to
contribute both to the practical concerns of people in an immediate problematic situation and to further
the goals of social science simultaneously. Thus, there is a dual commitment in action research to study a
system and concurrently to collaborate with members of the system in changing it, in what is together
regarded as a desirable direction. Accomplishing this twin goal requires the active collaboration of
researcher and client, and thus it stresses the importance of co-learning as a primary aspect of the research
process.‖ [2, p. 54].
O‘Brien‘s states that ―action research is a natural way of acting and researching at the same time‖.
To make it clearer, Dick affirms that action research is a true reflection of its names as it is intended to
achieve both action and research at the same time. It is critically suitable for educational situations where
teachers wish to bring about action in the form of change or improvement in their teaching and at the
same time develop an understanding which informs the change and is an addition to what is known.
Carr and Kemmis put the definition of action research in education as ―action research is a form
of self-reflective inquiry that can be utilized by teachers in order to improve the rationality and justice of
(i) their own practices, (ii) their understanding of these practices and (iii) the situations in which these
practices are carried out [3, p. 43].
Obviously, the role of action research in education has been acknowledged when Hutchinson and
Lomax claim that action research is a research that ―concerns with broader curriculum issues, and often
with the administration and management of school and institutional change.
The action research process
is often described as:
• Cyclical with four inter-related stages: plan, act, observe, reflect;
• Collaborative in two senses:
- that many action research activities are best carried out with colleagues;
- that action research always involves the participants, at least in knowing what is being explored
and why;
• Qualitative rather than quantitative with the emphasis on language rather than numbers;
• Reflective, involving critical reflection on both the process and the outcomes [4, p. 35].
The action research process usually starts with a question or an observation raised either by you
or by your students, about an issue, problem or difficulty experienced by some or all of them in their
learning. Alternatively, a more 'affirmative' approach might encourage you to look at actions that are
successful with some of your students so that you can extend this 'good practice' to all your students. The
cycle continues as you decide on some action to investigate the question, perhaps by exploring how your
students perceive the issue or how you might adapt a different approach in your teaching. This will
involve you in collecting some evidence, either in the form of feedback from your students or by
observation of their work. The process is rarely a simple cycle but more a spiral: reflection on your action
and your findings may lead to another question and further action, usually a change in your practice
REFERENCES:
1. K. Lewin. Action research and minority problems, 1946. J Soc. Issues 2(4): 34-46).
2. C.W. Mills. Sociological Imagination, Fortieth Anniversary Edition, Oxford University Press. 2000.
140
3. W.Carr & S.Kemmis 1986. Becoming Critical: education, knowledge and action research, London,
Falmer. pp. 162.
4. Brock, K. and Pettit, J. (2007). Springs of Participation: Creating and Evolving Methods for
Participatory Development. Practical Action, Warwickshire. UK.
WAYS OF TEACHING PRONUNCIATION FOR EFL LEARNERS
Nurumbetova G.A.
PhD, Associate Professor, English Language and Literature» Department,
KarSU named after Berdakh, Nukus, Uzbekistan
Azbergenova G.
1
st
year Master student, KarSU named after Berdakh, Nukus, Uzbekistan
Abstract:
This article discusses the significance of learning and teaching pronunciation which is the main
way of speaking in English like native speakers. The more attention is paid on pronunciation, the faster
we become confident and fluent in English.
Key words:
pronunciation, stress, intonation, vowel shift, standardization, phonological strategy,
etymological strategy, morphemic strategy, visual imagery, spelling by anology.
A consideration of learners‘ pronunciation errors and how these can inhibit successful
communication is a useful basis on which to assess why it is important to deal with pronunciation in the
classroom [Kelly: 2012: 11].
As an example we can consider a learner‘s any type of sentence which is mispronounced. He may
say: ‗
I have travelled around the world by
ship
‘ and may pronounce the word
ship
[
∫ip
] with long [
i:
],
and others may understand that he has not used a means of transportation but travelled with an animal like
a
sheep
[
∫i:p
].
A learner who consistently mispronounces a range of phonemes can be extremely difficult for a
speaker from another language community to understand. This can be very frustrating for the learner who
may have a good command of grammar and lexis but have difficulty in understanding and being
understood by a native speaker. In addition, the inaccurate use of supra segmental elements, such as stress
or intonation, can also cause problems [Kelly: 2012].
For example, a request made in this way: ‗
Will you please SWITCH on the tape recorder
?‘ We
should notice how the sentence stress is on the notice
switch
, [
swit∫
] as it was a first request, one might
have expected the first syllable of
tape recorder
to have been the most prominent, rather than
swish
[
swi∫
].
Had the teacher not known better, the utterance could have been interpreted as being a second
request, the first request not having been heard, and possibly being uttered with some patience. In short, it
could appear rude.
The intonation pattern used in the following question caused the listener to misunderstand it.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU been to Tashkent
?
This sentence was said to a friend while getting to know. The unexpected fall of the voice in
been
led to the friend not understanding her question.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU
↓
been
to Tashkent
?
One would expect the voice to fall on the first syllable of
Tashkent
.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU been to
↓
Tash
kent
?
She had to repeat the question before making herself understood.
Let‘s consider this sentence:
Why don‘t you come to my PARty
?
a) As a first ‗suggestion‘ or ‗invitation‘, we might expect the first syllable of
party
[
'pα:\ti
] to be stressed,
indicated with capitals, and we might expect the voice to go dawn at the end.
b) What about this variation?
WHY don‘t come to my party
?
When spoken in this way the question is no longer a simple invitation. It suggests instead that someone
has refused the invitation and that the speaker is upset by this and needs to know why it has happened. If
a student uses this stress and intonation for a straightforward invitation rather than speaking as in example
(a), it is possible that there will be a misunderstanding.
In order to study how something works it is often useful to break it down into its constituent
parts. So, let us learn pronunciation in pieces. Phonemes are the different sounds within a language.
Although there are slight differences in how individuals articulate sounds, we can still describe
