Why, When, and How to Replicate Research

I used to think that replication is done for the researcher’s convenience and that doing so would not bring anything beneficial to the field. I was wrong. Replication is legal and can be done depending upon the researcher’s intent or the study’s benefit.

In the field of education numerous studies had been replicated, researches which paved the way to new trends and approaches and these served as bases for curriculum advancement. I remember how my teacher in English compelled us to memorize Jack be nimble, Jack be quick…, Ba ba black sheep and others in a terrible accent and pronunciation. Checking our understanding of the texts never took place and there was no explanation given as to why we were made to memorize them. Thus, I finished my Elementary education without soliciting my teacher’s answers to all of my questions. In high school, memorization of facts was the style. Subjects were taught as they were. Grammar rules were recited and speaking in English in the classroom was a primary requirement. These brought us agony for years. When I got to tertiary level, enlightenment came upon me. So, we used to have a content-based curriculum in Elementary and high school which is why we memorized a lot. Connections between classroom and real life tasks were not established, thus making the learning process distressing. CLT-based curriculum came next and we, college students, were engaged in various activities which gave us opportunities to express ourselves. Therefore, language learning became significant to me. This continued as I became a teacher. Years passed and UbD framework was introduced. Language learning became even more relevant. And as K to 12 curriculum came to existence, its framework defined communicative competence as the output of language learning. Content to be taught and competencies to be enhanced among language learners have been identified, thus making language learning more meaningful. Students’ chance to socially interact in the target language became greater. The orientation of language learning significance to their education and future careers intensified the learners’ concentration and focus. Thus, language teaching was no longer as tedious as it had been. These innovations are the results of research replications. Based on these, it can be therefore concluded that replication if done properly and religiously yields better ends.

References :

Mackey, A. & Gass, S.M. (2012). Research Methods in Second Language Acquisition.   

Oxford : Blackwell.