Advancing Methodology and Practice: The IRIS Repository of Instruments for Research into Second Languages (Second Language Acquisition Research Series)

By: Alison Mackey and Emma Marsden

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Synopsis: Instruments for Research into Second Languages is an accessible introduction to understanding and evaluating existing and emerging methodologies in L2 research. The book provides an introduction to the data collection materials available in the IRIS database. IRIS is an open access, searchable repository of instruments used to elicit data for research into second and foreign language learning and teaching. The book is aimed at graduate students, researchers and educators in the fields of Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition. Featuring contributions from top scholars in the field, this dynamic volume includes empirical research carried out using innovative instruments held in IRIS, offering insights into their basic mechanics, how and why they are used, as well as the challenges they can present. The chapters describe the kinds of data (evidence about knowledge, processing, interaction, learning, and motivation) that result from these methods, and they discuss conditions that lead to reliable and valid data collection and analysis. This unique collection provides researchers, professionals, and students with up-to-date responses to practical and theoretical questions about how second language learning and teaching can be investigated using the IRIS database of instruments. IRIS was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and is a long term British Academy Research Project.