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Chapter 9. Narrative inquiry in Applied Linguistics Research

The pleasures and perils
  • Hanako Okada
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Reflexive and Reflective Research Approaches in Applied Linguistics
This chapter is in the book Reflexive and Reflective Research Approaches in Applied Linguistics

Abstract

Everyone loves a good story, including an increasing number of scholars in Applied Linguistics. A well-told story holds our attention, conveys messages that might otherwise be lost in conventional research reports’ dense, dry prose, and connects readers to experiences in their own lives. Novice and experienced scholars alike who are deeply interested in people’s lives may find that some Applied Linguistics literature misses what they are most drawn to. Its distanced and impersonal stance somehow does not feel right when we wish to learn about people’s lives. The fact that stories are so (deceptively) easy to tell and compelling to read and listen to thus holds great appeal, particularly for novice scholars who are interested in doing research on people’s lives and experiences with languages, such as learning and teaching second and foreign languages. However, they may not fully comprehend the perils, as well as the pleasures, of conducting and writing up narrative inquiry. In this chapter, I begin with a brief background and history of narrative inquiry in applied linguistics. I follow by addressing the pleasures and perils, as well as the ethical concerns involved in conducting and writing narrative inquiry, with the goal of making a case for the value of carefully done narrative inquiry in Applied Linguistics research.

Abstract

Everyone loves a good story, including an increasing number of scholars in Applied Linguistics. A well-told story holds our attention, conveys messages that might otherwise be lost in conventional research reports’ dense, dry prose, and connects readers to experiences in their own lives. Novice and experienced scholars alike who are deeply interested in people’s lives may find that some Applied Linguistics literature misses what they are most drawn to. Its distanced and impersonal stance somehow does not feel right when we wish to learn about people’s lives. The fact that stories are so (deceptively) easy to tell and compelling to read and listen to thus holds great appeal, particularly for novice scholars who are interested in doing research on people’s lives and experiences with languages, such as learning and teaching second and foreign languages. However, they may not fully comprehend the perils, as well as the pleasures, of conducting and writing up narrative inquiry. In this chapter, I begin with a brief background and history of narrative inquiry in applied linguistics. I follow by addressing the pleasures and perils, as well as the ethical concerns involved in conducting and writing narrative inquiry, with the goal of making a case for the value of carefully done narrative inquiry in Applied Linguistics research.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. List of contributors vii
  4. Chapter 1. Reflectivity and reflexivity in qualitative research and scholarship 1
  5. Part I. Reflectivity and reflexivity in research
  6. Chapter 2. Transformative possibilities of autoethnography 22
  7. Chapter 3. Duoethnography 41
  8. Chapter 4. Toward an understanding of currere as a research method 61
  9. Chapter 5. Telling stories matters 80
  10. Part II. Reflectivity and reflexivity and Applied Linguistics Research
  11. Chapter 6. Affordances and limitations of autoethnography as a research method in Applied Linguistics 98
  12. Chapter 7. The role of duoethnography in critical ELT research 120
  13. Chapter 8. Currere 139
  14. Chapter 9. Narrative inquiry in Applied Linguistics Research 152
  15. Part III. Reflective and reflexive studies
  16. Chapter 10. An autoethnography of migration, language, and power dynamics 172
  17. Chapter 11. Duoethnographic inquiry into translingualism and language teacher identity 188
  18. Chapter 12. Past, present, and future 206
  19. Chapter 13. When children don’t learn to read 223
  20. Coda
  21. Chapter 14. Contemporary Applied Linguistics Research 248
  22. Author index 267
  23. Subject index 269
https://doi.org/10.1075/rmal.8.09oka

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. List of contributors vii
  4. Chapter 1. Reflectivity and reflexivity in qualitative research and scholarship 1
  5. Part I. Reflectivity and reflexivity in research
  6. Chapter 2. Transformative possibilities of autoethnography 22
  7. Chapter 3. Duoethnography 41
  8. Chapter 4. Toward an understanding of currere as a research method 61
  9. Chapter 5. Telling stories matters 80
  10. Part II. Reflectivity and reflexivity and Applied Linguistics Research
  11. Chapter 6. Affordances and limitations of autoethnography as a research method in Applied Linguistics 98
  12. Chapter 7. The role of duoethnography in critical ELT research 120
  13. Chapter 8. Currere 139
  14. Chapter 9. Narrative inquiry in Applied Linguistics Research 152
  15. Part III. Reflective and reflexive studies
  16. Chapter 10. An autoethnography of migration, language, and power dynamics 172
  17. Chapter 11. Duoethnographic inquiry into translingualism and language teacher identity 188
  18. Chapter 12. Past, present, and future 206
  19. Chapter 13. When children don’t learn to read 223
  20. Coda
  21. Chapter 14. Contemporary Applied Linguistics Research 248
  22. Author index 267
  23. Subject index 269
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