Research Blues

Around the middle of the first semester I was approached by one of my professors about switching from the coursework-heavy track to the thesis track of the MA I began in September. I thought about it for a long time, made contact with potential sites to conduct my research, formulated my research question and design, and then decided not to do it.

The route I chose to follow includes 8 courses and then a "Major Essay" (ME), which is in essence a larger term paper. I know it was the right decision - there is very little chance that I could have finished my thesis (never mind its defense) in time to move this August. And I've never taken a single course in stats. Oh, and because of the sample size I was using, the results would probably have been invalid anyway. But today I questioned the choice.

The topic I have chosen to for my ME is fostering autonomy in language learning. I really like the idea of empowering learners to take control of their learning. So do lots of theorists! Unfortunately, not many researchers do.

I have read the majority of the literature on autonomy in language learning that I can get my hands on - including books from Windsor, Ryerson, OISE, U of A and 3 I purchased from Ireland! People have defined and redefined the concepts, and then redefined the re-definitions. They've also argued about the cultural appropriateness of autonomous practices in non-Western settings, and investigated learners' beliefs about roles and relationships in the classroom. And they've described classroom settings in which pro-autonomy teachers have "succeeded" in handing more control over to learners.

What is missing, however, is actual research that shows the benefits (or disadvantages) of autonomy in the language classroom. I have come across only one study that used a control group, without which no finding can ever really be attributed to the intervention. Only one!

I'm finding it hard to maintain motivation when what I'm writing is the mantra my classmates and I have been chanting all year: "MORE RESEARCH IS NEEDED". If I had gone the thesis route, on the other hand, I could be helping to fix the problem by actually doing that research. But then we wouldn't be going to Qatar. Sigh, I've just got to get this darn thing written!