Critical Realism in Applied Linguistics

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 – Jeremie Bouchard 15:00 – Q & A/Discussion 15:20 – Dominic Edsall 16:20 – Q & A/Discussion 16:40 – Karin Zotzmann 17:40 – Q & A/Discussion Title The Relevance of Critical Realism to Sociolinguistics Jérémie Bouchard – Hokkai-Gakuen University Understanding Learner Autonomy Better with Critical Realism Dominic Edsall – Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine Critical Realism and research on students’ self-efficacy beliefs Dr. Karin Zotzmann – University of Southampton Abstracts and Presenters' information can be found at https://kyotojalt.org/?p=6448&lang=ja Registration is required https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfumAdxHuoX0Rjfsqe3SoClZsPi_2X2tmElLpDOWODbs8xqRQ/viewform This event follows Kyoto JALT’s Annual General Meeting from 13:30 JST, open to all current Kyoto chapter members who register for this event.