Seeing they do not see, hearing they do not hear, nor do they believe: Research and the range of the theory-praxis relationship in L2 learning

Attention to reflective practice, action research and theory-praxis relationships have led to critical reviewing of contemporary approaches L2 learning. Action research and synthetic solutions give impetus for revisiting with new eyes, ears and understanding what previous decades of research have furnished. Four studies at different levels within the theory-praxis relationship are used as illustration. The first involves a praxis-level development of rules for learning French pronunciation. The second illustrates a remarkable example of well-grounded research results in French 'oral grammar' being lost from sight. The third , a counterweight to the limitations of comprehensible input, is a method stressing systematic teaching for performance which was only recently justified by empirical findings, illustrating the need for constant revisiting of old data. The fourth is an empirical classroom application of emerging research findings in allied domains, including neurolinguistic findings on sensory bimodality and the role of body language in communication, an example of praxis to theory and back to praxis.