Narrative Inquiry in Language Teaching and Learning Research

Narrative Inquiry in Language Teaching and Learning Research is the only entry-level introduction to research methods using stories, either as data or as a means of presenting findings, and a practical guide for those interested in carrying out narrative studies.

This successful text is grounded in published empirical research within the field of language teaching and learning and clearly defines basic concepts in narrative inquiry, explaining how and why narrative methods have been used in language teaching and learning research and outlining different choices and approaches. It also examines the different ways of eliciting, analyzing, and presenting narrative inquiry data, which offers exciting prospects for language teaching and learning research. This second edition has been fully revised and updated to reflect the latest research and includes new sections on multimodal digital narrative research and the reporting of findings in dissertations and theses.

This original and well-respected textbook is an ideal course book for specialist courses on narrative inquiry in language teaching and learning. It is an excellent entry-level text for undergraduate students preparing honours projects, postgraduate masters’ and doctoral students embarking on narrative projects, and more advanced researchers seeking to understand the role of narrative inquiry in language teaching and learning research. It is also the go-to choice as a reference on narrative in more general applied linguistics research methodology courses.

Gary Barkhuizen is Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He has guest edited two special issues on narrative research (TESOL Quarterly, 2011; System, 2021) and is editor of Narrative Research in Applied Linguistics (2013). His latest books include Language Teacher Educator Identity (2021) and Language Teachers Studying Abroad: Identities, Emotions and Disruptions (2022).

Phil Benson is an Honorary Professor of Applied Linguistics at Macquarie University, Australia. He has published numerous academic books, including Language Learning Environments: Spatial Perspectives on SLA (2021) and five titles for Routledge.

Alice Chik is Associate Professor in the School of Education, Macquarie University, Australia. She has published five academic books for Routledge and has co-authored a monograph of language learning portraits from Sydney, Languages of Sydney: The People and the Passion (2019).