Doç. Dr. Yonca Özkan danışmanlığındaki tezler
10 tez · Çukurova University
Perceptions of a blog-based English structure course by students in pre-service teacher education
This is a mixed type study aiming to examine how blogging enhance perception among pre-service English language teachers. 48 pre-service English language teachers enrolled in the undergraduate programme of English Teacher Education in the Department of English Language Teaching at Cukurova University participated in the study which comprise a 14-week time span of 2011-2012 spring term.Data collection includes records of participants? blog posts and their comments, individual interviews with each pre-service teacher and researcher?s field notes are taken throughout the study. All the blog content is archived and still accessible on the Internet throughout the study. These blog postings are used to measure the participants? recognition and production of targeted structures in Contextual Grammar II Course.Results indicate that pre-service language teachers find studying on the blogs very useful since blog serves as a platform involving peer collaboration exposed to with the ones in class content. Therefore, they met the expectations of each blog task which required them to focus on both recognition and production in grammar course. The results of their recognition and the outcome of their production are highly correlated which may imply such blog tasks can provide a platform to revise in-class content thus raise participants? self-confidence in Contextual Grammar II Course.Keywords: English Language Teaching, Language teacher education, Contextual Grammar, Blogging, Recognition, Production.
The relation between teachers' motivation and enthusiasm in ELT: A descriptive study
When enthusiasm and motivation in education are considered, the concern is usually students' enthusiasm and motivation for learning. However, enthusiasm and motivation for teaching are more critical (Baum, 2002), since a teacher's involvement, excitement and motivation in the teaching process correlatively help students' learning process. According to Brophy (1998), the most important reason for lack of success in schools is low motivation among teachers and students. In order to activate the teaching and learning process, teacher enthusiasm is needed; that is, a teacher should be highly motivated, enthusiastic, willing, creative, inspirational and modernist. A study by Atkinson (2000) shows that rather than teachers' professional competence, their motivation levels play a more important role in students' learning. In these circumstances, the question is: are specified professional qualifications and credentials from a university or a college, the study of pedagogy, curriculum or a lesson plan enough in providing language teachers with qualified teaching enthusiasm and high motivation to teach? Albert Einstein states that 'the most important motive for work in schools and in life is the pleasure in work, pleasure in its result and the knowledge of the value of the result to the community (Jaynes, Wlodkowski, 1990 p.3). In order to catch both the highest motivation and enthusiasm with pleasure while teaching English as a foreign language, the aim of this study, besides finding out, understanding and analyzing what factors affect teacher motivation of English language instructors and what elements of teacher motivation and de-motivation are reflected in the behaviors of English language instructors, is also to discover what attitudes are observed when teachers are motivated and enthusiastic as teachers while teaching English as a foreign language and the relation between their teacher motivation and enthusiasm. For that purpose, two different questionnaires consisting of 27 items pertaining to teachers' motivation and enthusiasm were administered to 40 English language instructors teaching English at public universities in South Anatolia Region of Turkey. Besides the quantitative data, qualitative data was also collected. In order to attain reliability in the study, triangulation was applied with classroom observations, teacher diaries and interviews. The data obtained was analyzed through SPSS, a statistical program for the social sciences and content analysis. The results show that although internal and background life factors had some effect on teacher motivation of English language instructors, external factors such as the institution and city where instructors taught, the students and the classroom facilities did also affect their teacher motivation. Moreover, the results of teacher enthusiasm questionnaire show that even if teachers were not motivated to teach, they tried to display enthusiastic attitudes in order to draw learners' the attention. Keywords: Teachers' motivation, teachers' enthusiasm, motivation
Podcasting in pre-service language teacher education: A constructivist perspective
This study aims to investigate the perceptions of pre-service English language teachers towards the use of podcasts. In addition, it surveys to what extent pre-service language teachers use Web 2 tools in their academic lives as well as personal lives and their views on the benefits and possible drawbacks of podcasts. For this reason, Teaching Language Skills Course specifically for the third year pre-service teachers is blended with podcasting in a web based platform. Twenty-two pre-service teachers who take the course constitute the working group. A web site is designed solely for the participants of the course and empowers them to listen to and download podcasts, do the tasks related, make reflections and view other learners' work. The theoretical background of this specific study is based on social constructivism. Here in this study, a collaborative learning environment is provided. Combining both qualitative and quantitative research methods, a mixed method research design is used. Questionnaire, face to face interviews and pre-service language teachers' reflections are conducted in order to ensure triangulation. The questionnaire and face to face interviews are held at the beginning and at the end of the course and results are compared to see if there is a significant change. Results show that participants have a positive view of podcasts in general and have a tendency to use the podcasts in their following teaching career. Each learner's weekly performance on the tasks related with the podcasts is also analysed according to the descriptive statistics. It is concluded that learners' performances on tasks are rapidly increasing which points out that after the adaptation period and learners get familiar with the podcasts their performance level increased. Keywords: Podcasts, blended learning, language skills, social constructivism, pre-service language teacher education.
An examination of reflective teaching tools used by instructors in Turkey
Teacher Development (TD) is recently one of the most popular topics among education faculties and teaching departments' curriculums all over the world. Reflective teaching is one of the most prominent methods in TD. Considering these recent developments about teaching, the purpose of this study is to identify which reflective tools are commonly used by instructors at preparation schools of both private and public Turkish Universities. It is known that despite the pre-service and in-service programs, and university courses, there is a lack of detailed information about reflective teaching and its application in the classrooms. One of the most popular methods in teacher development is reflective teaching (RT). Reflective teaching was firstly appeared with John Dewey. In the 1930s, John Dewey defined reflection as a proactive, ongoing, examination of beliefs and practices, their origins and their impacts (Stanley 1998). According to Dewey (1993), the purpose of reflective practice is to change teachers' actions and decisions and how it impacts the outcomes of those decisions. Since it firstly came on the stage, it has evolved a lot but it is still very effective and it will continue to be popular because of supporting and guiding a lifelong learning system for its practitioners. Teachers generally believe that professional development is something which is done in a top down way with extrinsic motivation. However, these are mostly trainings which are term based, certificate supplied, topics generally chosen by the authorities, imposed and top down ones. On the other hand, teacher development has a bottom up process; it is optional, and continuous. In the light of these teacher development criteria, reflective teaching tools and procedures seem the most usable techniques to acquire teacher development for every teacher who wants to develop and continue his/her development for lifelong. So in this study, the aim is to know which reflective teaching tools are being used by instructors at universities in Turkey, and identify the most useful and common ones according to the results of the study. Keywords: Teacher development, reflective teaching, reflective teaching tools, foreign language education
Exploring university teachers' and students' perceptions of intercultural awareness
The global spread of English has resulted in diverse varieties of the language and not surprisingly it has influenced English language education worldwide. Its role as an international language therefore, highlights the need to raise intercultural awareness in English language teaching. The aim of this study is to gain an insight into English language instructors and learners' perceptions toward intercultural awareness at a university prep school in Turkey. In order to broaden the scope of the study, this research employed a mixed-method research design, combining quantitative and qualitative measures. The data consists of questionnaires conducted with 45 instructors including NESTs and NNESTs and 92 learners; semi-structured interviews with 8 instructors, and focus group interviews with 24 learners. The quantitative data was analyzed using the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science) software version 19.0, and the qualitative data were analyzed using the NVivo qualitative data software version 10.0. The investigation focused on four areas: participants perceptions toward the ownership of English, cultural integration in English language teaching, intercultural efficiency of the ELP program, and suggestions to enhance intercultural awareness. The results revealed that both the instructors and the learners acknowledged the importance of the English language in the realm of intercultural awareness, but both lacked a full understanding of the concept. The findings also indicated that the ELP program could not be considered as successful enough to raise intercultural awareness adequately and a set of recommendations on the issue was provided by the participants. Based on the outcomes of the study, remarkable implications were suggested in order to raise English language teachers' and students' intercultural awareness. The results of the study pointed to the substantial need for in-service teacher training programs and curriculum reflecting intercultural dimension of English language, and extra-curricular cultural activities that promote intercultural awareness. This study aims to contribute to English language teaching by revealing both teacher and student perspectives, which has been seldomly investigated and also offering several recommendations to enrich intercultural perspective in English language teaching.
Utilization of affective strategies by domestic and international students in english speaking classes of Turkish universities
Accompanied by the newly emerging circumstances and rapidly increasing requirements of a globalizing world, language learning and teaching has always been in the limelight. It is a field in which there is great amount of research to help students and teachers overcome hardships and foster their experiences in language. Compared to other skills, speaking in another language is most challenging for students, which deserves much attention. Along with cognitive, personal and social elements, affective factors like motivation, confidence, attitude and anxiety also play a significant role in performing speaking. Individuals learn a language if they receive intelligible input and if their affective filter is low enough to permit them to do so. In studies made in this area, learners state that their speaking performances are hindered because a mental block prevents them from speaking fluently and accurately when they feel unmotivated, anxious or insecure. It is therefore important to come up with strategies to facilitate the process for both students and teachers. This study aims at finding affective variables faced by intermediate level domestic – Turkish – and international students in the classes of intensive English program at universities in Turkey in speaking English in class and thus explore different affective strategies that they use in lowering their affective filter, with its correlation to their achievement through their speaking grades. The study also highlights the difference between domestic – Turkish – and international English teachers in using affective strategies to help students combat negative feelings in learning and speaking English. In this way, it intends to help students and teachers from both sides see what other strategies are employed by those from a different background, society, culture and nationality for the promotion of speaking, and give insight into their implementations. As a result, the study, which was carried out with intermediate level 30 domestic – Turkish – and 30 international students, along with 15 domestic – Turkish – and 15 international English language teachers, shows that the international students have higher values in affective factors like self-confidence, motivation, and attitude in speaking English in class than the domestic students. Likewise, their speaking scores and affective strategy use are ahead of those of Turkish students. As for the teachers' part, it concludes that the international teachers are more frequent users of affective strategies than the domestic teachers. Keywords: English speaking skill, affective filter, affective factors, affective strategies
Practicum stress and coping strategies of pre-service language teachers
As the leading position of English as the world's primary language for international communication has evidently been continuing for several decades, English language teacher education is getting more and more important. One of the most major components of teacher education programs is the practicum that requires senior pre-service language teachers to observe classes and do practice teaching before actual teaching profession. Recently, there has been increasing research focusing on identifying practicum-related stress sources and their coping strategies in order to maximize the efficiency of practicum. Based on a mixed-method research design with pragmatism research paradigm, this study constitutes an example of a multiple case study which aimed to investigate the pre-service language teachers' stresses and their coping strategies throughout the second term of the practicum. This study was conducted with the participation of fifteen senior pre-service language teachers who were selected by convenience sampling. The data for the study were collected through questionnaires, reflective journals, focused group and one-to-one interviews, observation visits, video-taping of formal micro-teaching performances, and field notes. The quantitative data of the study was analyzed by SPSS 18 and the qualitative data was analyzed through content analysis. The sources of practicum-related stresses were discussed under seven categories: classroom management, social factors, school mentors' attitude, affective factors, ELT methods and techniques, textbook, and professional factors. The highest source of stress was associated with classroom management. In coping with practicum-related stresses, the most frequently used strategies by pre-service language teachers (from high to low) during the second term of practicum were maintaining discipline, following interesting activities, ignoring, and negotiating with university supervisor. Also, the most effective stress coping strategy was negotiating with university supervisor. It is suggested that stress generating factors and the strategies that pre-service language teachers employ should be discussed and reflected upon in pre-service language teacher education programs.
An evaluation of an english coursebook titled Moonlight targeting 8 th graders within a Turkish Context
The main purpose of the study is to explore the perceptions and views of English language teachers and 8th graders about the effectiveness of the textbook titled Moonlight in aspects of layout and design, subject and content, aims and objectives, methodology and activities, language skills, language components and general considerations. In addition to these criteria, general perceptions of teachers and students towards major concerns of English Language Teaching (ELT) are also investigated. Within the scope of the study, mixed method research design was conducted in order to obtain both qualitative and quantitative data. The data consists of checklists conducted by 65 English language teachers and 300 8th graders; semi structured-interviews with 15 teachers and focus-group interviews with 10 teachers. The research was carried out in five districts of Adana; namely, Yüreğir, Seyhan, Sarıçam, Çukurova and Ceyhan. SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science) software version 24.0 was used to analyze quantitative data. Besides, content analysis and thematic analysis were conducted to analyze qualitative data. The results of the study revealed the perceptions and views of students and teachers towards the textbook titled Moonlight. The criticisms generally focused on the heavy vocabulary load, complicated texts, lack of pronunciation studies, grammar-based teaching, irrelevant topics, inadequate cultural considerations and drawbacks on integration and presentation of language skills. On the other hand, some strengths of Moonlight were revealed: the convenient size, attractive cover page and informative workbook activities. In addition to the pre-determined criteria, the findings revealed the suggestions of teachers in major concerns of ELT such as improving the quality of English courses, classroom management, and student placement exams. The study aims to raise awareness of evaluating materials and sharing experiences of English language teaching with institutions and other stakeholders. In this regard, the study revealed that the users of the materials could provide valuable feedbacks and a set of suggestions related to the material and educational procedures. Therefore, to reflect the voices of teachers and students enriched the value of this study.
Transformation of English language instructors in dynamic assessment: An oral skill teaching experience in university preparatory program
This dissertation describes and analyses the transformative learning experiences of two instructors who engaged in the participatory action research study to critically reflect on their already held beliefs of assessment and instruction and learn about Dynamic Assessment (DA) to be implemented in their classrooms. The central aim of the study is to investigate the process of perceptual change that the instructors experience regarding the discrete relationship between assessment and instruction as they engaged in learning about DA which has an alternative view to that relationship. Based on participatory action research design with a participatory paradigm, this study is significant in terms of empowering the participants through a professional learning discourse in which participants criticise the contextual and individual factors that shape and limit their practices in speaking courses. Drawing on the Transformative Learning Theory and using evidence from verbal data from group discussion sessions, classroom observations, classroom artefacts, and interviews, this study analyses how these two English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instructors experienced individual transformative learning experiences and DA conceptualisation in a social and reflective discourse provided with the design of the study. Furthermore, the changes in the instructors' practices of classroom assessment and instruction were followed after the completion of group discussion sessions as the instructors acted on their experiences. The students' views were also gathered about the effectiveness of speaking instruction, in-class speaking assessment and changing practices of the instructors. The findings indicate that engagement in a participatory action research study contributed to the instructors' awareness of the contextual and individual constraints on their actions in speaking courses. Although participatory action research provided awareness to the instructors regarding these constraints, the verbal data from the discussion sessions and follow-up classroom actions of the instructors illustrated that they could change their perspectives and actions to the extent that they were able to bring critical self-reflection on their currently held beliefs. The students' views on the changing practices of instructors were limited but mostly positive in terms of their development, which might indicate the impact of the instructors' awareness and perceptual change on students' perceived development. The whole process of this participatory action research implied that professional development needs to engage teacher views and their critical reflection on their already set beliefs in order for the integration of research-based alternative pedagogies into teacher repertoires.
Perceptions and practices of English language instructors on elf and elf-related issues in Turkish higher education context
Due to changes and improvements in the world, English has reached lingua franca status, which induced plenty of researchers and scholars to focus on English as a lingua franca (ELF). Hence, the number of studies about ELF and ELF-related issues has increased. However, classroom practices of language instructors about ELF perception have been very few in the area. Therefore, this mixed methods sequential explanatory study investigates perceptions of language instructors based on ELF and ELF-related issues, respectively cultural aspects in English language teaching, Standard English and World Englishes, and the dichotomy of native and non-native speakers. It also aims to observe classroom practices of instructors in an ELF context. The quantitative data of the study were obtained through a close-ended questionnaire from 36 English language instructors working at the preparatory school of Çağ University during the Fall Term of 2017-2018 Academic Year. The qualitative data were collected via classroom observation and semi-structured interview conducted with six volunteer instructors. The findings of the study revealed that most of the participants are familiar with ELF and disposed to integrate ELF in their classes. A good number of the instructors consider the integration of cultural elements into classes is crucial for an effective language learning environment. Plenty of the instructors prefer to use Standard English while speaking although they do not encourage students to use SE. Additionally, quite a few instructors mentioned language learners should be familiar with different uses of English in the world. Their classroom practices were also consistent with their views since they focus on communication rather than native norms and integrate different cultures in classrooms. This study has several implications for language learners, language teachers/instructors, department heads and staff, materials developers and curriculum designers. Keywords: ELT, ELF, ELF related issues, classroom practices.