| Summary: | Abstract
Within the field of SLA and TESOL the philosophical position of positivism has become
unpopular and is often heavily criticised, especially by those espousing alternative
epistemological perspectives. However what exactly is being attacked is not always
clear as positivism is used to represent a number of distinct philosophies which are
not always clearly distinguished. Many of the older types of positivism now have few
supporters, but the newest variety postpositivism has still has active support,
especially amongst natural scientists. Some critics within TESOL though still seemingly
base their arguments against the older, 'dead' versions.
This paper will investigate the way the positivism is presented in three recent works:
Thornbury's (2012) F is for Facts, Johnson's (2009) Second Language Teacher
Education: A Sociocultural Perspective and Kumaravadivalu's (2006) Understanding
Language Teaching: From Method to Postmethod. Firstly the way in which each
presents the topic of positivism will be scrutinized, then the key ideas presented will
be analysed from a postpositivist perspective. Some concluding remarks will be made
regarding the ways in which positivism can be better presented in such works,
especially to those unfamiliar with the arguments.
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