Ethical Research with Adult Migrant Language Learners

Applied Linguistics research, teacher-research and scholarship with adult language learners who are migrants holds ethical challenges in relation to social and political contexts that are under-examined in the TESOL/Applied Linguistics literature and in practice. The critical exploration in this chapter addresses this gap. With examples from participatory research-and-practice initiatives in the UK, the chapter advocates a critical participatory approach towards research, one that is oriented towards the promotion of social justice. Such an approach can support the empowerment of participants as they respond to challenging and unethical policy landscapes: through their active participation in research, learners and practitioners may be better equipped with the tools they need for resistance and change. First, the authors describe how language education researchers working with adult migrants have adopted a reflexive, critical and activist orientation towards their work. They then discuss research that relates to practice which is not attendant on top-down policy moves, and which itself might inform a critical, emancipatory orientation towards policy formation. To end, they reflect further on the notion of research that empowers, and the impact this might have on policy and practice.