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Readers emotional involvement in reading L2 short stories
Reading short stories evokes emotions on readers and the readers respond to shortstories with their emotions. These emotional responses get the readers to beemotionally involved in reading. Emotional involvement in reading makes the readingprocess more enjoyable and beneficial for the L2 learners. Thus, this study aims tosearch into the process of the readers? emotional involvement in reading L2 shortstories. Fifty-one (51) student-teachers at Çukurova University, ELT Department,were administered a literary response questionnaire (LRQ) in order to investigate theiremotional responses to short stories in general and their emotional involvement in theprocess of reading L2 short stories. Moreover, three female (3 F) and three male (3 M)student-teachers, out of these fifty-one (51) participants, were administered emotiondiaries, another questionnaire about the stories they read in the study and interviewsfor a thorough analysis of the process of emotional involvement. In the light of thedata gathered, the present research suggests that EFL/ESL teachers should select thereading materials that will promote emotional involvement and design appropriateactivities.Key Words: Emotional response, emotional involvement, empathy, identification,short story
The use of hedges in research articles by Turkish interlanguage speakers of english and native english speakers in the field of social sciences
Studies relating to hedging phenomena have often been directed at the analysis of spoken interaction or at language use in general. However, especially from the mid-1980s onwards, the role of hedges in written discourse and particularly in academically and scientifically oriented language use has become a point of considerable interest for researchers.The study examines the instances of various kinds of hedges in the corpora compiled from research articles by native and non-native authors in hte field of social sciences and to determine whether or not variation exists between the two corpora under investigation in terms of occurence and functions of hedges. The questions of the research are:1. To what extent do native and nonnative speakers of English employ the same linguistic means of expressing hedging?2. Do native and nonnative speakers of English show variation as regards the frequency of the use of epistemic modality markers as hedging devices?3. What functional differences in the use of hedges do both corpora display?The study was conducted with 90 research articles written by Turkish inter-language speaker of English and native speakers in the field of social sciences. The corpora were analyzed through Word Smith tool.Keywords: Hedges, Linguistic Variation, Epistemic Modality Markers
A teacher development program for young learners of English: An action research
In 1999, the Turkish Ministry of Education instituted English as a foreign language intothe fourth and fifth grade curriculum. However, the Ministry of Education (MEB) didnot prepare teachers to teach these grades. As a result, the necessary backgroundinformation, skills, and techniques needed for this new task were lacking in theseteachers.This led the researcher implement a teacher development program entitled ?TeachingEnglish at the 4th and 5th Grades?. Hence, a survey was sent to 220 schools under thejurisdiction of Konya City Directorate of the Ministry of Education. Second, given 120survey results, plus participants? expectations; the researcher conducted a teacherdevelopment program.This study, conducted as an action research, is based on Kelly?s (1955) PersonalConstruct Theory, which considers everyone a personal scientist. The Repertory GridTechnique, the data collection tool of the Personal Construct Theory is the main datacollection tool used in this study.It is used at the beginning of the study to elicit the participants? underlying personalbeliefs on efficient primary grades English teachers. These have been made explicit fortriggering participants change and development. The Repertory Grid Technique is usedat the end of the ?Teaching English at the 4th and 5th Grade? teacher developmentprogram? to determine the changes in the content and structure of the participants?beliefs.The results revealed changes in both the content and structure of the participants?beliefs, regarding the features of English teachers teaching at the grades of four andfive.Key words: Teacher Development, Personal Construct Theory, Repertory GridTechnique, English in the Primary Grades, In-service Teacher Development Program.
A study of the effects of processing instruction on the development of English wh-questions used by Turkish EFL learners
This dissertation has aimed at comparing the possible effects of processing instruction (PI) and traditional instruction (TI) on the development of English wh-questions by Turkish EFL learners, examining whether the possible improved performance would be long-lasting in the long-term memory. For this study, 56 Turkish students attending preparatory program at Foreign Languages Center (YADIM) at Çukurova University were randomly assigned as a) processing instruction group, and b) traditional instruction group. In this study, two different instructional packets, a pretest, and two posttests were administered. The tests were consisted of two parts: comprehension and written-production. In the comprehension part, there was a grammaticality judgement task (GJT). In the written-production part, on the other hand, we had a translation task (TT) and a picture-cued task (PCT). Two weeks before the instructional treatment, the pretest was administered. The instructional treatment and the posttest1 spanned a period of one week. Four weeks after the posttest1, the posttest2 was administered. The raw scores obtained from the pretest and posttests were examined through using two-way ANOVA and the results were presented in tables and figures.The findings obtained from the comprehension task, namely GJT, revealed that both the PI and TI groups resulted in some kind of knowledge gain due to the treatments. However, the results of the posttest2 presented that only the effects of PI were retained over time.The results of the analysis of the written-production data indicated that both the PI and TI groups resulted in some kind of knowledge gain and both the TI and PI had a positive effect on how learners produced the English wh-questions. However, in the posttest2, the TI group was unable to retain the proficiency gains across the postest1 and posttest2 while the PI group?s scores were durable.KEY WORDS: Processing instruction, traditional instruction, wh-questions
Acquisition of English as a second language by a Turkish adult (Case study)
This study aims at investigating the acquisition of English as a second language in its natural setting by a twenty-seven year old Turkish adult. The study focuses on two aspects of her English acquisition: Grammatical Morpheme Acquisition and the preference of her Language Learning Strategies. Except our main data source `Diaries? that the participant sent through e-mails almost everyday, we applied The Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency (MTELP) to conceive her improvement, and Strategy Inventory for Learning Strategies (SILL) to figure out her strategy preference.The analysis of `diaries? gave different results from SILL on the strategy preference. It revealed that Cognitive Strategies were favored the most. Unlike `diaries? the results of SILL showed that our participant preferred the Communication Strategies more than other strategy groups, and Cognitive Strategies were the least group used by her. Though her Morpheme Acquisition Order showed similarities with the general sequence of order studies, unlike them, the first morpheme acquired by our participant was `Aux be? and the second one was `Irreg. Past?. Yet, the results of our study support the current theories of Second Language Acquisition of English.
Using semantic mapping strategy for teaching content words practice in EFL context
The current study consists of two phases as experimental and descriptive.The primary aim hereby is to raise awareness towards lexical semantic relations (LSRs) through semantic mapping as a vocabulary learning strategy. EFL learners' individual and social experiences are intended to provide the necessary knowledge to fill the slots in their lexical schemata. The experimental phase mainly concerned with the extent of the mapping of LSRsin terms of its contribution to the vocabulary learning in an academic EFL context.20 EFL students participated in the treatment procedure.They were asked to follow an individual path first, and a collaborative one in the classroom next. During the individual study, each student composed a personal learner's dictionary based on their real world knowledge. The collaborative part was in terms of compiling such individual data and accumulating them on a web database. Still, no single strategy is enough to meet the whole needs in a language classroom. Therefore, investigating the influence of the other supplementary strategies over semantic mapping was another purpose of the study.A further point that the study also seekedwas on any change in the size of the vocabulary known as well as the vocabulary learned after the practice. The statistical results indicated a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of the treatment group for both the vocabulary learned and known. Besides, there seemed to be no remarkable difference between the impacts of the other supplementary strategies on the process.The participants of the treatment were asked to provide feedback in the descriptive phase. They were directed four survey items online after the end of the semester. The data obtained from the responses were analysed using NVivo10, software to interpret qualitative data. A correspondence between the findings of both phases was evident towards the use of mapping of LSRs as a vocabulary learning strategy. Keywords: Semantic mapping, schemata, lexical semantic relations, vocabulary learning strategies, vocabulary size.
An examination of reflective teaching tools used by instructors in Turkey
Teacher Development (TD) is recently one of the most popular topics among education faculties and teaching departments' curriculums all over the world. Reflective teaching is one of the most prominent methods in TD. Considering these recent developments about teaching, the purpose of this study is to identify which reflective tools are commonly used by instructors at preparation schools of both private and public Turkish Universities. It is known that despite the pre-service and in-service programs, and university courses, there is a lack of detailed information about reflective teaching and its application in the classrooms. One of the most popular methods in teacher development is reflective teaching (RT). Reflective teaching was firstly appeared with John Dewey. In the 1930s, John Dewey defined reflection as a proactive, ongoing, examination of beliefs and practices, their origins and their impacts (Stanley 1998). According to Dewey (1993), the purpose of reflective practice is to change teachers' actions and decisions and how it impacts the outcomes of those decisions. Since it firstly came on the stage, it has evolved a lot but it is still very effective and it will continue to be popular because of supporting and guiding a lifelong learning system for its practitioners. Teachers generally believe that professional development is something which is done in a top down way with extrinsic motivation. However, these are mostly trainings which are term based, certificate supplied, topics generally chosen by the authorities, imposed and top down ones. On the other hand, teacher development has a bottom up process; it is optional, and continuous. In the light of these teacher development criteria, reflective teaching tools and procedures seem the most usable techniques to acquire teacher development for every teacher who wants to develop and continue his/her development for lifelong. So in this study, the aim is to know which reflective teaching tools are being used by instructors at universities in Turkey, and identify the most useful and common ones according to the results of the study. Keywords: Teacher development, reflective teaching, reflective teaching tools, foreign language education
Exploring university teachers' and students' perceptions of intercultural awareness
The global spread of English has resulted in diverse varieties of the language and not surprisingly it has influenced English language education worldwide. Its role as an international language therefore, highlights the need to raise intercultural awareness in English language teaching. The aim of this study is to gain an insight into English language instructors and learners' perceptions toward intercultural awareness at a university prep school in Turkey. In order to broaden the scope of the study, this research employed a mixed-method research design, combining quantitative and qualitative measures. The data consists of questionnaires conducted with 45 instructors including NESTs and NNESTs and 92 learners; semi-structured interviews with 8 instructors, and focus group interviews with 24 learners. The quantitative data was analyzed using the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science) software version 19.0, and the qualitative data were analyzed using the NVivo qualitative data software version 10.0. The investigation focused on four areas: participants perceptions toward the ownership of English, cultural integration in English language teaching, intercultural efficiency of the ELP program, and suggestions to enhance intercultural awareness. The results revealed that both the instructors and the learners acknowledged the importance of the English language in the realm of intercultural awareness, but both lacked a full understanding of the concept. The findings also indicated that the ELP program could not be considered as successful enough to raise intercultural awareness adequately and a set of recommendations on the issue was provided by the participants. Based on the outcomes of the study, remarkable implications were suggested in order to raise English language teachers' and students' intercultural awareness. The results of the study pointed to the substantial need for in-service teacher training programs and curriculum reflecting intercultural dimension of English language, and extra-curricular cultural activities that promote intercultural awareness. This study aims to contribute to English language teaching by revealing both teacher and student perspectives, which has been seldomly investigated and also offering several recommendations to enrich intercultural perspective in English language teaching.
Practicum stress and coping strategies of pre-service language teachers
As the leading position of English as the world's primary language for international communication has evidently been continuing for several decades, English language teacher education is getting more and more important. One of the most major components of teacher education programs is the practicum that requires senior pre-service language teachers to observe classes and do practice teaching before actual teaching profession. Recently, there has been increasing research focusing on identifying practicum-related stress sources and their coping strategies in order to maximize the efficiency of practicum. Based on a mixed-method research design with pragmatism research paradigm, this study constitutes an example of a multiple case study which aimed to investigate the pre-service language teachers' stresses and their coping strategies throughout the second term of the practicum. This study was conducted with the participation of fifteen senior pre-service language teachers who were selected by convenience sampling. The data for the study were collected through questionnaires, reflective journals, focused group and one-to-one interviews, observation visits, video-taping of formal micro-teaching performances, and field notes. The quantitative data of the study was analyzed by SPSS 18 and the qualitative data was analyzed through content analysis. The sources of practicum-related stresses were discussed under seven categories: classroom management, social factors, school mentors' attitude, affective factors, ELT methods and techniques, textbook, and professional factors. The highest source of stress was associated with classroom management. In coping with practicum-related stresses, the most frequently used strategies by pre-service language teachers (from high to low) during the second term of practicum were maintaining discipline, following interesting activities, ignoring, and negotiating with university supervisor. Also, the most effective stress coping strategy was negotiating with university supervisor. It is suggested that stress generating factors and the strategies that pre-service language teachers employ should be discussed and reflected upon in pre-service language teacher education programs.
KPDS ve ÜDS'nin akademisyenlerin dil öğrenimine etkisi: Nevşehir örneği
The influence that a test has on learning and teaching is defined as washback effect. Washback effect can be divided into three categories; positive, negative, or neutral. If a test influences learning in a positive way, it is called as positive washback. However, if it influences the learning process in a negative way, then it is called negative washback. If a test does not affect education in any way, then it is called neutral washback. The purpose of this study is to find out the washback effects of two high-stake tests, KPDS and ÜDS, on the language development of academic personnel. The study was conducted at Nevsehir University. A questionnaire and interviews with academicians were used to collect the data. The questionnaire part focused on 103 academic personnel. For the interview part, two assistant professors and two research assistants were interviewed face to face. To analyze the data a program called SPSS version 19.0 was used. In order to better understand the data obtained from the surveys, descriptive statistics (mean, SD, frequency and percentage) of the data were presented. As for results, it has been found out that KPDS and ÜDS had some positive and negative washback effects on different skills. Reading is the only skill on which these exams had positive washback effect. Most of the participants agreed that they studied to improve their reading comprehension since it was widely tested in KPDS and ÜDS. In addition, KPDS and ÜDS had positive washback effect on vocabulary. Finally grammar is also positively affected by KPDS and ÜDS. As to listening, speaking, and writing, since KPDS and ÜDS do not test these skills, these exams had strong negative effects on these skills. Furthermore, the participants also suggested that if KPDS and ÜDS tested listening, speaking, and writing they would study to improve these skills.
The effect of using contextual vocabulary learning strategies on developing productive vocabulary knowledge of university preparatory class students
The aim of this present study is to investigate the effect of using contextual vocabulary learning strategies such as guessing or inferring technique on developing active, productive, vocabulary knowledge. It aims to focus on whether guessing technique to learn new vocabulary items is helpful to use them actively in writing, as well as recognizing when encountered in a text.This study was applied with 40 pre-intermediate level students; 20 for experimental, and 20 for control group; who were at preparatory class at a state university to learn English as a foreign language. Descriptive statistical values were interpreted and a t-test was applied in order to see whether there was significant difference between the experimental and the control group.In this study, 4 reading texts were chosen in the coursebook and the students in the experimental group were encouraged to guess the meaning of unknown words by referring to certain clues in the text after the training sessions about contextual vocabulary learning strategies. However, the ones in the control group learnt the words with other traditional techniques such as memorizing or listing. At the end of each reading texts, the students were asked to write a short text with a parallel topic as a post-reading activity. The writings of the students were analyzed to see whether they used the newly-learnt words or not.According to the analysis of the results, the students who learnt new vocabulary items with contextual vocabulary learning strategies are more able to remember and produce them actively in a written context. However, if they consult to traditional techniques such as listing the words with their first language definitions and memorizing, they become less successful while using the same words. Key Words: Language teaching, vocabulary learning strategies, guessing technique, productive vocabulary, active words
A study on error correction to reduce learning anxiety in oral communication in EFL classes
The purpose of this study is to investigate EFL students? preferences of error correction strategies in oral communication and the extent to which their preferences are affected by the anxiety levels of the students. This study is conducted at three state universities with the participation of 266 students from the department of ELT in Turkey. Three sets of data were collected through three instruments. The first set of data was collected through the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) questionnaire. The subjects in the study were first asked to complete FLCAS to assess their general language anxiety level. Then they were categorized into three different anxiety levels: low, medium and high. The aim of categorizing the subjects into three different anxiety levels is to determine whether the students? preferences of error correction methods change according to their anxiety levels. The second set of data was collected through Chaudron?s (1988) taxonomy concerning error correction strategies which was a list of 27 error correction methods and the third set of data was collected by two open ended questions with regard to the types of errors that learners preferred to be corrected and person who provides correction. The analyses of the quantitative data reveal that nearly half of the students (43.8%) believe the corrections of pronunciation errors are important for them. Moreover, the results also indicate that the majority (62.1%) of the students prefer their teachers to correct their errors during oral communication. In addition, the results indicate that there is significant relationship between student?s preferences of error correction methods and their anxiety levels. All students with low levels of anxiety prefer to be corrected explicitly, they prefer some correction technique in which the teacher supplies the correct answer. Whereas some students with mediumand high levels of anxiety feel better when they are corrected implicitly, these students prefer the error correction technique in which their teacher shows the place of error and gives a clue about how to correct it. Keywords: Foreign language anxiety, English language teaching, error correction.
The effects of using blogs on the development of foreign language writing proficiency
The new trend in computer technology and internet has increased in everybody?s life. Teaching English as a Foreign Language is the same category and has been influenced by web technology nowadays. As developing writing proficiency is considered a basic goal of language learning, researchers try to find various ways to improve writing skill. Using web technology in language learning can affect the students? writing proficiency considerably. Weblogs can create a real situation for students to practice their materials.This study attempts to investigate the effects of using weblogs on the students? writing proficiency. It also investigates the effects of weblogs on some key qualities of 6+1 trait of writing such as ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and convention.The total number of 30 students were chosen and divided in two groups of 15 in Kish Language Learning institute preparing for TOEFL & IELTS. The control group (N=15) got the materials normally with no change in the instruction. Experimental group (N=15) got the same instruction using weblogs during the course. It lasted for 14 weeks. All of the students in experimental group detailed the typical process for each assignment, such as, writing paragraphs, working in groups, posting their assignments to blogs, reading their comments, making corrections and uploading their corrected assignments, and turning in their final assignments to the instructor. The students narrated some major issues for them like working in groups, peer editing, giving and receiving feedback, as well as interacting with classmates and with others. Peer reviews, the giving and receiving of feedback were the biggest issue. Their written products were collected during the term and analyzed according to the rubric.Data analysis indicated that blog-based group outperformed the students who got their materials traditionally. Moreover there was a significant difference in their writing proficiency in terms of idea, organization, word choice, sentence fluency, and convention but it didn?t make significant difference on voice. As a whole, the students found that weblogs were useful improving the students? writing proficiency and further expressed that they had more opportunities to receive more information. They also believed that weblogs helped them to prepare themselves by collecting suggestions for their writings and to continue their jobs effectively.
The effect of computer assisted and teacher-led storytelling on vocabulary learning of 5th grade students
Beş ana bölümden oluşan bu çalışmanın amacı, ilköğretim beşinci sınıf öğrencilerine kelime öğretiminde bilgisayar destekli hikaye anlatımının mı yoksa öğretmen destekli hikaye anlatımının mı daha etkili olduğunu saptamaktır. Çalışma, 2010?2011 öğretim yılında iki ayrı sınıftan toplam 60 beşinci sınıf öğrencisi üzerinde uygulanmıştır. Her bir sınıf için 10 ders saati alan araştırmayı gerçekleştirmek ve verileri toplamak için Siirt Sancaklar İlköğretim Okulu araştırma yapılacak okul olarak seçilmiştir.Çalışmanın birinci bölümü giriş bölümüdür. Bu bölüm, genel olarak çalışmanın bütünü, temeli, amacı, sınırlılıkları, varsayımlar ve kullanılan yöntem hakkında kısa bir bilgi vermektedir. İkinci bölümdeyse, çocuklar ve özellikleri, öğrenme stilleri, etkili kelime öğretim yolları açıklanarak genel bir bilgi verilmesi amaçlanmaktadır. Ayrıca çocukların kelime öğreniminde hikaye anlatımının ve de bilgisayar destekli dil öğreniminin yerine değinilmiştir. Üçüncü bölümde, çalışmayı gerçekleştirmek için başvurulan metod ve veri toplama aracına ve uygulamalara değinilmektedir. Dördüncü bölüm ise veri analizini ve bunların yorumlanmasını içermektedir. Ön ve son test sonuçları tablolarda gösterilip yorumlanmaktadır. Beşinci ve son bölüme gelinceyse, çalışmanın kısa bir özeti ve elde edilen sonuca dair birtakım önerilere yer verilmiştir. Ayrıca ekler bölümünde, çalışmada yer alan hikaye anlatımına ilişkin tamamlanmış beş ders planı ve ön ve son testler sunulmaktadır.
Designing an in-service teacher training program for english language instructors and identifiying the effectiveness of the program: An implication at Afyon Kocatepe University
It is of crucial importance for teachers of English to develop professionally at this time of rapid change. In order to encourage this aim of the teachers, the institutions should have attempts like having offices responsible for professional development of the academic staff and organizing events for the sake of on-going development. This study was conducted at Afyon Kocatepe University School of Foreign Languages Department and the participants of the study were the 10 newly hired teachers and 12 experienced teachers. In order to meet the needs of the academic staffs? professional development Teacher Training and Development Office was founded and it organized in service teacher training program (hereafter INSET) considering the needs of the participants. To be more helpful and beneficial, needs were analyzed in a comprehensive way. During the implementation of the program different techniques, models, activities like microteaching, peer observation, on the job observation, intensive INSET program were applied to meet the needs of the participants and the effectiveness of these studies was evaluated as a part of this study. The research questions posed for this study investigated to what the novice teachers and experienced teachers? needs are and what aspects affect these needs and to evaluate the effectiveness of the overall program. Two data collection instruments were employed in this study. First, a survey was completed at the beginning and at end of the program. Second, semi-structured interviews with ten randomly chosen participants were conducted after the intense 15-day INSET and after microteaching activities. Generally speaking, the results showed that novice and experienced teachers? needs differ in most of the components, their needs were met at the end of the program, and all components of the program resulted in success.
An NLP-based teacher development program for enhancing efl teachers' communication skills
This qualitative study was conducted with the voluntary participation of five non-native EFL teachers at a state secondary school in Adana/Turkey during the second term of 2009-2010 academic year. The NLP-TD program was conducted on weekly basis, amounting to a total of 16 sessions.The aim of this study is three fold. First it aims to explore in depth the nature of secondary school EFL teachers? personal theories of effective communication. Second, it aims to investigate the impact of Neuro Linguistic Programming based teacher development (NLP-TD) program to see if there are any changes in the development of EFL teachers? personal theories of communication skills. Third, based on the results of the teachers? reflection, this qualitative study attempts to provide EFL teachers with a framework for a new teacher development program based on NLP techniques.Drawing on Kelly?s (1955) Personal Construct Theory, this study used the repertory grid technique as pre and post diagnostic tool. The data elicited from the teachers were analyzed by utilizing the Rep Grid 2 Computer program. In order to find out the structure of participant teachers? constructs, each of the repertory grid data obtained from the teachers was subjected to FOCUS analysis separately. The two grids obtained from the participant teachers at the beginning and end of the study were also subjected to Exchange Grid Analysis to explore the patterns of the changes in the content and structure of teachers? personal theories. The nature of the participant teachers? construction of ?self? as teacher and ?ideal? teacher were also investigated. Follow-up interviews were employed to confirm the data taken from the repertory grid constructs.Throughout the NLP-TD program, reflection sheets were employed for process evaluation. As a third data collection tool, a Course Evaluation Questionnaire (CEQ) was used to triangulate the findings. By means of the CEQ and reflections sheets, participant teachers? views and feedback were obtained to shed light for future implications of the NLP-TD program.The findings of this study indicate that teachers have their own personal theories in terms of their perception of effective communication. In particular, the findings point to positive responses as regards the effectiveness of the NLP-TD program in terms of enhancing the communication skills of the participant teachers. In the light of the Repertory Grid, findings suggest that participant teachers? personal theories displayed change both in the content and structure.In conclusion, the NLP-TD program may be suggested as a new framework of a teacher development program for enhancing non-native EFL teachers? communication skills.
The effects of reading strategies on the improvement of inferential skills
The aim of this study is to reveal whether in reading comprehension, Gazi University Faculty of Education English Language Teaching Department first year students have the necessary knowledge sources and strategies and whether they use them appropriately and strategically in reading comprehension.In in the fall semester of 2006?2007 academic year, the first year students were first administered a 50 item Likert type scale in order to determine the knowledge sources and strategies they utilize. The students scored quite high points on the scale. Thus, although they, as stated in the scale, agreed that they were supposed to have the knowledge sources and strategies and to read the text by using appropriate reading strategies, it was revealed that they are quite poor at basic reading skills and general and inferential reading skills by the results of the pre-test administered soon after the scale.Following the pre-test, each student was applied the Think-alould method to reveal to what extent he uses the knowledge sources and strategies. By the results of the analysis, a parallel result emerged to that in the pre-test; that is, the students cannot benefit from the necessary knowledge sources, and cognitive and metacognitive strategies and they cannot use them appropriately.Thus, based on the results of these three instruments, the students were given strategy instruction in the fall semester of 2007 ? 2008 academic year in order to improve all the aspects of their reading performance. After the strategies instruction, a post-test was administered. Thus, it was revealed how much the students benefited from the reading strategies instruction. As a result, they improved their poor reading performance, and advanced these qualities to a further level. Based on the results, some suggestions were made regarding some aspects of reading comprehension and comprehension instruction.Key Words: Theories of reading comprehension, knowledge sources, stratejic reading, cognitive and metacognitive strategies, inference and theories of inference, reading comprehension instruction, role of L1 and L2 in reading, and good and poor readers.
Student anxiety and the identification of its effect in the speaking compenent of a proficiency test
The aim of the current study is to investigate whether the preparatory school students at a university may have speaking test anxiety. Additionally, it was examined whether there are differences in anxiety levels among students according to gender and the students' departments. To collect data, 126 preparatory school students were given a GEPT (General English Proficiency Test) Scale consisting 3 categories. The 36 items in the questionnaire were subjected to Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to determine the sub-categories of the scale. Moreover, 33 students were interviewed to get their opinions on how to overcome speaking test anxiety. Both quantitative and qualitative method design was applied to be able to answer the research questions. The data was analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences software (SPSS), version 17.0. The results showed that, preparatory school students were anxious during the speaking test. Also, it was found out that male students were much more relaxed during the speaking test comparing to female students. As for the departments, students in law department were more worried comparing to others. Students also believe they can overcome the speaking anxiety by doing speaking activities, making foreign friends, talking to their native teachers and going abroad. Those results were discussed within the context of relevant literature. Key words: English speaking anxiety, English speaking test anxiety
The attitudes of elt instructors toward blended learning at Zirve University
The aim of this study is to find the attitudes of instructors toward blended learning at School of Foreign Languages, Zirve University, and to find out the nature of Schoology, a learning management system, for blended learning puproses. The participants who participated in this study were 35 English language instructors working at Zirve University. A questionnaire developed by Moukali (2012) was used as a data collection tool in this study. The findings revealed that the English language instructors working at Zirve University have a positive attitude toward blended learning. On the other hand, the opinions of the participants to make blended learning more successful in language teaching and learning environments were reflected comprehensively in the study. Keywords: Blended Learning, Teaching/Learning Methods, Learning Management Systems, Attitudes of Teachers.
Comparision of computer adaptive individual video tutoring with whole class video lessons
The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to examine the recent developments in the field of computer assisted language learning/testing and to investigate how these developments can be best integrated with video utilization techniques in a language classroom. The special reason for trying to combine these developments with the use of video for language teaching was that; from the point of communicative approach, video is a motivating and meaningful teaching material which offers more clues to meaning and which can make learning in the classroom more like what occurs outside the classroom. The second purpose of this study -with the light of information gathered and on the basis of students? perspective on video and computers- is to suggest a new model of video tutoring, named as Computer Adaptive Individual Video Tutoring. A software was developed to integrate computer assisted language testing principles with the use of video in language teaching so that video lessons take place as an interactive and student centered learning process based on the principles of Communicative and Cognitive approaches. In order to reveal the effectiveness and pedagogic value of the software, a contrastive study was conducted. Lesson plans, classroom observations, four achievement tests and a questionnaire were used to reveal the difference between traditional whole class video lessons and the computer adaptive individual video lessons.The data collected indicated that computer adaptive video tutoring might have a great positive impact on enhancing learning and retention of knowledge as well as dramatically increasing student motivation, participation and engagement.
The role of formulaic sequences in speaking fluency in intermediate English as a foreign language classes
This study investigates whether the students at preparatory classes at Foreign Language Teaching, Implementation and Research Center (FLTIRC) at Gazi University are taught formulaic sequences (FSs) or not. Also, it explores the role of the conversation gambits, a type of FSs, in speaking fluency of the students at FLTIRC preparatory classes at Gazi University.The data were obtained from the questionnaire results given to 93 students (75 of them were composed of the ELT Preparatory Classes (ELTPC) and 18 of them were from General Preparatory Classes (GPC)) at FLTIRC and from the results of pre and post oral tests. The oral tests were applied to 20 GPC students; ten of them comprised the experimental group and the other ten ? the control group. The objective of the study was to explore the role of conversation gambits in improving speaking fluency. The results of the pretests of both groups were recorded in order then to compare with the posttest with regard to changes. The list of 38 useful conversation gambits and activities containing these gambits were prepared. The students of experimental group took treatment lessons, which were based on these activities containing conversation gambits. After a month, the oral posttest was conducted. The fluency of the students was measured according to 6 variables picked up from the previous studies in the literature. As a result of the measurement it was found that the students in both groups improved their performances in almost all of the variables, but the students of experimental group seemed to have improved more than those of the control group.It was concluded that explicit teaching of conversation gambits, if applied more often and longer periods, can provide students with confidence and can enhance their speaking fluency.
An EFL coursebook evaluation study for vocabulary teaching in reading texts a case study: New Bridge To Success
The study was conducted with 21 English teachers and 185 students from 7 different Anatolian High Schools in Ankara during March 2009. Two sets of data were used for this study. First, a questionnaire was distributed to185 students and to the 21 teachers of the 9th grades of 7 Anatolian High Schools in Ankara, who follow the NBS as the only coursebook. Then, the correspondences and discrepancies between the teachers? and students? reports were determined and the coursebook is investigated according to these findings. In the questionnaires how the students and the teachers evaluate the coursebook according to reading skill, how they evaluate the reading texts according to vocabulary teaching aspect, the techniques the teachers use to teach vocabulary while reading, the techniques the students use when they meet an unknown word and the techniques the students use to learn new vocabulary are investigated. The data in the questionnaires was analyzed by calculating the mean scores, percentages and frequencies. Flesch-Kincaid readability test was administered to randomly selected seven reading texts in terms of determining the readability.The results revealed that both the teachers and the students felt negative about the most of the characteristics of the reading texts and vocabulary aspects of the coursebook. Majority of the teachers mentioned that the reading passages needed to be simplified in terms of both vocabulary load and structures. It was also mentioned that the book needs revision and during revision special attention should be paid to the vocabulary teaching/learning aspect.Key words: Textbook Evaluation, Teaching/learning Vocabulary, Reading skill and vocabulary, New Bridge to Success (Elementary)
A case study on oral communicative skills while teaching English on the basis of "Lingua Franca" term at university preparatory schools
The high spread of English around the world as an international means of communication has brought about the need to explore the current orientations in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT).The assumption that the teaching of a global language should be different from that any other second language serves as the main point of departure of this study.Lingua Franca interactions in English- those exclusively involving non-native speakers- are mostly common, everyday occurrences worldwide. By examining the naturally-occurring, work-related talk of management personnel communicating in ?lingua franca? English, this paper explores a range of issues surrounding the applicability of conversation analytic methodology to lingua franca talk-data.This study is conducted at preparatory school students and instructors in different universities such as; Marmara University, Başkent University, Osmangazi University, METU, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Pamukkale University. The participants consist of 138 preparatory class students and 43 instructors working at these schools. Students? group fill out A Grammar Test consisting of grammatically wrong sentences, A questionnaire analyzing of speaking classes at preparatory classes, and A Likert Type Attitude Questionnaire. Instructors? group is also given the questionnaires except from grammar test which were prepared in a parallel way to the students? questionnaires. The results of both groups were compared and the findings are interpreted statistically and verbally.Analyses of data indicated that students benefit from lingua franca English in oral communicative skills. The degree of their developmental progress differed depending upon their level of English and motivation respectively.
Expectations of young learners and teenagers in terms of language teaching materials
This study analyses the material expectations of young learners and teenagersin English lessons. When the characteristics of each age group are identified, theimportance of choosing right activity types for each group is highlighted as well. Ifthe activity types and choice of materials appeal to age groups appropriately,language learning will become an enjoyable, memorable and interesting experience.The work is composed of five chapters and the first chapter aims to give thepurpose of the study. However, the second chapter informs readers about the relatedstudies made in the field. After identifying young learners, the ideas of philosophersand educational psychologists are presented chronologically about how childrenlearn. Then, teenagers and the way they learn are defined. Finally, language teachingmaterials and their characteristics are introduced in detail.In chapter three, methodology, data collection and analysis techniques aredescribed. Pre- test results gathered from both groups are analyzed and sample lessonplans which are followed by post- tests analysis of students and observers areexemplified. This chapter ends with a conclusion section.Chapter four consists of suggested activity types and materials for younglearners and teenagers.The last chapter includes conclusions which are derived from the findings.The study has six appendices; full version of the questionnaire so called pre-test -one in Turkish and one in English, the post test with English and Turkish translationand finally the one for observers which is in English and in Turkish again.
Reflective foreign language teacher development: A case study
This dissertation describes a piece of action research conducted with three English Language Teaching university instructors looking for a way to develop themselves professionally while continuing with their normal workload. The data, which consisted of the transcribed post-observation conferences held between pairs of participants and the entries in the personal reflective journals, were coded by the researcher; and the sections relevant to the research questions were analysed statistically to find how the reflective codes identified by the researcher clustered around the variables of role and context of reflection. There were three types of findings that emerged from this study: those of the qualitative analysis, those of the statistical analysis, and those of the action research process. The qualitative analysis produced a list of reflective modes that each participant was engaged in, and a list of categories that describe the content of their reflection. The findings of the statistical analysis show that certain reflective categories occurred more frequently in particular contexts, that each participant had different patterns of reflection, and that there was no linear relationship between their private and collaborative reflections. The findings of the action research process shows that each participant achieved change mostly at the level of awareness, although one participant noticeably changed. The findings are significant in that they show how and on what aspects of their practice instructors reflect; that collaborative reflection can provide alternative reflection patterns to private reflection; and that they present a simple framework for instructors to engage in self and collaborative development.
An analysis of the awareness levels of the state school efl teachers on reflective teaching:a case study
The aim of this study is to identify the awareness levels of the state school EFL teachers on Reflective Teaching and whether they prefer using reflective teaching in their profession or not. The study consists of five chapters. These are introduction to the study, literature review part, the methodology of the study, data analysis and interpretation, conclusion and suggestions. Chapter 1 consists of introduction, the problem, aim and scope of the study, methodology and assumptions. Chapter 2 consists of the literature review section. In this chapter, models of reflective teaching; the background of reflective teaching, the definition of reflective teaching, types of reflection, forms of reflective teaching practice, strengths and pitfalls of reflective teaching are intoduced. Chapter 3 contains the methodology of the study. The introduction to the methodology is introduced in a detailed way.The subjects, materials and procedure of the study are described in the third chapter Chapter 4 contains data analysis, interpretations, result and discussion. Chapter 5 includes the overall conclusion of the study, teacher training and development, and suggestions to improve teacher development are introduced.
The cognitive and cultural aspects of metaphor in the comprehension of columns
This study aims to find out whether metaphors are culture specific and the typesof reading strategies students use while reading texts, also whether there is one-to-one correspondence between the meaning of metaphors assigned by languages.Chapter 1 presents the background to the study, problem, aim of the study, themethod and the assumptions of the study.Chapter 2 presents the review of literature which consists three parts.The first part presents reading comprehension.The second part presents everything about metaphor.The fird part presents what culture is and shows how culture and metaphors areconnected.In chapter 3, the methodology that the present study makes use of is explainedwith reference to the subjects that participated in the study, the instruments used, andhow data are collected.Chapter 4 includes the analysis and the interpretation of data collected from thestudents.Chapter 5, which is the conclusion part of this study, summarizes the study,further highlights the importance of metaphor in reading and discusses the importanceof metaphor understanding and interpretations for foreign language teaching.
Promoting learner autonomy through activities at Gazi University preparatory school
The aim of this study is to promote learner autonomy through the activities to beexploited at Gazi University, Preparatory School. Since the prep school education is vital forthe learners who have just commenced their education in terms of acquiring several aspectswhich will aid them in their future education, this study focused on this point.In order to reach this aim, two classes, the former of which was the experimentalgroup and the latter of which was the control group, were appointed randomly. They were thelearners studying English from various faculties at Gazi University. Prior to theimplementation phase, Learner Autonomy Questionnaire, consisting of three parts abackground questionnaire, LAQ 1 and LAQ 2, was administered to the learners in bothgroups so as to reveal how much autonomy each group possessedWhereas the experimental group was instructed with the autonomy implementation,the control group continued their education with no change. After the 12-weekimplementation stage, the same questionnaire was administered to both groups one more time.The results from both groups were gathered and analyzed by the use of student t-test andpaired sample t-test so as to reveal whether any change would exist between the groups.At the end of this process, the statistics results were commented on. The resultsdisplay that the learners in the experimental group scored higher than those in the controlgroup, and showed more autonomy than the control group with a few exceptions. Moreover,the results from the experimental group were compared with those from the control groupitem by item. Total results were statistically shown in the tables.In the following chapter of the study, the conclusion and summary of the study wasmade with pedagogical implications and suggestions for further studies included
Vocabulary teaching to the second year cadets in the army academy to improve listening and reading skills within the framework of MI theory, in Turkey
Bahaeddin Özkişi who was born in İstanbul in 1928, to taked part in 20. centuryTurkısh Literature with his stories and novels; he succeeded to capture to a stylespecial to him with his expression and choosed subjects.The writer, used a comprehensible and net expressions, to loaded impressivemeanings to details that we eve neglected usually and he dealed with the eventspsychologaclly. Bahaeddin Özkişi who grewn with comprehensive Sufism culture,reflected this to his works. So, his works ?novels and stories- is like his mirror.Bahaeddin Özkişi is a writer and however he is an artist who signed to differentbusiness. He made the models of old İstanbul houses? and he gilded on the glass.
The relationship between learning strategy choice in reading comprehension and academic success
ABSTRACT Considerable research has been done on foreign language learning process in recent years. Accordingly, more and more importance has been given to the improvement of the quality of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teaching and learning. Students learning a foreign language approach the language learning task in different ways. And it is a fact that some students are more successful than others. There comes the question "What makes a good language learner?" It is impossible to claim that one single method, technique, book or type of teacher is the cause of achievement in language learning because the reasons for varying learner performance cannot be explained only as a direct result of the factors such as teaching methods, instructional tecniques, classroom environments or teachers. Learner success is also dependent on learner based factors. Self-direction is essential in the active development of learners' abilities in learning. It is especially important for language learners to be self-directed since it is impossible to give them direct guidance or instruction when they use the language outside the classroom. It is obvious that learners need to be empowered with a wide range of learning strategies to achieve competence and autonomy in learning the target language. In this study it is aimed to find out whether there is a relationship between learning strategy choice in reading comprehension and academic success or not. In order to prove that such a relationship exists a questionnaire was applied to two groups of students consisting of 1 5 students who are at the same level of English profiency and were attending to a nine-month English course at Air Force Language School at the time of the study. The questionnaire was applied for the first time at the beginning of the study and it proved that all the students' have alow level of frequency of language learning strategy use and their results were nearly the same because of their being unware of the learning strategies. Then a six-week training on language learning strategies was given to the second group of the study. After this training the questionnaire was applied for the second time to both of the groups in order to find out whether there is a change in the students' frequency of language learning strategy use. It was discovered that the frequency of language strategy use of the students of the second group was higher than the students of the other group. After that, both groups of students were asked to take an achievement test of reading comprehension which is compulsory for the couse. The students of the second group were successful than the students of the other group in their achievement test. To sum up, both students and teachers should be aware of the importance of the language learning strategies both in learning and teaching. It can be said that after a certain amount of practice and use, students will know how and when to use learning strategies and their use of language learning strategies will effect their success positively.
A study on metacognitive strategy needs of Gülhane Military Medicine Academy students on reading medical texts
11 ABSTRACT This study aims to determine the metacognitive strategy needs of a group of Turkish medicine academy students in reading medical texts. The study is composed of six chapters. The first chapter offers a background to the study. The aim and scope of the study are given in this chapter along with the method and assumptions. The second chapter presents literature review. This chapter provides a brief history of reading skill and mentions strategies for reading comprehension. It then discusses the position of reading skill in learning a foreign language, and informs about reading models and reading strategies. Chapter three deals with the research methodology, whereas chapter four presents the data analysis and discussion of the results. Chapter five includes suggestions, pedagogical implications and a sample lesson plan. Chapter six, the conclusion, provides a brief summary of the study and the results.
Handling the problems in mixed-ability classes
in ABSTRACT This study aims to shade light on the difficulties in a mixed-ability class and to suggest solutions for how to manage them. The study has five chapters. The first cahapter presents the introduction part, background to the study, the problem, aim and scope of the study, the method and the assumptions of the study. In chapter II, the rewiew of literature is presented including three theories related to diversity of students, the classification of learner styles and their impact on education. In chapter HI, the analysis of the data collected from the students through an inventory and from the lecturers through an interview is stated. Also, this chapter gives information how the data is collected, analyzed and interpreted in detail. Chapter IV suggests lesson plans which include activities based on learner styles and levels. Chapter V, which is the conclusion part of the study, summarizes the study.
Drama as a compulsory course in education faculties
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there is a need to programme drama as a compulsory course in education faculties. For this purpose, four fields of teaching: English Language Teaching; Primary School Teaching; Pre school Teaching; and Mathematics Teaching were chosen. Data were collected from these fields by means of interviews.In addition, the academicians from the education faculties were interviewed. The data gathered from the interviews were analysed and compared with the findings of the interviews with the academicians. The points where the teachers, students and academicians became similar and became different were analysed as meaningful points. This study has two major results. The first result of this study is the need to programme drama as a compulsory course in education faculties. Participation in drama process leads to personel development and this is the second major result of this study.
The impact of personalization on the lexical competence acquisition
People learn a language to understand the others and to be understood by other people. As a result of this, communicative competence of the learners must be developed. In communicative competence, there are other kinds of competences such as grammatical, lexical, strategic, sociocultural competence, etc. The most important of them is lexical competence, which is the ability to use words and phrases correctly in the suitable context.Without words, meaning cannot be conveyed. As both teachers and learners are aware of this fact, they put an emphasis on the lexical items. Teachers use various techniques for the presentation of them. However, this is not adequate for the learners. Practice is highly necessary because it shows whether they have comprehended the target lexical items or not. Moreover, learners can learn to use the lexical items in the correct context while practicing.Personalization is a kind of lexical practice technique which requires to make a connection with your life and the meaning of the lexical item. In the present study, the aim is to find out the impact of personalization on the lexical competence acquisition. The study was designed as quasi-experimental. The participants were 60 senior students from the English Language Teaching Department at Dokuz Eylul University. Before the treatment, they did the lexical achievement test to see whether they had known 30 target lexical items or not. The intervention and control groups were chosen randomly. For 4 weeks, the same techniques were used for the presentation, but the practice part was different. While the intervention group practiced the target items through personalization, the control group practiced by answering the general questions. Two weeks later, the post-test was conducted on them to find out their achievement levels. According to the comparison of pre- and post-test results, it is seen that each group developed their lexical competence. However, the comparison of post-test results showed that there was not a significant difference between the groups. The effect of personalization was also investigated in terms of gender, the cumulative GPA and the high school type. Nevertheless, no significant effect was found. Three weeks after the post-test, the delayed post-test was conducted on the participants to investigate the long term effects of personalization. There was a decrease in the retention of the lexical items in the control group. However, the groups did not outperform the other according to the delayed post-test results. Keywords: personalization, lexical acquisition competence, communicative language teaching Keywords: personalization, lexical acquisition competence, communicative language teaching
Education in utopia and anti-Utopia
The essence of mankind is optimism. Therefore, he has always dreamed of a better future and a better world since the existence of humanity. Utopias are the establishment of this ideal society and order created by human consciousness. However, as being creations of a perfect place, not only do they reflect our desires and hopes about the future, but also criticize the periods and therefore the societies in which they are written. On the other hand, anti-utopias are literary works depicting a society or a place which is much worse than the existing one. Therefore, by portraying a darker future, they satirize the existing conditions and unlike utopians they express their fears and try to warn the reader about the dangers awaiting them.One common point shared by all utopian and anti-utopian works is that they have a message to send. The writers of both types, as citizens of their society, are influenced by the events that surround them. Thus, they base their works on various themes such as education which is a central concern to many utopian and anti-utopian writers. In their works they describe the features of an ideal educational system and emphasize the importance of such education in the creation and maintenance of a desired society and a perfect life. Anti-utopians, on the other hand, indicate the wrongdoings in education and serve as a caution for people to avoid these actions which would result in a worse life and a worse world.In this dissertation utopian and anti-utopian works written in different centuries and which deal specifically with the subject of education have been chosen: Thomas More?s `Utopia? (1516), Jonathan Swift?s `Gulliver?s Travels? (1726), Samuel Butler?s `Erewhon? (1872) and Aldous Huxley?s `Island? (1962) have been studied in terms of aims and principles of education, education of children and adult education. The aim has been to analyze the similarities and differences in the studies of these works written during different periods and an effort has been exerted to analyze their views on education.Key Words: Utopia, Anti-utopia, Education.
Boş zaman etkinliklerinin okuduğunu anlama ve okumaya yönelik tutumlar üzerindeki etkililiği
Yabancı dil hazırlık öğrencilerinin boş zaman etkinliklerine katılım sıklığına göre İngilizce okumaya yönelik tutumları ve okuduğunu anlama başarılarının karşılaştırmalı olarak incelendiği bu araştırmada amaç, çeşitli boş zaman etkinliklerinin okuduğunu anlama ve okumaya yönelik tutumlar üzerindeki etkililiğini tanımlamaya çalışmaktır.Çalışma, öğrencilerinin boş zaman etkinliklerine katılım sıklıklarına göre İngilizce okumaya yönelik tutumları ve okuduğunu anlama başarılarını betimlemeyi amaçladığından araştırma betimsel bir araştırmadır. Araştırmanın örneklemi Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Yabancı Diller Yüksekokulu İngilizce Hazırlık programına devam eden orta düzey lisans öğrencileri arasından oranlı örnekleme yöntemiyle seçilmiştir. Örnekleme seçilen öğrenci sayısı 306'dır.Araştırmanın verileri Boş Zaman Etkinlikleri Anketi, İngilizce Okuduğunu Anlama Testi ve İngilizce Okumaya Yönelik Tutum Ölçeği ile toplanmış, elde edilen verilerin çözümlenmesinde ise ortalama, standart sapma, t testi, varyans analizi ve Scheffé testi kullanılmıştır.Araştırmanın sonucunda, öğrencilerin İngilizce okumaya yönelik tutumlarının ve okuduğunu anlama başarılarının cinsiyetlerine, mezun oldukları lise türlerine, devam edecekleri fakülte türlerine ve birinci ya da ikinci öğretim öğrencisi olmalarına göre anlamlı farklılık göstermediği saptanmıştır. Diğer yandan, sıklıkla kitap okuduğunu, sanatsal etkinliklerle ilgilendiğini, internette İngilizce sitelerden yararlandığını, interneti İngilizce okumayı geliştirmek amaçlı kullandığını ve orijinal seslendirmeli ve altyazısız yabancı filmleri, İngilizce yayın yapan televizyon kanallarını tercih ettiğini belirten öğrencilerin İngilizce okumaya yönelik tutumları diğerlerinden daha yüksek bulunmuştur. Bunun yanında, sıklıkla gazete okuduğunu, bilimsel bir dergiyi takip ettiğini, Türkçe seslendirmeli yabancı filmleri tercih ettiğini ve üniversite veya üniversite dışında düzenlenen bilimsel toplantı, seminer, panel ve konferans gibi etkinliklere katıldığını belirten öğrencilerin İngilizce okuduğunu anlama başarıları diğerlerinden daha düşük bulunmuştur. Son olarak, kahvehaneye gitmediğini belirten öğrencilerin hem İngilizce okumaya yönelik tutumlarının hem de okuduğunu anlama başarılarının diğerlerinden daha yüksek olduğu bulgusuna ulaşılmıştır.
A comparative postcolonial discourse in The God of Small Things By A. Roy and Things Fall Apart By C. Achebe and its incorporation in elt multicultural literature curriculum
This dissertation examines the transcultural forms, the colonial heritage, and language in the postcolonial India and Nigeria depicted in Arundhati Roy?s The God of Small Things and Chinua Achebe?s Things Fall Apart. Roy?s and Achebe?s portrayal of the covert and overt ways on transcultural forms, colonial heritage, and language and their impact on the characters? lives will be a major focus in constituting a hybrid identity in postcolonial discourse. This study aims to do a postcolonial discourse on these two different texts in order to find the different methods chosen by each author in his or her representations of the space in which the colonial subject develops and his or her reaction to the changes brought by colonization.The dissertation consists of seven main parts. The introduction overviews the world of each text in terms of the transcultural forms, the colonial heritage, and language. The first chapter examines postcolonial theory and its reflection in literature. The second chapter looks at the life and works of the two selected authors. The third and forth chapters consists of a textual analysis of selected novels which will be an analysis of the interaction between indigenous people and their colonizers as well as the struggle between tradition and modernity. The fifth chapter explores the need and the ways of incorporating postcolonial texts in the curriculum of ELT Departments. The conclusion compares and overviews the process of colonization portrayed in the two texts resulting in cultural and linguistic hybridization.
Türkiye'de bir devlet üniversitesinde ingilizce'yi yabancı dil olarak öğrenen öğrencilerin yabancı dil haz ve yabancı dil kaygılarının araştırılması
This study was carried out to measure the levels of Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) and Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) of Turkish learners of English studying at a state university in Turkiye. Finding out the relationship between these two widespread emotions and the primary sources behing these emotions were the other purposes of the study. In order to attain these goals, Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale (FLES) and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) were administered to discover the levels of these emotions and the link between them. Also, semi-structured interviews were held with both the instructors and the learners to discover the sources of these two emotions. A total number of 184 students took part in the first stage, and 12 learners and 8 volunteer instructors participated in the second stage. The study demonstrated that EFL learners studying at a tertiary level had a high level of enjoyment and a moderate level of anxiety. Besides, a weak-to-moderate relationship was found between these emotions. Regarding the sources of FLE, it was discovered that participants had enjoyment thanks to positive classroom atmosphere, positive teacher attitudes, enjoyable and novel activities, and self-realization of progress. With respect to FLA, the study uncovered that learners felt anxious due to not being capable of speaking English, fear of failure, test anxiety, fear of mispronunciation, scarcity of grammatical knowledge and failure to progress. The study offered some pedagogical implications in the end.
Yabancı dil olarak İngilizce sınıflarında öğretmen-öğrenci bireyler arası ilişkilerinin öngörücüsü olarak öğretmen iyi oluşu
This study aimed to explore the impacts of teacher wellbeing on teacher student relationships. In this respect, the study investigated how the wellbeing of Turkish teachers is reflected in their verbal immediacy behavior while interacting with learners and the classroom climate in relation to the verbal immediacy in tertiary level language classrooms in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) setting. Five themes were focused on in terms of teacher verbal immediacy behavior: sharing personal examples and experiences, asking questions, use of humor, praise, and criticism. The researcher collected data through a questionnaire, classroom observation, interviews, and an inventory. Teacher Wellbeing Questionnaire adapted from Collie, Shapka, Perry & Martin (2015) was conducted with 43 teachers and the researcher selected four teachers who scored highest and four teachers who scored lowest to observe their lessons. A Verbal Immediacy Framework was developed based on Gorham's (1988) Verbal Immediacy Items to be used during observation. After the observations, the students of eight participant teachers were asked to complete a Classroom Climate Inventory (CCI) adapted from Fraser, Treagust, and Dennis (1986) and Mcber (2000). Finally, follow-up interviews were conducted with the eight participant teachers in order to supplement the data gathered from the classroom observations and CCI. Data obtained through three instruments were triangulated. The qualitative data collected from classroom observations and interviews were analyzed according to Braun and Clarke's (2006) thematic analysis whereas the data coming from CCI were analyzed quantitatively using SPSS. The findings revealed differences between two groups of teachers in three of the pre-determined aspects of verbal immediacy and classroom climate. The data analysis indicated that teachers who are at a more positive wellbeing level tend to use more personal examples and experiences, use more humor, and praise their students more frequently while interacting with their students in the classroom compared to those with negative wellbeing. However, there was no significant difference between the numbers and types of the open questions asked by the two groups of teachers and the criticism used by participants. These findings helped draw the conclusion that teacher wellbeing has a role in establishing immediacy, which leads to a positive or negative influence on interpersonal relationships between teachers and students as well as the classroom climate. Therefore, the study implied that the wellbeing of language teachers can be considered as the predictor of interpersonal relationships between teachers and language learners in EFL classrooms.
A Needs assessment of teachers and students from engineering and tourism departments for designing a communicative ELT curriculum
/53Keyword: Mühendislik = Engineering ; Turizm = Tourism ; Yabancı dil öğretimi = Foreign language teaching ; Üniversiteler = Universities ; İngilizce = English
Türkiye'deki üniversite hazırlık sınıfı öğrencilerinin geçmiş yabancı dil öğrenim deneyimleri ile yabancı dil kaygıları arasındaki ilişki
This study mainly investigated the relationship between past language learning experiences and the foreign language anxiety levels of university EFL learners. It also aimed to find out the extent to which language learning background factors have an impact on foreign language anxiety. The study was conducted in the English preparatory programs at Bilkent and Pamukkale Universities, with the participation of 285 students from three proficiency levels (pre-intermediate, intermediate and upper-intermediate).Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. The questionnaire administered to students included two main sections. In the first section, demographic information about the participants was collected. In the second section, the translation of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) questionnaire by Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope, 1986 was given to the participants. Questionnaires were analyzed by using t-tests and ANOVA tests. Afterwards, using the results of the analyses involved in the quantitative part, participants who demonstrated high and low levels of anxiety were selected for participation in the qualitative phase. Through the use of in-depth interviews, actual accounts of past language learning experiences and university students? current anxiety levels were explored.The analysis of the quantitative data revealed that students? prior history of visiting countries, having had a native teacher, having studied another language besides English were all related to the prediction of foreign language anxiety.The interview results showed that for both high and low anxiety students the role of previous language learning experiences has an impact on forming their current anxiety levels.
Türkiye'deki üniversite hazırlık okullarındaki portfolyo uygulamaları ve öğretmenlerin portfolyoyu algılamaları ve portfolyo uygulamalarında yaşanan problemler
This study seeks to investigate portfolio implementation at Turkish university preparatory schools and the reported aims of portfolio use as targeted by these schools. The study further examines teachers? perceptions of portfolio use, specifically, the problems they experience with portfolio use, possible sources of these problems and their suggestions on how portfolio use can be improved.The study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, data on portfolio use and aims of its use were collected through a questionnaire administered at seven university preparatory schools. In the second phase, data on teachers? perceptions were gathered through a second questionnaire administered to 126 teachers at five of the seven preparatory schools.The results reached in the first phase of the study revealed that portfolios are mainly used for the writing component of the preparatory programs. The analyses of the data also revealed that certain key features of portfolios, such as student participation in the selection of portfolio content, self assessment, and student reflection, are not generally included in portfolios at preparatory programs. Regarding the aims of portfolio use targeted by schools, the results indicate that in order to achieve the intended aims, the missing key elements of portfolios should be included.The results reached in the second phase of the study indicate that teachers perceive portfolios as an appropriate tool for assessment purposes. When the results regarding teachers? experiences with portfolio use are examined, the outcomes indicate that the problems experienced with portfolio use are in large part felt to be related to students? attitudes towards portfolios, which are themselves caused by students? study habits and previous educational backgrounds. It was also revealed that problems related to portfolio entries and institutional practices create some challenges in portfolio implementation at schools.
İngilizce öğrenen Türk üniversite öğrencilerinin motivasyonlarıyla ilişkili olarak eğitsel aktivitelere karşı tercihleri
This study investigates a) the components of motivation that Turkish university EFL students hold, b) their preferences for instructional activities, c) how these two concepts relate to each other, and d) whether the proficiency level affects responses toward motivation and instructional activity types.The study was conducted at Hacettepe University, School of Foreign Languages, with the participation of 343 students from three different proficiency levels (pre-intermediate, intermediate, and upper-intermediate). The data were collected using a 81-item questionnaire related to motivation and instructional activity types.Factor analysis was conducted for the collected data and the factors found formed the basis of the scales used in the subsequent analysis. In the motivation section, nine factors were determined which formed the internal structure of motivation. Among these factors, instrumental motivation, which had the highest median score, was found the most important motivation type in this population. The anxiety factor had the lowest median score.In the instructional activity section, four factors were found. While the communicative focus factor had the highest median score, the traditional approach factor had the lowest score. This study also indicated that there is a relationship between preferences for activity types in relation to students? motivation. In fact, significant correlations were found between almost all motivation styles and communicative and challenging activities.But, the effect sizes of the correlations were not the same with all activity types in each motivation style. Some of the correlations were much stronger than the others. This result shows that even though there was not a clear-cut difference between students? preferences for activity types in relation to motivational styles, some activity types were favored more than the others in each motivation style.This finding revealed a variation across the groups and thus confirmed this possible link between motivation and instructional activity types. Additionally, the results in this study indicated that there were large differences in motivation and activity type preferences among different language proficiency levels.
Türkiye'deki hazırlık sınıfı öğrencilerinin duygusal zeka ve yabancı dil kaygısı arasındaki ilişki
It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the rising trend of emotional intelligence in education. So far, however, there has been very little discussion about the relationship between emotional intelligence and foreign language anxiety. The main objectives of the this study were a) to give a general picture of the emotional intelligence and foreign language anxiety levels of Turkish EFL students at university level; b) to investigate the effects of gender and success level on both emotional intelligence and foreign language anxiety; c) explore the relationship between emotional intelligence and foreign language anxiety; and d) to examine the relationships between the five sub-skills of emotional intelligence (adaptability, stress management, mood, interpersonal, and intrapersonal) and foreign language anxiety.
Koya Üniversitesi EFL öğrencilerinin dışa dönüklük-içe dönüklük ve sözlü performansları
This study explores the relationship between the extraversion-introversion personality type tendencies of Iraqi college students and their oral proficiency in English as a Foreign Language (EFL). In this regard, the present study aims to reinvestigate the correlation between extraversion-introversion and EFL students' oral proficiency represented by fluency, accuracy, complexity, pronunciation, and global impression. So far, the findings in previous studies examining the correlation between extraversion-introversion and oral performance are contradictory.ivIn order to address this contradiction, the participants were 40 non-native speakers of English who were studying EFL at Koya University's College of languages located in Northern Iraq. They were administered the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and interview sessions in which an oral elicitation task was used. During interviewing the participants' speeches were taped and then scored in terms of fluency, accuracy, and complexity. Meanwhile, two PhD non-native speakers of English instructors at the same institution scored the participants pronunciation accuracy and global impression (overall oral production) using 6-point checklists for each. In the analysis, the participants have scores indicating their tendencies towards either extraversion or introversion, and scores for each oral performance components.The results suggest that there was not a significant correlation between extraversion-introversion and EFL oral performance components, fluency, accuracy, complexity, pronunciation, and global impression. In addition, the correlation coefficient values reveal that there is no relationship between the two variables. These findings are discussed with respect to the previous findings in the same research field.
Müziğin ingilizce dil öğrencilerinin konuşma akıcılığı ve motivasyon/ilgi düzeylerine etkisi
Music has, so far, been noted to be beneficial in education. There have been some experimental studies that look at the effects of music on reading, vocabulary, and conversational skills in teaching foreign languages. However, there have been no studies searching for the effects of music in the arena of learners? speaking fluency as well as their motivation/interest level. In this respect, several questions arose: Can music be a salient factor in the teaching of language skills, particularly speaking? Can music be a tool to enhance students? capacity for speaking fluency? On a less direct but arguably even more important level for second language learning, can music play a role in improving students? motivation/interest in language learning contexts?The purpose of this study was therefore to explore the above questions and, based on their answers, to guide English language teachers in their thinking about the use of songs in the classroom, both as a means of enhancing learners? abilities to speak fluently and as a motivating tool.The data used in this study were obtained from 46 pre-intermediate level students studying at the School of Basic English (SOBE) at Karadeniz Technical University (KTU). The major instruments in the research were the tests that were used to measure the students? speaking fluency, and the questionnaire given to assess the students? motivation/interest levels for learning English. An interview with the teacher who taught both groups was another instrument. The reflections from the participants in the treatment group were also used for evaluating their thoughts with respect to the contributions of music to their speaking lessons. The data collected from the questionnaire and the oral assessments were analyzed using t-tests. Both the data gathered from the interview and the reflections from the students were analyzed based on the approaches of qualitative data analysis. In this study, descriptive analysis was also used for analyzing both the data collected from the interview and the students? reflections.According to the results of the pre-test scores for oral assessment, the speaking fluency level of the contrast group was higher than the treatment group (6.83-5.27) whereas the motivation/interest level of both groups was approximately the same. After the treatment, although both groups? motivation/interest scores actually decreased, the decrease in motivation/interest levels of the treatment group was observed to be significantly less than that of the contrast group. Post-test results for the oral assessment scores of both groups again showed those of the contrast group remaining slightly higher than those of the treatment group, but no longer significantly higher (7.92-7.42).Key words: Music, language skills, speaking fluency, motivation/interest level
Çalışma arkadaşı geri bildiriminde birinci ve ikinci dil kullanımının eleştirel düşünme üzerine etkisi
This study investigated (a) quantitative and (b) qualitative differences between the critical thinking displayed in L1 and L2 in peer feedback discussions of Turkish EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students. High-proficiency EFL learners participated in the study on a voluntary basis after a critical thinking test. With eight high-scorer students of the test, two groups were formed with four students in each group. These students had previously taken advanced writing courses and practiced peer feedback in these courses. Still, they were given a simple feedback guide sheet and training. The participants were asked to write two argumentative essays on two different topics one week before the discussion meeting. Focusing on those essays, each group had feedback discussions in L1 (Turkish) and L2 (English), in different orders. The researcher made no interventions. The discussions were audio- and video-recorded, and transcribed for a detailed analysis. The transcriptions were coded according to a critical thinking framework that was prepared by the researcher by adapting and combining items from previously used frameworks. The findings were analyzed for the quantitative and qualitative differences between the critical thinking expressed in the two languages.The data analysis showed that critical thinking was displayed significantly more in the L1. This finding, however, is affected by the fact that participants? total amount of talk in L1 was also more than L2 talk, therefore the quantitative difference appears to have caused by the surplus amount of total talk in the L1. The study also revealed that there were qualitative differences between the languages that critical thinking was displayed. It was speculated that the qualitative differences resulted from the ease of using the native language as well as the safety provided by the pragmatic knowledge that made communication and interaction clearer in the L1. Suggestions were made for further support to students to express their thoughts in spoken L2 more effectively, which could include more practice on giving effective peer feedback, focusing on the necessary discourse and pragmatic skills, and providing students with other discussion tasks and subject matters that invites critical thinking.
Koya Üniversitesindeki yöneticilerin, öğretmenlerin ve öğrencilerin teknoloji destekli dil öğreniminin faydaları ve zorluklarına yönelik algıları
This study examined the feelings and viewpoints of administrators, EFL teachers and EFL students on the benefits of and barriers to technology-enhanced language learning (TELL). This study has been conducted in an English Department at a state university in the north of Iraq. The purpose of this study was to understand the attitudes of teachers and students who infrequently use technology for educational purposes towards the use of technology for language teaching and learning. Moreover, this study aimed to find out the participants? level of technology use. Finally, barriers that administrators, teachers and students encounter were examined.Questionnaires and interviews were administered in order to collect data. The first questionnaire was distributed to 124 EFL students whose educational grades were freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. The second questionnaire was administered to nine EFL teachers at the same university whose educational degrees were PhD, MA and MA candidate. Moreover, three administrators, three teachers and four students were interviewed in order to get further information.The findings showed that despite their positive attitudes towards technology integration in education, the teachers and students were infrequently incorporating technology into their education. The infrequent use of technology is due to several barriers. Deficiency of technological instruments, financial problem and lack of electricity are challenges that prevent teachers and students from integrating technology into their language teaching and learning. In addition, the results indicated that lack of proficiency in using technology and lack of technology-training courses are also barriers that students suffer from.Finally, this study presented several pedagogical suggestions such as providing sufficient funding for technological instruments, training courses and electricity in order to increase technology integration in education.Key Words: Technology-Enhanced Language Learning (TELL). Attitudes towards TELL. Benefits of TELL. Barriers to TELL. Levels of technology use.
Sesli kitapların yabancı dil olarak İngilizce öğrenen farklı yeterlik seviyesindeki üniversite öğrencilerinin okudukları metinleri anlamalarına olan etkisi
This study mainly investigated the effectiveness of audio books on the reading comprehension of selected texts by university EFL students. This study also aimed to find out whether a difference in students? reading comprehension as a result of exposure to audio books emerges based on their proficiency levels. Lastly, students? attitudes toward audio books were also investigated in the study.This study was conducted over three weeks, with the participation of 82 students from four classes at elementary and intermediate levels at Anadolu University School of Foreign Languages. One of the classes at each level was selected as the control group and the other class was designated as the experimental group. The control group students were assigned to read three graded readers, one book per-week, while the experimental group students were assigned to read the same books and listen to the accompanying audio CDs outside the classroom.In order to investigate the effectiveness of audio books on the reading comprehension of university EFL students, reading comprehension tests, which were prepared for each book separately, were administered to the control and the experimental group students after each one-week reading period. In order to address the first research question, the mean values and standard deviations were calculated and compared between the control and experimental groups. The test results of the elementary and the intermediate level students were compared to explore any difference in the effectiveness of audio books on reading comprehension according to their proficiency levels. Following each reading comprehension test, the experimental group students were administered a questionnaire with the intent to find out their attitudes toward using audio books.Analysis of the test data revealed that audio books are effective in the text comprehension of university EFL students, and they appeared to have a greater effect on students at intermediate level than they did at elementary level. The results from the questionnaire showed that the experimental group students had positive attitudes toward their experience with audio books. Finally, the study emphasizes the importance of audio books, suggesting that teachers can incorporate them as an alternative approach to traditional extensive reading implementation.Key Words: Audio book, reading comprehension, extensive reading, attitude, proficiency level, effectiveness
Sözlü mülakat sınavlarında konuşmacının davranışları
This study investigated interlocutor behaviors during oral assessment interviews. The study was conducted at Karadeniz Teknik University, with the participation of 272 students and twenty instructors assigned to conduct oral interviews in the Department of Basic English.Data were collected through questionnaires and the analysis of video-recordings. Students ranked each of the interviewers separately. The analysis of the quantitative data revealed that while students generally perceived their interlocutors? behaviors more positively, there were important differences among the behaviors. The analysis of the video-recordings also showed that the interlocutors generally displayed positive behaviors during oral assessment interviews but showed variation in their behaviors.Key words: Oral assessment interview, interlocutor behavior