Replication Studies in TESOL

Replication studies are critical to the growth and credibility of field of TESOL studies, including what we know about the teaching, learning, and use of English globally. Much of what we understand about TESOL is determined through empirical research evidence. However, we rarely revisit and probe at the stability of our claims about TESOL with new evidence. We can do this by conducting replication studies, in which a previous study’s research design and methods are repeated, with or without changes, and the new findings are systematically comparing with those from the previous study. In this paper, I review and discuss the key conceptual underpinnings and principles of replication research in TESOL, informed by prior scholarship published in this journal. I then examine the conduct and reporting of replication studies in TESOL Quarterly, drawing on three examples. Informed by this discussion and current methodological work in the of applied linguistics more generally, I outline key guidelines for the conduct of rigorous replication research in TESOL. In doing so, this paper supports and invests in the conduct of high-quality replication studies in TESOL to strengthen and invest in the future and credibility of the discipline.