Afterword

Abstract or Summary

This Afterword begins with a brief review of various ethical dilemmas faced by the student authors in the prologue and narrative chapters. This is followed by a more detailed discussion of four of the threads running through these chapters and those of the international scholars. Firstly, with regard to the position of the researcher, the advantages of being a cultural and/or institutional insider are balanced by a consideration of potential disadvantages. Secondly, the crucial role of language in second language education research is considered in terms of the need for sensitivity towards the participants’ linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and the use of first and second languages, codeswitching and translanguaging. Thirdly, emphasis is placed on the importance of maintaining respect towards the participants and the culture to which they belong; this led to a discussion of obtaining informed consent, and the need to guard against threats to privacy and confidentiality. Fourthly, the editors consider the ultimate goal of ethical research –social justice; this requires researchers to reciprocate the valuable contribution of their participants and to take steps to ensure that the research benefits the participants and indeed their wider community.