علیرضا ذاکر

Simultaneous with the emergence of numerous new concerns and techniques in carrying out research in English language teaching (ELT) contexts, conducting ELT research has turned into a multi-dimensional process, and ELT researchers seem to require advanced research skills in order to address different pedagogical issues. Focusing on quantitative research, the present study was undertaken to develop and validate a quantitative research literacy (QRL) instrument for English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher training context. To this objective, a four-component model of QRL, encompassing developing research topic knowledge, research design knowledge, procedural knowledge, and data analysis knowledge was developed based on experts’ opinion and an extensive review of the related literature. Testing of the tentative model through exploratory and confirmatory data analyses on a sample of 1180 EFL teachers across three education levels indicated that a 4-factor model of QRL with 9 sub-factors and 50 items could best explain QRL.

Condemning a laissez faire approach to English Language Teaching (ELT), English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher trainers unanimously agree that the building blocks of teachers’ teaching framework are profoundly influenced by conducting research. Focusing on quantitative research, this study endeavored to scrutinize the impact of the Critical Appraisal of Published Research (CAPR) in undergraduate teacher training programs on EFL teachers’ Data Analysis Knowledge (DAK). To this objective, 30 male and female EFL teachers were non-randomly selected and randomly assigned to two groups. In two Research classes, the experimental group received the CAPR whereas the control group received traditional teacher-centered instruction with summative assessment. The DAK section of the Quantitative Research Literacy (QRL) questionnaire was employed as the pretest and posttest. Subsequent to corroborating participants’ pre-treatment homogeneity in terms of DAK, analyzing the post-treatment data through running an independent-samples t-test, eta squared = .338 (representing a large effect size), indicated the existence of a significant difference in the post-treatment DAK scores between the two groups. The obtained results confirmed that the CAPR has a significantly better impact on EFL teachers’ DAK which is a key area of QRL. Therefore, it seems accurate to argue that ELT teacher training programs should endeavor to involve the students in a mentally engaging process, e.g. CAPR, where the content of the course is put into practice by the students, something which is required for balancing the concrete and the abstract.