Theses supervised by Prof. Dr. Abdulvahit Çakır
10 theses · Gazi University
Language instructors' perspectives on textbook content in terms of intercultural communicative competence: Gazi Üniversity case
The purpose of this study is to discover the perceptions of language instructors who teach English at the School of Foreign Languages, Gazi University, about textbooks? content in terms of intercultural communicative competence.The present study is based on the analysis of language instructors? perspectives gathered through a questionnaire and an in-depth interview at the School of Foreign Languages, Gazi University, in 2012- 2013 academic year. The data were obtained by conducting `Teaching Materials Evaluation Guide? with 20 items and interview with 3 questions.As a result of the present research, it was found that language instructors think textbook series of English for Life is not sufficient to enhance language learners? intercultural competence through its content. Concerning the components of Intercultural Communicative Competence, the results of sections which are related with attitudes, knowledge and intercultural awareness indicate that language instructors believe sub-dimensions of ICC are not included in the units of the textbooks.In addition, the results show that language instructors are conscious of the importance about Intercultural Communication and its integration into textbooks? content.
Student teachers and teacher educators perceptions about the use of Facebook in english language teaching
This study aims to find out student teachers? and teacher educators? perceptions about the use of Facebook in English language teaching and their preferences on how to integrate Facebook into English classes. This study, which has a mixed methodology research design, consisted of written and oral interviews with 221 student teachers and 6 teacher educators in the English Language Teaching (ELT) program at Gazi University during the fall semester of the academic year 2012-2013. Qualitative data were gathered with the help of the written and oral interviews while quantitative data were gathered with the calculation of frequencies, percentages, chi-square tests, the mean and standart deviation of certain variables. Besides, data gathered were coded according to the types of FB use as in-class, outside-the-class and self-study activities.Of the 221student teachers 38 (18%) male and 173 (82%) female. 174 (82.5%) of them had FB accounts while 37 (17.5%) of them did not have FB accounts. 146 participants (69.2%) were in favor of FB integration into English classes while 58 participants (27.5% ) were against and finally 7 participants (3.3%.) were undecided. Of the 6 teacher educators 2 were females and 4 were males and all got FB accounts. 5 of them were in favor of the application while one of them was neutral. In both groups (student teachers and teacher educators) adolescents were mostly preferred while adults were midly preferred and young learners were least preferred age group to be taught English on FB; intermediate level was the most preferred language level to be enhanced via FB while advanced level was in the second place and beginner level was in the third place. Besides, self -study was seen as the most important, outside-the-class was mildly important while in-class was seen as the least important type of FB use in both groups. These similarities show us how student teachers? educational preferences can be changed in line with education they receive so they should be trained according to the current educational moves and communication tools. Keywords: Facebook, social networking sites, student teachers, teacher educators.
A suggested syllabus for the ?effective communication skills? course for the pre-service English language teachers at Gazi university
Communicating effectively is central to the teaching process. Successful classroom learning and teaching relies on effective communication between the teacher and the students. Without effective communication, ideas, directions, and thoughts may be lost or misunderstood. The aim of this study is to encourage and assist pre-service language teachers to become high quality teachers who know not only how to communicate with students, colleagues, parents and administrators and but also how to deal with communication apprehension and utilize communication technologies. It is the aim of this study to prepare a syllabus that will provide pre-service language teachers with the basic communication concepts and theories and to demonstrate how principles of communication could be applied to classroom setting.This study has six chapters. The first chapter includes the background, aim, hypothesis and research questions, scope and limitations of the study. The second chapter is Review of Literature. It covers information about definition of communication, communication models, principles of communication, barriers to effective communication and communication in the classroom. Chapter 3 focuses on the method and the data collection process of the study. In Chapter 4, the collected data are analyzed and the results are discussed. Chapter 5 provides a suggested syllabus for the ?Effective Communication Skills? course. In this chapter modules of the suggested syllabus are given in detail in line with the pilot study outcomes. The last chapter is designed for the conclusion and suggestions for further studies.Throughout the study, the data are gathered via a variety of scales. First of all, the ?Teacher Communication Behavior Student Questionnaire? is given to high schools students to explain their views on their English language teachers? communication skills. On the other side, these teachers are asked to evaluate their own communication skills by the help of ?Do You Communicate Positively?? and ?İletişim Becerileri Envanteri?. Here the aim is to see whether the teachers and students share parallel thoughts in terms of teachers? communication skills used in actual classroom settings. Then, the pre-service language teachers and the instructors who deliver effective communication skills course are given a checklist about communication skills topics adapted from May?s study to decide on modules of the syllabus. The findings are reflected in the syllabus suggested.The suggested syllabus is implemented in one of the first grade pre-service English teachers? class in Effective Communication Skills course at Gazi University for 15 weeks. These students are given training on effective communication skills and their knowledge and skills are assessed both before and after the training via pre- and post-tests via t-test. The results indicated a remarkable progress of the subjects of the study in using communication skills effectively. The same post-test is implemented in another class in which existing program is used. The results are compared using t-test to see if the suggested syllabus makes a change in pre-service language teachers? training.Finally, throughout the study, the prospective language teachers are asked to keep reflection journals and evaluate their classroom experience. Their sincere thoughts in these journals guide the researcher to examine whether the suggested syllabus contributes to their communication skills. All these findings indicate that the suggested syllabus contributes to communication skills of the pre-service language teachers.Key Words: Effective communication skills, communication competence, teacher immediacy, instructional communication, communication apprehension, active listening, verbal and nonverbal immediacy.
Dynamic assessment of ELT students' speaking skills
This dissertation offers an alternative way of testing oral skills by integrating assessment and instruction into a single unit. Improvement of oral narrations of English Language Teaching (ELT) students is the main focus of the study. Therefore, it has been hypothesized that the target group will develop their speaking abilities through `Dynamic Assessment? (DA) procedures and the `Enrichment Program?.DA is based on L.S Vygotsky?s socio-cultural theory of cognitive development. Its basic principle is that learners? cognitive development is fully understood by tracking their processes of development. Therefore, it is believed that assessments should reveal the underlying causes of learners? poor performances and actions should be taken to remediate these underlying problems to foster development. DA is also based on the notion of ZPD `Zone of Proximal Development?, which means that the assessment procedure is built on mediator-learner dialogues. This collaborative work is thought to reduce the reliability by some critics; however, in DA, it is aimed that the mediation the examiner supplies changes the focus of the assessment from learners? success or failure, but the amount and quality of mediation they require and to what extent the learners can respond to the mediation offered. DA is distinguished from other forms of assessment in that the mediator and the learners engage in the meditational and reciprocating moves, that is interactive moves, of which learning is the natural result. The learning can be monitored if the learners have internalized the knowledge through mediation, and can use this knowledge in other assessment contexts without mediation.In the light of theoretical foundations of DA, learners? test scores were not the concern of this study, but their development was attempted to be promoted. This dissertation investigated the effects of dynamic assessment on improving ELT learners? oral skills at School of Foreign Languages, Gazi University. It compared both the control and the experimental groups? results of non-dynamic assessments and dynamic assessments before and after the treatment called the enrichment program. The test type used in the assessment procedures was `Retelling Story Test? type in which learners were provided with authentic news stories and expected to narrate the event in the story.At the beginning of the study, subjects were delivered a questionnaire which aimed to obtain personal information. Then pre- non-dynamic and pre- dynamic assessments were carried out in both groups. Non-dynamic assessment (NDA) was used to evaluate learners? independent performance and DA was used to reveal the specific areas that needed further improvement. The enrichment program followed the pre test sessions, and it was only applied to the experimental group. During this program, learners were offered tasks that assisted them to overcome their problems. After the enrichment program, the initial assessments were repeated in both groups and the extent of their developments was evaluated. At the end of the whole procedure, a student evaluation form was delivered to the experimental group to get their opinions regarding the dynamic assessment procedures and the enrichment program. The statistical data were analyzed by Mann Whitney U- Test and Wilcoxon Sign Test.The results of the study indicate that interactions in the ZPD helped the mediator to understand the learners? linguistic competence and helped the learners to overcome their linguistic problems. The qualitative data obtained from the student evaluation form revealed that learners found the assessment procedure beneficial.
Improving writing skills through supplementary computer-assisted activities
Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) has been an indispensable part of English language learning and teaching recently owing to the rapid developments in computer technology. Today, a great number of institutions, teachers and students take advantage of this technology in their language teaching and learning process.This dissertation concentrates on integrating writing skills with computer-assisted language activities at the intersection of English Language Teaching (ELT). This is an experimental study that aims at exploring the effectiveness of computer-assisted language activities on students? second language writing skills. The data are collected both quantitatively and qualitatively in this study.This study was conducted at the department of ELT, Gazi University throughout a term. Two groups of students in their freshman year were the participants with one of the groups the control group and the other the experimental group. The sampling was of convenience type. This study was incorporated within the Advanced Reading and Writing II course the ELT students had to take in the second term of their first year. The syllabus of this course involves teaching the students to write different kinds of essays, which is an essential component of academic writing skills. An online program to improve students? writing skills was designed in line with the objectives of this course for the present study.At the outset, both groups were given a pre-test with the aim of revealing the participants? level of competence in second language writing skills. In addition, a computer literacy survey was administered to the experimental group to collect data on their computer literacy. Once the subjects started to be instructed about writing different kinds of essays, the online writing program got started. This program, which was delivered with Moodle, a learning management system, provided the subjects with detailed information on each type of essay and essay writing activities. Throughout the term, the subjects logged in the online program and fulfilled the requirements of the online course both at school and outside class, which is a kind of blended learning. The researcher checked the open-ended assignments of the subjects sent by e-mail and gave them detailed feedback via e-mail. The grades of the open-ended assignments assigned by the researcher and the grades of the other activities in the online program assigned by the system itself constituted twenty per cent of the overall grade of the subjects to pass the Advanced Reading and Writing II course.At the end of the treatment, a post-test was conducted to both groups in order to compare their progress at the end of the term. The experimental group was also given a student evaluation form to find out their opinions about the online writing program. Three raters graded the pre-tests and post-tests of both groups using an analytical rubric. The test results were statistically analysed using T tests and ANCOVA. In addition, the answers to the computer literacy survey and student evaluation form were examined using frequency analysis.The results of the study demonstrate that the online writing program has proved to be effective in improving the subjects? writing skills. Furthermore, the answers of the subjects in the student evaluation form reveal that the subjects are generally satisfied with the online program; however, not all of them find the program as motivating and enjoyable as expected by the researcher.
Gazi Üniversitesi hazırlık sınıfı öğrencilerinin yabancı dil kaygı düzeylerinde öğretim yılı sürecinde oluşan değişiklikler üzerine bir araştırma
Bu çalışmanın amacı üniversite öğrencilerinin öğretim yılının başındaki ve sonundaki kaygı düzeyleri arasında anlamlı bir fark bulunup bulunmadığını saptamaktır.Bu çalışma, 2004-2005 öğretim yılında Gazi Üniversitesi Hazırlık Sınıfında eğitim gören 913 öğrencinin yabancı dil kaygısı ortalamalarının karşılaştırılmasına dayanmaktadır. Çalışmaya ilişkin veri, 33 sorudan oluşan ?Yabancı Dil Sınıfı Kaygı Ölçeği? aracılığıyla elde edilmiştir.Araştırma sonucunda katılımcıların yabancı dil kaygı düzeylerinde belirgin bir artış gözlemlenmiştir. Yabancı dil kaygısının bileşenleri incelediğinde, ?olumsuz değerlendirilme korkusu? ve ?inanç, algı ve duygularına ilişkin dil kaygısı?nda belirgin bir artış gözlemlenmiştir. Katılımcıların ?sınav kaygısı?nda herhangi bir değişme meydana gelmezken ?konuşma kaygısı? haricinde ?iletişim kaygısı?nda azalma olmuştur.Bu çalışma, aynı zamanda, yetersiz dil başarısı gösteren öğrencilerin öğretim yılı sonunda yabancı dil kaygı düzeylerinde artış yaşadıkları, başarılı öğrencilerin yabancı dil kaygı düzeylerinde ise herhangi bir değişim olmadığı gerçeğini göstermektedir. Bu duruma benzer olarak, erkek öğrenciler kız öğrencilere göre dil kaygılarında dah fazla bir artış yaşamışlardır.
Teaching as a performing art: Promoting nonverbal immediacy of English Teacher Trainees
This dissertation features a research study in which an acting course for ELT pre-service teacher education was designed and applied so as to develop nonverbal immediacy of the teacher trainees and to contribute to the development of the teacher identity. This study is an integration of certain qualitative and quantitative research methods. After piloting the course design, syllabus and acting activities, an acting course for English teacher trainees was administered in an experimental design to measure the impact of an acting course on nonverbal immediacy of teacher trainees. Nonverbal Immediacy Scale-Self Report was utilized as a pre-test and a post-test tool. As for observing the change in the development process of teacher identity, various qualitative data collection techniques and tools were utilized. The results of the experimental study revealed that the experimental group displayed a significant development in their nonverbal immediate behavior, while the control group showed no notable change. The qualitative findings showed that the acting course contributed to development process of teacher identity in pre-service teacher trainees, revealing certain hierarchical stages of identity construction such as awareness, control, autonomy, self-confidence self-esteem and identity. While the first three stages were found to be highly hierarchical, self-confidence and self-esteem were observed at every developmental stage, but with a gradual increase. Apart from these findings, this research study also offers a course design, a suggested syllabus and twenty four acting activities and tasks which were designed for this research to be utilized specifically in English teacher education.
The use of authentic games in English language teaching
Teaching languages by games is one of the best methods for learning foreign languages. Play is the basic means for processing information, learning new skills and practicing old ones by using schematic knowledge. In this research first and second class junior school learners are taught by adapted childhood games in two experimental and control groups for about a semester. Both groups are observed during the semester and the pre and post test results of learners are compared by t-test. Experiment group learners show better results in English language learning.This study has five chapters. The first chapter aims to present the problem to be discussed through the study. This chapter also includes the aims and the scope of the study. The last part of the chapter gives the methodology and assumptions of the study.The second chapter presents the literature review of the thesis. This chapter provides the theoretical background of the study.The third chapter presents the games and their adapted forms to be used in English Language Teaching.The fourth chapter presents the administration of the adapted games to first and second class junior school learners.The fifth chapter deals with the data analysis and interpretation of the data collected from the adapted games that have been used in English Language Teaching. The data have been given in charts and tables.The sixth chapter represents some suggestions for teachers and students. These suggestions are based on the findings of the study.The last chapter is the conclusion part and gives a summary of the study.
Using theatre extracts in teaching speech acts to turkish efl students with special reference to apologies and refusals
The development of pragmatic and sociolinguistic rules in language use is important for language learners. It is necessary to understand and use language that is appropriate to the various situations, because failure to do so may cause users to miss key points that are being communicated or to have their messages misunderstood. Worse, yet, is the possibility of a total communication breakdown and the stereotypical labeling of second language users as people who are insensitive, rude, or inept (Thomas,1983). Apologies and refusals are considered to be highly complex speech acts as they differ cross-culturally, thus, these language specific semantic formulas are prone to misunderstandings.This present study concerns with the teaching and learning of the more subtle and complex features of the speech act of apologizing and refusing in English to Turkish Prep-school learners by using theatre extracts as authentic material. Data was collected from 10 American native speakers of English and 40 Turkish Prep-school foreign language learners, 20 of which were experimental and 20 of which were the control group from the same proficiency level. Participants were given a discourse role-play test (DRPT) instrument for elicitation including both apology and refusal strategies via pre- and post-test questionnaire and the classroom treatments were video recorded for ethnographic data. Theatre extracts from English and American playwrights? plays were used as an authentic material with pragmatic instruction throughout one semester. Findings indicated that effective instruction of speech acts through theatre extracts can assist learners in producing native-like utterances in certain situations and affect their sociolinguistic behavior.
A suggested syllabus for the elt preparatory students at Gazi University in accordance with cef b2 (vantage) level
The European Union has dreamt of a continent without dividing lines. In order to achieve this, Europe needs citizens who can communicate in some of the many languages spoken within its borders. With this objective in mind, a very significant publication in language teaching, learning and assessment has been released: Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching and Assessment (CEF). The CEF has been developed by the Council of Europe to enhance communication among native speakers of different languages and to increase tolerance for cultural diversity. The CEF also describes what knowledge and language skills learners have to acquire in order to be able to communicate effectively taking the cultural context into account.As Turkey is a member of the Council of Europe and a candidate member of the European Community, the Ministry of Education and Council of Higher Education are offering certain reforms in the current curricula of primary, secondary and higher education. As for foreign language education, so as to provide parallelism in language teaching policy in Turkey and with those of other European countries, Common European Framework (CEF) should be referred to and be implemented in foreign language teaching syllabi.This thesis aims at developing a syllabus at B2 level in accordance with the standards defined in CEF for the preparatory classes of Gazi University English Language Teaching Department. In order to achieve this, a study skills questionnaire, B2 ?Can Do? statements and an interest checklist have been administered so as to obtain a profile of ELT preparatory students. Data gathered have been analyzed. Following that, the shortcomings of the current programme for ELT classes have been discussed. Finally, in the light of those discussions, a syllabus for ELT preparatory year has been suggested. Two sample units have been developed in line with the suggested syllabus. The answer keys and notes for the teacher have been presented at the end of the study.Key words: the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEF), Common Reference Levels, Vantage, syllabus, English Language Teaching, ELT preparatory students.