Teachers' and students' perspectives on the integrated skills approach

Learning a foreign language is becoming more and more important day by day in Turkey, as in other countries worldwide. Over the years, a great number of schools and universities have applied different methods and approaches in an effort to improve the teaching and learning process. The aim of this study is to investigate the perspectives of both teachers and students concerning the integrated skills approach in the Anadolu University Foreign Languages Teaching Department. First, an experiment was carried out to compare this approach with the traditional approach to language teaching and to understand its effects on students' improvement in the target language. For this experiment, two different classes were chosen, and these classes were divided into two groups: an experimental and a control group. In each class, there were four females and five males, for a total of nine students. A pre-test was implemented with both groups to demonstrate that they were at the same level, and the results were analyzed using a One-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The results showed that the students were at the same level and that the groups were suitable for carrying out the experiment. Following this phase, the students were taught English for a period of three weeks. In the experimental group, the lessons were taught using an integrated approach; while in the control group, language skills were taught separately. At the end of the three weeks, a post-test was applied, and the results were compared. The results demonstrated that there was no statistically significant difference between the groups, but it may be said that the traditional approach was more effective, especially in terms of reading skills. The opinions of the instructors and the students were obtained through a five-point Likert scale that consisted of 33 statements and 3 open-ended questions. The quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 software, while the qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis. The primary findings that were obtained are as follows: 1. Numerous advantages and disadvantages were noted with respect to the integrated skills approach. However, these differed between the students and the teachers. 2. Not all language skills may be improved equally using the integrated skills approach. Furthermore, the instructors viewed the approach positively, whereas the students viewed it negatively and preferred a traditional approach to instruction. 3. In this approach, both instructors and students are active participants in the lessons. The instructors, in particular, felt more motivated with this approach. Moreover, they had more freedom to use different materials and activities. However, while most of the instructors found that lessons were more enjoyable using the integrated skills approach, the students had a different perspective, and they believed that the traditional approach would be more useful. 4. In applying this approach, the instructors generally used the communicative language teaching method in their classes. After applying the approach, the grammar translation method and multiple intelligence theory were used in their lessons. The conclusion of this study includes suggestions concerning use of the integrated skills approach for teachers and students. This research may guide teachers, academicians and students who want to apply this approach in their lessons or who are curious to know more about the integrated skills approach to language instruction. Key words: Foreign Language Teaching, Approach, The Integrated Skills Approach, Traditional Instructio