正文+参考文献.doc

Promoting Dynamic Interplay between Study and Research in ELT Practice Guangdong University of Foreign Studies 2001 XXX Tutor: Professor YYY 1. Introduction Study and research are two of the most confusing terms used in educational settings because they can sometimes use quite interchangeably while on other occasions they may refer to something remarkably different. When we say, “We’re doing a study into how much time middle school students spend learning English”, we mean that we are doing research into this issue. However, in the sentence “After six years of study in school, he successfully entered Zhejiang University at the age of 17”, the “study” used here is generally not interpreted as “research”. Nowadays, it is reasonably acceptable to say that students can not only study but also research. Researchers need to study in the course of research. To be teachers, they should do some research while continuing their study of what they are teaching in further education. In order to promote English language teaching (ELT) in schools and colleges in China, this paper will first discuss the role of research in the acquisition of knowledge, then examine the kinds of study, and finally explore the dynamic interaction between study and research in terms of educational theory and practice in ELT settings. 2. Three sources of knowledge Research is one of the three major means for human beings to acquire knowledge of the environment including the natural world and our human society. The other two are “experience” and “reasoning”(Cohen and Manion 1). The role of research in the acquisition of human knowledge can hardly be understood fully without being studied in connection to that of experience and reasoning. For the purpose of achieving a better understanding of research, the role of experience and reasoning will be considered before that of research. 2.1 Experience Experience is a kind of development of personal knowledge of the world. It is regarded as an individuall