EFL teachers' routine and investigative behaviours (roles) implemented in their classrooms: An action research study

The aim of this study is to identify the routine and investigative behaviours that EFL teachers implement in their classrooms; to give these teachers Action Research (AR) training in order to increase the amount of investigative behaviour they implement in their classrooms. In this study, qualitative data analysis technique; AR and case study methods were used. This study was carried out in 3 different public schools; a primary school, a secondary school and a high school, in the second semester of the 2023-2024 academic year, with the participation of 3 EFL teachers. Throughout the study, classroom observations were made at three different grades (4th, 6th and 10th grade) where these EFL teachers taught. In this study, semi-structured interviews, observations, researcher and teacher diaries, and fieldnotes were also used to collect qualitative data. The data were analyzed using the coding method (Strauss & Corbin, 1990; Merriam, 2009). The results of the data analysis showed that EFL teachers used more routine behaviours in their classrooms before the AR study; thanks to AR training, the same teachers showed a decrease in the amount of routine behaviour and an increase in the amount of investigative behaviour. The findings also show that AR training contributes positively to EFL teachers' professional development; the students are also satisfied with the development of their teachers and their interest and motivation in English lessons has increased. Based on these findings, the positive contributions of teachers receiving AR training were emphasized in the study and suggestions were made for new studies.