Implementation and outcome evaluation of the Turkish primary school English language teaching program

The present study was designed (1) to reveal the views of the state primary school EFL teachers about their present textbooks and (2) question whether the 4th grade students have reached the goals defined by MoNE in 2013 ELTP in terms of listening skill. The research was carried out in Sincan in Ankara including 50 EFL teachers in 22 primary schools who were asked to reply 46-item Material Evaluation Form to evaluate their textbooks and 10 teachers in 7 schools were interviewed. Then, 20-item listening test prepared by the researcher was given to 650 4th grade students in 5 schools. The results of the teacher questionnaire indicated that the teachers were not satisfied with the textbooks in terms of their general appearance, layout and design, methodology, activities, language skills, language and topic content, teachability and flexibility, and assessment except for a few points. That is to say, they find the font size and type of the book suitable for the students, and think that the methodology implemented in the books is up-to-date. Furthermore, the participants tend to believe that the activities encourage meaningful language use and embody individual, pair and group work. Also, listening activities are thought to be well-recorded and the unit topics draw young learners' attention. This study was carried out to see the outcomes of 2013 ELTP via evaluating the textbooks and 4th grade students' listening skills in a certain geographical area, so it enabled to realize the strong and weak points of the program. At the end of the study, there are some implications for educators, educational authorities and educational researchers. Keywords: Program Evaluation, Outcome Evaluation, ELTPs.