Event

Critical Realism in Applied Linguistics

Sunday, November 6th, 2022, 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Speaker: Jeremie Bouchard (Hokkai-Gakuen University), Dominic Edsall (Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine), Karin Zotzmann (University of Southampton)

What is Critical Realism (CR)? Research is always based on assumptions about what constitutes valid scientific knowledge and by what means or methods we can create it. Even lay people's understanding of research is based on implicit assumptions that fall into one of the schools of thought that have been identified by the philosophy of science, e.g., empiricism, positivism, interpretivism, social constructionism, or realism. In this panel we aim to show comprehensively how we can improve research in Applied Linguistics (AL) by firstly making these assumptions explicit so that we can secondly overcome their limitations. We adopt a particular philosophical framework, Critical Realism (CR) that has engaged in depth with the benefits and limitations of other schools of thought, and developed clearer conceptual and methodological insights into the emergence of social phenomena, including those studied by applied linguists. To date, though, CR has been rarely used in AL and we will therefore give concrete examples where CR allowed us to transcend the conceptual and methodological constraints imposed by both empiricism and positivism (mostly associated with quantitative research) and interpretivism and social constructivism (mostly associated with qualitative research), the two dominant tendencies in the field.

Schedule:

• 14:00: Jérémie Bouchard (Hokkai-Gakuen University)
  The Relevance of Critical Realism to Sociolinguistics
• 15:00: Q & A/Discussion
• 15:20: Dominic Edsall (Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine)
  Understanding Learner Autonomy Better with Critical Realism
• 16:20: Q & A/Discussion
• 16:40: Dr. Karin Zotzmann (University of Southampton)
  Critical Realism and research on students' self-efficacy beliefs
• 17:40: Q & A/Discussion

Abstracts and Presenters' information can be found at kyotojalt.org/?pd48. Registration is required; click here to register for this event. This event follows Kyoto JALT's Annual General Meeting from 13:30 JST, which is open to all current Kyoto chapter members who register for this event.

Organization: Kyoto Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (Kyoto JALT)

Cost: free

Venue: Click here to register

Location: Online, Online Events, Online Event

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