Formative research: challenges and tendencies

21st century teachers are not only required to develop top teaching skills, but also strong research ones that allow them to expand their understanding of teaching-learning phenomena and improve their school practices. This relatively recent trend has also impacted the Language Teaching field, making language programs in universities to develop different approaches to Formative Research for their student-teachers. This paper aims to contrast how two different universities (a private and a state one) understand and carry out formative research processes. The analysis attempts to specifically describe how two Bachelors of Arts in Education of teachers in Foreign Languages programs have dealt with formative research revealing goals and difficulties when initiating student-teachers in research.