Exploratory Practice in Language Teaching: General Introduction

It has become axiomatic that research into classroom language learning and teaching should be participatory, egalitarian, and empowering. Just how these three aims might be achieved, however, has been the subject of much debate. Over the decades, practitioner research has been increasingly recognised as a force for developing understandings of educational processes and practices (see Cochran-Smith and Lytle 2009; Tudor 2001; Zeichner and Noffke 2001), and is now a well-established field, with a plethora of different approaches to educational investigations. These approaches fall roughly into the following areas: Action Research (Burns 2005, 2010, 2015; Nunan 1993; Wallace 1998), Reflective Practice (Edge 2011; Farrell 2007), and, most recently, Exploratory Practice (Allwright 2003; Allwright and Hanks 2009).