Two Years for an English Teacher to Become a Novice Educational Researcher: Author’s Experiences from Writing Opinion Articles to Research Articles

Sereyrath Em

doi:10.58421/misro.v2i1.59

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58421/misro.v2i1.59

Authors

Sereyrath Em Western University, Phnom Penh https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6803-195X

Keywords:

Author’s experience, Educational researcher, English teacher, Opinion article, Research article

Abstract

The current study employs an autobiographical design. An autographical design is a type of qualitative approach affiliated with the social explanatory paradigm of research. The author of this article collected his published work, certificates of achievement, and degrees to present as the results of this study. He also used the memorization of his training, workshops, and seminars to present the findings. The results show that from July 2021, the author has upgraded himself from an English teacher to become a novice educational researcher, and his work has been concerning the English language and educational fields. Additionally, he presented how he became a researcher including the difficulties, challenges, and opportunities he experienced in his life over the last two years. He noted that English for teaching and learning is not the same as English for writing research articles. He also encouraged other teachers to engage in research since it is not as difficult as everyone might have expected, and it is the best way to solve the existing problems in all fields including learning and teaching. Besides, research is not only to solve problems but to improve the outcome of the process of learning and teaching as well as other concerning areas. He finally showed simple and easy ways that everyone could become researchers and how to get their work published.

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Author Biography

Sereyrath Em, Western University, Phnom Penh

Sereyrath Em is a Cambodian government teacher of English with a higher education degree working at Kith Meng Brasat high school, a visiting lecturer at the National University of Cheasim Kamchaymear (NUCK), and an Associate Managing Editor of the Cambodian Journal of Educational Research (CJER). Prior to this, he was a secondary school teacher of English and Khmer languages working at Darakum lower-secondary school between 2012 and 2015. In 2017, he graduated with a Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (MA in TESOL) from Human Resource University (HRU), and in 2019, he graduated with a Master of Education in Educational Administration from the National Institute of Education (NIE) with the support from Cambodia International Education Support Foundation (CIESF). Then he was also trained at Regional Language Center (RELC) two times between early 2020 and early 2021 concerning teaching listening, speaking, reading, and writing. His research interests include English language teaching, teaching methodology, educational management, educational leadership, learning and teaching motivation, and learning and teaching challenges. Currently, he is a Ph.D. candidate in Educational Administration at Western University, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Email: sereyrathem.edu@gmail.com

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