Theses supervised by Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Evrim Eveyik Aydın
12 theses · Yeditepe University
L1 Turkish and L1 English writers' use of metadiscourse markers in research articles written in English in applied linguistics
The purpose of this study is to investigate the utilization of interactive metadiscourse markers in the discussion and conclusion sections of research articles authored by L1 Turkish writers of English (L1TW) and L1 English writers (L1EW) within the field of applied linguistics. In order to identify the similarities and differences in the types and frequencies of interactive markers used, a small-sized specialized corpus was compiled with a total of 40 research articles, with 20 research articles selected to represent each group of writers, following certain criteria. These articles were selected from the internationally recognized SSCI-indexed journals published between the years 2018-2022. The analysis incorporates both corpus and manual examination based on the taxonomy offered by Hyland and Tse (2004), as well as utilizing the N-gram feature of LancsBox to identify the bundles that are likely to function as interactive markers. The findings of the study reveal that transitions were the most commonly used type of interactive markers by both groups of writers. While L1TW employed transitions more frequently than L1EW, code glosses, frame markers, and endophoric markers constituted a higher percentage of all interactive markers in the L1EW subcorpus. The findings also revealed a more frequent use of transitions, code glosses, frame markers, endophoric markers, and evidentials in the discussion sections of research articles for both groups of writers. The study's implications extend to pedagogical considerations for academic writing courses, aiming to enhance understanding of metadiscourse use in writing research articles Keywords: Academic writing, research articles, interactive metadiscourse markers
Examining the relationships among 11th grade english as a foreign language (EFL) learners' vocational programs, cognitive styles and learning style preferences
The current study aimed to explore (1a) Field Dependence-Independence (FDI) cognitive style of 11th grade English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners studying at chemical technologies and child development-education programs in a Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in Istanbul, (1b) the relation between their cognitive styles and their choice of vocational programs; (2a) the deductive-inductive learning style preferences of field dependent and field independent learners in both programs, (2b) the relation between their preferences of deductive-inductive learning styles and the vocational programs; and (3) the relation between their FDI cognitive style and learning style preferences. To achieve these purposes, 169 participants were administered the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) and the Learning Style Survey (LSS) in Turkish language version. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics, the chi-square test and the phi correlation coefficient (phi) were used. The results revealed that the students at chemical technologies program were significantly more field independent whereas the students studying at child development-education program were significantly more field dependent. In total, the learners were found to be predominantly field dependent. In terms of learning style preferences, in chemical technologies program, field independent learners mainly preferred deductive way of learning while field dependent learners mainly preferred inductive learning style. In child development-education program, both the field dependent and the field independent learners mainly preferred inductive learning. In total, inductive learning was more preferred style. The study revealed a significant relation between FDI cognitive style and the vocational programs but not between the learning style preferences and the vocational programs. The study also revealed a significant relation between the learners' cognitive styles and learning style preferences. The findings of the study can inspire curriculum developers and language teachers to rearrange the curriculums/lessons plans on the basis of the EFL learners' cognitive styles and learning style preferences, and researchers to conduct more studies for an in-depth exploration of other cognitive styles as well. In this regard, the present study may even be the one that pioneers new studies in the fields of vocational education and EFL.
EFL teachers' critical reading conceptualization and their practices to improve university preparatory students' critical reading skills
This qualitative study aims to investigate (a) how in-service EFL teachers conceptualize critical reading, and (b) what they do in class to improve critical reading skills of the preparatory school students at the tertiary level. The data was first gathered from 20 teachers through an open-ended questionnaire developed for the purpose of finding their conceptualizations of critical reading within the context of a state university. Next, three of these teachers were selected to observe 9 hours in their reading-writing classes to see to what extent they integrated critical reading activities into their teachings based on their conceptualization. The results of the content analysis revealed that Turkish EFL teachers conceptualized critical reading under themes identified as analysis, evaluation, explanation, inference, interpretation, selfregulation, background knowledge to provide sound basis for judgment, differentiate fact from opinion, recognizing bias, and selective attention. Some of these themes were found to be in line with the critical thinking categories identified by Facione (2013). Moreover, the observation data revealed that teachers did a variety of activities to promote critical reading skills of their students. The study discusses these findings to draw invaluable implications both for in-service teachers and pre-service teachers in the initial teacher education programs. Key Words: Critical reading, In-service EFL teachers
English language teachers' perspectives on the implementation of Understanding by Design (UbD) Model in unit design in Turkish EFL context
The purpose of this study is to explore English language teachers' and English department heads' perspectives on the implementation of the Understanding by Design (UbD) framework in their Turkish EFL context. UbD is a unit and curriculum design framework which aims for student understanding and its transfer into real life context through three stages: identifying the desired results, determining the evidence, and planning learning activities. A qualitative research design was adopted for the study. The participants of the study were 39 English teachers and five department heads. Data was collected through open-ended questionnaires from teachers and heads, and semi-constructed focus group interviews conducted with teachers. Data was analysed through content and thematic analysis. The results of the study indicated that the teachers who implemented UbD within the context of their school recognized it mostly as a design process. Regarding the implementation of UbD in the Turkish EFL context, the findings revealed some perceived benefits on students' academic achievement and English language skills thanks to its focus on the development of understandings and transferring of skills. The findings also revealed perceived challenges caused by institutional, instructional, teacher related and learner related factors. As for online education during the global pandemic, the findings indicated that teachers benefited from UbD although they found it challenging due to the characteristics of online education. These findings suggest that school administrators should accept the fact that the UbD process can take a long time, and therefore they should develop a plan for the whole academic year without imposing pressure on teachers to cover their content. Hence, teachers can prioritize their students' learning. Schools should also provide their teachers with regular in-service training to ensure the proper implementation of UbD by increasing their professional knowledge of its underlying principles. Besides, conceptualization of such innovations by teachers who are expected to implement them should be taken into consideration. In other words, schools should deploy efforts to form a shared understanding of the innovative ideas and their ultimate goals that can be verbalized by each member of the team. Key Words: Understanding by Design (UbD), English curriculum design
Investigation of pre-service ELT teachers' perceived critical thinking skills
This study investigated pre-service English language teachers' perceived levels of critical thinking skills at the Department of English Language Teaching at a foundation university in Turkey. The study also investigated their views regarding the impact of activities and tasks they were involved in as part of the courses they took, and of the practicum experience on the development of their critical thinking skills. Data was collected from 121 freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors through the Critical Thinking Standards Scale, and some open-ended questions developed for the purpose of the study. The results revealed that an overwhelming majority of the pre-service teachers, especially the sophomores, had a high level of critical thinking skill perceptions. Participants believed that among all the activities and tasks, writing self evaluations after micro-teaching, reaction to research articles and assigned readings contributed to their development of CTS the most. Besides, the seniors believed that their practicum experience that allowed them to observe experienced teachers' teaching practices in a real classroom environment and the real-time interaction with students had a significant impact on their development as teachers with a critical thinking mindset. The study discusses the importance of these findings in relation to the decisions to be made and actions to be taken in the initial English language teacher education programs. Keywords: Critical thinking skills, prospective ELT teachers, English teaching
EFL teachers' perceptions regarding the contribution of CELTA to their professional development
The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of Certificate of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA) on EFL teachers' professional development from the perspective of those who have this certificate. Within this framework, teachers' reasons to get this certificate, the impact of this training on their teaching and professional development, and finally their suggestions for the future implementation of CELTA training were investigated. For this qualitative study, the data was collected through an open-ended questionnaire and an interview. The open-ended questionnaire was administered to 16 EFL teachers who are experienced in teaching in Turkish context. Later, a semi-structured interview was conducted with four of these participants. The findings suggest that teachers find it beneficial to take this certificate due to some pedagogical, personal, and professional reasons including getting better job opportunities, utilizing diverse instructional methods, and getting constructive feedback. Regarding the impact of this training on their teaching, the findings suggest that this certificate program led to general, professional, and academic changes on their classroom management, lesson planning, and material development. These findings suggest that there can be more focus on practice and during their pre-service education to bridge the gap between theory and practice and the candidate teachers can be given more feedback as a result of their practices. In addition, pre-service education programs should be applied in a more reflective and collaborative manner. Furthermore, in-service teacher training programs should be more need-driven rather than to be approached in a top-down manner.
Pre-service EFL teachers' perceived and actual reflectivity levels on reports written during practicum
Reflective thinking in teacher education programs has been considered one of main practices that enables pre-service teachers to think on the planning, implementation and evaluation processes of teaching. Besides, practicum experience supported with reflective tasks provides prospective teachers with an ample opportunity to put theoretical knowledge into practice. However, reflection manifests itself in certain levels, and perceived and actual reflectivity levels may not always match. Therefore, the present study investigates pre-service EFL teachers' perceived and actual levels of reflectivity on a variety of tasks assigned during their practicum. The quantitative data was collected from 70 pre-service teachers through the Profile of Reflective Thinking Instrument developed by Taggart and Wilson (2005). The qualitative data showing their actual levels of reflectivity, however, came from a total of 207 reflective tasks (namely 4 self-evaluation, 4 peer-evaluation, 14 weekly observation, and one overall evaluation reports) written by 9 of these pre-service teachers selected on the basis of scores they obtained on the instrument to represent technical, conceptual, and dialectical levels of reflectivity. The results showed that pre-service teachers' perceived levels of reflectivity were mostly at contextual level followed by dialectical and technical levels. However, in their reports they mostly focused on the description of their activities and objectives as well as technical issues like planning and time management, which made their reflections at technical level unlike their perceptions. Besides, their reflectivity has shown some variance depending on the type of task. In the overall evaluation reports in which they evaluated the practicum in response to some guiding questions they made more advanced level reflections. In light of these findings, the study discussed the importance of integrating awareness raising activities and reflective tasks to initial teacher education programs to improve pre-service teachers' actual reflectivity.
A corpus driven genre analysis study on ELT graduate students' use and perceptions of discussion moves in research articles
This study investigates the genre-specific rhetorical structure of discussion sections of unpublished research articles (RAs) written by Turkish MA and Ph.D. students enrolled in an ELT graduate program. The first aim of this research is to identify the frequencies of expert discussion moves used by graduate students in the corpus of their RAs, and subsequently designate if there is a significant difference between the two groups of writers in the use of these moves. The other aim is to investigate the extent to which graduate students' perceptions regarding the importance of discussion moves are reflected in their own texts. For the purpose of the study, a 35.437-word specialized corpus including the discussion sections of 58 empirical studies, 31 written in MA courses and 27 in Ph.D. courses by a total of 45 graduate students, was compiled. A sentence-based move structure analysis was conducted using the framework developed by Eveyik-Aydın, Karabacak, and Akyel; and a chi-square test was run to check any statistical differences between the occurrences of discussion moves identified in the MA and Ph.D. RAs. Besides, to find the perceptions of graduate writers on the importance of moves to be included in discussion sections, a 4-point Likert scale was developed and implemented. The results of the move analysis indicated that interpreting results and making claims based on them and drawing pedagogical implications were the most frequently identified functional categories in the discussions of both MA and Ph.D. students. The analysis revealed no significant differences in the observed occurrences of move-step categories in both MA and Ph.D. articles; however, Ph.D. students' reference to literature for interpretation of their findings was found to be statistically more often than MA students' use of this move-step category. As for their perceptions, data obtained through the scale revealed that both MA and Ph.D. writers attached importance to most of the discussion moves; however, these moves were either underused or not used at all in their writings. Especially their views regarding the importance of referring to literature for various purposes, and summary move-steps were not reflected by their writings. The study discusses the possible reasons for these findings and highlights the importance of developing a genre-based academic writing course to be offered to graduate students in which they can study the corpus-driven data to raise their awareness of the rhetorical structure of RAs. In that sense, the study claims its significance not only by offering an instrument to identify graduate students' perceptions but also by showing how corpus data can be used for instructional purposes to unveil these novice writers' academic writing needs and to meet these needs so they can produce RAs in line with the norms of discourse community.
Investigation of grammatical and lexical errors in three different level Turkish EFL learners' spoken corpus
The importance of learner corpus studies is widely recognized in the fields of second language acquisition (SLA) and corpus linguistics since learner corpora offer valuable suggestions for second language instruction (Granger, 2009). Despite the importance of the speaking skill in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts, the scarcity of time-series and longitudinal studies exploring learners' spoken interlanguage continues to pose problems to teaching and learning English. In accordance with this, the present study aimed to identify the grammatical and lexical errors in three different level Turkish EFL learners' spoken performance, track the progress of those errors over time, and offer instructional suggestions. For these purposes, the corpus approach (Leech, Myers and Thomas, 1995) was used and corpus-assisted error analysis was conducted using AntConc 3.5.8 (Anthony, 2019), a very popular corpus analysis software. In order to compile a specialized learner corpus, 105 participants who were studying at the English language preparatory program intended for English-major students were grouped into A2, B1, and B2 levels (according to Common European Framework of Reference) on the basis of their scores obtained from Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT). Afterwards, 105 participants in the spring term and 29 of these 105 learners who continued their studies in the summer term were audio-recorded, and oral data recordings (25 hours of recording) were then transcribed in order to create the specialized corpus called Yeditepe Spoken Corpus of Learner English (YESCOLE). YESCOLE had four sub-corpora: YESCOLE-A2 (A2 level learners' corpus), YESCOLE-B1 (B1 level learners' corpus), YESCOLE-B2 (B2 level learners' corpus), and YESCOLE-LONG (longitudinal corpus of A2, B1, and B2 level learners). After identifying the utterances in each sub-corpus as the basic unit of analysis, a linguistic error categorization scheme was prepared on the basis of the literature, and grammatical errors were analyzed with respect to syntactic, morphological and morpho-syntactic errors, while lexical errors were analyzed in terms of lexico-semantic and semantico-syntactic errors. In line with the error categorization, the transcribed data were error-tagged manually and made ready for analysis in AntConc corpus analysis software. The findings derived from the spoken corpus showed that young-adult Turkish learners of English in the research context committed more grammatical errors than lexical errors. The most common errors found in the spoken corpus were omission of articles and prepositions in the noun phrase under syntactic category. Besides, the participants at all levels had difficulty in plurality and third person singular –s errors under morpho-syntactic error category. Furthermore, YESCOLE-A2 sub-corpus showed that A2 learners had more errors related to verb-phrase and word order than B1 and B2 learners. Although significant differences were not found in terms of the percentages of errors across A2, B1, and B2 levels, developmental progress of errors across these levels also revealed improvement, backsliding, and stabilization patterns of errors. In addition, u-shaped development, which indicates backsliding and improvement of errors over time, was observed in lexical and morpho-syntactic errors at A2 level. Thus, the findings of this dissertation offer valuable teaching implications for university-level A2, B1, and B2 levels in Turkish EFL context as well as suggestions for further research on learner spoken corpora for researchers.
Turkish EFL teachers' classroom management orientations: Investigating the role of demographic characteristics
"The present study aims to investigate the classroom management orientations of Turkish in-service teachers of English teaching at the English preparatory programs of universities in Turkey and examine the effects of a number of demographic characteristics which are teachers' age, gender, teaching experience and educational level." The study answers (a) what classroom management orientations are according to teachers' demographic features and (b) whether EFL teachers' classroom management orientations show any significant difference depending on their demographic characteristics. To the study, 97 preparatory school English teachers attended from 7 foundation and public universities in Istanbul. Data was collected through"ABCC inventory" which aimed to measure teacher perception of"classroom management"approaches. The findings show that Turkish teachers adopted an interactionalist approach to instructional management and behavioural management. On the contrary, teachers were non-interventionist in pe. man. Age was not a significant determiner in any management dimension. Moreover, the same results were found for gender and experience level which did not show any significant difference.
The relationship between the emotional labour and burnout levels of EFL teachers working at university preparatory schools
Emotional well-being of a teacher may be threatened by several factors such as emotional labour (EL), the management of one's feelings for the sake of organizational goals, which may result in the experience of burnout. Despite the increased amount of research investigating the relation between EL and burnout in different fields of study, the concept has been underexplored within the field of English Language Teaching (ELT). For this reason, the current study sought to explore the relation between EL and burnout among the English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers working at foundation and state universities located in Istanbul. The study adopted a quantitative research design and employed T-test, Pearson correlation, one-way ANOVA, and multiple regression analyses so as to answer the formulated research questions. The data was collected from 179 EFL teachers working at the preparatory schools of two foundation and three state universities in İstanbul through the Turkish versions of the Emotional Labour Scale (Diefendorff, Croyle, & Gosserand, 2005) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory Educators Survey (Maslach, Jackson, & Schwap, 1986). The results revealed that naturally felt emotions (NFE) and emotional exhaustion were the most frequently felt dimensions of EL and burnout, respectively. EL and burnout levels of EFL teachers were found to have a statistically significant difference in terms of their institution type and years of experience. As a result of the correlational analysis, surface acting was found to be positively correlated with all the subscales of burnout, whereas NFE was negatively correlated with them. The study is expected to take the initiative of EL studies in the field of ELT in Turkey, and to contribute both to the related literature and to the improvement of the teaching environment of ELT teachers.
A corpus analysis of economics textbooks
Many universities in Turkey and other non-English speaking countries are now offering English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) programs. A call has been made to move preparatory school curriculums away from general English proficiency and base their curriculums on English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) using a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) model. However, CLIL programs have had a number of problems being successfully implemented. Therefore, this dissertation suggests using corpus analysis to determine discipline specific language that can be incorporated into classrooms via regular language teaching methodology. To this end, a corpus of economics textbooks has been compiled and a lexico-grammatical analysis has been conducted. The main corpus includes forty-nine textbooks including macroeconomics, microeconomics, and specialized economics textbooks (e.g. Economics for Social Studies). Economics textbooks are used as the focus of the study because they are a core aspect of a commonly required course, they are difficult for students to read, and little research exists on them. The study was driven by four research questions regarding frequent lexical items, lexical distributions, N-grams (also called chunks or lexical bundles), and grammar. The investigation into the lexical items analyzed the corpus in terms of frequency, keyness and uniqueness compared to the Academic Word List, the General Service List, and the Corpus of Contemporary American English. This resulted in a word list that now stands as the Economic Word List (EWL). Both the lexical distribution analysis and grammatical analysis found substantial differences in complexity, style, and variance in the frequency of the parts of speech. The current study was able to establish discipline specific vocabulary and grammatical patterns separate from general English. The suggestion was made to include such discipline specific language in preparatory schools and specific suggestions on how to create materials based on discipline specific word lists are given.