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A study on the relationship between Turkish EFL learners' willingness to communicate in English, ambiguity tolerance and parental encouragement level
This study aims to investigate Turkish EFL learners' willingness to communicate, tolerance of ambiguity, and parental encouragement levels. Moreover, a possible link between tolerance of ambiguity and parental encouragement levels with willingness to communicate was explored in the study. The research sample consisted of 151 preparatory school students at Hasan Kalyoncu University. A mixed-method research design was preferred in this study as both qualitative and quantitative research methods were utilized. ''Willingness to Communicate Scale'' developed by McCroskey (1992), ''Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity'' developed by Ely (1989), and ''Perceived Parental Encouragement Scale'' involved in ''Attitude/Motivation Test Battery'' developed by Gardner (1985) were used as data collection tools. SPSS 20.0 was operated to analyze the data obtained from the questionnaires. Frequencies, means, percentages, and standard deviations were calculated through this program. Moreover, independent samples t-test was utilized to detect whether there was a statistically significant difference relating to age, while one-way ANOVA was used to explore if there was a statistically significant difference relating language proficiency with willingness to communicate, tolerance of ambiguity, and parental encouragement levels. Apart from these, Pearson correlation was practiced to investigate the relationship between willingness to communicate, tolerance of ambiguity, and parental encouragement. Afterward, to detect the predictive power of tolerance of ambiguity and parental encouragement on willingness to communicate, multiple regression analysis was achieved. In the qualitative part of the study, 16 students who already took the quantitative part of the study were interviewed. The findings were examined through content analysis. According to the results, Turkish EFL learners showed high willingness to communicate, tolerance of ambiguity and, perceived parental encouragement. Besides, statistically significant results were found relating to the influence of age and gender. Furthermore, it was detected that tolerance of ambiguity and perceived parental encouragement predicted willingness to communicate positively. Finally, some linguistic, affective, contextual, individual factors and, self-perceived communicative competence were found to be influencing elements on learners' willingness to communicate. Moreover, some problems of tolerating ambiguity experienced by learners were detected.
Transforming receptive vocabulary knowledge into productive vocabulary through ict tools and investigation of students' views
Today's world has been continuously changing including education thanks to technological developments. As a result of this movement, teaching strategies have naturally undergone a change. By considering this, the objective of this present thesis is to integrate technology with vocabulary teaching process. Thereby, this study incorporates Quizlet and Word Art in order to improve vocabulary knowledge. This thesis also clarifies the effect of Quizlet on students' receptive vocabulary knowledge. Besides, Word Art has been used to develop students' productive vocabulary knowledge. The researcher also aims to see possible effect of ICT tools on students' lexical densities. All groups learned target vocabulary explicitly within a context and this context was provided by reading texts, listening texts and speaking models but for the first 6 weeks, they practiced all target vocabulary through Quizlet while they practiced all target vocabulary through Word Art for the other 5 weeks. The treatment lasted 11 weeks with 70 students at a state university; one group with three subgroups were created. Mixed method one group research design was used in this thesis. In order to collect quantitative data, pretest and posttest technique was applied in order to see to find out whether there is an effect of ICT tools on students' vocabulary knowledge with the help of SPSS 25. By using SPSS 25, descriptive statistics of pretest and posttest scores were calculated and ANOVA was applied to find out significance value of both tests. Furthermore, the researcher applied pre writing, post receptive and post productive writing tests to identify students' lexical density thanks to http://www.analyzemywriting.com. To check whether students used target vocabulary after Quizlet and Word Art treatments, all writings were again analyzed via AntConc and target vocabulary used by the participants were determined. Finally, interviews were conducted with 10 students in order to collect qualitative data to identify the students' perceptions towards the course and ICT tools. These interviews were analyzed by using content analysis. The results of this thesis showed that ICT tools were greatly effective in developing vocabulary knowledge, and also lexical density. A significant difference was found in posttest scores and lexical density mean scores. Word Art was more successful than Quizlet in terms of using target vocabulary in writing; besides, this study pointed out that students have positive perceptions towards ICT tools and they found ICT tools enjoyable and mostly attractive.
The Role of participant and content of discourse in bilingualism
This study is about people who interact with two or more languages in their everyday life. It deals with how they use their two languages in specific situations and the factors which determine their choice of languages. The samples of the study are six Australian-born bilingual students at the English Language Teaching Department of the Faculty of Education at Çukurova University in Adana, Turkey. They are the children of Turkish-born Australian immigrants who have made a permanent return from Australia to their homeland during the past few years. The aim of the study is to present an introduction to bilingualism - the state of passing by with two or more languages - and to deepen the understanding of areas such as language choice and code-switching in bilingualism. Chapter I provides information on the background of the issue and Chapter II gives a review of the relevant literature. Chapter m contains the nature of the research, the subjects and how the data are collected and analyzed. In Chapter IV, the data is analyzed and categorized and examples are given. In the Fifth Chapter, conclusions are drawn, and limitations and suggestions for further research are stated. Key words: Bilingualism, language choice, code-switching, participant and content of discourse
The Effects of using cognitive learning strategies on reading comprehension ability of Turkish students
THE EFFECTS OF USING COGNITIVE LEARNING STRATEGffiS ON READING COMPREHENSION ABILITY OF TÜRKISH STUDENTS HASAN BEük Ph. D. Thesis English Language Department Supervisor: Ass. Prof. Dr. Felımi Can Sendan September, 1998 217 Pages ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to (1) find out the strategies English-as a-Foreign Language students use in reading comprehension, and (2) enable these students to gain cognitive leaming strategies in order to faciütate comprehension. After clarifying cognitivist approach to learning and its role in reading comprehension through related literatüre it concentrates on cognitive learning strategies in reading comprehension. it first searches into what types of strategies English-as a-Foreign Language student use İn reading comprehension courses. in the next step, with the help of a training programme, this study aims to enable students to gain cognitive learning strategies in order to be successful in reading comprehension course, A reading comprehension lesson plan which was adapted from Jones (1991) was implemented for each lesson. The activities in this lesson plan were organised in a way that helps students use their previous knowledge in what they read. in addition, different techniques were used to stimulate their previous knowledge such asquestioning, semantic mapping, linking known to unknown, selecting the most important. Questionîng is considered an integrally related activity which provide higher order level of thinking. For this reason, in questioning process, the levels in the Bloom's Taxonomy (1956) were used. The results of the study show that there is a close relation between cognitive learning strategies and students success in reading comprehension since the students in the Experimental Group proved to be more successful than those in the Control Group. The results also support that cognitive learning training in reading comprehension enables readers to develop higher order level thinking skills and metacognitive strategies.fc KEY WORDS Cognitive learning Metacognitive strategies Long-term memory Short-term memory Meaningful learning Schenıata Higher level thinking Elaboration Concept ör Semantic mapping Reading comprehension strategies
Dil öğreniminde i̇nanç sistemlerinin etkisi
This study is based on an investigation designed to explore the potential influences of match and mismatch in the beliefs the teachers and students hold about language, and language teaching and leaming on the leaming outcomes in foreign language classrooms. The research context is a language center, Yadim, (where the researeher is a member of teaching staft) providing preparatory English Language instruction to prospective students of various departments at Çukurova University. Forty eight students and fo ur core language teachers were selected for participation in the study based on mateh scores obtained through Statview analysis of the language leaming inventory (Wenden and Rubin 1987) administered to 200 students at beginner level, and 17 teachers. Students and teachers whose beliefs were in agreement, and those whose beliefs did not resemble were assigned to two separate groups. The two groups reeeived the same instruction for a period of two months. The classes were observed, and the observations and the inventories provided a base for subsequent interviews with the teachers and the leamers. At the end of the eourse, the leamers in the two groups were given an achievement test. The test scores of the two groups were compared, and triangulated with observation and interview data.
A Model for effective supervision from the supervisor and the student-teacher`s perspective: A social constructivist approach
A Model for Effective Supervision from the Supervisor and the Student- Teacher's Perspective: A Social Constructivist Approach Gülden İLİN Doctorate Thesis in the subject of ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Advisor Prof. Dr. F. Özden Ekmekçi January,2003 (395 pages) This study was conducted in order to provide a general description of how the supervisor teachers of the ELT Department of Çukurova University perceive effective supervisory feedback, and how their perceptions influence their practices as supervisors. The overriding purpose is to find out whether feedback sessions lead to a change in the student- teachers' perceptions both in the content and structure. In order to achieve the aim of the study, supervisors' perceptions of effective supervisory feedback were elicited. Their feedback sessions were recorded and the supervisors were interviewed to see whether and to what extent their perceptions influenced their behaviours as supervisors. On the other hand, participating student-teachers were observed during their practice sessions to find out whether they planned their lessons according to the feedback that they received. The data gathered from the student- teachers were triangulated by interviews and their feedback forms. Keywords: Perception, Teaching Practice, Effective Feedback, Feedback SesSlon, Change.
Vocabulary learning strategies employed by preparatory class students at Adana Anatolian Teacher training high school
This study aims to identify vocabulary learning strategies which are known by preparatory class students attending Adana Anatolian Teacher Training High School. Moreover, the second purpose of this study is to observe to what extent students can employ the vocabulary learning strategies they are aware of. In this study, a VLS questionnaire prepared by Marin and think-aloud protocols were used with 90 participants from the preparatory classes of Anatolian Teacher Training High School. After the VLS was completed by the participants, ten students were selected by the researcher for think-aloud protocols. The data obtained from VLS questionnaire were analysed in five categories: determination strategies, social strategies, cognitive strategies, memory strategies and metacognitive strategies. The frequencies and percentages were computed and shown in tables. Then, the protocols of ten students were transcribed and strategies used by the participants were grouped in a taxonomy. The findings of this study indicate that the participants are not successful enough to employ the vocabulary learning strategies which they believe that they know. Key Words: Vocabulary Learning Strategies, Cognitive Strategies, Metacognitive Strategies, Social Strategies, Think-aloud
An action research study on teacher development: A constructivist approach
In this study, firstly, we have explored the nature of seven EFL teachers' perceived needs for change at the outset of the teacher development program. Later, teachers' (in-service) development and their personal theories of effective language teaching have been dealt with thoroughly. We have adopted a problem-centered approach to teachers' development by helping them set up their own agenda for change. We employed a research process where an action research methodology was used. A collaborative and qualitative action research model was used in this study on the basis of Kelly's (1955) personal construct theory as a theoretical and methodological framework. In order to achieve the aim of this study, the teachers' perceptions of effective language teaching were elicited. After the identification of their needs and interests, they were involved in an action research process through input and classroom inquiry phases. After the repertory grid administrations of the teachers, the constructs elicited from them were observed in their classes through notes and checklist. Thus, the content and the structure of the teachers' personal theories, the changes in their theories and the consistency between theIV conceptual and behavioural changes were investigated. The repertory grid data were subjected to Focus, Exchange, Sociogrid and content analysis. Key words: Action Research, Personal Construct Theory, Repertory Grid, In- Service Teacher Development, Teacher Learning and Thinking, Reflective Teaching.
Reflecting on teaching: Interactive thoughts and decisions of experienced and novice EFL teachers
ABSTRACT REFLECTING ON TEACHING: INTERACTIVE THOUGHTS AND DECISIONS OF EXPERIENCED AND NOVICE EFL TEACHERS EBRU ŞİRE Ph. D. Dissertation, English Language Teaching Department. Supervisor: Profc Dr. F. özden EKMEKÇİ May 2004, 361 pages This study is mainly concerned with the instructional decisions EFL teachers make in the class (Le., interactive decisions). It aims to contribute to our understanding of what teachers are thinking about when they make a particular interactive instructional decision. The ultimate purpose is to investigate and compare the interactive thinking and decision making process of experienced and novice teachers. The underlying assumption is that teachers' behavior is guided by their reason based thoughts, judgments, and decisions. Therefore, the study adopts a cognitive and interpretative approach. Four novice and four experienced EFL teachers participated in the study. The data were collected through videotaping procedure, stimulated recall technique, semi- structured interviews, lesson plans, classroom maps, and snakes. The study was conducted at YADIM (Le., Center for Foreign Languages), Çukurova University. In the study, each teacher was videotaped three times in her regular classes, and then she was invited to comment on her in-class behaviors and interactive decisions at the stimulated recall interviews. The findings were analyzed and interpreted both quantitatively and qualitatively.The results indicate that the complexity of teachers' thinking process change in regard to their expertise level. In line with this finding, the interactive decision making process of the experienced teachers is seen to be much more complicated than that of the novices in the study. Moreover, the experienced teachers are observed to employ a wider set of instructional actions in response to the student performance cues. However, both the experienced teachers and the novices are able to recognize student performance cues they observe in the class. Another finding indicates that the novice teachers are much more concerned with the classroom management related issues especially with student off task behavior and develop a good repertoire of coping strategies to deal with such behaviors. In addition, interactive decision making models are proposed for both the experienced and novice teachers throughout the study. The results of the study suggest some significant implications not only for in- service teacher training programs but also for pre-service teacher training programs. Besides, the study also covers some methodological and theoretical implications for future research. KEYWORDS: Interactive Decision Experienced Teacher Novice Teacher Stimulated Recall Technique Student Performance Cue
Efficact of cross-cultural e-mail exchange for enhancing EFL writing: A perspective for tertiary-level Turkish EFL learners
ABSTRACT EFFICACY OF CROSS-CULTURAL E-MAIL EXCHANGE FOR ENHANCING EFL WRITING: A PERSPECTIVE FOR TERTIARY-LEVEL TURKISH EFL LEARNERS Düek YAVUZ ERKAN Ph.D. Dissertation, English Language Teaching Department Supervisor: Şehnaz ŞAHINKARAKAŞ Ekim 2004, 196 pages The aim of this study was threefold. One goal was to determine whether cross- cultural e-mail exchange enhances foreign-language learners' writing self-efficacy. The second was to test the efficacy of cross-cultural e-mail exchange in terms of improving EFL students' attitudes toward writing and writing classes. The third aim was to investigate the value of cross-cultural e-mail exchange for enhancing EFL students' writing ability. The study design included a combination of descriptive and quasi-experimental research. Data were collected using the following methods: review of existing literature, questionnaire, writing self-efficacy scale, testing of writing ability, semi-structured interview, student reflection form, and researcher's field notes. The participants were two groups of 16 tertiary-level Turkish EFL students who were learning English for academic purposes at YADİM, the Center for Foreign Languages at Çukurova University. The researcher was the sole writing-class teacher for both groups. A 75-hour (15-week) experiment was conducted to determine the efficacy of cross-cultural e-mail exchange for promoting better writing in English. The specific elements investigated were writing self-efficacy, attitudes toward writing and writing classes, and overall quality of writing. During the intervention, one group wrote compositions of different genres and topics to an imaginary person or the teacher usingthe traditional pen-and-paper method. The other group used e-mail to write to a real audience, South Korean key-pals. Each student was evaluated with a writing self-efficacy scale before and after the intervention. The aim was to assess for possible changes in writing self-efficacy linked to exposure to e-mail exchange. The group findings before and after the intervention were analyzed by calculating mean scores and standard deviations, and using a t-test to assess for significant differences. To assess students' positive and negative views and feelings related to writing and writing classes, each participant completed an attitudinal questionnaire before and after the intervention. Responses to the rating, ranking, and open-ended questions in the survey were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean scores, standard deviations, frequencies of responses, proportions of each group with given responses). Responses to the open-ended items were also categorized, and similar responses were identified. In addition to the before/after questionnaire and self-efficacy scale, each of the 32 students completed two timed writing tests prior to the intervention (pretests), and then completed two other timed writing tests after the intervention (posttests). Covariance analysis was used to determine whether the difference between the mean posttest scores for the e-mail group and the control group was statistically significant. After the intervention, each of the e-mail students attended a semi-structured interview with the teacher-researcher. In recording this direct qualitative feedback, the aim was to triangulate the findings from the other data-collection instruments (attitudinal questionnaire results, scores for writing self-efficacy, and writing-quality results). Also, throughout the experimental period, the teacher-researcher took weekly field notes on the progress in the e-mail group, recording all problems and noteworthy events or observations. As well, all 32 participants were required to submit written comments on their experience every 2 weeks. The semi-structured interview responses, teacher-researcher field notes, and these "student reflection forms" were analyzed by content. The results obtained from the self-efficacy assessments indicate that cross- cultural e-mail exchange is a valuable way to improve foreign-language learners' self-efficacy in writing. The teacher-researcher's field notes, the comments on the student reflection forms and the responses of the participants in the experimental group during the semi-structured interviews all confirmed the findings from the writing self-efficacy assessments. The responses to the questions on the attitudinal questionnaire revealed that cross-cultural e-mail exchange help develop positive attitudes towards writing. This finding is supported by the experimental group participants' answers in the semi- structured interview, the teacher-researcher's field notes, and the comments on the student reflection forms. Analysis of the results for the writing ability post-tests revealed no significant difference between the mean posttest scores in the experimental and control groups. According to this finding, there is no significant contribution of cross- cultural e-mail exchange to the overall writing quality in the target language. However, since this type of program increases students' writing self-efficacy and encourages more positive attitudes towards writing and writing classes, the researcher speculates that given adequate time, such effects may translate into improved overall writing quality. KEY WORDS: Writing, Computer-mediated communication, Cross-cultural e-mail exchange, Key- pal, Self- efficacy in English-writing, Attitude.
The impact of an induction program on novice teachers' efficacy beliefs
The first year of teaching experience is overwhelming and stressful for all beginning teachers regardless of the teacher education program they attend, and that over the course of the year they usually experience a decreased strength of belief in their own efficacy and in the learning potential of their students. Therefore, the first year of teaching experience is a crucial period of learning and professional development. It is apparent that there is a considerable need for beginning teacher support programs in order to prepare competent and successful teachers in the field. This qualitative study described the development and implementation of a support program for novice teachers in Turkish primary schools for the 2001-2002 school year. The study involved four beginning teachers with no teaching experience. The first phase of the study included seeking beginning teacher problems in public primary schools in Turkey. The second phase of the study included development and the delivery of the support program around participant teachers' needs. The four sources of efficacy beliefs (i.e. mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and physiological and emotional states) were used as a theoretical framework for the support program (NTEP-Novice Teacher Efficacy Program). Methodology included a combination of reflection sheets collected prior to the program and after each session of the program, interviews conducted at the end of the NTEP, and Repertory Grids administered both at the beginning and end of the NTEP. The data gathered through these sources were used to evaluate the program and toinvestigate changes taking place in beginning teachers' perception of an effective teacher and their assessment of "self as teacher at the end of a support program. The findings suggested that there are several key program essentials for providing support for the beginning teachers. The program essentials include: (1) determining beginner teacher needs; (2) identifying benefits to program participants; (3) encouraging collaborative work among participants; (4) creating a non-threatening atmosphere; (5) encouraging participants to reflect on their own experiences and learning; (6) providing beginning teachers with specific and constructive feedback; (7) creating opportunities for beginning teachers to compare and contrast their own teaching practices and beliefs to other teachers; (8) viewing beginning teachers as professionals and incorporating their ideas into the content of the program; (9) instead of loading content knowledge as a recipe, equipping beginning teachers to work on their own problems in their own teaching; (10) establishing the norm of on-going professional development; (1 1) conducting the program in a place which is not associated with participant teachers' teaching context The findings also indicated that the participant teachers felt supported and appreciated in their first year of teaching experience. Considering participants' constructs of an effective teacher, we observed a considerable change both in structure and content at the end of the NTEP. As regards their efficacy beliefs, we observed that the participant teachers reconsidered their efficacy beliefs on the skills and activities, which they ascribe to an effective teacher. That is, while some participant teachers viewed themselves more similar to their perception of an effective teacher, some became uncertain on some features of an effective teacher. KEYWORDS Novice teacher (Beginning Teacher) Induction Program (Beginning Teacher Support Program) Self-Efficacy Theory Teacher Efficacy Repertory Grids
Implementation of neuro linguistic programming NLP into personal and professional development programs of English language teachers
In the field of teaching, the importance of change and/or development İs undeniable. At any stage of teacher development, it is essential to take a more humanistic point of view; that is to take into account the "whole teacher", which covers the teacher's personal and professional life: his/her beliefs, values, emotional states, interpersonal world as well as knowledge, skills, and roles in the society. Hence, within the close relationship of personal and professional life, uncovering one's constructs in accordance is of utmost importance to achieve change and/or development. In this respect, Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) seemed to be promising to contribute to the personal and professional development of teachers. NLP with its underlying techniques and principles tries to explain how a person structures his/her thoughts, and how this affects his/her behavior. Applying NLP techniques enables the teacher to control mental, emotional and physical resources so that a person can reach his/her potentials. Drawing on the argument above, this qualitative study aimed to design a new teacher development program to support both personal and professional development of EFL teachers, implementing NLP techniques. This study also aimed to investigate the effects of NLP techniques on the personal and professional development of EFL teachers and to see whether NLP techniques enable teachers to develop a system to support for themselves to cope with problems related to their not only professional but also personal life. This qualitative study included six non-native, experienced EFL teachers from various Turkish state schools who participated in the NLP-TD program for over threemonths (12 sessions). In order to see the impact of the NLP-TD program, Repertory Grids, follow-up interviews, questionnaires and reflection sheets were employed in the study. Repertory Grids and follow-up interviews were administered at the beginning and end of the study to observe the changes in the structure and content of the participant teachers' personal theories regarding the personal and professional features of an effective teacher. We also searched into the nature of participant teachers' construction of "self ' as teacher and "ideal" teacher in relation to those features. With the help of the questionnaires and reflection sheets, participant teachers' reactions regarding their experiences of the NLP-TD program were obtained to illuminate teacher educators and INSET providers for future implementations of the NLP-TD program. Preliminary data indicated that the current teacher development opportunities in Turkey are very limited and fall short of meeting the needs and interests of experienced EFL teachers. Accordingly, these teachers claimed to be left on their own in regards to their development. Findings of this study maintain overwhelming positive responses to the effectiveness of the NLP-TD program. This program helped participant teachers to support themselves discovering their subjective world within their personal and/or professional life. Findings especially note that the NLP-TD program was different from other INSET programs as to its emphasizing and connecting both personal and professional theories. As regards to the Repertory Grid, findings suggest that participant teachers' personal theories displayed significant change both in content and structure at the end of the study. In conclusion, the NLP-TD program may be an important example for a successful INSET program that supports life-long learning of EFL teachers through school-university collaboration. KEY WORDS Teacher Development Personal Development Professional Development Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) Repertory Grid Technique INSET Constructivism
Syntactic nominalizations in Turkish: A principles and parameters framework
IV ABSTRACT SYNTACTIC NOMINALIZATIONS IN TURKISH: A PRINCIPLES AND PARAMETERS FRAMEWORK Yılmaz YALDIR Ph.D. Thesis, English Language Education Department Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Cem CAN September 2004, 280 + xv pages This study aims to investigate the internal structure of syntactic nominalizations in Turkish within the framework of Principles and Parameters Theory. To do this, it restricts the attention to the prototypical syntactic nominalizations in argument positions of matrix sentences in Turkish. Chapter 1 introduces the major points concerning the problem and provides an outline of the adopted theoretical framework. It also expresses the research questions and the hypotheses of the study. Chapter 2 offers reviews of a number of earlier studies concerning syntactic nominalizations from generative viewpoints as well as other descriptive and typological perspectives. Chapter 3 presents a descriptive survey of major types of embedded clauses in English and in Turkish. Chapter 4 concentrates on the general morphosyntactic characteristics of prototypical syntactic nominalizations in Turkish. It examines various patterns of syntactic nominalizations by comparing them with the corresponding simple sentences sharing the same D-structure representation, supposedly the pure manifestations of thematic relations between the lexical categories. Chapter 5 summarizes the evolution of a particular analysis of noun phrases in the light of the major principles and subtheories of generative syntax, especially, the X-bar Theory. Adopting this analysis, the study suggests that noun phrases are extended phrasal projections containing a series of layered successive maximal projections of functional heads, such as D (Determiner), AGRN (Nominal Agreement) and NUM (Number). Furthermore, it examines the prototypical syntactic nominalizations in Turkish in terms of such functional heads and the nominal TAM (Tense, Aspect, Mood) category. It adopts the view that these functional categories are responsible for transforming a verbal phrase into a referential expression capable of occupying an argument position. Chapter 6 discusses the major findings of the study and concludes it by highlighting the implications of these findings for prospective studies.Keywords: syntactic nominalizations, Principles and Parameters Theory, functional head categories, DP-analysis, Turkish syntax
An action research study on portfolio assessment in a process writing class with seventh grade students in a primary state school
This study aims to search the improvements of the writing skill of the seventh grade students in a state school by using portfolio technique in Process Approach. In this study three questions have been investigated: 1) What are the factors to be considered while teaching writing skill to the seventh grade students? 2) Does the use of portfolio technique help seventh grade students' writing improvement? 3) What are the attitudes of the students to portfolio technique? Key Words: 1. Portfolio Technique 2. Metacognitive Skills 3. Autonomy
İsim/fiil baskınlığı açısından çocukların kelime dağarcığı
Çocukların kelime hazinesi gelişimi hakkında daha bütünleyici bir bakış açısı kazanmak için isim, fiil veya sıfat gibi belirli kelime sınıfları üzerinde birçok çalışma yapılmıştır. Bu çalışmaların amacı, belirli bir kavram yapısının diğerine üstünlük sağlayıp sağlamadığını ve bu yapının çocukların anadil gelişimini nasıl etkilediğini anlamaktır. Birçok araştırma sonucu, temel nesnelerin dilde isim tarafından temsil edilmesinden dolayı, isimlerin, fiillerden daha erken edinildiğini göstermektedir. Bu da isimlerin dil gelişiminde fillere baskınlık kurmasına neden olmaktadır. Bunun yanı sıra, birçok araştırmacı, isimlerin fiillerden önce edinildiği görüşünün, hangi dil olduğu fark etmeksizin, evrensel olduğunu iddia etmektedir. Ancak, bazı araştırmacılar bu görüş açısına katılmamaktadır. Onların görüşüne göre, çocuklar anne tarafından kendilerine yöneltilmiş konuşmada fiille daha çok karşılaştıkları için, fiilleri isimlerden daha önce edinirler. Bu bakış açısı, çocukların kelime hazinesinde isim-fiil baskınlığı tartışmasının diğer ucunu temsil etmektedir. Bu yüzden, görüşler iki farklı uçta yoğunlaşmıştır: evrensel isim avantajına karşılık girdiye bağlı bakış açısı. İsim veya fiil üstünlüğü İngilizce, Almanca, Korece ve Çince gibi farklı dillerde birçok veri toplama yöntemi ile çalışılmıştır. Ancak bu konu, Türkçede boylamsal veri toplama ve sıklık analizi yöntemi kullanarak çalışılmamıştır. İşte bu yüzden, bu araştırma, temelde, Türkçe konuşan çocukların sözcüksel ilerlemesine isim ve fiil açısından odaklanmıştır. Buna ek olarak, bu kategorilerin, Türkçe çocuğa yöneltilmiş konuşmadaki dağılımsal özelliklerini de araştırmaktadır. İsim ve fiillerin, ilerleyen gelişimini gözlemleyebilmek için, veri toplama süreci yaklaşık on beş ay sürmüştür. Beş anne, çocukları ile gündelik etkileşimde iken video ile kaydedilmiştir. Yazılı hale getirilmiş video kayıtları CHILDES çocuk dili analiz programında, sıklık analizi yöntemi ile analiz edilmiştir. Daha sonra, çocukların bireysel olarak isim ve fiil ilerlemesine odaklanılmıştır. Bununla ilişkili bir şekilde, sıklık analizi, annelerin isim ve fiil kullanımları üzerinde de yapılmıştır. Bir sonraki aşama da anneler ve çocukların isim ve fiil sıklıkları arasında ilgileşim analizi yapılmıştır. Bu analiz aşamasına ek olarak, veri toplama süreci içerisinde çocuklardaki aşamalı değişiklikleri görebilmek amacıyla, her çocuğun isim, fiil ve genel sözcüksel ilerlemesi çizgi grafikleri ile de gösterilmiştir. Her çocuğun isim ve fiil ilerleme modeli ile annesinin isim ve fiil kullanım modeli, arada paralellik olup olmadığını görmek amacıyla karşılaştırılmıştır. Bu çalışmanın sonuçları, Türkçe konuşan çocukların erken dönem sözcük hazinesinde isim sıklığının dikkat çekici şekilde fiillerden daha yüksek olmadığını göstermiştir. İsimler çok sınırlı sayıda gözlemde fiile istatistiksel olarak bir üstünlük sağlamıştır. Bu araştırmadaki bulgular isim ve fiil edinimi modeli ile ilgili önemli bir açıyı desteklemiştir. Tüm çocuklarda fiil ediniminin daha aşamalı ve ilerleyici olduğu, ancak isimlerin bağlam faktöründen -fiile kıyasla- daha çok etkilendiği görülmüştür. Bazı çocuklarda, veri toplama sürecinin sonlarına doğru, isimden daha yüksek bir fiil sıklığı görülmüştür. ANAHTAR KELİMELER: isim/fiil edinimi, isim/fiil baskınlığı, isim eğilimi, Türkçe çocuğa yöneltilmiş konuşma
Language learning strategies of 8 th grade students in a state junior high school in Adana
VI ABSTRACT LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES OF 8th GRADE STUDENTS IN A STATE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN ADANA Ebru ŞİRE Master Thesis, English Language Teaching Department Advisor: Asst. Prof. Dr. Hatice SOFU March 1999, 95 pages This study is designed to identify individual metacognitive, cognitive, and social/affective strategies which 8"1 grade students employ in or out of class activities. The strategies are studied with respect to the students' degree of success since some strategies may affect the students' degree of success positively or negatively. The students were randomly selected and separated into two groups, namely successful and unsuccessful, on the basis of their English achievement results. A questionnaire with close ended items was administered to 100 students in Adana Ulubath Hasan Junior High School. It was a structured questionnaire which required the subjects to respond to a strategy description, written in Turkish, by choosing among three alternatives (i.e. "Yes", "No", or "Not Sure"). In the analysis of the data, SPSS, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, was used to calculate the chi-square (X2) value of each item. Then, all the data were displayed in crossbreak tables. The results indicated some significant differences in the use of particular strategies between the successful and the unsuccessful students who participated in the study. Kev words: Language Learning Strategies Metacognitive Strategies Cognitive Strategies Social/ Affective Strategies Achievement Results Successful Students Unsuccessful Students
An Ownership approach to teacher development: A constructivist view
The purpose of this action research study is twofold: i) to develop in the teachers a heightened understanding of themselves as teachers and their own situations so as to find solutions to the problems that they identify; ii) ii) to develop in the researcher an understanding of how to design and conduct teacher development courses by engaging in the same process as teachers. To achieve the above mentioned aims, it focuses on the following exploratory research questions: i) Does involvement in an action research cycle help teachers become aware of their own strengths and weaknesses as EFL teachers?; ii) What are the factors (regarding the approach employed and the environment created by the teacher development unit) that affect teacher development?; iii) What is the structure and content of the teachers' personal theories regarding the features that lead to teacher development?; iv) Do changes occur in the content of the teachers' personal theories regarding the features that lead to teacher development?; v) Do changes occur in the structure of the teachers' personal theories regarding the features that lead to teacher development?; vi) What is the nature of the teachers' construction of self and ideal self as teacher in relation to different types of teachers they know?VI The data of the study were collected through Repertory grids, Interviews, Diaries, and Questionnaires. Repertory grid data obtained from the teachers were subjected to FOCUS and Exchange grid analyses using the Rep Grid 2 computer programme. Reflections done in Interviews, diaries, and questionnaires were subjected to content analysis. The conclusions drawn from the study were as follows: i) an action research study helps teachers become aware of their strengths and weaknesses as teachers; ii) teachers learn best through personal experience, problem-solving, and discussion rather being told what to do and how to do it; iii) work-shop-oriented approach adopted in teacher development activities contribute to the up-take of the new information as it creates an open and cooperative environment for learning; iv) teachers gain new perspectives on practice by being involved in writing tasks (e.g., diary keeping, project writing); v) skills of Cooperative Development lay in the teachers the grounds to go through the cycles of action research easily; vi) personal theories are idiosyncratic and they are hierarchically and thematically organised; vii) teachers go through a change process within which they elaborate and/or clarify their existing constructs in light of the new experiences they are involved in; viii) teachers' content of personal theories change only a small degree with regards to the new meanings they attach to the already existing labels; ix) teachers' structure of personal theories change significantly in light of the new experiences they gain. Key Words; Teacher Development, Problem-Solving Approach to Learning, Action Research, Change, Repertory Grid Technique
Sentence combining technique to enhance the syntactic maturity, syntactic fluency and overall writing quality in EFL classes in Turkey
ABSTRACT SENTENCE COMBINING TECHNIQUE TO ENHANCE THE SYNTACTIC MATURITY, SYNTACTIC FLUENCY, AND OVERALL WRITING QUALITY IN EFL CLASSES IN TURKEY GULDEN TUM Ph. D. Dissertation, English Language Teaching Department Supervisor: Prof. Dr. F. Özden EKMEKÇİ December, 2002, 264 pages The basic premise of this study is that students usually lack the ability to express their ideas and thoughts clearly in writing compositions. In order to make them aware of writing skills, the following two questions should be taken into account: How does a sentence function?, How are simple sentences clustered into larger syntactic units to create complex sentences?, and How do these clusters or paragraphs logically communicate thoughts in order to influence the reader in some way? It is assumed that as a result of giving them the SC technique, students can present their ideas and improve their skills by paying attention to a variety of choices. Therefore, the purpose for this study is to investigate the effectiveness of the SC technique in raising awareness in students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) regarding their improvement in writing. Since the SC has a motivating influence on writing for higher level thinking mprocess for students, they were given an eleven-week training on sentence constructions (sentences, clauses, and phrases) focusing on sentence formation and combination of these syntactic units within paragraphs. The reason for studying on sentences, clauses, and phrases stems from the units of grammar in the grammatical hierarchy: sentences, clauses, phrases, words, and morphemes. Since the nature of the study was based on sentence-combining technique, only sentences, clauses, and phrases were taken into consideration for the analysis, not words, and morphemes - based on minimum unit of form. The evaluation of the effectiveness of the SC technique on writing was based on the data gathered from the participating students' writing samples İn two tests, namely Pre-test and Post-test. In this study, the results of the analysis of these tests, namely the Pre-tests and the Post-tests were observed from the point of the contribution of SC technique on the development of students' writing skills. The data analyzed demonstrated that a programmed instruction on the SC technique would enhance syntactic maturity and fluency in writing. In other words, it was observed that students developed a questioning, testing, and transforming emphasis based on critical thinking theory, and raised an awareness of the flowing style and unity in a composition. KEYWORDS Sentence Combining Technique, Syntactic Fluency, Syntactic Maturity, Overall Writing Quality, Coherence, Progress Sheet IV
Cultural significance in foreign learning and teaching with special emphasis on reading comprehension through cultural schemata
ABSTRACT The aim of this thesis is to define the relationship of culture and language through the review of related literature, on one hand» and to show how significant cultural background is in reading comprehension by studying on university students, on the other. Chapter One deals with the statement of the problem, purpose of the study, scope of the study, hypothesis, and the definitions. Chapter Two consists of two parts, and focuses on the review of the related literature. The first part includes the relationship of culture and language. The second one is about the affect of cultural background in reading comprehension, What sort of method was used to test the hypothesis is shown in chapter three. Data gathered from the subjects were analyzed and displayed in tables and graphs in chapter four. In the last chapter, conclusions, the results and the implications reached at were stated. Appendixes, and bibliography are also attached to the end of this chapter.
A Study on vocabulary improvement through extensive reading
ABSTRACT The main goal in this study is to find out if there is any correspondence between extensive reading and vocabulary improvement through graded readers at YADIM Library. It is assumed that individualized instruction in reading English book outside the classroom increases the range of vocabulary. 100 graduate and undergraduate students of Level 4 will be examined as control groups and experimental groups who will be given individualized instructions to use graded readers or different English materials in the library at YADIM in the 1994-1995 academic year. The materials will be Graded Readers or some English books for extensive reading and the course books, "Wavs of Attaining Study Ski 1 Is.Reading Comprehension. Communication Through Writing. and Project Writing". In order to find out how well the students improve their vocabulary, students will be given a list of vocabulary at the beginning of Level 4. The list will contain the words chosen randomly from their course books. At the end of eight-week term, both groups will be given the identical list of vocabulary in a different order. The results of word list based on the survey will be analyzed and compared. The results of Reading and Writing Sections in the Achievement 3 and 4 and compositions of the subject will also be analyzed and compared.
Clinical supervision: Effects and implications for teacher development and student archivement in preparaty English classes at Çukurova University
The purpose of the present study is to explore the effectiveness of clinical supervision in teacher development and student achievement at university level. The study attempts to find answers to the following basic questions: Will the clinical supervision process, in any way, affect the teachers' instruction in the classroom? If so, to what extent? Is the change in the instructional behaviors of teachers performance-based or competence- based? Will the amount of change in instruction of experienced teachers differ from that of the novice? Will the positive change in the teaching behaviors of the teachers in the experimental group be reflected on the success rate of the students? If so, how significant will be the success? The study adopts a descriptive and quasi-experimental approach, and the research design integrates longitudinal and cross-sectional samples. The data were obtained from the classroom observations of the samples and their students' achievement tests. These data were analyzed by using the distribution of means and standard deviations, and unpaired t-test (2 tail). The overall conclusion of the present study is that clinical supervision has been very effective in improving teachers' instruction in various ways: (a) teachers have become more analytical towards their own instructions in the classroom, (b) It has provided ground on which teachers can discuss the issues related to their instruction with a clinical supervisor and easily get outside assistance whenever they need, (c) Clinical supervision has created self-responsibility and self-confidence in teachers in terms of the preparation, implementation and evaluation of their lessons, and (d) it has also created awareness in teachers towards all the teaching activities taking place in the classroom, after which the teachers have learned to ask themselves the purpose of each activity they are to instruct, (e) It has helped the teachers revise their strategies in teaching four language skills and use educational equipment such as tape-recorder, video, and overhead projector (OHP) efficiently, and (f) also their classroom management strategies, and their roles as a teacher. The other notable finding is that the improvement in the instructions of teachers have been reflected positively on the success ratio of their students to a significant extent. 11
An Investigation on the use of drama methods in literature courses in the Engilish language and literature depertments in Turkey
The purpose of the present study is to see how and to what extent literary texts are accompanied with drama methods in literature courses in English Language and Literature Departments. The study attempts to find answers to the following hypothesis and question: 1) There is a significant difference between the opinions of students and teachers regarding the selection of literary texts and the use of drama methods in the English Language and Literature Departments, 2) How and to what extent are the drama methods used in the English Language and Literature Departments? The study is based on a descriptive approach. The data were obtained from questionnaires and classroom observations. These data were analyzed by using percentage study and chi-square test. The overall conclusion of the present study is that the positive feedback we get from students in relation to the study of literary texts through the utilization of drama methods does not coincide with the present applications. The other notable finding is that students and teachers have different interpretations regarding the application of drama methods in their literature courses.
Effects of portfolio implementation and assessment on critical reading and learner autonomy of ELT students
In this study we have implemented portfolio assessment system in two preparatoryreading classess in the English Language Teaching department to see the effects ofimplementation on critical reading and learner autonomy of these students. The studyalso attempts to explore students? feelings of the change they underwent as a result ofthe implementation. The study was conducted with 43 preparatory class studentsstudying at Çukurova University English Language Teaching Department in theacademic year of 2005-2006.During the study we adopted a constructivist approach. The data collection and dataanalysis was done via adopting a naturalistic/interpretative approach. Data wereobtained from a set of interviews, a focus group interview, written documents, and theautonomy and critical reading checklist.In order to achieve the aim of the study, the students? beliefs about critical reading wereelicited at the beginning of the implementation and at the end of the implementation. Tosee the effects of portfolio implementation on learner autonomy we applied autonomyenhancing activities and through the data collection tools we tried to focus on theimprovement in students regarding autonomy. Also, a comparison between their ideasabout critical reading and autonomy in the checklist and their elicited beliefs was done.It is suggested that the findings of the study may have siginificant implications for theuse of portfolio to enhance critical reading and foster learner autonomy in preparatoryreading classes.Key Words: Reading Portfolios, Critical Reading, Learner Autonomy, Constructivism.
A Comparison of actual and preferred classroom learning environment as perceived by teachers and students at yadim
IABSTRACTA COMPARISON OF ACTUAL AND PREFERRED CLASSROOM LEARNINGENVIRONMENT AS PERCEIVED BY TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ATYADIMRifat GÜRMaster of Arts, English Language TeachingSupervisor: Assoc. Prof Zuhal OKANSeptember 2006, 93 PagesThe purpose of this study is to contribute to the literature on classroom learningenvironment with a specific reference to English Language Teaching contexts. It isdesigned to evaluate the classroom learning environment from students? and teachers?perspective. Therefore, the study asks both students and teachers working at YADIM(Centre for Foreign Languages) at Çukurova University to indicate their preferred andactual perception of their classroom learning environments. A form of Colleges andUniversities Classroom Environment Inventory (CUCEI) is submitted to ten Englishteachers and also 277 second and third level students at YADIM. To support the datacollected from the questionnaires, ten classroom environments have been observedusing a checklist adapted from the questionnaire. The teachers and the studentsobserved are those who were given the questionnaire (CUCEI) before. The data havebeen analyzed by means of t-test and ANOVA values calculated on the SPSS(Statistical Package for the Social Sciences).Key words: Classroom learning environment, Student perception, Teacher perception,Higher level, Colleges and Universities Classroom Environment Inventory (CUCEI)
Increasing efl teachers' awareness on global issues in elt classroom
IABSTRACTINCREASING EFL TEACHERS?AWARENESS ON GLOBAL ISSUES IN ELTCLASSROOMSüleyman Sedat ÇAVDARMaster of Arts, English Language DepartmentSupervisor: Assoc. Prof Zuhal OKANSeptember, 2006, 105 PagesThe purpose of this study is to contribute to the literature on teachers? attitudesabout bringing the global issues to their EFL classrooms. It examines the global issuesand values in education through Content Based Language Instruction (CBLI),considering the new approaches and preferences brought to ELT classroom by CommonEuropean Framework (CEF) and aims to increase teachers? awareness of critical globalissues that would lead to an appreciation for the interdependency among nations andraise tolerance levels for differences in others. It also looks for the differences betweenthe beliefs and attitudes on global education, global issues and global values of EFLteachers in Turkey and Greece.The study was conducted with 181 EFL teachers representing Turkey andGreece. 109 of the participants were Turkish high school EFL teachers representingdifferent parts of the country and 79 of the participants were from Athens, Greece.Through a questionnaire and interviews with 16 EFL teachers, the data were collectedand analyzed by means of casual-comperative and t-test values calculated on SPSS(Statistical Package for the Social Science).Key Words: Content-Based Language Instruction, Common European Framework,Global Education, Global Issues, Global Values
Understanding metaphor: A cognitive approach focusing on identification and interpretation of metaphors in poetry
This study aims to investigate metaphor in poetry from a cognitive perspective. Thepresence, interpretation and effect of metaphors in poetry were investigated. Besides, itaimed to find out whether the fourth-year students at the ELT Department of ÇukurovaUniversity can identify the metaphors in two selected English poems. Additionally, itexplored the processes participants went through while they interpreted these metaphorsand the linguistic metaphors they built to express the target domains in Turkish. Whenthe data gathered via `Think and Feel Aloud? and `Interview? techniques, were analyzedit was seen that participants were affected by some factors such as grammatical structure,degree of conventionality, context and cultural background while interpreting themetaphors. Additionally, the view that `Blending Theory? is a more advantageous way tounderstand especially `original? metaphors in poetry was supported with the results.Theresults also emphasized that more importance must be given to understanding metaphorssince it is of vital importance to understand the meaning of metaphors in order to arriveat a sound interpretation.Key Words : Metaphor, Cognition, Poetry
An evaluation of EFL teachers' classroom applications of total quality management princples in state primary schools
Quality in English Language Teaching (ELT) is recently the subject of much concernin many countries around the world. In Turkey, the Ministry of Education started themovement of Total Quality Management (TQM) in all state primary schools in 1990s.In line with this, there is a tendency to ask questions how well EFL (English as ath th thforeign language) teachers having 6 7 and 8 grade learners apply TQMprinciples. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the EFL teachers? classroom applicationsof TQM principles in state primary schools. One hundred and fifty (150) EFL teachersfrom 54 schools located in Seyhan and Yüreğir districts of Adana were administeredscales to find about their views about the classroom applications of TQM principles.Besides, the influence of the two variables (teachers? years of experience and in-service training) on the teachers? classroom applications were investigated. To supportthe data collected from the scales, 10 teachers were observed during their lessons. Inthe light of the data gathered, this study will provide implications concerning the factthat the EFL teachers need a comprehensive training to implement TQM principles ofContinuous Improvement (CI) and Teaching-Assessment (TA) in state primaryschools.Key words: Total Quality Management, EFL (English as a foreign language)Teachers, Continuous Improvement, Teaching-Assessment, State Primary Schools
The effect of the European Language Portfolio on learner autonomy for young learners
This study was conducted in a private school and the researcher worked with the sixthgrade students. First of all, the researcher investigated the effect of traditional assessmenttools, tests, on learner autonomy were investigated and she found out tests were not sufficientin improving students? becoming autonomous. Later, the researcher investigated the effect ofthe European Language Portfolio (ELP), which the Council of Europe put forward as analternative language learning and assessment tool, on learner autonomy. During the study,constructivism was taken as theoretical framework and the ELP was used as themethodological framework of the study. According to the aim of the study, the program thatthe participants would cover during the study was firstly determined and the ELP was used inEnglish and German lesson without disrupting the program. Throughout the study, thestudents? use of the ELP in the lessons, their attitudes towards the method, their participationto the lessons were observed and their portfolios were used as data collection tool. In addition,at the end of the study the researcher interviewed with the students so as to understand if therewas any change in their becoming autonomous or not. According to the analysis of the data, itwas found out that the ELP was effective in helping students to become autonomous.Key words: Portfolio, The European Language Portfolio, Autonomy, Constructivism
Use of first person pronouns: A Corpus based study of journal articles
Scientific writing is traditionally thought to be impersonal. Therefore, it is notsurprising for academicians to see the encouragement of the use of impersonalconstructions in scientific articles by most of style manuals. This study is based on aninvestigation of the use of first person pronouns in journal articles. In many of suchscientific articles, personal pronouns I and we can both be seen as a choice for authorsto stand their involvement in their writings. In this study, I have made a comparison of16 articles published between 2000-2005 in the Social Sciences Journal of ÇukurovaUniversity (SSJÇ) and English Language Teaching Journal (ELTJ) to determine thefrequency of occurrence of first person pronouns I and we. I have also investigated thesemantic references of these pronouns as inclusive and exclusive according to the waythey are used in these articles. In the light of the results, it is clear that writers of ELTJused first person pronouns more than those of writers of SSJÇ. Among the first personpronouns, I was used more than we by writers of ELTJ whereas we was used morethan I by scientific writers of SSJÇ. Scientific writers of ELTJ mostly preferred usingexclusive we whereas scientific writers of SSJÇ preferred using inclusive we. It isconcluded that pronoun use is an important aspect of scientific writing and should beincluded in the curriculum to raise awareness of learners to use them effectively intheir scientific texts.Key Words: Scientific Writing, First Person Pronouns, Scientific Journal Articles
Acquisition of L2 English inflectional system by Turkish native speakers: Rule-governed or rote-learned
Turkish students learning English as a foreign language are observed to havedifficulty in the establishment of inflectional morphemes. The aim of this study is to explorethe representation of L2 grammatical morphemes by Turkish students learning English andthe way they develop morphological knowledge. The focus is on learning and using past tenseverbs, three -s morphemes (third person singular -s, possessive -s, plural -s),copula, andauxiliary be.This study focuses on the following research questions:1- What aspects of inflectional morphology in English as a second language (L2) causeproblems in learning by Turkish (L1) speakers?2- How do the three -s morphemes: plural, possessive, and third person occur in thelanguage of Turkish speakers in L2?3- Does the order of copula be and auxiliary be change in the acquisition of English byTurkish speakers?4- How is acquisition of past tense morphemes explained in terms of Words and Rulestheory in L2 setting?The participants of the this study are from the elementary level students of Research andApplication Centre for Foreign Languages (YADİM) at Çukurova University. Written andspoken data were collected through free writing tasks, picture telling task and interviews.Key Words: Second Language Acquisition, Inflectional Morphology, Morpheme Order,Rule-Governed or Rote-Learned
The impact of birth order and gender on pragmatic development of Turkish children in l1 acquisition
In the literature so far, there is few study on birth order and gender related effectson language development. Although the literature is suggestive, it has not provided asufficient empirical basis for the consequences of birth order and gender for languagedevelopment. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to discover whether thelanguage development is different depending on gender and birth order and to provideevidence in experience and development that will provide a basis for inferring howthe multiple components of language development make use of language experience.This study asks if there are differences in language use among the children dependingon whether female/male or first/later born. Furthermore, this study asks whethergender or birth order is related to differences among children in their rates oflanguage development, including measures pragmatic development.Key words1. Pragmatic Development2. Speech Act3. Interchange4. Interchange-Speech Act Combination
The Effect of strategies-based instruction on speaking skills of high school students
Effective strategies used to overcome encountered difficulties in secondlanguage learners? (SLLs) speaking skills are of crucial importance. Hence, SLLs mightutilize the strategies on how to cope with such communication difficulties. This studyaims to find out the impact of strategy training in the use of strategies for speaking inEnglish as a second language (ESL) in the context of 9th grade ESL learners attendingan Anatolian High school and to investigate the second language learners? awareness ofthe speaking strategies and their frequent choice of strategies. In addition, theperspectives of the participants in the use of strategy training for speaking skill isexamined in this study.After addressing the issues of terminology and definitions, the theoreticalunderpinnings of the Language Learning Strategy concept are concentrated on. Afterclarifying these issues, through related literature it focuses on speaking strategies(Communication strategies) and strategy training for developing speaking skill. Thisresearch uses Vygotsky?s sociocultural theory (1962, 1978) to explore the effects ofstrategy training in the use of speaking strategies on learners? oral production.The study examines two groups of ESL learners during two semester period. TheExperimental group members received strategy training in the use of strategies forspeaking, whereas the Control group members did not receive any treatment.The results were measured using four different instruments: Pre-Post-speakingstrategy questionnaires, Pre- Post-speaking tests, Language learning diary, andstructured interview. The data obtained from the Pre-and Post- speaking strategyquestionnaires and Pre-Post- speaking tests were analysed by using descriptive andinferential statistics. The Pre-and Post-speaking strategy questionnaires were analysedthrough chi-square statistics. The Pre- and Post-speaking tests were analysed throughWilcoxon Signed Rank test and Mann-Whitney U-test. The results of the data showedsignificant differences in strategy use of the Experimental group. Research findingsfrom both the quantitative and qualitative data shed light on the efficacy of traininglearners in the use of speaking strategies and raising their awareness through strategytraining.Keywords: Language Learning Strategies, speaking strategies, strategies-basedinstruction for speaking, learners? awareness of speaking strategies.
A study on the passivisation errors of Turkish learners of english as a foreign language
The aim of this study is to find out what kind of errors Turkish learners ofEFL make in passivising the verbs. We focus on the sources of errors in passivisationand find out whether Turkish learners of EFL make more errors in passivising certainverbs. We analyzed the grammatical and semantic characteristics of the verbs whichare passivised incorrectly.The participants of the study are selected from pre-intermediate level studentsat YADİM in Çukurova University.In Chapter One, the statement of the problem, background to the study,research questions, hypotheses, operational definition, assumptions and limitationsare presented. Related literature on passivisation in English and Turkish is reviewedin Chapter Two. Chapter Three provides the research design, subjects, materials andtasks, data collection and data analysis. Chapter Four contains grammatical andsemantic analyses of the errors on passivization. Conclusion is drawn in ChapterFive.Key Words: transitive, intransitive, passive, unergatives, unaccusatives
An evaluation of on-line language course at Adana vocational school of Çukurova University
This study explores whether the e-language learning programme offered in ÇukurovaUniversity Adana Vocational School meets the commonly accepted standards for e-learning.In addition, it investigates what the recipients think about the effectiveness of this programmeand the problems they encounter as well as offering solutions from the students? point ofview.In order to achieve this aim, various instruments were used. First of all, students were askedto send messages to the researcher and comment on the effectiveness of the e-languagelearning programme, and then a questionnaire by which the students evaluate the programmefrom different perspectives was administered. Next, they were interviewed to identify theweaknesses and strengths of the programme. Finally, the messages which the e-learners sentto the student affairs forum throughout the term were analyzed.The results reveal that the students face certain problems such as lack of interaction andcommunication with their teachers and school administrators, supplementary materials thatwould enhance their learning process, audio-visual aids together with problems regardingexam procedures and cargo servicesKey Words: E-learning standards, e-language learning programme, e-learners.
Gender ideology in 6th, 7th and 8th grade coursebooks published by the Turkish Ministry of National Education
This study aims to investigate the gender ideology presented throughfemale and male representations in 6th, 7th and 8th grade coursebooks publishedby the Ministry of Education and taught in 2005-2006 Year of Education,considering that language use is a social process that ideologies aretransmitted (Fairclough, 1998).The reason for the investigation of these coursebooks is that the ages ofthe students of these grades constitute a critical period as children enteradolescence, a period which starts at the ages of 13-15 in Turkey (Gençay,n.d.). In this period, children categorize concepts of gender and undergo aprocess of gender construction (Erdoğan, n.d).Although there are many studies conducted in Western countries whichdemonstrate that gender ideologies are transmitted through language, studiesregarding this subject in Turkey has been limited.In this study, both verbal and visual data have been collected. ContentAnalysis and Discourse Analysis have been applied to the data and the resultshave been analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively.Keywords: Gender, Gender Roles, Gender Stereotyping, Discourse Analysis,Content Analysis.
Çukurova Üniversitesi İngiliz dili ve eğitimi alanında sınıf söylemi üzerine bir konuşma çözümlemesi
In this study, data pertaining to Classroom Discourse, accumulatedthrough audio-recordings in four different classes in English Language TeachingDepartment at Çukurova University was analysed through Discourse AnalysisMethods thus determining and defining the interactional patterns which make upinitiation moves. As generally accepted, Sinclair and Coulthard (1975) haveplayed a pioneering role in Discourse Analysis. They and other researchersengaged in Discourse Analysis have pointed out to the presence of aninteractional pattern IRF (Initiation-Response-Follow-up) in ClassroomDiscourse. In this study, the presence of this pattern with reference toClassroom Discourse was also examined. This is tried to be achieved byfocusing on initiation moves. Initiation moves taken both by teachers and pupilswere analysed in order to be able to determine the different functions theyintend to fulfill and the frequency they were used with. The data base containing1103 turns taken by the teachers and the pupils in the classes were transcribedand analysed. The analysis was conducted through the use of descriptivestatistics. The results of the analysis pertaining to initiation moves in Englishclasses, where research was conducted, point out to the presence of a patternwhich consists of an initiation move mostly by the teacher, a response movegiven by the pupil and follow-up move by the teacher. Thus the presence of anIRF pattern becomes apparent. It has been established that the percentage ofinitiation moves belonging to pupils, %9,65, were far less than that of theteachers. It may be seen that the frequency distibution of initiation movesbelonging to the teachers and pupils suggest to the presence of an assymetrybiased towards the teachers. It may also be concluded that the pupils?contributions in classes were quite limited compared to that of the teachers?.Since there is no research conducted in this area in Turkey, the results obtainedin this research were compared with the research done in other countries andhas been found out that they were supporting eachother.Key Words: IRF Pattern, Teacher `initiation moves?, Pupil `initiationmoves?Teacher control
Teachers' perceptions of communicative language teaching (CLT) in Turkish EFL setting theory vs. practices
Over the past three decades, The Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) hasbeen one of the most dominant methods in ESL and EFL communities. Based on thisphenomenon, the purpose of this study was to evaluate teachers? perceptions andpractices of CLT in Turkish EFL setting. The study was conducted at five differentPublic Primary Schools in the province of Adana with twenty English teachers. Via themultiple data collection sources it was found that even though the teachers are aware ofCLT in terms of theoretical aspects, there is a discrepancy between their perceptions ofCLT and their in-class practices. Furthermore it was figured out that there are commonconstraints among teachers which prevent them implementing the CLT activitieseffectively.This significant research is consistent with existing research findings in the sametopic. In this context, most of the studies in the literature pointed out that the constraintswith teachers? lacking practical knowledge, in sufficient authentic material uses, largeclassroom sizes and grammar-based national syllabuses prevent the effectiveimplementation of CLT activities in classrooms. In addition, this research, like previousstudies in the literature, also reveals that English teachers in Turkey should require in-depth understanding for how to put practices into theories they learn at the ELTdepartments.Moreover, English teachers in Turkey ought to observe classes in which CLT isimplemented properly so that they can monitor themselves and figure out their failures.Key Words: Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), CommunicativeCompetence (CC), Teachers? Perceptions, English as a Second Language (ESL),English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
Art and craft activities in vocabulary teaching: a case study with the 5th grade students at a state primary school
iiABSTRACTART AND CRAFT ACTIVITIES IN VOCABULARY TEACHING:A CASE STUDY WITH THE 5TH GRADE STUDENTS AT A STATE PRIMARYSCHOOLEliz CANMaster Thesis, English Language Teaching DepartmentAdvisor: Asst.Prof.Dr. Jülide Ä NÖZÜJune, 2007, 97 pagesMeaningful learning, storage and the retrieval of the vocabulary items in English as aforeign language is the common problem encountered in teaching and learning process. Forthis reason, following Cameron?s (2001) proposal that vocabulary learning is best achievedvia actions that learners take to help themselves understand and remember vocabulary; weaim at using arts and crafts activities to foster the success in vocabulary learning. Within theframework of the dynamics of a case study involved in teaching vocabulary to the 5th gradeelementary school students studying at Akpınar Primary School in Adana, Turkey, thepurpose of this study is to investigate the possibilities of teaching lexical items proposed inthe curriculum utilizing authentic and realistic situations to be created in the implementationof art and craft activities with the purpose of:ï· developing and cultivate students? interest in learning English vocabulary,ï· developing and cultivate students? basic vocabulary treasure in communicativecompetencyThe variables focused on here include the use of various art and craft activities invocabulary teaching as independent and the success level of the students participating in thestudy in their learning English vocabulary as dependent variables. Through the findings ofthis study, we revealed some evidence to highlight the relationships between students?vocabulary learning performance and the use of art and craft activities.Keywords: vocabulary learning,vocabulary teaching, art and craft activities, young languagelearners.
The Acquisition of English dative alternation by Turkish adult learners of English
iiiABSTRACTTHE ACQUISITION OF ENGLSH DATIVE ALTERNATIONBY TURKISH ADULT LEARNERS OF ENGLISHM. Pınar BABANOĞLUMaster Thesis, English Language Teaching DepartmentAdvisor: Asst. Prof. Dr. Cem CANJuly, 2007, 98 pagesWithin the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research, Interlanguage(IL) development and the nature of linguistic systems that L2 learners have becomeimportant components. In this respect, other related issues of IL development as nativelanguage factor for transfer situation, and effects of cross linguistic differences betweenlanguages have expanded the interest of the inquiry.This study investigates the IL development of Turkish adult learners of Englishin terms of the IL features they employed and L1 effect on their IL. The L2 process ofDative Structure in English is examined in respect of questioning the IL assumptions.The questions of the research are:1. Do Turkish learners of English acquire [_ NP PP] constructions or [_ NP NP]constructions before?2. Do positional L1 features negatively affect learners? use of the verbs requiringpreposition for instead of to?3. Does the learners? success with these forms increase gradually along with theirproficiency levels?The study was conducted with 100 students studying ELT at ÇukurovaUniversity, who were classified into two levels of English proficiency as intermediateand advanced on the results of the Michigan Placement Test. Written data werecollected through grammaticality judgement and sentence construction tasks. Inaddition, two standard and international corpora, namely TICLE and LOCNESS, wereutilized as data collection tools.ivKeywords: Second Language Acquisition, Interlanguage, Dative Alternation in English
Exploring effects of collaborative learning in enhancing teachers development in teaching English to young learners
Acting on the belief that the earlier children start to learn a foreign language the better, the Turkish Ministry of Education lowered the compulsory introduction of English to grade 4 in 1997. However, unlike many countries where foreign language education for young learners was first applied in pilot schools, Turkey encountered a very fast change in nature. This immediate change caused many problems for curriculum planners, educators, and for learners. The study conducted by Yıldırım and Şeker (2004) aimed to specify the problems faced at this level of education. The results revealed that there is a critical need for enhanced scheme of in-service teacher training for teachers? development of awareness of children?s language learning at both theoretical and practical level. In this study, it is suggested that the scheme for such training must assist teachers to ?perceive (and acquire) knowledge as personally constructed meaning? (Wilson, 1996, p.6) through participation in situated tasks, discussions, and reflection and to help them extend their knowledge and skills in teaching English to young learners. With these in mind, the study suggests an approach to teacher training referred as `collaborative learning model?. The participants of this study were three English teachers teaching grade 4 at public primary schools. The researcher acted as a participant observer, referring ?to the role of the researcher as an insider in regard to being part of the community and as an outsider as a researcher? (Yıldırım, 2001). The data was collected using a triangulated approach in which Repartory-Grid, journals, and audiorecordings of the weekly meetings held for eight months were used. The findings are meant to make available specific proposals for directions in which this level of teacher education can move. Key Words: Young learners, teacher training, Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL), situated learning, collaboration.
A learner corpus based study on second language lexicology of Turkish students of English
The emergence of machine-readable corpora in the linguistics field in the 1960s shifted the direction of a considerable body of linguistic research from syntax and phonology, which was by then the focus of linguistic research to a number of domains that were mostly neglected under the umbrella of traditional approaches. And lexicology, which is the target of this research, was a major beneficiary of that shift. By utilising a computer learner corpus-based approach, this study addresses multidimensional lexical aspects of a machine-readable corpus of the writing of Turkish students of English as a foreign language (TICLE). Lexical investigation of this corpus, required a similar sized authentic corpus, which was compiled from Louvain Corpus of Native English Essays (LOCNESS). Employing the computerized contrastive and analytical methods, this dissertation aims at exploring: (1) learners' lexical complexity and richness, (2) how far the learner corpus is deviant from the reference corpus in terms of the features and percentages of the top most 200 frequent tokens? (3) what are the most salient and stereotype features of the learner corpus? And how far the learner corpus influenced by the learners? L1? Findings show that: (1) the learner corpus is much less complex in terms of lexical diversity and density than the reference corpus. (2-3) Learners? top 200 tokens are markedly characterized by vague lexica, underuse and overuse of some lexica, resulting from the influence of the linguistic and rhetorical features of learners? L1. Key words: Corpus linguistics, interlanguage, lexical analysis, learner corpus, underuse/overuse
Teachers' views about and approaches to reading instruction
This study was conducted to examine teachers? views about and approaches to reading instruction. The study was carried out with 50 participants working at preparatory schools of Çağ University, Çukurova University, and Mersin University. In order to answer the research questions a questionnaire and in-depth interviews were conducted. According to the results of the questionnaire and the institutions they worked at, 6 participants were chosen for the interviews. The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers? views about and approaches to reading instruction at university preparatory levels; as to how teachers view themselves as readers of L2, how they think reading is taught, their concerns about reading instruction and if they are using reading strategies in the classroom. We also investigated the relationship between how teachers viewed themselves as readers and how this was reflected in their teaching. The results of the study revealed that teachers think unknown vocabulary and unfamiliar topic are the most common difficulties students face with comprehending a text. An ideal reading instruction should include reading strategies, teachers use more pre-reading strategies than post-reading strategies, participants who use reading strategies in their daily lives make more use of reading strategies in class. Key words: Reading, Reading strategies, Teachers? beliefs.
An analysis of communication strategies employed by Turkish-speakers of English
Mostly used when students confront with misunderstanding or some difficulty in carrying over their message to their interlocutors, Communication Strategies (CSs) are used by speakers to compensate for language problems. Communication Strategies (CSs) are used by speakers to compensate for language problems. The study of communication strategies has been the focus of a number of applied linguists whose main concern is the analysis of second-language use. Based on regularities in the behavior of interlanguage users, different definitions and different taxonomies of CSs were offered by these linguists. Some researchers claimed that research on CSs should be embedded in a general framework of referential (signified in a specified context) communication. From this perspective, participants were assigned referential communication tasks in this study. CSs, employed in the oral discourse, have been studied among speakers of various languages, such as Swedish, English, Arabic, Japanese, and French by using various data collection tools. However, this issue was not studied in Turkish speaker?s discourse by means of qualitative analysis. Therefore, this study aims to determine the communication strategies employed by Turkish speakers of English. With this aim in mind, 23 freshman students at Cukurova University ELT Department were assigned referential communication tasks in their speaking classes. The findings of the study indicate that two types of strategies emerged in the discussion of the participants: L1-based (language switch and literal translation), and L2-based (repetition, avoidance, paraphrase, ask for help, and mime strategies). Among these strategies, frequency of repetition strategy in Turkish speakers of English is considerably higher than other strategies. Mostly, filler type repetitions and quite frequent self-repairs were observed in the language production of all participants. Although most repetitions functioned as fillers in this study, their self-repair function, though small, cannot not be ignored since detecting one?s own mistakes is accepted to be a clear indicator of certain level of language proficiency. Key Words: communication strategy, oral discourse, speaking, interlanguage, Turkish speaker
An evaluation of English program at Kozan Vocational School of Çukurova University: Students' point of view
This study presents an evaluation of the English program at Kozan Vocational School of Çukurova University from the students point of view. It investigates what the students think about the usefulness and effectiveness of this program and the problems they encounter as well as if this program meets the needs and expectations of the students. In order to achieve this aim, two instruments were used. First of all, a questionnaire by which the students evaluate the program from different perspectives was given. Then, they were interviewed to elicit their opinions about the program. The results reveal that the students face certain problems such as the difficulty of the course content considering their level of English, unattractive and irrelevant course materials, lack of motivation and interest and lack of physical equipments. Thus, the data reveal that the program does not match students? expectations and needs. Therefore, it needs to be improved and adapted for matching to students? future needs. Key words: Evaluation, Program, Needs, Objectives, Content, Assessment Techniques.
A longitudinal study on english language teachers beliefs about disruptive behaviour in classrooms: Case studies from practicum to the first-year in the profession
This study is aimed at examining English language teachers? strategies for handling disruptive behaviour in their classrooms. It identifies and evaluates the processes in which students teachers take part during practicum and then it progresses with an analysis of the change in their ways of dealing with disruptive behaviour when they are first year teachers in the profession. The data has been collected through a number of tools: interviews, observation, dairies, vignette tasks, and stimulated recall discussions. The qualitative data gathered has been analysed using content analysis procedures. The findings reveal that student teachers employ a small number of strategies to deal with disruptions caused by misbehaving students. When they start teaching full-time in the profession, not only they enlarge their repertoire, but also begin to reason their usage of such strategies. Being a longitudinal and in-depth study, it contributes to the understanding of how student teachers develop into novice teachers in terms of their overcoming disruptive behaviour in the frame of a classroom management belief system, and at the same time provides implications for a more efficient teacher education programme. Key Words: Disruptive Behaviour, Professional Development, Teacher Education, Qualitative Research, Constructivism.
Poetry in primary school efl classroom: A language based approach
Much study has been done on the strategies for efficient language learning and teaching. As one of the strategies, representational language learning develops students? awareness of language (McRae, 1996, p.19). Some texts contain features of representational language demonstrating how language works. In addition to their motivating quality, literary texts, which have distinguished linguistic features, are the most appropriate source for representational learning. Instead of traditional literature teaching approaches, applying a language-based approach to literary texts which also gives way to literary criticism is favoured. Language Based Approach (LBA) focuses on the integration of language and literature in classroom teaching (Carter, 1996, p.2). It introduces to students, awareness of what literary communication is and how it works, which is the basic problem of teaching literature (Widdowson, 1975, p.70). In this study it is suggested that LBA affects students? awareness of language use and thinking skills. Considering the rich linguistic patterns of poetry, some poems selected both from British and American Literature will be analyzed in the sense of LBA by eighth grade students at a state school. This study will investigate how the students? awareness of language use and thinking skills are affected adopting LBA whose implications may lead to different strategies of text analyses in English language learning classes. Key Words: Language Based Approach, Language Awareness, Critical Thinking Skills
Implied meaning in dramatic texts: An elt context
This study aims to investigate the function of theories of speech act and conversational implicature in inferencing the implied meaning in dramatic texts. Additionally, it aims to investigate whether the implied meaning in drama can be arrived at by the student- readers in ELT department in Çukurova University. In order to investigate students? awareness of implied meanings in drama a participant group of third- year students in ELT department in Çukurova University have been selected. Participants have been assigned to read two specifically selected extracts from dramatic texts and answer questions measuring their understanding of implied meanings. The findings have revealed that participants have showed a better performance in inferencing the implied meanings in the extract 2 which do not include ironies or metaphors whereas they have showed a relatively poor performance in inferencing the extract 1 which includes ironies and metaphors. Findings have also revealed that participants have showed a better performance when they are guided to implied meanings. Thus, considering the results it can be asserted that students can be directed to implied meanings in the theatrical text by highlighting the illocutionary aspect of utterances and implicatures drawn from these utterances. Additionally, the evaluation of the results illustrates that using speech act theory and conversational implicatures in interpreting the drama in ELT departments can be an efficient approach to the study of drama. Key words: Speech acts, conversational implicature, inferencing, dramatic texts.
The effect of mnemonic vocabulary learning strategy and story telling on young learners' vocabulary learning and retention
Coping with heavy load of vocabulary items, has always been problematic for English language learners. This case study aims at helping students to improve their vocabulary learning and retention skills. Another purpose of the study is to increase students? level of motivation, interest, enjoyment and pleasure towards vocabulary learning by offering meaningful and rich input. To this purpose, we integrated visual mnemonic vocabulary learning strategy into the existing language syllabus through storytelling activities. As sources of data Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS), Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI), Attitude Questionnaire and Interviews were administered. The results were discussed by content analysis and One-Way Repeated Measures of ANOVA. Findings depict the positive contribution of the implementation. Keywords: language learning strategies, vocabulary learning strategies, storytelling activities, teaching young learners.
The influence of task-based reading activities of elf learners attitude and learning outcomes from the students perspective
The purpose of this study was to examine the probable effects of task-based reading activities on the learners? attitude toward reading classes and their learning outcomes as they perceive, in prep classes at Dicle University, Foreign Languages Teaching Application and Research Centre. The data were collected through tasks, feedback forms, diaries, and interviews. Some of tasks were taken from Rooney (1998). Both feedback forms and the rest of tasks were prepared by the researcher. Besides, semi-structured interview was prepared by the researcher too. The participants of the study consisted of totally 50 lower-intermediate level students in two classes of 25. The participants of the study were prep class students at Dicle University Foreign Languages Teaching Application and Research Centre. The data revealed that task based method in reading EFL class enabled FL learners to participate in reading tasks actively, and to be autonomous in the reading process and thus FL learners achieved what their reading class aimed. Also these learners managed to develop metacognitive and cognitive learning strategies throughout such learning method.Key Words: Task, Task-based Instruction, Reading Tasks, Students? Attitudes, Learning OutcomesREADING ACTIVITIES ON EFL LEARNERS? ATTITUDES AND LEARNING OUTCOMES FROM THE STUDENTS? PERSPECTIVE
Contextualized language instruction: Exploring the role of authentic animated stories on the attitudes of young efl learners towards learning English
In this study, the role of contextualized language instruction through authentic animated stories in teaching EFL to YLs was investigated. The potential role of using such an approach was assessed in terms of students? attitudes towards learning English. 31 sixth grade students aged 11-12 participated in the study. Five authentic animated stories were used as overarching themes into which some basic vocabulary, structures, and functions of the target language were integrated. For the purposes of this study, data were collected by employing an attitude questionnaire, an open-ended questionnaire, a semi-structured interview, and lesson evaluation forms. On the whole, the outcome of the study is that students kept their initial positive attitudes towards learning English with contextualized language instruction through authentic animated stories. The study also proved that students? concerns related to learning English decreased through such instruction. The findings of the present research suggest that authentic animated stories offer teachers opportunities to present and recycle vocabulary, grammar, and functions of the target language in context through integrating many extension activities related to the story theme.Key Words: Contextualized language instruction, authentic animated stories, teaching English to young learners, attitude.