A handbook for Exploratory Action Research

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35 
| What shall I explore – and what are my questions?
After the strategies mentioned above, I found out some 
interesting things about the activities they liked most: they 
preferred small plays and dialogues, and one thing that 
was appealing to them was tourism. One of my students 
mentioned the need they have to speak when they meet
a tourist in the city. We live in an area where tourists are 
common and my students mentioned they wanted to 
learn how to talk to a tourist, and how to give them some 
directions, instructions or orientations to get to places
in the city.
They said that they would like to speak more in class.
My colleague mentioned that students only worked with 
one partner and they did not have more opportunities
to talk. He suggested they exchange partners.
The information I collected told me that I was not giving 
them enough time to practice: I was only giving one 
speaking activity per class, or even only once a week.”
In the story above, you were able to see how Teresa 
decided to start her research by exploring her problematic 
situation further, asking herself questions which could help 
her do this. Teresa’s main exploratory question was the 
following: 
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Why is it that my students do not speak in class?
And she had a particular interest in two things: 
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Do my students like to speak in English?
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What opportunities do they have to speak in class?
As you can see, these questions attempt to:
A. Clarify and understand the main issue
B. Give a sense of direction to the research process