1 Introduction

This article introduces the application and importance of narrative research methods in foreign language education research, and points out that narrative is both a research phenomenon and a research method. The article reviews the papers using narrative methods in domestic core journals over the past 17 years, and evaluates and reflects on them from five aspects: research design, experience collection, meaning interpretation, result presentation, and ethical standards. In addition, three narrative research scholars were interviewed to explore the challenges and strategies of conducting narrative research, aiming to provide suggestions and references for foreign language education research in China.

2 Core Concepts

Explored the different expressions and connotations of narrative research in foreign language education research. Firstly, the concept of "narrative inquiry" was introduced, emphasizing its foundation in Dewey's pragmatic thinking, proposed by Connelly u0026 Clandinin, and focusing on the representation and reflection of individual experiences and life stories. Secondly, the definition of "educational narrative" or "educational narrative research" was discussed, pointing out that it obtains explanatory understanding of individual behavior and experience by describing individual educational life, collecting and telling educational stories. Finally, a distinction was made between "narrative methods" and literary narrative, emphasizing that educational narrative is based on the depiction and analysis of real events in educational context texts. The article ultimately uses "narrative research" to refer to relevant empirical research.

3 Research Questions and Methods

This chapter explores the application of narrative methods in foreign language education research in China, aiming to answer three core questions: the coverage of research topics, the use of narrative research methods, and the challenges faced by researchers in the research and publication process. The research sample was screened through two rounds of literature search, and finally 79 empirical papers were identified. The content analysis method is used to classify research topics and identify five main themes: teacher research, student research, textbook research, macro education research, and methodological research. The evaluation criteria are based on the Western narrative research paradigm and domestic research logic, covering research design, experience collection, interpretation of meaning, presentation of results, and ethical and moral standards. By evaluating 79 papers one by one, the first authors of 13 papers with high compliance rates were selected for semi-structured interviews to explore the challenges and coping strategies they face. The interview results revealed challenges such as time-consuming data collection, complex data analysis, and low academic recognition of narrative research, providing a qualitative explanation for quantitative research results.

4 Research Results

The application of narrative methods in foreign language education research in China is mainly focused on teacher research, accounting for 82.3%, which is consistent with the trend of foreign research. The application of narrative methods in the fields of students, textbooks, and policy research is relatively limited and needs further development. The number of published narrative research papers reached its peak in 2020, but the overall distribution is uneven, indicating that although narrative research is recognized, its application effectiveness needs to be improved.

5 Conclusion

In the past 17 years, the number of narrative research papers on foreign language education in China has increased, but there are uneven development and common problems, such as concentrated research topics, single experience collection methods, opaque data analysis, strong subjectivity in meaning interpretation, lack of narrative research results, and insufficient theoretical contributions. To promote development, four suggestions are proposed: 1) Expand the research scope, draw on narrative research in general education, and enrich the research themes of foreign language education; 2) Explore specific operational methods, enhance ethical and moral standards, form an educational narrative research framework, and add relevant courses; 3) Interdisciplinary and cross disciplinary cooperation, drawing on literary narrative theory, etc., to achieve theoretical innovation; 4) Promote narrative research methods, increase academic recognition, join international narrative research organizations, and publish influential papers.