Citation analysis, which provides insights into the influence of particular scholarly work in a field of study, can also show epistemological "turns" through patterns of citations over time. This study explored the impact of postmethod epistemology on the shared knowledge of the English-as-a-second-language (L2) education community over a 26-year period. The approach consisted of tabulating and analyzing citations in 125 articles from two major journals, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Quarterly (TESOL Qrtrly) and English Language Teaching Journal (ELT). The time period covered was 1994, when the term postmethod was introduced in TESOL Qrtrly, through 2019. Attention went to the following questions for each journal and for both journals together: (i) who is the most influential of the three major postmethod authors, B. Kumaravadivelu, Richard Allwright, or Hans Stern? (ii) what was the most cited postmethod publication? and (iii) have there been patterns over time for citations of postmethod authors and publications and for the use of the term postmethod? Of the three postmethod authors, Kumaravadivelu was the most cited in the two journals combined. For TESOL Qrtrly, Kumaravadivelu was the most cited, and Stern was second. For ELT, Kumaravadivelu and Allwright had an equal number of citations, and both surpassed Stern. Of the 23 postmethod publications by these scholars, the most highly cited in both journals was Kumaravadivelu's 1994 article "The Postmethod Condition." It was the most cited in TESOL Quarterly, followed by Stern's 1983 book Fundamental Concepts of Language Teaching. In ELT, Allwright and Bailey's 1991 book, Focus on the Language Classroom, was the most cited followed by Allwright's 2003 article, "Exploratory Practice: Rethinking Practitioner Research," published in Language Teaching Research. Trend analyses for citations in TESOL Quarterly and ELT showed curvilinear patterns with a peak in postmethod citations in the two journals in the mid-2000s. In regard to the term postmethod, patterns suggested that it did not become mainstream in the two journals that were studied. This inquiry, which was focused on two major journals in L2 English education, provided some details about the impact of postmethod epistemology in a period that some scholars have called the "postmethod era." Through citation analysis, the study helps to situate postmethod epistemology historically.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc1703326 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Alsuwat, Sami Eid |
| Contributors | González-Carriedo, Ricardo, Nelson, Nancy, King, Kelley M, Williams, Lawrence |
| Publisher | University of North Texas |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | viii, 144 pages, Text |
| Rights | Public, Alsuwat, Sami Eid, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved. |
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