Statistics for Specific Purposes: using statistics in foreign language research and teaching

In the French context, statistics are little used by teachers and researchers of foreign languages who, as a professional group, are generally from literary backgrounds. Nevertheless, they are a useful tool to analyse and explore teaching and learning situations in a logical manner. This logic can guide the teacher and the researcher in clarifying research questions and in choosing appropriate research designs and analyses. Our aim is to demystify this tool and to facilitate its use by showing the kind of help that statistics may bring and in what cases its use is judicious. To that end, the epistemological basis and the fundamental principles, key notions and the most useful analyses are presented, along with some practical concerns and references to further explore the question.