SHAW
Department: Graduate School of Education
Discipline: Education
Project Summary
I am currently in my second year of the EdD TESOL pre-thesis stage. Over the last two years I have conducted the following investigations:
A critical analysis of the learner’s voice in ELT primary text books (2016): This small scale critical research used a task analysis framework to investigate the extent and role of the learner’s voice in four global EFL text books for primary aged learners.
An inquiry into professionalism and professional identity in ELT textbook writers (2016): This reflective essay sought to explore and question the values, beliefs and biases I hold as an established EFL primary author and to situate my professional experiences within a wider sociopolitical context.
An inquiry into teachers’ perceptions of critical thinking in the primary EFL classroom in Mallorca (2017): This ongoing small-scale, mixed-methods study aims to understand what primary EFL teachers in Mallorca understand by the term critical thinking and elicit their feelings about teaching these skills. The information I collect will help me to identify good practice and understand any challenges that teachers and pupils face.
An exploration of the impact of using pair work speaking activities on creative language use in primary EFL learners (2017): This thesis proposal sets out my intention to conduct a qualitative study to better understand how pair work speaking activities promote creative language use in young learners. It aims to do this by exploring the creative language use of a group of Spanish primary EFL learners during pair work interaction.
