Theses supervised by Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Seden Tuyan
29 theses · Çağ University
The relationship between university students' self-efficacy beliefs and foreign language classroom anxiety
This study is designed as quantitative research to examine the relationship among English self-efficacy beliefs, foreign language classroom anxiety, and academic achievements of preparatory school students. It also includes the analysis of relationship between participants' achievement scores and some part of their demographic characteristics. One hundred and sixty-three preparatory department students from a university in Mersin participated in the investigation. English Self- Efficacy Questionnaire and the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) are used as instruments. Proficiency scores are taken from the achievements exams, which are conducted at the end of the academic term. Collected data is analysed and evaluated with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). According to findings, there is meaningful relationship between receptive and productive skills of self-efficacy and academic achievement scores and negative relation among the anxiety related to foreign language classroom and achievement scores. The findings demonstrated negative relationship among productive and receptive skills of self-efficacy and foreign language classroom anxiety. Also, female group indicates higher academic achievement than male group. In addition, the present study indicates no significant relationship between participants' English learning background and their foreign language anxiety and academic scores.
The relationship between emotional intelligence and foreign language anxiety among efl preparatory school students
The main aim of this quantitative study is to explore the relationship between foreign language anxiety levels and emotional intelligence levels of 158 A1 level Çağ University preparatory students learning English as a foreign language in Turkey. In addition, level of EI and FLA , the level of FLA and EI in relation to gender and level of success, relationships between the 15 facets and 4 factors of trait EI and FLA, the effect of the emotional intelligence level on the foreign language anxiety level were examined. Students' level of success was determined by the first term exam scores. The participants were asked to complete the ''Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale" and the ''Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire". Foreign language anxiety level was determined via Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). The emotional intelligence level of the students was measured by using Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue), and the data was analyzed by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Data analysis and statistical calculations demonstrated that the relationship between the FLA and EQ is statistically significant and there is a weak negative correlation between two. Moreover, the relationship between students' 15 facets and 4 trait factors of EI were also found negatively correlated with FLA. The students at Çağ University were found moderately anxious. The emotional intelligence level of the EFL students was found to be approximately % 25 above average level. FLA was found at a moderate. The results indicated that students' language anxiety levels do not differ according to gender. However, level of success was an important factor in students' foreign languge anxiety. Whereas an important difference in terms of the level of success was not found, the difference was found to be significant in terms of male and female students. Accordingly, the results showed that students who are female have higher emotional intelligence level than male students.
The correlation between efl high school students' language learning strategies and their self-efficacy beliefs about English
The aim of the current research was to reveal the relation between the language learning strategies (LLS) used by HSS' and their self-efficacy beliefs regarding gender differences and English learning span. The participants of the research were randomly selected 156 (100 females and 56 males) HSS from 9th, 10th and 11th grades from Siirt Atatürk Anatolian high school. The data belonging to the study were collected through questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were computed to find out the language strategies used by HSS and their self-efficacy beliefs about four main skills of English. Pearson correlation was utilized to discover the relation between LLS of participants and their self-efficacy beliefs about English. In the light of the findings of the current research, it was found out that there was high and positive correlation between language learning strategies used by HSS and their beliefs about English. It was discovered that, the more language learning strategies used, the stronger self-efficacy beliefs about English the students had.
The relationship between students' success and their level of foreign language anxiety and the primary sources of foreign language speaking anxiety
This thesis aims to examine the relationship between students' success in English and their foreign language anxiety level. For this purpose, 147 first year students in Mersin University were chosen as the participants. At the same time, the relationship between students' genders, departments and their foreign language anxiety level were investigated. The other purpose of this study is to investigate the primary sources of the foreign language anxiety in general and foreign language speaking anxiety in particular from students' perspective. In order to find out the sources, five students were chosen randomly among the 147 participants and they contributed the study with their own opinions and perspectives. For this study data were collected by implementing a questionnaire and applying interview questions to the participants. Moreover, the data collected from participants were analyzed considering variables such as gender and department. At the result chapter, the analysis were defined and discussed in order to be a source and a different perspective for the further researches. The findings of the study presented that students' genders and departments were not anxiety-provoking factors. There was a significant relationship between students' success and anxiety levels. The more success level increased, the less anxiety level decreased. The moderate negative correlation was found between them. Finally, the primary sources of foreign language speaking anxiety were found as fear of making mistake, lack of vocabulary, and teachers' manner as a result of this study.
The impact of the use of formative assessment on EFL students' writing anxiety: An action research study
The importance of formative assessment method is ever so increasing day by day. This method of evaluation has been an effective data collection source for teachers and enhancing the efficiency of students' education. The fact that formative assessment can be used in all phases of the lesson contributes dearly to the students to receive the contents of the class in a more productive and functional manner. Within the scope of the obtained data from formative assessment, feedback is provided, course arrangement is made and more effective learning products are reached. Students would have the chance to be a proactive part of the learning process and come out to be a more responsible person thus having the chance to make up for the deficit in their education. Writing in a foreign language is one of the major topics that students are having problems with. For this reason, the present study aims to expose to what extend the anxiety of writing skill of the learners of English as a foreign language change with the formative assessment method. This study which was conducted with 30 students includes an action research study for sophomores. In the course of data collection and evaluation process survey, interview, stars and field notes have been used. In the light of the findings obtained from the study, it was found that the use of formative assessment significantly reduced the writing anxiety of the students who learn English as a foreign language.
Teachers' and students' perceptions related to the motivating effect of teaching-learning situations in EFL class
In today's conditions, knowing a foreign language has become a necessity. In order to communicate with the outside world and to have knowledge and ideas in many fields, the importance of knowing foreign languages is increasing day by day. In many parts of the world, individuals expend material power, time and energy to learn a foreign language. The convergence with the development of technology takes place simultaneously. Demand on learning a foreign language is increasing hence most of the people desire to live abroad or build a career. Moreover, increasing growth of international relations and cooperation is another factor that effect people's desire to learn a foreign language. In the socialization stage of individuals, educational institutions have a great importance. A certain disciplines and a healthy process are required for the acquisition of language. The concept of student motivation, especially, has been one of the subject that teachers give importance in foreign language learning. The aim of this study is to reveal the teaching –learning factors affecting the motivation of student in foreign language learning and the perspectives of teachers on student motivation will be emphasized and compared to find out if there are differences. To reach the results of this study 20 item-questionnaire including open-ended questions was administered to 6th, 7th and 8th grade students and English teachers at TED Adana Middle School. The questionnaire was applied to 212 students and 10 teachers. The results were subjected to quantitative and qualitative analysis.
An exploratory study on turkish high school students' anxiety for speaking English
English speaking anxiety has been a problem among English learners throughout the history of second language learning. Moreover, this problem was divided into different groups and examined on each different area. Those groups included gender, grade, internal and external factors, and motivation categories to impact the students' speaking anxiety. Several studies were conducted to observe the factors and reasons that cause anxiety on L2 learners. These studies have included different results and factors affecting the students' speaking anxiety through the use of different data collection tools. Researchers attempted to examine the significant findings of the specific focus groups. In this study, it was aimed to reveal the importance of considering the level of high school students' English speaking anxiety with its underlying reasons. To conduct the study, high school learners were taken into account to examine. 9th, 10th and 11th grades selected from Elazig Doga Anatolian High School in Elazig were included in the study as the study group. In order to fulfill the aim of the study, students were observed in terms of gender and grade. Totally, 97 high school students from 9th, 10th and 11th grades of Elazig Doga Anatolian High School were taken in a survey study including 16 items regarding English Speaking anxiety. The scale used for the purpose of this study was developed by Orakçı in 2018. Beside the survey, an English Speaking exam was applied on the learners, and it was aimed to find out the relationship between the learners' English Speaking anxiety levels and their achievements. In this study, students' genders were placed into groups and associated with their anxiety level, and no significant difference was observed in the results of English Speaking Anxiety Scale. Additionally, students' grades and perceptions about speaking English anxiety were compared through the same scale. Thus, it was found out that 10th grade students had different reasons for English Speaking anxiety compared to 9th and 11th grade students. On the other hand, it was found out that the relationship between learners' English Speaking anxiety and their exam scores was negatively significant.
Teknolojik araçların yabancı dil öğrencilerinin okuma tutum ve motivasyonlarına etkisi
Okuma, modern dijital bilgi ve teknoloji dünyasında en önemli akademik dil yeteneklerinden birisidir. Türkiye'de bu yetenek çoğunlukla genel anlamayı hedefleyen kısa metinli ders kitaplarını seçen öğretmenler tarafından öğretilir. Ancak, öğrencilerin kelime dağarcığını, dil yeterliliklerini ve genel kültürlerini geliştiren İngilizce serbest zaman okuması öğrenciler arasında yaygın değildir. Ders kitapları doğal olarak yoğun okuma içindir. Yoğun okumanın faydalı olduğu ispatlanmasına rağmen, öğrencilerin ondan kazanımları kapsamlı okumadan kazanabileceklerinden daha azdır. Yoğun okumada, öğrencilerin sınıf içerisinde kısa okuma parçalarının alıştırmalarını yapmaları beklenir, fakat kapsamlı okumada, okuma boş zaman aktivitesi gibi öğrencilerin istedikleri zaman okumasını sağlayın uzun süreli bir aktivitedir. Öğretmenler içinde, boş vakit aktivitesi olarak okumanın öğrencilere ne kadar kelime bilgisi ve dilbilgisini öğrettiğini ölçmek zordur. Ayrıca, öğrencilerin okudukları kitaplar için küçük sınav veya sınav hazırlamak çok zaman alır. Üstte bahsedildiği gibi, teknoloji dil öğretiminde önemli bir parçası haline geldi. Bir teknolojik araç olarak Moodle Reader burada sürece dâhil oluyor. Öğretmenlerin, öğrenciler basamaklı okuma kitabı okuduktan sonra değerlendirme yapabilmelerini sağlıyor. İçerisinde, öğrencilerin kelime bilgilerini ve kitapları okuyup okumadıklarını ölçen pek çok küçük sınav vardır. Bu çalışma, Moodle Reader'in kapsamlı okuma aracı olarak İngilizce hazırlık sınıfı öğrencilerinin okuma tutum ve motivasyonlarına etkisine odaklanır. Ayrıca, cinsiyetin, dil yeterlilik seviyesinin ve günlük internette geçirilen zamanın, Moodle Reader'ın olası etkilerini üzerinde fark yaratıp yaratmadığını bulmayı amaçlar. Bir anket, kapsamlı okuma uygulamasından önce ön-test ve uygulamanın sonrasında son-test olarak katılımcılara rastgele uygulandı. Veriler tanımlayıcı istatistik elde etmek için SPSS paket programı kullanarak nicel olarak analiz edilmiş ve bu veri toplama araçlarının iç tutarlılığını değerlendirme amacıyla Cronbach alfa modeli kullanılmıştır. Ön-test ve son-test anketlerinin verileri Moodle Reader'ın, daha iyi seviyedeki öğrencileri ve kadın öğrencileri diğerlerinden daha çok etkilediğini belirterek, öğrencilerin okumaya karşı tutum ve motivasyonlarında olumlu bir etkiye sahip olduğunu ispatlamıştır. Ayrıca, bulgular internette daha az vakit geçiren öğrencilerin, daha fazla geçirenlere göre Moodle Reader'dan daha çok etkilendiklerini göstermiştir.
The differences between Turkish and Polish students' attitude and motivation towards English as a foreign language
English is regarded as the international language of the World and is widely used in multinational organizations. Hence, English education became one of the most important part of education system in non-English speaking countries. However, related literature show that some learners have difficulty in developing their proficiency level and illustrate a slower progress than others. English started to become prevalent in Poland after 1990, and today, the majority of students prefer learning English as a second language due to prospective financial and professional gains. In Turkey, on the other hand, learning English as a second language has a longer history since 1923, the establishment of Turkish Republic. In this context, the aim of this paper is to find the differences between Polish and Turkish primary students' attitudes and motivation towards English as a foreign language. The survey conducted simultaneously in two countries between April and May 2019 by using Attitude and Motivaton Test Battery (AMTB). The survey yielded 218 responses from both countries' secondary school students, 113 from Poland and 105 from Turkey. The data is analyzed using SPSS statistical package. Our findings illustrate that there is a significant difference between Turkish and Polish secondary school students attitude and motivation towards learning English. More specifically, Turkish students' English Use Anxiety, Desire to Learn English, English Teacher Evaluation, Interest in Foreign Language and Attitudes Toward the Target Group is higher than their Polish counterparts, while Polish students have higher scores in terms of Instrumental Orientation, Integrativeness.
Exploring the relationship between the middle school students' interaction with their teachers and their classroom engagement and success
Knowing a foreign language is a plus in social, business and education life. Being able to communicate in foreign languages is among the most required qualifications when we consider the developing world. English is among the most preferred foreign languages for professional and personal goals. So far, many institutions, schools, and universities have been searching for new methods and views for reaching to advanced level of teaching foreign languages one of which is English. When teaching English, it should be considered by teachers that students have different proficiency levels, purpose, and style of learning. Because of these differences, teachers develop different types of interaction with their students. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the 5th and 6th grade students' interaction with their teachers and their participation levels and their English lesson grades. In this research, to determine the interaction levels of secondary school students with their teachers in the English class, the average results of the two English exams were used. Also, the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) and Agentic Engagement Scale were administered to 5th and 6th grades at TED Adana College. The questionnaires were applied to 120 students. The results were subjected to quantitative analysis. Results indicated that students perceive their teachers as exhibiting high levels of understanding, helping/friendly, and leadership behaviours rather than uncertain, admonishing dissatisfied and strict behaviours. The results also showed that students' perceptions of their English teachers' interpersonal behaviours were linked to their cognitive, emotional, behavioural and agentic engagements towards English and their English achievement. Whereas the leadership, helpful/friendly, and understanding behaviours had positive correlations with agentic engagement scores of students, the uncertain, dissatisfied, admonishing and strict behaviours had negative correlations.
The relationship between emotional intelligence and foreign language anxiety of Turkish EFL learners
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and foreign language anxiety of Turkish EFL learners and whether these concepts have a connection with the EFL learners' academic success. The data was gathered from 139 EFL learners at Çağ University Preparatory School via two questionnaires which measure the learners' emotional intelligence and foreign language anxiety levels. In line with the research questions, descriptive and inferential statistics were computed to analyze the collected data. The results showed that EFL learners had moderate levels of foreign language anxiety and emotional intelligence. On the other hand, the findings presented that EFL learners' emotional intelligence did not connect with their academic success. However, the results indicated that EFL learners' foreign language anxiety has an association with their academic achievement. The results of the study revealed that there were significant connections between emotional intelligence and foreign language anxiety of the learners. Furthermore, the results presented that the skill and sub-skills of emotional intelligence played an important role on the EFL learner's foreign language anxiety level.
The relationship between students' grit levels and success in turkish efl context
The recognition of the concept of grit as a predictor of the success has made this concept come to the forefront. This is also true in the field of language learning in which the success is one of the desirable outcomes. From this point, exploring the level of grit that students have becomes important. Therefore, this study aims to reveal the grit levels of students in learning English. Moreover, investigating whether there is relationship between the grit levels and success of students or not is another objective of this study. In this study, which was carried out with the participation of 252 students studying at the Foreign Languages School of a foundation university, a questionnaire, which measures the level of grit in EFL context, was used to collect data from the participants. Within the scope of the research questions, descriptive and correlation analyses were computed to process data. In terms of the proficiency levels, years of English learning background, age and gender of the participants, the differences with respect to the grit levels were analyzed. The findings of the study revealed that the students consider themselves gritty in studying English, and some significant differences were found in terms of the grit level of students with respect to gender and age. It was also found that there was a correlation between the level of grit and success for the sub-component of grit which is related to interest in learning English. The discussions regarding the results of this study were made within the scope of related studies in the literature.
The problems encountered by students and teachers in Turkish EFL context
As the aim of the study, it was targeted to contribute to the English Teaching literature through analyzing secondary school English language teachers' and students' opinions about the problems of teaching and learning English with reference to the most common problems encountered in this field in Turkish context. The study also examines the demographic factors, which might affect teachers' and students' opinions. For this purpose, two different questionnaires were administered to randomly selected 170 students and 32 teachers who teach these students at Ağrı Naci Gökçe Anatolian High School and Ağrı Doğa College so as to measure the difficulties they face in English education and training. In order to the determine socio-demographic factors and their effects on the opinions of students and teachers about the concerned problems, descriptive and correlational statistics were computed. The results of the study primarily revealed that the challenges faced by students are mostly related to educational methods and students' attitudes towards English lessons; thus it is seen that in Turkey, education methods and students' attitudes towards English lesson are the most effective issues that lead students to face various problems in English education. In addition to these problems, materials used in the classroom and lack of possibilities to do in-class practices were also found to play an important role in students' related perceptions. However, when evaluated from the perspectives of teachers, it was concluded that they perceive students as the most important factor in the problems seen in English language teaching.
The use of video materials in EFL learners' reading comprehension
The main aim of this study is to investigate the use of video materials in EFL learners' reading comprehension. Also, this study aims at finding out the perceptions of EFL learners about using video materials to improve their reading comprehension. The participants of this study were 41 pre-intermediate level EFL students who have been studying in a private university in Turkey. These students were divided into two separate groups, which formed the experimental and the control group. The number of participants in the experimental group was 20, the number of participants in the control group was 21. While the experimental group had video integrated reading activities in the lesson, the controlled group continued with the usual flow of their lessons. Three different data collection tools were used in the study. The tools were achievement tests, minute papers and a semi-structured interview. Throughout the study, both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis were applied. With the help of using SPSS statistical package software, the pre- and post-test findings were examined. The results of the semi-structured interviews and minute papers of the participants were collected by using the procedure of content analysis. The results of the pre and post achievement tests revealed that video materials had a significant contribution to the reading comprehension of the students. Moreover, the results also presented that the implementation of video related activities to the reading lessons contributed to the students' positive perceptions about the reading lessons.
Bicultural identity and its relation with EFL learner beliefs of Turkish-German bilinguals
This quantitative study was carried out with 150 Turkish-German bicultural bilingual learners to investigate the relationship between their Bicultural Identity and their EFL learning beliefs. The data of the study, which was conducted in the "Free State of Bavaria" in Germany, was gathered by quantitative research methods. Serving the aim of the study, three different instruments were used in order to measure bicultural bilinguals' Bicultural Identity Orientations and EFL learner beliefs. Descriptive, correlational, and multiple regression analyses were operated to analyses the data. The findings of the study mainly revealed that Turkish-German bicultural bilingual learners were Monoculture, Hybridity, Compatibility, and Flexibility oriented. Also, while their age, grade, English experience, and nationality were found to be related, their gender had no relationship with their Bicultural Identity Orientation. The results of the study also revealed that no significant relationship existed between EFL learning beliefs and demographic characteristics such as age, gender, nationality, English experience, and grade. Moreover, the results indicate that bicultural bilinguals have mainly positive English language learning beliefs. More specifically, the study findings illustrate that Monocultural Orientation and Hybridity are the predictors of Turkish-German bicultural bilinguals' EFL learner beliefs.
An investigation of out-of-class English learning activities of Turkish 12th graders
This mixed-method design study examines the out-of-class English activities which are done by the 12th-grade students in Fen Bilimleri Temel Lisesi in Adana. Furthermore, the study aims to reveal what kind of activities they do and the frequency of these activities. Additionally, the effect of these out-of-class activities on the four skills of English, the barriers they face, and the frequency of these barriers are examined. Finally, whether the participants motivate themselves or not while doing these activities, their views towards English and the role of English in out-of-class activities are examined. Eighty-one 12th-grade students studying at Adana Fen Bilimleri Temel Lisesi participated in this study. Quantitate and qualitative research methods were used to gather data. The qualitative data gathered through the survey, given to the participants, was categorized and tabularized. According to the qualitative data, the most frequent activities participants do are playing games, listening to music and communicating with foreigners and friends. Additionally, when looked at the quantitative data the most frequent activities are, watching movies/series, listening to music and using social media. According to the gathered data, participants tend to do activities that require receptive abilities.
An investigation of Turkish efl teachers' work alienation during the COVID-19 pandemic
The world has been getting through a global crisis due to the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that does not seem to be resolved soon. Among many fields that were affected negatively due to the pandemic, the education field has got severe damage that casts a long shadow despite the precautions and innovations taken to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic. Therefore, in a world where distancing from people is the new normal, the concept of alienation experienced by English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers became an area of concern for this study. The motive of this study was born from the puzzle of how the pandemic affected EFL teachers' work alienation and what is the extent of their alienation levels. A mixed-method approach was adopted for the sake of this study. The work alienation scale was distributed to 160 EFL teachers working at primary, secondary, and high school to get a general understanding of teacher alienation, and the same sample did 18 interviews to gain better insight from teachers' perspectives. The data was analyzed using The Statistical Package for Social Sciences software program (SPSS), and the interview data were coded and categorized into themes. The results indicated that EFL teachers experience work alienation in relatively low levels regarding demographic variables and the subdimensions of alienation. Nevertheless, the interview data revealed thought-provoking examples of the severe effects of the pandemic. The findings also suggest the importance of experience in the field regarding work alienation.
Transformative experiences of EFL lecturers' professional identity in online education
To prepare for an online classroom, EFL lecturers may have to relearn and develop a new normal while maintaining their instructional pedagogy and professional identity. Correspondingly, this study investigated the relationship between EFL lecturers' transformation of their professional identities and attitudes towards online teaching and the influence of sociodemographic differences (age, gender, educational background, working experience) on the perspectives of EFL lecturers on technology use in language education. The impact of online teaching on EFL lecturers' professional identities was analysed depending on how they approach the transition from face-to-face to online classrooms and the kind of contextual factors that assist teachers' professional identity during the online teaching process. The sample of the research consists of 130 EFL lecturers working at a state university and a foundation university in Turkey. The data of the study were gathered from Attitudes of EFL Teachers towards ICT and their Use of Technology and the Internet in ELT Questionnaire by Karakaya (2010), Teacher Professional Identity Scale adapted from Cheung (2008) and a semi-structured interview by Simon (2012). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to summarize the data and to explore if there is a meaningful relationship between dependent and independent variables. The qualitative data collected by semi-structured interviews were separated into pattern coding and analyzed with content analysis. The results showed that the research participants who received training on EduTech during their undergraduate education or as professional development had an impact on their attitudes of online education that accordingly affected their perception of professional identity during the transition to internet-based online language teaching.
The relationship between EFL learners' learning styles and their level of engagement in online education
The primary purpose of this research is to identify the individual learning styles of the Higher Vocational EFL learners based on Kolb's Learning Style Inventory and to see the relationship between learners' learning styles and their engagement to online courses. Depending on this primary purpose, the study also shed light on these issues; the level of students' engagement to online education and the impact of learning styles on EFL learners' online engagement. This research has been conducted as a quantitative descriptive study. Using Kolb's Learning Style and Online Student Engagement Scales, the research data is extracted from a group of randomly selected 150 students who study at Higher Vocational School as English Foreign Language Learner in a foundation university during the 2020-2021 academic year. Within the scope of the research questions, descriptive, correlation, and regression analyses were conducted to analyze the obtained data. The study results primarily revealed a crucial relationship between EFL learners' preferred learning styles and their engagement in online courses. Moreover, according to the regression analysis results, the learning styles preferred by the EFL learners affect their level of engagement in online classes.
Turkish EFL teachers' perceptions of self efficacy and burnout during COVID-19 pandemic
This correlational study mainly investigates the relationship between Turkish English foreign language (EFL) teachers' perceptions of their self-efficacy and burnout levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. Relevant data consists of 121 Turkish EFL teachers who work at primary, secondary, and high schools to gain a basic understanding of teacher self-efficacy and burnout levels. For the data collection, Teacher Professional Self-Efficacy Scale (TPSS) and the Teacher Professional Burnout Scale (TPBS) were used. A quantitative method was adopted for this investigation. In order to analyze the data, the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software program was used. Within the scope of the research questions, descriptive, inferential, and correlational analyses were carried out. According to the results, EFL teachers were found to have a moderate perception of self-efficacy and burnout coming from demographic variables and subdimensions. Furthermore, the findings illustrated that there is a strong and negative correlation between the participants' perceptions of self-efficacy and burnout. The findings of the study were discussed within the scope of the previous literature. Keywords: Covid-19 Pandemi, EFL teachers' perceptions, English language teaching, teacher burnout levels, teacher self-efficacy, professional
Academic optimism and psychological well-being as predictors of Turkish EFL teachers' sense of self-efficacy
The purpose of this study was to look at the academic optimism and psychological well-being of English language instructors to see if these are predictors of self-efficacy. A quantitative research model was used to achieve this goal. Additionally, a correlational screening model was utilized. The research data was collected through google forms which consisted of three scales including Psychological Well-being, Academic Optimism, and Teacher Self-efficacy Scale and the scales were filled out by 272 EFL teachers working at primary, secondary, and high schools in Hakkari. SPSS and the AMOS were used to examine the data. To assess the relationships between variables, the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was evaluated and it was found that there was a meaningful and positive relationship between the three variables, Multiple Linear Regression was used to examine relevant variables and it was shown that 39.4% of the variability in the teacher self-efficacy variable can be explained by the variables of psychological well-being and academic optimism through linear regression, and path analysis was utilized to ascertain whether academic optimism and psychological well-being were significant predictors of self-efficacy and to discover direct and indirect effects of variables. The results of the path analysis revealed that academic optimism could predict the self-efficacy levels of English teachers, but psychological well-being was not a significant predictor. Moreover, it was found that psychological well-being affects EFL teachers' sense of self-efficacy indirectly through academic optimism, which demonstrates that academic optimism is a full mediator variable. The analysis concerning gender, age, seniority and school type variables by ANOVA and t-tests also revealed that male EFL teachers' levels of PWB, TSE, and AO were significantly higher than females. For the age groups, the only difference detected was in the perception of the positive relationship with others sub-dimension. Participants aged 29 and under had a higher score compared to participants aged 30 and over. Additionally, experience was not found to be a determining factor in this study. The findings showed a statistically significant difference in terms of the type of institution in the scales and sub-dimensions used in the survey. The groups that are the source of the difference were determined by the TUKEY test.
An investigation of EFL teachers' perceptions of their professional identity throughout the covid-19 pandemic
There are insufficient words to define the significance of teachers for the future; therefore, universal acknowledgement is required in which the professional identity of teachers is clarified and better understood. The sacrifices made by teachers cannot be ignored, particularly during COVID-19, when the entire world is affected. This study aimed to assess how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced educators' identities. The purpose of the study was to investigate the personal and professional experiences that influence the identities of EFL teachers and to determine how factors such as teaching beliefs, professional socialization, career development, and professional competence influence the identities of EFL teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. For the aim of this study, the quantitative method was used. Participants in the study were EFL teachers from public schools in Malatya, Turkey. The total number of participants was 120. Participants in this descriptive study were chosen at random. EFL teachers' identities were disclosed using a 40-item, 5-point Likert scale questionnaire adapted from Noi et al. (2016) that focused on the following aspects: (1) teaching beliefs, (2) professional socialization, (3) career development, and (4) professional competence. The results of the study indicated that the teachers who participated in the survey had a high level of professional identity perception regarding their learning needs. Moreover, teachers' perceptions of their professional identity in regards to professional socialization, career advancement, and professional competence were above the medium level.
Self-efficacy beliefs of English foreign language teachers during Covid-19 pandemic in Turkey
This quantitative study examined the self-efficacy beliefs of Turkish EFL teachers within the framework of the COVID-19 process. The research population includes 187 teachers, 81 males, and 106 females, who work in Adiyaman during the 2021–2022 academic year. In this study, the "Teachers' Sense of Effectiveness Scale" (TSES) developed by Moran and Hoy (2001) was used as a data collection tool. The Turkish version of the scale which was translated by Capa et al. (2005) was utilized in this study. The measure consists of three aspects to assess EFL teachers' self-efficacy in communication with students, teaching strategies, and classroom management during the COVID-19 pandemic. The scale reveals self-efficacy beliefs in the COVID-19 pandemic process based on the demographic information provided by the participants: a) gender, b) marital status, c) grade of students d) type of school e) professional seniority, f) the number of students, g) the number of weekly classes hours, and h) professional publications, and books read. According to the study, in both overall self-efficacy and its subdimensions, the results indicate that teachers' self-efficacy beliefs were about the average. During the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, the self-efficacy levels of single EFL teachers participating in the research were statistically significantly higher than those of married EFL teachers. All measures of self-efficacy, including self-efficacy in teaching methods, self-efficacy in classroom management, and total self-efficacy, were statistically significantly higher among EFL teachers in the private school who took part in the study than among EFL teachers in the public school. Also, it was found that the self-efficacy levels and total self-efficacy of EFL teachers who read 3-4 or 4+ more publications/books were significantly higher than those who do not read regularly or read 1-2 books per month.
Turkish EFL teachers' knowledge, perceptions and practices regarding social and emotional learning in elementary, secondary and high school contexts
The current study seeks to provide a comprehensive picture of Turkish EFL teachers' perceptions regarding their understanding, experiences and practices in relation to social and emotional learning in three separate contexts including elementary, secondary and high school. This research study mainly adopted a mixed methods research design making use of a quantitative approach integrated with a qualitative research. In total, the research sample constituted 238 Turkish EFL teachers. The study was based on two different data collection sources including a teacher survey and a semi-structured interview guide. Our data analysis process was conducted in three distinct phases. The preliminary stage focused on the analysis of quantitative data which was conducted through descriptive statistical analyses using SPSS. The second stage involved the inferential statistical analysis in which a one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed. The third stage was centered around the analysis of qualitative data. Upon a comprehensive examination of descriptive findings, teachers' perceptions of their comfort level with teaching SEL were found to be at a moderate level. teachers' perceptions of their commitment to teaching and learning about SEL at a high level and teachers' perceptions of administrative support for SEL at a moderate level. According to MANOVA findings, with the exception of the age groups, statistically significant differences were observed in teachers' perception of SEL among all the other independent variables. Lastly, the key qualitative findings were reported under three different categories which were determined within the responses of the sample group, namely teachers' perceptions on the importance of SEL, factors hindering the implementation of SEL and teachers' recommendations on how to best serve students' social and emotional needs.