Action research in language teacher education: trends, perspectives and projects in Austria

Abstract

Action research has proven itself an effective form of professional development for

language teachers. This article sets out to show this potential by looking at current

developments in action research in the context of language teacher education in

Austria. The article is divided into three parts: 1) prevailing trends and develop-

ments in action research will be expounded; 2) we examine the role of interna-

tional networks in developing and implementing action research programmes for

language teachers in Austria; 3) The final part describes the dynamic development

of action-research-based post-graduate courses run by the University of Klagen-

furt since the 1980’s and discusses pre-conditions for a sustainable form of action

research-based language teacher education.