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A comparative study on the L2 motivational self system of Syrian refugee and Turkish learners of English
This study aimed to compare the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) of Syrian refugee and Turkish learners of English and identify the possible relationship among the eight constructs of L2MSS between the two groups. The study adopted a descriptive non-experimental correlational research design and collected data from 479 learners aged 13-18 through a structured L2MSS questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test and ANOVA tests were used to calculate the mean scores and explore how the two groups differed in L2MSS. To identify potential correlations between the constructs, the Pearson Correlation Coefficient was calculated. Results showed that Syrian refugee learners had higher mean scores on each motivational construct of L2MSS than Turkish learners of English. Cultural interest and ideal L2 self-received the highest mean scores from both groups. Further results indicated a statistically significant difference between Turkish and refugee learners with regard to integrativeness, attitudes to learning English, milieu, ideal L2 self, ought to L2 self and intended learning effort. Considering anxiety and cultural interest, the results yielded no significant difference between the groups. Lastly, integrativeness correlated positively and strongly with attitudes to learning English, ideal L2 self and intended learning effort for both Syrian refugee and Turkish learners.
21st century skills in English Language Teaching (ELT) programs in Turkey: A case study
The rapidly developing technology has affected our lives in many ways. For this reason, there is a need to develop some new skills required by our age in education. The concept of 21st century skills have entered our lives. This study aimed to see, after the latest decision of the Council of Higher Education, Turkey on authorizing Education Faculties to design their own curricula, to what extent the 21st century skills were included in English language teacher training programs; to compare the perspectives of students and academics of the programs and to discuss the effectiveness of the program in terms of gaining the 21st century skills. For this purpose, data were collected by using the triangulation method via document analysis, questionnaires, and interview forms. The programs released on the web pages of randomly selected Education Faculties of 4 different universities were examined using document analysis, the questionnaire was administered to the randomly selected academics and students, and interviews were conducted. This case study adopted mixed methods research design based on both qualitative and quantitative data. At the end of the study, the courses aiming at improving the 21st century skills in English language teacher training programs, the viewpoints of the participant students and academics conducting courses related to the 21st century skills development were determined. Thus, a scientific study was carried out on how effective English language teacher training programs in our country could raise teachers with these skills and have the potential to develop these skills in their students.
The influence of peer-interaction on middle school students' learning motivation
This research's aim is to investigate the impact of peer interaction on middle school students' learning motivation for English. In this study, the researcher collected both qualitative and quantitative data using a quasi-experimental research design. Firstly, the quantitative data were collected via Gardner's Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) (Gardner, 1985), which is originally a 6-point Likert format and was adapted to a 5-point scale ranging from 'Strongly Agree' to 'Strongly Disagree' by (Dogan, 2009). The initial quantitative data were analysed with the latest version of SPSS. Secondly, regarding qualitative data, a student interview form and a teacher interview form were also be utilised, all of which were also developed by the researcher. Interviews with the students and the teachers were audio-recorded and transcribed. Thematic content analysis was used to examine qualitative data. The results have revealed that CLT is much more effective in motivating the students' English learning skills by giving them a chance to practice their passive knowledge of English gained through GTM lessons. Moreover, board games are the most motivating CLT activity for the learners since as a fun activity, the board games match the students' age range. Due to the national examination system which requires grammar and vocabulary test-taking skills, GTM will remain the dominant lesson shape in the school curricula, however, CLT lessons may also gain a foothold in teaching English as a Foreign Language to the students.
Almanca öğretmeni adaylarında sınıf içi etkileşim becerisinin geliştirilmesine yönelik bir araştırma
Yabancı dil öğretimi alanında uzun zamandır öğretmen merkezli yaklaşımdan öğrenci merkezli ve eylem odaklı öğrenme sürecine doğru bir eğilim söz konusudur. Bu açıdan sınıf içi etkileşim becerisi yabancı dil öğretmenleri için anahtar bir beceri olarak görülmektedir. Bu bağlamda, yabancı dil olarak Almanca öğretmen adaylarının Öğretmenlik Uygulaması sürecinde sınıf içi etkileşim, öğretmen dili, öğrenmeyi teşvik eden ya da engelleyen etkileşimsel özelliklerin etkileri konusunda bilinçlendirilmesi büyük önem taşımaktadır. Bu tez çalışması, Öğretmenlik Uygulaması dersi kapsamında, etkileşimsel özellikleri merkeze alan, uygulamalı bir eğitim programının etkilerinin incelendiği ve sekiz Almanca öğretmen adayının katıldığı bir örnek olay incelemesidir. Almanca öğretmen adaylarının etkileşimsel özellikler ile sınıf içi etkileşim becerisine ilişkin algılarını ve eğitim programının öğretmen adaylarının algılarında bir değişikliğe yol açıp açmadığını belirlemek için, eğitim programı öncesi ve sonrasında bir anket uygulanmıştır. Ayrıca, Almanca öğretmen adaylarının etkileşim becerilerinde öznel olarak algılanan değişiklikler olup olmadığı incelenmiştir. Bu amaçla öğretmen adayları düzenli aralıklarla yansıtıcı raporlar yazmışlardır. Bununla birlikte, eğitim programı değerlendirme formu kullanılarak ve görüşme yapılarak öğretmen adaylarının eğitim programı ve sürecine ilişkin değerlendirmeleri ve görüşleri hakkında veri toplanmıştır. Çalışmanın sonuçları, eğitim süresince Almanca öğretmen adaylarının etkileşim becerilerinin belirgin bir şekilde geliştiğini göstermektedir. Bununla ilişkili olarak öğretmen adayları değerlendirmelerinde programın mesleki gelişim süreçlerine kanıtlanabilir düzeyde katkılarından bahsetmişlerdir. Ayrıca Öğretmenlik Uygulaması dersinin SETT çerçeve programına göre yeniden planlanması için somut ve yapıcı önerilerde bulunmuşlardır, bu durum ise öğretmen adaylarının geleceğin yabancı dil öğretmenlerinin yetiştirilmesi sürecinde söz konusu eğitim programının gerekliliğine ve faydasına inandıklarının göstergesidir. Anahtar sözcükler: etkileşim becerisi, Almanca öğretmeni yetiştirme, etkileşimsel özellikler, SETT-Çerçeve Programı, mesleki gelişim.
The impact of group dynamic assessment on grammar achievement of EFL learners
Taking its roots from the Vygotskian sociocultural theory of cognitive development, Dynamic Assessment (DA) has proved to be a valuable tool in psychological and educational research for a long time. However, DA has recently been employed in the field of SLA and given promising results. Considering the gap in the literature, this study sought to investigate the impact of Group Dynamic Assessment (G-DA) on development of B1 EFL learners' control over narrative tenses. A total of 72 students were included in the study and divided into two groups as experimental and control. Employing a mixed-methods design, the data of the study were collected via multiple sources including grammar tests on narrative tenses, a written transcendence task, recordings of G-DA sessions, semi-structured interview, and reflective teacher journal. During the intervention in which interactionist approach to DA was employed, experimental group learners were offered contingent and graduated mediation from implicit to explicit in response to emergent needs of the learners in a dialogic interaction for four weeks while control group received explicit corrective feedback. The findings revealed outperformance of the experimental group on the grammar test. It was also found that the experimental group showed a more varied, more accurate, and higher number of tense use in the transcendence task. The analysis of DA sessions revealed that the experimental group had higher self-regulation abilities compared to the control group, who had a higher need for other-regulation. Finally, the perspectives of the learners and the teacher about the implementation of DA in a classroom context were analyzed and interpreted. Considering the potential of DA for L2 learning, implications and suggestions were provided.
EFL teacher cognition in corrective feedback on pronunciation: A case study
The present study aimed to investigate experienced English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' cognitions of providing corrective feedback (CF) on learners' pronunciation errors. By employing a qualitative mode of enquiry, the study set out to portray teachers' knowledge, beliefs, and feelings about correcting learners' pronunciation errors as well as the factors helped shape them. The study also intended to demonstrate the consistencies and inconsistencies between teachers' stated beliefs and their actual practices. To this end, a case study approach was adopted, and the data was collected through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and post-observation conferences. Two experienced teachers participated in the study. The findings revealed that these teachers held both convergent and divergent beliefs about whether to correct pronunciation errors or not, which ones to correct and what techniques to use for correction. The study also revealed that the teachers' cognitions developed under the influence of certain contextual factors (i.e., student profile, syllabus, and supplementary materials) and personal factors (i.e., previous language learning experiences, prior teaching experiences and lack of confidence). Lastly, the study showed that most of their beliefs were corroborated by their practices except a few discrepancies. The teachers never addressed suprasegmental errors although they said they would, and they failed to vary their correction methods as much as they initially reported by not employing certain correction tools and techniques they mentioned before. The present study might have important implications for teachers, teacher educators and curriculum designers.
Yabancı dil olarak Fransızca öğretiminde sinema atölyesi: Nitel bir durum çalışması
2001 yılında Avrupa Konseyi tarafından yayınlanan Diller için Avrupa Ortak Başvuru Metni (AOBM) ile birlikte ortaya çıkan Eylem Odaklı Yaklaşım (EOY), yabancı dil öğretimi/öğrenimi sürecinde özellikle gerçek iletişim durumlarının oluşturulmasına büyük önem vermektedir. Bu yaklaşım dilin, birer sosyal aktör olarak tanımlanan öğrenenler tarafından gerçekleştirilen görevler aracılığıyla, yaparak ve yaşayarak öğrenilmesi ilkesine dayanmaktadır. Yabancı dil derslerinde görevler ve eylemler, yararlılık ve gerçek sosyal yaşamda kullanılabilirlik durumları dikkate alınarak uygulanmakta ve öğretim/öğrenim süreci bu şekilde sürdürülmektedir. Bu bağlamda, Sinema Atölyesi, Eylem Odaklı Yaklaşımın temel ilkelerine uyan, yabancı dil öğrenenlerin, iletişim ve etkileşimlerini gerçek sosyal bir ortamda gerçekleştirerek, dilsel ve sosyo-kültürel becerilerini geliştirmelerine yardımcı olacak, Fransızca düşünmeyi sağlayacak bir etkinlik olarak düşünülmektedir. Bu çalışmanın temel amacı "Sinema Atölyesi" etkinliklerinin Eylem Odaklı Yaklaşımın ilkelerine uygun olarak etkin bir biçimde nasıl gerçekleştirilebileceğini gözlemlemek ve bir durum çalışması ile bunları ortaya koymaktır. Bunun yanı sıra, sinema destekli Fransızca öğretimi/öğreniminin öğrenenlerin çeşitli becerilerinin geliştirilmesine ne şekilde katkıda bulunabileceğini ve bu sürece katkı sağlamak için nasıl kullanabileceğini incelemektir.
Orientation to teacher identity as an interactional resource in L2 testing and evaluation classroom interaction in a teacher education context
Studies of interaction-based reflective practices in training pre-service English teachers have been gaining momentum; however, the micro-analysis of classroom interactional processes emerging in teacher education programs have not been adequately investigated. Besides, interaction studies conducted with L2 pre-service teachers mostly focus on "how to teach?" question and "how to test?" remains scarce. Drawing on multimodal Conversation Analysis (CA), this study investigates an English Language Testing and Evaluation (ELTE) course in an undergraduate program and presents a micro-analysis of language test item reviewing (IR) sessions in this course. The analysis reveals an interactional practice of the L2 teacher educator, Orientation to Teacher Identity (OTI), emerging in test item problematization (TIP) sequences to either problematize the test items or to elaborate on the problems. In both cases, the L2 teacher educator positions the L2 teacher trainees as actual English teachers in interaction, assigns a set of responsibilities relating to English teaching and testing, and charges them with displaying these responsibilities when writing language test items. These findings implicate that teacher educators may exploit pre-service teachers' identities for enacting professional actions. Also, L2 teacher trainees can benefit from dialogic reflection sessions to improve their practice of language test item writing. Lastly, problems in the trainees' test items highlight the importance of developing their language awareness necessary for pedagogical and/or professional activities. Overall, classroom interaction research exploring ELTE course context may unveil the interactional and pedagogical processes that contribute to the development of pre-service English teachers' L2 testing and evaluation knowledge and skills.
The influence of conventional and distance flipped instruction on EFL learners' self-regulation skills and anxiety while teaching speaking skills
Flipped learning has emerged as an innovative approach and provided interactive opportunities for students who are rapidly adopting new technologies. In a flipped classroom, learners are required to do cognitively challenging and engaging tasks in class instead of trying to do this "heavy work" at home. With the spread of the COVID-19, a new concept has also appeared: distance or online flipped instruction, which basically refers to flipping synchronous online classes. To this end, the present study attempts to find out the possible influence of conventional flipped instruction along with online flipped instruction on EFL learners' self-regulated L2 learning strategy use and foreign language classroom anxiety while teaching speaking skills. Nearly 80 A2 level students at Middle East Technical University participated in the study. Four intact classes were randomly assigned to one of the two treatment groups: experimental and control. The experimental group students started to use Google Classroom application besides their regular classes. In the experimental group, students were required to watch videos and take notes on various topics before the actual lesson. The influence of the flipped learning model on learners' self-regulatory behaviours and foreign language classroom anxiety was analyzed by comparing control and experimental groups' survey results before and after the implementation of the flipped instruction. Finally, to get a deeper understanding, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten students to explore the learners' views in the experimental group as well.
A study on investigating the factors that demotivate learners of English as a foreign language (EFL)
The issue of demotivation in foreign language learning is a relatively new area that has recently gained attention. For success in foreign language learning, it is of great importance to determine the source of the demotivation that students have towards language learning and to eliminate these factors. This research, adopting a sequential exploratory mixed research design, aims to develop a demotivation scale for foreign language learners. Within the scope of this scale development study, comprehensive literature review, semi-structured interviews with the participation of 17 teachers, and student compositions collected from 25 university preparatory class students were employed to create the item pool of the scale. After creating the item pool, two experts in the field of language teaching and educational sciences were consulted, and some minor changes were made on the scale. In order to test the validity and reliability of the developed scale, a pilot study was conducted with the participation of 250 university students. In order to verify the data obtained as a result of the pilot study by means of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), the main study was conducted with the participation of 533 university students. According to the results, a demotivation scale consisting of 35 items and 5 factors was developed. The factor names of the developed scale are as follows: (1) Teaching methods and teaching process, (2) Teaching material, teaching environment, and teaching facilities, (3) Teacher competence and teacher attitudes, (4) Failure experiences and lack of self-confidence, and (5) Negative attitudes towards the target language.
Exploring the link between anxiety, enjoyment, and achievement in foreign language classes
The present study critically examines the relationship between foreign language enjoyment, foreign language anxiety, and language achievement in the Turkish context. Thiis research is designed to investigate the role of positive emotions in the field of language education. The current study is carried out in the spring term in the 2019-2020 academic year. Participants are 233 fifth-grade students studying at a state secondary school. In this study, a mixed-method research design is adopted. The quantitative part of the study is conducted by using two questionnaires, which are Foreign Language Enjoyment scale and Children's Foreign Language Anxiety Scale. Qualitative data is collected by using semi-structured interviews and reflective journals. A total of 12 students participate in the qualitative phase of the study. Data is analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics, as well as content analysis. It is found that students experience high level of enjoyment and moderate level of anxiety in their English classes. No significant difference exists between FLE and gender. On the other hand, the results indicate that gender is a significant determinant of FLA. It is also revealed that teacher strictness is a factor associated with both FLE and FLA. Moreover, a negative correlation is detected between anxiety and enjoyment. One of the most important findings of the study is that FLE is a predictive factor for language achievement. The qualitative results indicate that language anxiety and language enjoyment stem from factors including self, teacher, and classroom environment.
Teaching collocations through data-driven learning: Comparison of two approaches
The present study aimed to investigate the effects of two data-driven collocation learning approaches (Corpus Consultancy and Practice on English-Turkish Parallel Texts) on participants' receptive and productive collocational knowledge of form, use and meaning. The study employed a quantitative research design; the data were collected through a vocabulary size test, a vocabulary knowledge scale, and a receptive and productive knowledge tests with a total number of 43 participants (N 14 in the Web-based group, N 16 in the Parallel Texts Group, and N 13 in the Control group). The Corpus Group received training on using a corpus to find and induce the meaning of the target collocations (10 adjective-noun and 10 verb-noun) through the COCA corpus. On the other hand, the Parallel Texts Group studied a small corpus consisting of English extracts containing target collocations taken from COCA corpus side by side with their L1 translations. The Control group, however, was expected to find the meanings of the collocations by resorting online dictionaries. The perceptions of the participants on both experimental approaches were also elicited via a structured survey consisting of open-ended questions. The results showed that The Corpus Group outperformed the Control Group both in both receptive and productive tests, while the Parallel Texts Group's scores remained to be in between in most cases. The participants in the Corpus Group and the Parallel Texts Group shared their perceived benefits and drawbacks of the approaches.
Analysis of speaking skill in high school English language curricula and coursebooks in Turkey
The aim of the current study is to investigate the distribution of the speaking skill in the English language curricula and the coursebooks of high schools in Turkey from the perspective of Bloom's revised taxonomy. The relationship and differences between the speaking outcomes in the high school English language curricula and the speaking activities in the high school English language coursebooks have been determined according to the cognitive process and knowledge dimensions in the taxonomy. Based on a mixed-method research design, document analysis has been chosen to collect data from the high school English language curricula and the coursebooks for the grades between 9th and 12th in Turkey. Data have been analyzed through content analysis and placed into the taxonomy table. Findings have been presented with their frequencies and percentages in tables. The interpretation of the findings has been made relating to the dimensions of Bloom's revised taxonomy. At the end of the study, it has been revealed that both the speaking outcomes in the curricula and the speaking activities in the coursebooks are mostly placed in the lower order categories according to the cognitive process dimension, in all the grades except for the 12th grade. Besides, it has been found that most of the outcomes and activities are based on conceptual knowledge and there are not any outcomes or activities aiming at metacognitive knowledge. The study presents suggestions to the curriculum designers, coursebook writers, and teachers.
Influence of the linguistic multi-competence on Turkish efl teachers' pronunciation of stress-timed rhythm in English
Linguistic multi-competence holds that the knowledge of more than one language in the L2 user's mind results in an overall system in which there is a constant state of inter-connectedness between cross-language components. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of linguistic multi-competence on L2 speech rhythm through acoustic analysis. The study design comprised the criteria of L2 evidence, (outer) baselines, multiple-language evidence, and total system. The study was conducted online via audio-conferencing. The study group consisted of seven multi-competent Turkish EFL teachers, who have successively acquired English as their L2. Across three elicitation methods, read and spontaneous speech samples were collected from the multi-competent participants for both English and Turkish. The speech data, segmented by the researcher, were analysed using Praat, measuring rhythm metrics ΔC and %V, as well as articulation rate. The acoustic analysis has yielded that the type of rhythm in Turkish speech differs from that of English, highlighting rhythm as a language-specific property that needs to be accommodated in L2 acquisition. Furthermore, it was revealed that even highly proficient non-native teachers of English bear traces of their L1 in L2 speech rhythm, which could denote that it is nearly impossible to constrain the effects of knowing multiple languages in speech production. It was accordingly concluded that rhythm, affected by the idiosyncratic state of bi/multilingual cognition, is a suprasegmental feature that needs to be integrated into the L2 user's multi-competence as part of an inter-connected meaning-making system.
Çeviri kavramının entegrasyonu: Netzwerk Almanca (Ders, çalışma, öğretmen) kitabı örneği
Yapılan çalışma, dil öğretimi sürecinde karşılaşılan kelime, yapı ve becerilerin, bireyin ana dilinde eşdeğerlilik kazanması ile kalıcılığın olabileceğine yönelik savı dikkate alınarak, dil öğretiminin temel becerilerine katkı sağlayan çeviri alıştırmaları üretilmesi ve çevirinin öğretici yönünün dil öğretimine entegre edilmesi üzerinedir. Bu araştırmada üretilen çeviri alıştırmalarıyla ''yabancı dil öğretiminde çevirinin entegrasyonu'' hedeflenmiştir. Bu kapsam ışığında sınırlılıklar belirlenmiş, nitel bir çalışma eşliğinde, doküman analizi yönteminden yararlanılmıştır. Aynı zamanda yapılan çalışma Materyal geliştirme ile desteklenmiştir. Bu çalışmada ikinci yabancı dil olarak öğretilen Almanca dersi için Avrupa Dilleri Öğretimi Ortak Çerçevesi Programının esaslarına uygun üretilen ve A1 seviyesine uygun olan Netzwerk kitabı incelenmiştir. Çalışmada, çeviri alıştırmalarına yer verilmiştir. Yer verilen bu çeviri alıştırmaları, sınırlılık içerisinde yer alan ikinci yabancı dil öğretiminde Almanca dersinde kullanılan Netzwerk A1 kitabının kazanımlarına uygun olarak dört temel beceriye yardımcı bir şekilde üretilmiştir. Çalışmanın birinci bölümünde problem durumu, araştırmanın amacı ve önemi gibi konular yer aldıktan sonra devam eden ikinci bölümde, dil öğretiminde çevirinin yeri ve önemi, çeviri tarihi, Almanca öğretiminde çeviri, çevirinin dil öğretiminde olumlu ve olumsuz yönleri, dil becerileri kapsamında çeviri ve ilgili akademik çalışmalar yer almıştır. Bu bölümde geçmişten günümüze çeviriye olan bakış açısına değinilmiş, tarih boyunca dil öğretiminde hangi alanlarda kendine yer bulduğu incelenmiştir. Aynı zamanda çevirinin bünyesinde bulundurduğu öğretici yönlerin dil becerileri üzerindeki etkisi, çeviri üzerine yapılan akademik çalışmalar ve bu akademik çalışmalarda çeviriye olan bakış açısı geçmişten günümüz tarihine kadar sıralı bir şekilde araştırılmıştır. Sıralı bir şekilde verilen akademik çalışmalar çeviriye olan bakış açısında ne gibi bir değişim ya da kullanımının desteklenmesi noktasındaki düşünceleri gözler önüne sermiştir.Çalışmanın üçüncü bölümünde araştırmanın materyali ve doküman inceleme işlemi hakkında bilgi verildikten sonra dördüncü bölümde sınırlılığı oluşturan, Netzwerk kitabında çeviriye ne ölçüde ve hangi beceriler üzerinden yer verildiği 12 ünite kapsamınca incelenmiştir. İnceleme sonucunda yeteri kadar, dört temel beceri üzerinden çeviriye yer verilmediği tespit edilmiş olup, söz konusu olan kitap başlangıcında çevirinin önemine olan vurgu tespit edilmiştir. Bu bakımdan adı geçen kitapta bu husus bir eksiklik olarak görülmüş ve bulgular ortaya konulmuştur. Çalışmanın beşinci ve son bölümünde yabancı dil öğretiminde çeviri uygulamaları başlığı altında ele alınan, sınırlılık kapsamında yer alan kitaptaki 12 ünitenin kazanımlara uygun olarak, dört temel beceriyi destekleyici çeviri alıştırmaları üretilmiştir. Bu noktada çalışma çeviri etkinlikleri kapsamında materyal geliştirme ile desteklenmiştir ve Türkiye' de yabancı dil olarak Almanca derslerinde ve okutulan kitaplarda dört temel beceriye yönelik çeviri entegrasyonunun yer alması gerektiği öneriler arasındadır.
The cross-cultural effect of Erasmus+ mobility programs on mediating intercultural competence in foreign language education
The Erasmus+ program has provided its participants with the opportunity to participate in international visits for educational purposes and engage with different cultures since 2014. This program highlights the significance of foreign language education, notably in fostering intercultural competence through international experiences and multicultural interactions. Similarly, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and its Companion Volume (2020) are grounded on the principle that language education ought to foster both language skills and intercultural communicative competence through mediation skills. This strong link supports that Erasmus+ mobility programs influence participants' language abilities and intercultural competence. In this context, this research focuses on the experiences of teachers and students participating in the Erasmus+ program in schools affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in Nevşehir, Türkiye. In the study, a mixed-methods approach is adopted, based on quantitative data collected through questionnaires and analyzed with SPSS 22.0, and qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed with NVivo 13.0 software and thematic analysis methods. This study aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of Erasmus+ mobility programs in developing intercultural competence in foreign language education, to contribute to the literature with information obtained from the experiences of participating teachers and students from Nevşehir province, and to develop recommendations for future program planning. At the end of the study, answers are obtained to the research questions, and it is concluded that the Erasmus+ program facilitates intercultural competence. Based on the findings obtained at the end of the study, recommendations are made regarding educational practices.
The effects of mindfulness practices on foreign language speaking anxiety, speaking performance and level of awareness
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of a 6-week mindfulness training program on foreign language speaking anxiety, speaking performance, and general mindfulness levels of university preparatory class students. The study was conducted at a state university in Nevşehir and comprised 46 participants (n=24 experimental, n=22 control). Quantitative data were collected using the Public Speaking Class Anxiety Scale (PSCAS) and the Mindfulness Awareness Scale (MAAS) as pre-test and post-test. Additionally, the participants were supposed to complete reflection forms on the topic at the end of each week, and they were also given short tasks to practice outside the class. As a result of the analysis, a significant difference was found between the post-test levels of the MAAS between the two groups, which means the general awareness levels of participants in the experimental group were higher than those in the control group (p=0.01) at the end of training. Although there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of the PSCAS post-test levels (p=0.24), it was observed that the rate of decrease (p=0.04) in the anxiety levels of the participants in the experimental group was higher than that of the participants in the control group. Qualitative data also supported the decrease in speaking anxiety of the participants in the experimental group. The general views of the participants endorse that mindfulness training may potentially affect foreign language speaking performance. As a result, it was concluded that mindfulness practices may reduce university students' speaking anxiety in a foreign language, increase their general awareness levels, and improve their speaking skills.
Stefan Zweig'ın Satranç isimli eserindeki deyimlerin, atasözlerinin ve kalıp ifadelerin çevirilerinin Mona Baker'in çeviri stratejileri bağlamında incelenmesi
Çeviri, insanlık tarihi boyunca var olan bir faaliyettir. Geçmişten bugüne tarih boyunca çeviri uygulamaları insanlıkla birlikte ilerlemiş ve gelişmiştir. İnsanlık tarihinde tek bir evrensel dilin olmaması ve toplumlar arasında farklı dillerin kullanılmasıyla çeviri etkinliği kaçınılmaz olmuştur. Bu doğrultuda da farklı milletler arasındaki iletişim devam ettiği müddetçe çeviri faaliyetlerinin de süreceği açıktır. Bu çalışmada, Stefan Zweig'ın "Satranç" adlı eserinin Almancadan Türkçeye çevirisinde karşılaşılan kalıp ifadeler, atasözleri ve deyimler, Mona Baker'in Çeviri Stratejileri çerçevesinde ele alınmıştır. Her dil ve kültürde yazılı veya sözlü iletişimde, birkaç kelimeyle çok şey ifade eden ve kültürün önemli bir parçası olan atasözleri ve deyimler bulunmaktadır. Bu araştırmada nitel araştırma yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Nitel araştırma, sosyal olguları bağlı bulundukları çevre içerisinde araştırmayı ve anlamayı ön plana alan bir yaklaşımdır. Ayrıca çalışmada doküman analizi yöntemine başvurulmuştur. Doküman analizi, araştırma verilerinin birincil kaynağı olarak çeşitli dokümanların toplanması, gözden geçirilmesi, sorgulanması ve analizi olarak tanımlanabilen bilimsel bir araştırma yöntemidir. Bu bağlamda Duden yayın evine ait, Duden Band 11 Redewendungen ve Ömer Asım Aksoy'un, Atasözleri ve Deyimler Sözlüğü 1-2 temel kaynak olarak kullanılmıştır. Ogün Duman tarafından 2018 Nisan baskılı Stefan Zweig'ın Satranç isimli eserinin çevirisindeki Türkçe ve Almanca deyimler taranmıştır. Seçilen örneklemler içerik analizi yöntemiyle incelenmiştir. Çalışma boyunca Stefan Zweig'ın 'Satranç' isimli eserinde geçen toplam 112 Almanca ifade, onların Türkçeye çevirisi ve kullanılan çeviri yöntemleri verilmiştir. 60 Deyim ve 52 kalıp ifade ele alınmıştır. Hem kaynak metinde hem de çeviri metninde atasözüne rastlanmamıştır. Yarı Eşdeğerlik (%50), en yaygın kullanılan yöntem olarak öne çıkmaktadır. Bu, kaynak metindeki ifadelerin hedef dile genişletilerek aktarılmasının tercih edildiğini göstermektedir. Tam Eşdeğerlik (%38), ikinci sırada yer almakta olup, özellikle terimlerin veya kavramların doğrudan karşılıklarıyla çevrildiği durumlarda başvurulduğu anlaşılmaktadır. Çıkarma Yoluyla Çeviri (%5) ve Açımlama (%7) ise daha az tercih edilen yöntemlerdir. Bu yöntemlerin, metinlerin yapısına veya bağlamına bağlı olarak sınırlı kullanım alanı bulduğu söylenebilir. Sonuç olarak, çeviri sürecinde Yarı Eşdeğerlik ve tam eşdeğerlik yöntemlerinin ağırlıklı olarak benimsendiği, buna karşılık diğer yöntemlerin daha nadir uygulandığı tespit edilmiştir.
Almanca öğretmenliği mezunları ve son sınıf öğrencilerinin Yabancı Dil Sınavı'na (YDS) yönelik düşünceleri: Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli Üniversitesi örneği
Bu çalışma, Türkiye'de yabancı dil öğretmenlerinin karşılaştıkları sorunları genel hatlarıyla ortaya koymayı ve özellikle Almanca öğretmen adaylarının YDS sınavına ilişkin algı ve deneyimlerini incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Yabancı dil öğretimi, diğer ders alanlarından farklı olarak iletişimsel becerilerin kazanımını hedefleyen karmaşık bir süreçtir. Ancak öğretmenlerin eğitim, istihdam ve uygulama aşamalarında çok çeşitli yapısal ve pedagojik sorunlarla karşılaştıkları görülmektedir. Bu bağlamda çalışma; atama politikaları, müfredat ve materyal yetersizliği, öğrenci motivasyonu, fiziksel altyapı eksiklikleri, öğretim yöntemlerine ilişkin problemler, hizmet içi eğitimlerin yetersizliği ve ölçme-değerlendirme eksiklikleri gibi temel başlıklarda sorun alanlarını incelemektedir. Bununla birlikte Almanca öğretmen adaylarının YDS sürecinde yaşadıkları kaygılar, sınava dair algıları ve sosyal baskı unsurları da bu çalışmanın inceleme alanına dahil edilmiştir. Araştırma, nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden fenomenolojik desen ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Katılımcı grubunu, 2024-2025 eğitim öğretim yılında YDS Almanca sınavına hazırlanan farklı yaş, cinsiyet ve akademik geçmişe sahip 21 Almanca öğretmen adayı oluşturmaktadır. Katılımcılar amaçlı örnekleme ile seçilmiş, veriler yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme formu aracılığıyla toplanmıştır. Elde edilen veriler, içerik analizi yöntemiyle çözümlenmiş; katılımcı ifadeleri temalar hâlinde gruplandırılarak analiz edilmiştir. Çalışma sonucunda, Almanca öğretmen adaylarının YDS'ye dair yüksek düzeyde kaygı yaşadıkları, sınavın öğretmenlik becerileriyle örtüşmediğini düşündükleri ve sosyal çevre beklentilerinin başarı algılarını etkilediği tespit edilmiştir.
An in-depth analysis of perceptions about the relationships between Turkish pre-service EFL teachers and their mentor teachers in terms of classroom management skills
AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF THE PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN TURKISH PRE-SERVICE EFL TEACHERS AND THEIR MENTOR TEACHERS IN TERMS OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT SKILLS ABSTRACT Teaching practicum is a process that aims to prepare prospective English teachers for their future professions by enhancing their teaching skills. Teaching skills is an umbrella term that includes many subskills. Classroom management skills are one of the most essential ones because classroom management affects all aspects of teaching and learning activities. Because of this undeniable effect, giving the necessary importance is inevitable to improve it during the teaching practicum. However, other stakeholders of the practicum play a vital role in improving pre-service English teachers' classroom management skills, especially the mentor teachers who are assigned to guide them in the practicum. To this end, the study focuses on an in-depth analysis of the relationships between pre-service English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers and mentor teachers in terms of classroom management skills. A qualitative research design was used to conduct the study. Although semi-structured interviews were used as the main data collection tool, focus group interviews, which were used as a source of data triangulation, were conducted immediately before the semi-structured interviews with six prospective English language teachers and six mentor teachers to frame the questions asked in the semi-structured interviews and to observe the effects of group dynamics and group culture on the way the participants answered the interview questions. Focus group interviews were used as a data triangulation source. Apart from focus group interviews, 15 pre-service English teachers and 15 mentor teachers were interviewed separately for semi-structured interviews for a detailed investigation of the research topic. Before these interviews, pilot interviews were conducted with a prospective EFL teacher and a mentor teacher, and these interviews were also included in the data collection process. Finally, a research journal kept by the researcher, which aims to present the thesis writing process, was used for data triangulation. In the data analysis process, an inductive approach and thematic analysis were applied, and expert opinion was consulted regarding the results of the analysis. The findings of the study demonstrated that the relationships between prospective English teachers and mentor teachers affect the productivity of the teaching practicum process regarding classroom management skills. However, the way it is affected by these interactions depends on the mentees' and the mentor teachers' perceptions and approaches to constructing relationships during teaching practicum. The findings showed that having positive and supportive relationships with mentor teachers provides opportunities for mentees to enhance their classroom management skills through guidance, support, and instructions from them. Yet, constructing negative and unsupportive relationships with mentor teachers prevents them from learning from a more knowledgeable other and improving their classroom management skills. Considering the details that the findings presented about the relationships between these two significant components concerning classroom management skills, this study may contribute to the field by giving special attention, which is necessary for in-depth analysis and comprehensible understanding of the topic. Keywords: Pre-service EFL Teachers, Mentor Teachers, Classroom Management.
English teachers' and students' opinions about English speaking and listening exams in secondary schools: problems and solutions
Since English has emerged as the universal language of communication, language education must include the development of communicative skills. Writing and grammar-based practices have historically dominated foreign language assessment and teaching in Türkiye. However, the implementation of performance-based speaking and listening assessments formally started in secondary schools in 2023. Despite its goal of improving students' communication skills, this reform presented several difficulties during implementation. This study aims to explore the perceptions of English teachers and secondary school students regarding the newly implemented speaking and listening exams. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather data from 15 students attending an Imam Hatip secondary school in Kahramanmaraş and 14 English teachers employed in various provinces, utilising a qualitative research design. Additionally, observations were made in the classroom. Content analysis was used to examine the data. The results showed that the exams had a positive impact on students' motivation, confidence, and language proficiency. Nevertheless, several issues also emerged, including inadequate class time, overcrowded classrooms, a lack of technology, teachers' inadequate preparation, and students' exam anxiety. To guarantee the successful administration of the examinations, teachers emphasised the need for standardised procedures, in-service training, and enhanced technology tools. In conclusion, this study highlights both the strengths and weaknesses of the new assessment system, providing valuable insights for practitioners and policymakers. The findings highlight the critical importance of creating fair, reliable, and standardised assessments, as such assessments are essential to ensure the system's long-term sustainability and its alignment with Turkey's broader educational objectives.
The impact of digital gamification on vocabulary development of the 8th grade students
This study investigates the effect of digital gamification on improving vocabulary acquisition among 8th grade secondary school students. In the study designed with a quasi-experimental method, the vocabulary acquisition results of the experimental and control groups consisting of students in a public school at the secondary school level were compared. For the research, an experimental and control group were created from 8th grade students. There were 20 students in the experimental group and 24 students in the control group, which include equal proportions of both female and male students. The main goal of the study is to compare the impact of digital gamification, which integrates interactive and context-rich vocabulary activities into technology, with traditional vocabulary teaching methods based on memorization and exercises in the textbook. Digital gamification was applied to the experimental group in the study. Data obtained from pre-test and post-test were used to measure the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable. Both groups were given a certain amount of time to implement digital gamification after completing the vocabulary pre-test. Differences in vocabulary acquisition in the two groups were evaluated by applying a post-test. Moreover, the participants in the experimental group shared their thoughts about the process on the Padlet platform after each lesson. Based on both qualitative and quantitative data, it was revealed that the vocabulary acquisition of the gamification group was significantly improved compared to the control group. On the other hand, the results support that the students in the experimental group exhibited considerable enjoyment and demonstrated high levels of motivation throughout the session. The findings of the research show how these interactive teaching strategies, ensuring student participation in the lesson, can increase vocabulary acquisition.
Yabancı dil olarak Almanca öğretiminde fiilimsilerin yazma becerilerinin amaca uygun geliştirilmesine katkısı
Bu çalışmada dilbilgisi alanında önemli bir yere sahip olan fiilimsilerin hem kaynak hem de yapı bakımından farklı iki dil olan Almanca ve Türkçedeki kullanımı ile bu kullanımın yazma becerilerinin amaca uygun geliştirilmesine katkısı ele alınmıştır. Türkçe ve Almancada fiilimsilerin kullanım farklılıkları ve benzerlikleri tespit edilmeye çalışılmıştır. Yabancı dil olarak Almanca öğretiminde önemli bir yere sahip olan fiilimsilerin Türkçede karşıladığı anlamı ve kullanımı tespit edilerek Almancada fiilimsiler konusunu anlamayı ve öğretmeyi kolaylaştırmak esas alınmıştır. Literatür taramasının esas alındığı bu tezde genel tarama modeli kullanılmıştır. Çalışmanın amacına ulaşabilmesi için Türkçe ve Almanca dilbilgisi üzerine yazılmış bazı yayınlar esas alınmıştır. Türkçe ve Almanca yazılmış dilbilgisi kitapları, bu konuda yapılmış lisansüstü çalışmalar, makaleler, Almanca ve Türkçe yapılmış çalışmalardan faydalanılarak bilgiler bir araya getirilmiş, bu bilgiler tasnif edildikten sonra iki dilde fiilimsilerin kullanım farklılığına değinilerek fiilimsilerin yabancı dil olarak Almanca öğretiminde yazma becerilerinin amaca uygun geliştirilmesine katkısı incelenmiştir. Türkçe ve Almancada fiilimsilerin detaylı olarak ele alınması sonucunda her iki dilin dilbilgisi alanında önemli bir yere sahip olan fiilimsiler konusunun daha çok fiilden türetilmesi, çoğunlukla geçici isimler oluşturmaları, cümlede değişik öğeler şeklinde görev almaları iki farklı dildeki temel benzerlikler olarak dikkati çekmektedir. Ayrıca, Türkçe ve Almanca arasında mevcut olan kaynak ve yapı farkından dolayı mevcut olan özellikleri, yani Türkçenin eklemeli, Almancanın bükümlü dil olması, sözdizimlerinin farklılığı, Almancanın Türkçede mevcut olmayan cinsiyet ve çokluk ifadelerine sahip olması gibi, bazı genel farklılıklar, fiilimsilerin öğrenilmesi konusunda güçlüklerin başlıca kaynağını oluşturmaktadır. Ana dili Türkçe olan ve yabancı dil olarak Almanca öğrenen öğrencilerin fiilimsiler konusuyla ilgili olarak yazma becerilerinin geliştirilmesi konusunda karşılaşacağı problemlerin önüne geçmek amacıyla genel olarak şu yöntemler kullanılabilir: Yabancı dil olarak Almanca öğretiminde ana dildeki dilbilgisi konularını hedef dildeki dilbilgisi konuları ile karşılaştırarak öğretmek ve konuyla ilgili çok sayıda alıştırma yaptırmak; Almancadan Türkçeye, Türkçeden Almancaya konu ile ilgili çeviriler yaptırmak; iki dil arasındaki farklılığı karşılaştırma yaparak anlatmak ve dört temel beceriden biri olan yazma becerisinin önemine değinmek gibi yöntemler öğrenme ve öğretme sürecinde kolaylık sağlayabilmektedir. Yazmanın öğrencilere dil öğrenme konusunda büyük katkısı tartışılmazdır. Yabancı dilde yazma, bu dilde öğrencilerin doğru yapıları, deyimleri, kelimeleri, noktalama işaretlerini kullanmalarını ve geliştirmelerini sağlar. Nitekim yazma ile nasıl ve ne şekilde yazılacağı öğrenilir ve bu şekilde bilgilerin nasıl yazıya aktarılması gerektiği deneyimi kazanılmış olur. Söz uçar yazı kalır deyiminden yola çıkarak yazının yabancı dil olarak Almanca öğretiminde fiilimsilerin cümle içerisindeki görevleri ve kullanışları konusunda önemli bir yere sahip olduğu araştırmanın sonucunda ortaya çıkmıştır.
Yabancı dil öğretiminde kültürlerarası öğrenme bağlamında "Menschen A1" ve "Menschen A2" ders kitaplarının incelenmesi
Bu çalışmanın amacı Hueber Verlag tarafından yayımlanan "Menschen A1" ve "Menschen A2" ders kitaplarının Stockholmer Kriter Kataloğundan seçilen sorular ve Hermann Funk tarafından hazırlanmış kriterler kataloğu çerçevesinde kültürlerarası öğrenme bağlamında incelemektir. Yabancı dil öğretiminde dört temel dil becerisinin yanı sıra kültürel aktarımın da önemli olduğu genel olarak kabul edilmektedir. Bu nedenle hazırlanan sorular detaylı bir inceleme ile cevaplanmaya çalışılmıştır. Çalışmada seçilen kitaplar içerik analizi yöntemi kullanılarak incelenmiştir. Sonuçlar "Menschen A1" ve "Menschen A2" ders kitaplarının kültürel aktarıma önemli bir katkı sağladığını göstermektedir. İncelemeye tabi tutulan kitaplar dört beceriye yönelik alıştırmalarla kültürel aktarımı desteklemekte ve öğrencilere kendi kültürlerini yabancı kültürle karşılaştırma imkanı sunmaktadır. Öğrenciler yabancı kültürü daha iyi anladıkça ve kendi kültürlerinden farkları kavradıkça hedef dilin konuşulduğu ülkede sorun yaşamadan iletişim kurabilir ve önyargıya kapılmadan iletişim becerilerine sahip olabilmektedir. Araştırmalar "Menschen A1" ve "Menschen A2" ders kitaplarının temel olarak Almanya'ya odaklandığını, ancak Avusturya ve İsviçre gibi diğer Almanca konuşulan ülkeler hakkında da bilgi sağladığını göstermiştir. Ayrıca incelenen kitaplar kültürel aktarım için büyük önem taşıyan çeşitli konularla zenginleştirilmiş ve hedef kitle olan genç yetişkinler ve yetişkinlerin ilgisini çekmektedir. Özetle "Menschen A1" ve "Menschen A2" ders kitapları büyük ölçüde seçilen soruları kapsayarak ve öğrencileri kültürel olarak zenginleştirerek kültürlerarası öğrenmeye büyük katkı sağlamaktadır.
"Menschen A1" ders kitabının konuşma becerileri bakımından incelenmesi
Bu çalışmada Hueber yayınevine ait olan Almanca ders kitabı Menschen A1 konuşma becerisi edinimi bağlamında incelenecektir. Araştırmada kullanılan ders kitabı Avrupa ortak öneriler çerçevesinde yer alan konuşma beceri edinme unsurları bakımından incelenecektir. İlaveten Funk'un (2006) kalite emareleri adlı çalışması baz alınarak Almanca ders kitabındaki konuşma becerisi aktarımının güncel kriterlere uygunluğu saptanmaya çalışılacak.
Awareness on 21st century skills two sides of a coin: Prospective teachers of English and teacher trainers of English
With this study, it is aimed to investigate the 21st century skills awareness levels of prospective teachers of English and teacher trainers of English and to examine the perceptions of participants about their awareness on 21st century skills. This study, which was carried out in a mixed design, was carried out with 63 3rd and 104 4th grades, a total of 167, prospective teachers of English studying in English Language Teaching undergraduate program of Necmettin Erbakan University in Konya in the 2022-2023 academic year, and all (8) teacher trainers of English currently teaching in English Language Teaching department at Necmettin Erbakan University. Quantitative data of the research were used by using the '21st Century Skills Efficiency Perceptions Scale for Teacher Candidates' consisting of three sub-dimensions as 'Learning and Renewal Skills', 'Life and Career Skills', and 'Knowledge, Media, and Technology Skills'; qualitative data of the research were collected by using a semi-structured interview including open-ended questions prepared by the researcher by taking and expert opinion in order to validate the quantitative data. Four different focus groups, including five prospective teachers of English in each group, were formed purposely for the interview which was conducted online with 20 prospective teachers of English. Besides, for the interview, which was conducted with teacher trainers of English, 4 teacher trainers of English were randomly selected, and the interviews were conducted online individually. While the quantitative data collected through the scale were analysed through the SPSS 26.0 package program, the qualitative data collected through a semi-structured interview including open-ended questions were analysed using the content analysis method. The results of the study showed that 21st century skills awareness levels of prospective teachers of English were at a moderate level, and there were no significant differences between 21st century skills awareness levels of the prospective teachers of English and gender and monthly income level variables, however, there was a significant difference between 21st century skills awareness levels of the prospective teachers of English and grade levels. That is, the 21st century skills awareness levels of the 4th-grade prospective teachers of English were found to be higher than the 21st century skills awareness levels of the 3rd-grade prospective teachers of English. It was also concluded that 21st century skills awareness levels of teacher trainers of English were at a moderate level.
Turkish EFL instructors' self-reported use of productive feedback
This study delves into the intricate realm of productive feedback practices among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instructors in Turkish universities using a mixed-method approach. By concurrently employing qualitative and quantitative methodologies, this research aims to offer a comprehensive understanding of prevalent productive feedback practices within diverse educational contexts. The study embraces a multifaceted methodology, integrating the English Teacher Productive Feedback Inventory (ETPFI) and in-depth interviews with instructors from various universities across Turkey. Quantitative data, obtained through the ETPFI, illuminates prevalent trends and patterns in feedback provision among EFL instructors. Statistical analyses reveal a consensus among instructors regarding the pivotal role of specific, timely, and actionable feedback. Challenges associated with offering feedback in expansive class settings emerge as prominent themes. These quantitative findings serve as a foundational framework for understanding prevalent practices. Concurrently, qualitative insights obtained through in-depth interviews with five instructors enrich the study by providing contextual depth and nuanced understanding. Thematic analysis of these interviews uncovers underlying rationales, experiences, and contextual intricacies surrounding feedback practices. The qualitative data highlight the complexities faced by instructors and emphasize the significance of feedback in fostering learner autonomy and motivation. The convergence of quantitative prevalence and qualitative depth generates a robust understanding of feedback practices among Turkish EFL instructors. The interplay between these methodologies provides invaluable implications for refining feedback strategies in EFL classrooms. This comprehensive approach not only benefits instructors by enhancing their pedagogical approaches but also serves as a guiding tool for educator training programs. By incorporating these findings, such programs can better equip future EFL instructors to navigate the complexities of feedback provision and optimize student learning outcomes. In essence, this study's integrative approach, merging statistical prevalence with qualitative depth, presents a comprehensive exploration of productive feedback practices in Turkish EFL educational settings, offering substantial insights and avenues for pedagogical improvement.
A new strategy to develop EFL learners' speaking skills and to increase willingness to communicate: Translanguaging pedagogy
In the Turkish context, speaking has received the least attention throughout the language learning process. Although Turkish students receive an English as a foreign education for several years, most students still think they cannot speak English fluently or competently. Thus, this study investigated the effect of translanguaging strategy on EFL preparatory students' willingness to communicate and oral fluency. The study was carried out with 76 participants in a private university in Konya. It had a quasi-experimental and mixed-method research design which both qualitative and quantitative methods were implemented. For the students in experimental group, translanguaging as a teaching strategy was applied for four weeks, while traditional teaching methods was conducted for the students in control group. In the intervention phase, the groups had two hours of speaking classes, and task-based activities, presentations, and discussion techniques were used for the students in experimental groups. A modified version of the likert-type willingness to communicate questionnaire, adapted by Mystkowska-Wiertelak and Pawlak (2016), were employed before and after the intervention for both groups. In the data analysis process, whether there was a significant difference between the experimental group and control group and within the groups after the treatment process was checked. For the qualitative part, a semi-structured interview was applied for nine students who were chosen purposefully in the experimental group to find out the effect of translanguaging as a teaching strategy on students' oral fluency. The data were analyzed with the SPSS program and content analysis method. The findings of the pre and post-test showed that there was a significant difference between the students' willingness to communicate in the experimental group and the control group after the intervention. The qualitative data gathered through content analysis revealed that most of the students in experimental group found translanguaging as a teaching strategy rather effective for their speaking fluency since it reduced anxiety, increased motivation and participation during speaking classes. It was stated by the interviewees that through the translanguaging strategy they did not have pauses while speaking and it was also very beneficial for expressing cultural and idiomatic expressions. Keywords: Willingness to communicate, Speaking fluency, EFL learners, Anxiety, Participation, Motivation
The effects of semantic mapping strategy on learning performances of prep students: Digital vs paper-based
This study aims to compare the effects of semantic mapping strategy between digital and non-digital means on vocabulary learning in ELT. A quasi-experimental research design was used to conduct the study. The study involved 42 students from the School of Foreign Languages at Dokuz Eylül University studying at various departments such as engineering, international relations, tourism management and international trade in two regular prep classes for English. The participants were divided equally between the two experimental groups. Digital semantic mapping was used by the Experimental group 1 while paper-based semantic mapping was employed by the Experimental group 2. The implementation lasted for six weeks. Quantitative data was collected by a pre-test and a post-test developed and organized by the researcher. The same reading materials and procedures were applied to both groups throughout the process of the implementation. The results of the statistical study were calculated using the T-test. Scores from the pre-tests and post-tests were compared to see how well the implementation worked. Also, a structured interview was employed in order to collect further data. At this stage, a total of 10 students were interviewed, five students from the digital semantic mapping group and five students from the paper-based semantic mapping group. The analysis of the quantitative data demonstrated that there was not a significant difference between the two experimental groups. The positive results of the digital semantic mapping group and the paper-based semantic group have suggested that semantic mapping is an effective strategy for learning new vocabulary no matter how it is applied, with digital means or paper-based. However, the interview results showed that students who used the semantic mapping strategy with digital means were found to be comparatively more eager and motivated to utilize the semantic mapping strategy for vocabulary learning after the implementation as they are digital natives. Key words: Semantic mapping strategy, digital semantic mapping, paper-based semantic mapping, vocabulary learning, digital natives.
Almanca derslerinde konuşma becerisinin geliştirilmesine ilişkin "Wie Bitte?" A1.1 adlı ders kitabının analizi
Bu çalışmanın amacı Türkiye'de Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı adına hazırlanmış olan Türkiye'deki bazı liselerin Almanca derslerinde kullanılan yabancı dil kitabı "Wie bitte A1.1" nin alıştırmalarındaki konuşma becerisini Mannheimer Gutachten ve Stockholmer Krieter kataloğuna göre incelemektir. Yabancı dilin temelinde konuşma, dinleme, yazma, okuma vb. gibi çok önemli dört temel beceri yatmaktadır. Bu dört temel dil becerisinin içinde en zor olanı konuşma becerisidir çünkü konuşma becerisi öğrenenler ve öğretenler açısından bakıldığında öğrenilmesi ve uygulanması zor bir beceridir. Öğrenciler genellikle konuşma korkusu ile ilgili sorunlar yaşarlar ve sınıfta konuşmaya cesaret edemezler. Bu nedenle derslerde kullanılan ders kitaplarının yabancı dil öğretiminde öğrencilerin dil becerilerini geliştirmeleri için büyük ve önemli bir rolü vardır. Ders kitabındaki alıştırmalar, resimler, sayfa düzeni, renkler, seviye ve ek materyaller onların dikkatini çekmeli ve onları konuşmaya teşvik etmelidir. Ders kitabının yöntemi ve yabancı dil derslerinde kullanılabilecek çalışma şekilleri de (grup çalışması, ortak çalışma veya bireysel çalışma) öğrenene konuşmayı öğretmede ve öğrendiklerini günlük yaşamda uygulamasını sağlamada yadsınamaz derecede önemli bir role sahiptir. Bu kriter kataloglarında bulunan maddeler çerçevesinde, bu çalışma sırasında aşağıdaki sorulara cevap verilecektir: 1. "Wie bitte?" A1.1 ders kitabının Almanca derslerinde öğrencilerin konuşma becerilerinin gelişimi üzerindeki etkileri nelerdir? , 2. ''Wie bitte?" A1.1 ders kitabındaki resimlerin öğrencilerin konuşma becerilerinin geliştirilmesinde nasıl bir etkisi vardır?, 3. "Wie bitte?" A1.1 ders kitabının hedeflenen gelişime ilişkin zayıf yönleri nelerdir? 4. "Wie bitte?" A1.1 ders kitabının, öğrencilerin konuşma becerilerinin hedeflenen gelişimi ile ilgili olarak güçlü yönleri nelerdir? 5. Bu kitaptaki konuşma alıştırmaları ve görevler nasıl zenginleştirilebilir? Yapılan çalışmada Almanca derslerinde kullanılan yabancı dil kitabı "Wie bitte?" A1.1' nin içersinde yer alan etkinliklerin ve resimlerin, çalışma kitabında bulunan etkinliklerin ve resimlerin bu iki kriter kataloğunda bulunan maddeleri kısmen karşıladıkları görülmüştür. Eğitim veren kişilere sunulan ve onlara derslerinde yol göstermek amaçıyla basılan öğretmen el kitabı da yine bu iki kriter kataloğuna göre bazı eksiklikleri içerisinde barındırmaktadır. Anahtar kelimeler: ders kitabı analizi, dil becerileri, almanca ders kitabı, temel beceriler
The effects of Shadowing technique on L2 learners' pronunciation skills
In this study, it was aimed to find out the effects of Shadowing, a method which is one of the pronunciation development methods of students in the process of learning English as a foreign language, over the students' pronunciation development. The study was carried out with students studying in the preparatory department at a private university. A mixed-methods design was applied and the data were collected quantitatively and qualitatively. Qualitative data were collected through a pre-test and post-test which were taken by the control group and experiment group. Throughout the study, short videos of native English speakers were sent to both the experiment group and the control group. The experiment group repeated the sentences in the videos they listened to and sent them to the researcher as a sound recording. The control group only listened to these videos. At the end of the study, qualitative data were collected through an open-ended questionnaire applied to the experimental group. According to the results of the quantitative data obtained in the study, the implementation of Shadowing Method has positive effects on the development of students' English pronunciation. It was revealed that the pronunciation mistakes of the experimental group, in which the shadowing method was implemented for eight weeks, made in the pre-test before the Shadowing Method was implemented, were more than the pronunciation mistakes they made in the post-test after the Shadowing Method was implemented for eight weeks. These results show that the Shadowing Method improved students' English pronunciation. According to the quantitative data analyzed by the thematic coding method, it was determined that the motivation of the students increased with the shadowing method. It was stated by the participants that the shadowing method was helpful, effective, fun and motivating. The fact that it is not time consuming and provides consistency are among the positive comments made by the participants for this method. As a result, the Shadowing Method, which is an English pronunciation improvement method, revealed good learning results on pronunciation improvement. At the same time, it was observed that students developed positive perspectives towards their own learning experiences. The fact that the Shadowing Method does not take much time, is a method integrated with technology, the listening resources are provided by native English speakers, the materials used are obtained from interesting sources such as TV series, movies, music make this method both practical and fun to use. The Shadowing Method is recommended to be used in the language learning process to improve English pronunciation.
The effects of a digital simulation game on vocabulary development of EFL students
Simulation games offer a highly engaging and enjoyable environment for players, which might be useful for language learning in that they can provide learners with frequent exposure to authentic and contextualized input embedded into a digital learning platform. In the present study, a game titled The Sims 4 was selected to investigate the possible effects of a single-player COTS digital simulation game on incidental vocabulary acquisition of ELF learners in an informal learning setting. Data were collected from 30 university students at the intermediate-level of English that were selected through convenient sampling. The participants played the game in line with weekly task-based assignments for four weeks. Pre-tests, immediate post-tests, and delayed post-tests were administered to assess their passive recognition and active recall of target vocabulary. Moreover, a pre-treatment survey, gameplay reflections, and follow-up interviews were utilized to explore the participants' perceptions towards the elements of the study before, during, and after the treatment. Findings from the tests showed that the participants significantly improved their passive recognition of the target words and retained this knowledge while there was no significant improvement in active recall. The data from the survey, reflections, and interviews uncovered some common themes regarding the participant experiences and provided insights into their attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors.
A qualitative analysis of Pearson-Assured accreditation processes in schools of foreign languages in Türkiye
The purpose of this study is to find out the views of the instructors and the administrators of the SFLs, which holds the Pearson Assured (PA) accreditation, regarding PA accreditation and to reveal their thoughts about PA accreditation process in terms of the quality management of their institutions. In order to achieve the purpose of the study, document review and semi-structured interviews, which are qualitative research methods, were used. Document analysis and content analysis methods were used to analyze the data. For the document analysis of the study, the PA handbook and documents obtained from four PA accredited SFLs in Istanbul were used. Semi-structured interviews of the study were also carried out with the contributions of volunteer instructors and administrators in these high schools. In order to reach the data of the study, first of all, the most up-to-date 'handbook' published for institutions that want to be accredited by the PA was examined and analyzed in detail, and the findings obtained from that handbook were compared and supported with the documents obtained from the SFLs participating in the research, and thus, through the received data , detailed and comprehensive explanations about the processes of PA accreditation have been presented. Afterwards, in order to reach more objective and in-depth information about the PA accreditation process, interviews were conducted with the instructors and administrators by means of semi-structured interview questions prepared by taking expert opinions. These interviews were examined in accordance with the subject and purpose of the research through content analysis, the findings were reflected, and evaluations were made. As a result of the document analysis, it has been concluded that the PA provides basic quality measurements with examples of studies and evidence that institutions can present in order to ensure that the requirements in these headings are met, institutions do not have to do every detail in this handbook but are expected to clearly present their operation by providing evidence according to the titles given. As a result of the content analysis of the interview questions, it has been concluded that despite the partially negative opinions on the process before and during accreditation was intense, the workload was high and the time allocated to provide evidence was also high, all of which caused a stressful and intense procedure. In addition, the participants in general have positive thoughts towards PA accreditation and they want to continue this process since the accreditation process contributes to the quality management of their institutions. In this context, it is thought that this study may be useful for the Schools of Foreign Languages that plan to be accredited and other institutions that plan to increase their quality management. Keywords: Accreditation, quality management processes, Pearson Assured accreditation, Schools of Foreign Languages
The use of other-initiated self-repair patterns by adult learners in an English speaking course
English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) has a significant impact in order to be able communicate with native and non-native users of the language. In relation to this, it is clear that speaking has become one of the challenging and substantial skills in the process of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL). Although it is considered that the learners might be interrupted for the mistakes to be corrected by the instructors in English spoken interaction, it is noticed that the learners may modify the mistakes by themselves with the help of certain hints that is denominated as the other-initiated self-repair (OISR) organisation of conversation analysis (CA) methodology. Considering the studies in Turkey, it has been realized that there are certain studies in relation to the repair types. Nonetheless, OISR organisation in the English spoken interactions of the academicians who are adult learners are not researched in Turkey. Therefore, this study investigates the use of OISR patterns by the adult learners in a speaking course. The study also aims to discover presumptive reasons about why the adult learner utilise OISR organisation. The study was accomplished in the spring term of 2019 at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University. 12 adult learners who were the academicians at the university attended to the B1 level English speaking course. For the study, the 16 hours of video-based recordings and 7 semi-structured interviews were utilised as instruments. The video recordings were transcribed in the method of CA with the Jeffersonian transcription notation and analysed in different categories of OISR whereas the interviews were transcribed and categorised under the terms of the content analysis. The study demonstrates that the adult learners utilise the different categories of OISR patterns in their interactions. Furthermore, it is notified that the troubles emerged by the adult learners are discovered by the scaffolding of the teacher and the classmates, and the flow of the speech and negotiation of meaning are provided by the self-repair.
The use of EBA (Education Information Network) in teaching vocabulary and grammar to efl young learners
In our rapidly changing world, technology and the Internet have created new and important opportunities to foster foreign language learning. Digital technologies used in language education have enabled students to improve communication and collaboration skills in a student-centered environment. In parallel with these developments, educators and researchers have shown a growing interest in online tools and platforms to evaluate learning through online studies in recent years. This study aimed to investigate the effects of online follow-up activities conducted through EBA, a digital learning platform, on student success and to identify EFL young learners' perceptions and attitudes towards these activities. For the study conducted in 2019-2010 education year, 32 4th grade students (aged 7-8) at a primary school in Muğla were selected as participants and divided into two groups as experimental (N=17) and control (N=15) groups. During the 7 weeks process, the experimental group performed online follow-up activities while the control group followed traditional ones. To meet the objectives of this study adopting embedded mixed method design, data were gathered quantitatively from vocabulary and grammar achievement test applied as pre-test, post-test and delayed test, and qualitatively from semi-structured student interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed by SPSS 22.0 programme with independent and paired samples t-tests, and qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. The findings revealed that the levels of vocabulary and grammar achievement and retention of the experimental group were higher than those of the control group; however, these results were not statistically significant. On the other hand, the findings from the delayed tests showed that the experimental group performed significantly better than their post-tests unlike the control group i.e. traditional activities were not efficient in retention of language items as much as online activities. The qualitative data results indicated that online activities affected their ideas about English positively and EBA created an enjoyable learning atmosphere for young learners.
The assessment of speaking skills: Perceptions and reported practices of secondary school teachers
Speaking is a core skill that is fundamental regarding learning English as a second language. Mastering the speaking ability in the target language (TL)is considered a must; thus, the assessment of the speaking skills is highly sought after to ensure the development of the English language learners. In Turkey, there is a perception that even the learners with an adequate and even excellent competency in reading, listening, writing, and a high-level proficiency in English grammar rules have a hard time mastering the speaking skill and implementing it into their everyday life. However, considering students start learning English as early as second grade, the incompetency or inability to speak fluently in the target language indicates a problem that needs to be addressed. A considerable amount of research concerning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Turkey has disclosed numerous issues encountered by English language learners and teachers regarding assessing and evaluating the speaking skill. This study aims to scrutinize Turkish secondary school EFL teachers' perceptions and reported practices regarding the assessment of speaking in TL. This research also focuses on problems EFL teachers encounter and their recommendations on the solutions concerning the evaluation of the speaking skill. This paper seeks its answers through the EFL teachers' responses who work at EFL departments in a Turkish context. The qualitative data in this study was derived within two phases. In the first phase of the research, a questionnaire with open-ended and "yes or no" questions completed by 42 participants, and a focus group interview conducted with seven volunteers. Based on the thematic analysis of the participants' answers who contributed to the questionnaire and the focus group interview, the following results have been revealed. EFL teachers reported that they encounter several setbacks during the implementation of the speaking assessment process such as class size, time restrictions, the objectivity of assessment, finding the right tools for evaluation, focusing on the proper assessment criteria, speaking and test anxiety students go through and making sure that the assessment is fair, valid and reliable. Diversity in activities, personalization of assessment tools and activities according to the student differences, effective use of corrective feedback to prepare students for speaking assessment, focusing on the right grading criteria and use of target language in the classroom to ensure students get substantial exposure was deemed as solutions to make the English speaking assessment process more efficient. Lastly, EFL teachers stated that for the assessment of the speaking to be effective, the professional development of the educators is also required.
Cultural representation in EFL textbooks and teachers' perspectives about it
Culture is an inseparable part of the language phenomenon. Moreover, the integration of language and culture has become more critical with the rapid globalization of the world. Therefore, it is crucial for language teaching materials to involve various cultural elements to develop the intercultural communicative competence of language learners. The present study intends to analyze the EFL textbooks ("Relearn 9th Grade ", "10th Grade English textbooks", Sunshine English 11, and Count Me in 12") used as compulsory English materials in high schools in Türkiye between the 2019 -2024 academic years. A content analysis method was used to analyze the cultural contents in the aspect of cultural categories such as home culture, target culture, and international culture, aspects of culture such as products, practices, perspectives, and person, and cultural themes such as Big "C" and little "c". In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather data from high school English teachers about their perspectives on what extent cultural elements are included in high school English textbooks. The results of the study showed that the textbooks and workbooks are insufficient in terms of cultural representation, and there is an unbalanced representation of cultural elements between grades, textbooks, and workbooks. It was also found that English teachers' perspectives confirm the unbalanced representation of cultural elements in the textbooks and workbooks. In light of the results of the study, it is suggested that these books should include more cultural elements with balance. Keywords: EFL, Cultural representation, EFL textbooks.
The factors affecting teacher efficacy perceptions of pre-service English language teachers
Teacher efficacy is considered to be one of the most important constructs which affect not only teacher practices but also learner performances. It has been asserted that teacher efficacy is also influenced by some factors such as subject areas, motivation, and teaching practice in its developmental phase; that is, in pre-service years. In order to understand the judgments that teachers make about themselves better in these years, what kind of factors affect the perceptions of pre-service teacher efficacy can be explored. This might provide some benefits in terms of the things that can be done to improve teacher efficacy positively early in learning. Indirectly, this may give some insights about the quality of teacher education programs and the practicum. With these in mind, the present study aims to investigate the factors that may have an impact on the efficacy perceptions of pre-service English language teachers. A total of 113 pre-service English language teachers who were at their final year at Anadolu University participated in the study. Since the current study is based on the explanatory design, surveys and focus group interviews were utilized. Descriptive statistics were run to examine the quantitative data, and content analysis was used to examine the qualitative data. The results showed that the sample had a moderate level of perceived teacher efficacy. Moreover, their perceived efficacy in classroom management, instructional strategies and student engagement were found to be close to each other, though efficacy in classroom management had a little higher mean score than the other two components. Focus group discussions, carried out by 22 representative pre-service ELT teachers, revealed four main factors that affect their efficacy perceptions: ELT education they received at university, their practicum experiences, perceived language proficiency and their affective states. Compared to others, practicum experiences had the biggest role in the development of teacher efficacy. Furthermore, these factors were found to have either positive or negative effects in their perceived teacher efficacy. While classroom practices, students, the view of teaching as a profession, personality characteristics, and motivation contributed positively to efficacy, the content of the teacher education program, cooperating and supervisor teachers, perceived language proficiency and emotions had negative effects. The findings of the study are believed to provide new perspectives into the efficacy perceptions of pre-service ELT teachers.
Reflection on reflection: EFL university instructors' perceptions on reflective practice
The primary objective of the present study was to engage EFL university instructors in reflective teaching practices through the use of various reflective tools and to find out their perceptions about these reflective teaching practices that they were engaged in. For the research purposes, a total of eight EFL university instructors working at the Foreign Language School of Kastamonu University, Turkey participated in the study. For a regular and systematic implementation of reflective practice, different reflective teaching tools; namely, reflective diaries, reflective video analysis, and reflective peer sessions were used. Prior to the implementation of the actual study, the participants were first trained on how to use the reflective tools. During this training, necessary information about the concept of reflection, significance of reflective practice, and the procedure of the study was given to the participants. After the training, the participants used each of these tools by following the guidelines provided for them beforehand. Data were collected through the qualitative research instruments. After the participants were involved in reflective practices through the reflective tools, they were asked to write a reflection on the use of each tool. Also, a perception questionnaire was administered to the participants in order to identify how they felt and perceived about the reflective practices and the use of reflective tools. Finally, in order to support the data obtained through the reflections and perception questionnaire, the semi-structured interview was conducted with the participants. The qualitative data were analyzed by using the Constant Comparison Method. The results of the study put forward that all of the EFL university instructors benefited much from the current study and were highly pleased with having participated in these reflective teaching practices by means of various reflective tools. These practices were perceived fruitful by the EFL university instructors. Engaging in reflective practices was found as an important opportunity for gaining awareness about teaching skills and practices, increasing self-evaluation and professional growth. The findings also yielded that the participants were positive about all the reflective tools they used throughout the study. However, a few of the participants mentioned some difficulties about reflective diary and reflective video analysis. They reported that the use of reflective diary and reflective video analysis as a way of reflection required much time, effort, and commitment, yet no negative perceptions about participating in reflective peer sessions were found. At the end of the study, the reflective practices increased the instructors' motivation and enthusiasm in order to implement the ideas of reflective teaching for their future professional practices. The participants also realized that reflective practice is an effective method for teacher development, and it can be applied through different ways or tools. Further, they noticed that reflective teaching practices can contribute to professional empowerment if they are implemented in a systematic fashion. The findings were discussed with regard to the previous research. In the light of the research findings, some implications for the effective use of reflective teaching were provided, and suggestions for further studies were offered. Key words: Reflective teaching, reflective diary, reflective video analysis, peer sessions, professional development, Turkish EFL university instructors.
FL listening comprehension strategy employment of high and low anxious listeners
The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between FL listening anxiety and FL listening comprehension strategy use. Also, it was aimed to determine whether there existed a statistically significant difference between high and low anxious listeners in terms of FL listening comprehension strategy use. Furthermore, how high and low anxious listeners employed FL listening comprehension strategies also examined. A total of 79 first year ELT students in Anadolu University, Turkey participated in the study. In order to collect data for the purposes of the study, both quantitative (FLLAS and LCSI) and qualitative (learner diaries and guided interviews) were utilized. To determine FL listening anxiety level and FL listening comprehension strategy use of the participants, FLLAS and LCSI were distributed. Then, participants were trained on how to write effective diaries for the purposes of study. After diary keeping, which lasted for five weeks, participants were divided into three categories according to their FLLAS scores namely, high anxious, moderate anxious, and low anxious listeners. As the purpose of this study was to investigate the FL listening comprehension strategies used by high and low anxious listeners, learners with high and low levels of anxiety were invited to participate in guided interview sessions. As a result of the quantitative data analysis, a statistically moderate relationship was found between the two variables, in that participants FL listening anxiety level increased when their FL listening comprehension strategy use decreased or vice versa. It was also found that high and low anxious listeners employed FL listening comprehension strategies with a statistically significant difference. In other words, the results yielded that both group of listeners used FL listening comprehension strategies at some level however; low anxious listeners used more FL listening comprehension strategies than high anxious listeners. In order to demonstrate in which FL listening comprehension strategies (cognitive, metacognitive, and socioaffective strategies) high and low anxious listeners showed difference, qualitative data collected through learner diaries and guided interviews were analyzed through content analysis method in addition to quantitative data analysis. It was found that low anxious listeners outnumbered high anxious listeners in the employment of FL listening comprehension strategies in all categories i.e. cognitive strategies, metacognitive strategies, and socioaffective strategies. The analysis of the learner diaries and guided interviews demonstrated that high and low anxious listeners employed FL listening comprehension strategies in different manners. The findings of the current study yielded that FL listening anxiety and FL listening comprehension strategy use affected each other mutually. However, deciding which one affected the other one was a difficult task and beyond of the scope of the study. Nevertheless, as FL listening comprehension strategies can be taught to FL listeners, the strategies used by low anxious listeners can be taught to high anxious listeners to reduce their FL listening anxiety levels. The findings of this study might be viewed as one of the first steps into implementing explicit strategy training into FL listening classes. The findings of the study were presented and discussed with respect to the related literature. Bearing in mind the research findings, some implications regarding the FL listening anxiety and FL listening comprehension strategy use were proposed. Key words: FL listening comprehension, FL listening anxiety, FL listening comprehension strategies, first-year ELT students
The relationship between vocabulary size, lexical diversity, lexical density and efl writing scores: A cross-sectional study
Vocabulary is an important aspect of language learning. Many studies were carried on vocabulary, vocabulary knowledge, vocabulary instruction, vocabulary learning and since 1990s the focus of the studies have shifted on the effects of vocabulary on second language (L2) learning. For Nation (2000) knowing a word includes form, meaning and use. The role of vocabulary knowledge in receptive and productive L2 skills cannot be ignored as it is used in predicting the learners' competence. It is obvious that this would affect L2 learners in expressing their thoughts through productive skills. The aim of the study is to find out the vocabulary size, lexical density and lexical diversity in argumentative essays of Turkish ELT students and to compare these with their writing scores. It is assumed that high vocabulary size, lexical density, and lexical diversity may lead to higher scores. The data, including 309 argumentative essays written by 165 first year and 144 fourth year students, were collected from Anadolu University ELT Department. In order to analyze the data and find answers to the research questions the LFP was used to obtain an estimate productive vocabulary size of the students, the vocd-D was used for lexical diversity of the essays, and the lexical density formula was used. According to the results, among other variables, only lexical diversity was found to have a significant correlation with 1st year students' essay scores and it significantly explained 7.8% of the 1st year essay scores. For the 4th year essays, no significant effect of the variables was found. Moreover, the results also demonstrated that while the variables accounted for 8.7% of the vocabulary scores in the 1st year essays, they did not yield a significant explanation for the 4th year essays vocabulary scores. Therefore, considering the results of the study, it can be concluded that lexical features are not the only factors effecting writing scores. Key Words: Vocabulary size, Lexical diversity, Lexical density, EFL writing, Turkish ELT students.
Yabancı dil öğretiminde kültürlerarası iletişim : Fransa ve Türkiye örneklerinde öğretmen görüşleri incelemesi
Günümüzde gelişen iletişim teknolojileri ve küreselleşmenin etkisiyle ülkeler arası sınırlar git gide yok olmaktadır. Bu durum uluslararası platformda kültürler arası iletişimi bir ihtiyaç haline getirmektedir. Kendi kültürüne farkındalık ve "kimlik" bilincinden hareketle, farklı kültürlere karşı "öteki" bilinci, "saygı" gibi kavramları geliştirerek, dil ve kültür çeşitliliğini korumak kültürlerarası iletişimin temelini oluşturan amaçlardır. Bu doğrultuda, Avrupa Dilleri Ortak Çerçeve Programı'nda belirtildiği gibi, günümüz yabancı dil öğretimi programlarının, kültürlerarasıiletişim becerisi kazanımına yönelik hedef ve uygulamalara uygun olarak hazırlanması gerekmektedir. Bu becerinin kazandırılması sürecinde en büyük sorumluluk, her eğitim sürecinde olduğu gibi,kuşkusuz öğretmenindir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, yabancı dil öğretmenlerinin kültürler arası iletişim konusundaki görüşlerini belirlemek, incelemek ve karşılaştırmaktır. Bu amaca ulaşmak için Türkiye ve Fransa'da belirlenen iki üniversitede çalışan yabancı dil öğretim elemanlarının, yabancı dil öğretiminde kültürler arası iletişim becerisine yönelik görüşlerini belirlememizi sağlayan nitel bir durum çalışması gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bu çerçevede, Fransa'da Toulouse II- Jean Jaurès Üniversitesi Fransız Dili Bölümü'den 7, İngiliz Dili Bölümü'nden 7; Türkiye'de Anadolu Üniversitesi Yabancı Diller Yüksekokulu Fransız Dili Bölümü'nden 6 olmak üzere toplam 20 öğretim elemanına önce konu ile ilgili genel görüşlerini almak amacıyla soru formu dağıtılmış, ardından bu soru formu üzerinden, görüşleri daha derinlemesine incelemek için yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme gerçekleştirilmiştir. Veriler toplam 18 aylık bir süreç zarfında elde edilmiştir. Veri analizi sonucunda beş ana tema (dil-kültür ilişkisi, yabancı dil öğretiminde kültürlerarası iletişim uygulamaları, kültürlerarası iletişim uygulamalarında yaşanan zorluklar, eğitsel dokümanlar, öğretmen ve kültürlerarası iletişim) ve yirmi yedi alt temaya ulaşılmıştır. Kültürel kimliğin, dünya görüşü, düşünce sistemi, dil kullanım şekli ve toplum içindeki davranış biçimini etkileyen önemli bir faktör olduğu ortaya çıkmıştır. Sözsüz ögeler de sözel ögeler gibi iletişim sırasında anlam taşımakta ve konuşmacılar arasında mesaj iletmektedir. Toplumdan topluma değişen kültürel farklılıklardan kaynaklanan göndermeler, iletişimde zaman zaman farklı yorumlamalara hatta yanlış anlaşılmalara neden olmaktadır. Yabancı dil öğretiminde kültürlerarası iletişim becerisi, öğrenciyi kendinden farklı olanı tanımaya ve onunla etkileşime girmeye yönlendiren öteki bilincinin gelişmesine katkı sağlar. Hedef ve kaynak kültürle birlikte farklı kültürlerden gelen bütün öğrenciler arasında da aracı konumunda olan öğretmenler yabancı dil öğretimi sürecinde kültürlerarası iletişim becerisi gelişiminde başrol oynarlar. Öğretmen, öğrencinin kendi sosyokültürel kodlarını keşiften hareketle kendi kimliğini daha iyi tanımasından ve hedef dil-kültür aracılığı ile öteki ve görecelik bilincini geliştirmesinden sorumludur. Bu bağlamda, çalışmamıza katılan bütün öğretmenler belli bir seviyeye kadar kültürlerarası iletişimin yabancı dil öğretimindeki işlevinin farkında olmalarına rağmen, kültürlerarası yaklaşımı derslerine dâhil etmede sıkıntılar yaşadıkları gözlenmiştir. Diğer yandan katılımcıların hiç birinin kültürlerarası iletişim ile ilgili herhangi bir eğitim almadıkları ortaya çıkmıştır. Çalışmamızda üç ayrı bağlam içerisinde yer alan öğretmenlerin, her birinin kendi bağlamından örnekler vermesine rağmen dil-kültür ilişkisi, kültürlerarası iletişim uygulamaları, bu uygulamalarda karşılaştıkları zorluklar ve ders materyalleri ile ilgili genellikle aynı fikirlerde olduğu sonucuna varılmış, bununla birlikte kültürlerarası iletişim çerçevesinde öğretmenin yeterliği, yurtdışı deneyimi, nesnel ve yansızlığı gibi konularda farklı görüşlere sahip oldukları ortaya çıkmıştır. Ancak bu görüş farklılıkları karşılaştırma yapılan gruplar arasında değil, her grubun kendi içindeki katılımcılardan kaynaklandığı görülmüştür. Anahtar Sözcükler: Kültürlerarası İletişim Becerisi, Yabancı Dil Öğretimi, Öğretmen Görüşleri.
Identifying English language needs of the Turkish National Police academy students: A needs-based syllabus suggestion for law enforcement English course
The primary objective of this study was to identify English language needs of the Turkish National Police Academy (TNPA) students. A secondary aim was to suggest a needs-based syllabus design for the Vocational English (Law Enforcement English) course taught to the fourth year cadets at the Faculty of Security Sciences based on the identified needs. The data for this study were collected through the questionnnaires and interviews from the students, graduates, English instructors, and administrators. Needs analysis questionnaires were administered to 100 fourth year students taking the Vocational English course and 50 graduates working at various departments of the Turkish National Police (TNP). Then, some of the students, English instructors and administrators at the TNPA were interviewed to obtain deeper information about their perceptions towards English language needs of the cadets. The results of the study revealed the participants' perceptions about the effectuality of the current Law Enforcement English course, their difficulties with the use of English, the reasons of the difficulties with English use, the necessity of English in their profession, their competencies in main language skills and some areas of knowledge, the importance of main language skills and some sub-skills in their profession and their suggestions for the methodology and content of the future courses. Furthermore, based on the findings, the implications for a needs-based syllabus design of the Vocational English (Law Enforcement English) course were outlined. Keywords: English language needs, needs analysis, Vocational English course
Jacques Derrida'da yazı kavramı-betimsel ve tematik bir analiz
Gramatoloji, diğer adıyla yazı bilimi, yirminci yüzyılda Jacques Derrida tarafından geliştirilmiş dil felsefesi, metin analizi ve dilbilim dünyasında önem arz eden yeni bir bilimsel yöntemdir. Bu yaklaşımla, yetmişli yıllar yapı söküm olarak adlandırılan yeni bir kavramın doğuşuna tanık olur. Derrida gösterge kavramını ve söz/yazı karşıtlığında, sözü önceleyen metafizik önermeleri yapı söküme uğratır. Derrida açısından yazı, tüm tarih ve tarihsel oluş alanını açar, bu nedenle dilin kaynağı ile yazının kaynağı hiçbir şekilde birbirinden ayrılamaz. Dolayısıyla bu araştırma, Derrida'nın dilbilim, dil felsefesi ve metin analizine "yazı" kavramı çerçevesinde katkılarını ortaya çıkarmak üzere gerçekleştirilmiştir. Amaç, Derrida'da gramatoloji olarak adlandırılan yazı kavramına ışık tutmak, bu bağlamda "différance (ayıram)", "trace"(iz), "archi-écriture (kök-yazı)" ve "gramme"(yazı) kavramlarından yola çıkarak Derrida'nın ortaya koyduğu yeni dil anlayışını, bilim kavramını ve bu anlayışla geliştirilen metin okuma tekniğini gözler önüne sererek betimlemektir. Bu bağlamda söz merkezciliğin eleştirisi temel alınarak, Derrida'nın deyimi ile yapı sökümden itibaren yazının yeri ve konumu belirlenmeye çalışılmıştır. Çalışmada veriler nitel yöntem kullanılarak toplanmıştır. Araştırmada Derrida'nın yazı kavramı, betimsel ve tematik olarak yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme tekniği kullanılarak Derrida'ya dair farklı ufukları ve yönelimleri olan uzmanların görüşü alınarak analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda, uzmanların görüşleri incelenip yedi kategori altında değerlendirilmiştir.
The effect of extensive reading on the development of reading and writing skills of english preparatory class students
Language is considered to be learnt effectively in its native environment. However, another useful way is suggested to be reading extensively in that language. Extensive reading has been regarded as a good way of obtaining language proficiency as a supportive activity of language learning process as well. Recent studies (e.g. Davis, 1995; Mason & Krashen, 1997; Bell, 2001; Krashen, 2004; Eskey, 2005; Horst, 2005; Pigada and Schmitt, 2006) have shown that extensive reading is very useful in developing language proficiency and is an effective way of compensation for target language environment in foreign language context. Therefore, extensive reading can be used as an extracurricular activity to meet the need for authentic language input in foreign language teaching. English is taught as a foreign language in Turkey and extensive reading can be a useful way of practicing and developing foreign language skills in Turkey. The main aims of this study were to find the effect of extensive reading on the development of reading and writing skills, to reveal attitudes and perceptions of English preparatory class students and to uncover attitudes of preparatory class main course teachers about an extensive reading project carried out in a high school. Participants of the study were 141 preparatory class students and 6 English main course teachers. Reading logs and Preliminary English Test (PET) scores of the students were compared to find out the effects of extensive reading on reading and writing skills; two questionnaires were applied to the students and interviews were conducted with students and teachers to find out their attitudes and perceptions about extensive reading. The results of the study showed that there was a moderate positive relationship between extensive reading and the development of reading and writing skills of the students. It was revealed that the total number of pages read by the students did not have any significant effect on their reading or writing proficiency. However, there was significant positive relationship between extensive reading and test scores of the students when the results of the top level and lowest level students in PET exams were compared in overall language proficiency. It was also seen that students and teachers believed that extensive reading was beneficial to improve language proficiency, it was motivating and encouraging for students to learn English and improve their language proficiency and extensive reading was an effective way to compensate for the lack of target language environment.
A comparative analysis in written discourse: A corpus-based study on frame marker use in native and non-native students' argumentative essays
Savlama temelli metin yazımı, belirli dil ifadelerinin kullanımı ile düşüncelerin, savların ve karşıt fikilerin okuyucuya belirli bir düzen içerisinde aktarılmasını, söylemin düzenlenmesini ve okuyucu ile başarılı iletişim kurmayı gerektirdiğinden öğrenciler için zorluk oluşturmaktadır. Bu dil ifadelerinden biri olan çerçeve belirleyicileri, yazılı söylemin önemli bir öğesidir ve söylemin açıkça düzenlenmesinde ve savların, karşıt fikirlerin, ve metnin bölümlerinin belirli bir düzen içerisinde sunulmasında önemli rol oynamaktadır. Söylemin içeriğinin ve yapısının en iyi biçimde düzenlenmesi en başta çerçeve belirleyicileri ile sağlanmaktadır (Hempel ve Degand, 2006) ve sıralama (ilk olarak, ikinci olarak), yazarın amacını açıkça ifade etme (amacım...niyetim...), metin aşamalarına gönderimde bulunma (sonuç olarak, kısaca), ve konular arası geçişi işaretleme (açısından, şimdi) olmak üzere dört işlevi bulunmaktadır (Hyland, 2005a). Ancak, yazılı metinlerde okuyucuyu yönlendiren ve metnin anlaşılmasını sağlayan çerçeve belirleyicileri kullanımı yabancı dil öğretiminde, yazma derslerinde çok önemsenmemektedir ve İngilizce'yi yabancı dil olarak öğrenen öğrenciler çerçeve belirleyicilerini etkili biçimde kullanmakta zorlanmaktadır ve çeşit olarak az sayıda çerçeve belirleyicisini sık olarak kullanmaktadır. Bu bağlamda, İngilizce'yi yabancı dil olarak öğrenen Türk öğrencilerin yazılı metinlerinde üstsöylem düzeyinde çerçeve belirleyici kullanımlarını inceleyen çalışma oldukça azdır. Bu nedenle, Türk öğrencilerin yazılı metinlerini düzenlerken hangi çerçeve belirleyicisini hangi amaçla kullandıklarının incelenmesi sonucunda farklı söylem topluluklarında metnin düzenlenmesinde çerçeve belirleyicilerinin kullanımına ilişkin ortaya konacak bulguların konuya açıklık getirmesi hedeflenmektedir. Ayrıca, anadili İngilizce olan öğrencilerin 'önsezisi'ne güvenmekten ziyade (Nesselhauf, 2004: 125) yazılı metinlerinde tipik çerçeve belirleyicileri kullanımlarının belirlenmesi, Türk öğrencilerin çerçeve belirleyicilerini kullanımları ile karşılaştırılması ve anadili İngilizce olan ve olmayan öğrencilerin kullanım farklılıklarının ortaya çıkarılması hedeflenmektedir. Bu doğrultuda, bu çalışma, İngilizce Öğretmenliği Programı'nda okuyan 1. sınıf Türk üniversite öğrencileri ile Amerikalı üniversite öğrencilerinin İngilizce savlama temelli metinlerinde çerçeve belirleyicilerini kullanımlarını, kullanım sıklığı ve işlevleri bakımından incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Çalışmanın amaçları doğrultusunda, Louvain Amerikalı ve İngiliz Öğrencilerin İngilizce Derlemi (LOCNESS)'nden basit rastgele örnekleme yöntemi ile alınan 100 savlama temelli metin ile Türk üniversite öğrencilerinin savlama temelli metinlerinden oluşturulan derlemden aynı yöntem ile alınan 100 savlama temelli metindeki çerçeve belirleyicileri ve sıklığı AntConc 3.2.4. yazılımı aracılığıyla saptanmış ve Hyland (2005a)'in çerçeve belirleyicileri işlev modeli kullanılarak çalışmanın yapıldığı kurumda çalışan ikinci bir araştırmacı ile manuel olarak incelenmiştir. Buna göre, çerçeve belirleyicileri sıralama, metin aşamalarına gönderimde bulunma, amacı açıkça ifade etme ve konular arası geçişi işaretleme işlevleri bakımından incelenmiştir. Daha sonra, sıklık analizi için çerçeve belirleyicilerinin sayı ve yüzdeliklerinin hesaplanmasının yanısıra iki derlemde her 10,000 kelimedeki kullanım sıklıkları hesaplanmış ve iki grubun çerçeve belirleyicileri kullanımı arasında anlamlı fark olup olmadığını belirlemek amacıyla Log-Likelihood istatistik testi yapılmıştır. Çalışma bulguları, her bir derlemde ve iki derlem arasında çerçeve belirleyicilerinin işlevlerine göre kullanım sıklıkları ve çeşitliliğinde farklılık olduğunu göstermiştir. Her iki grupta da sıralama ifadelerinin diğer tüm çerçeve belirleyicilerinden daha fazla sıklıkta ve çeşitte kullanıldığı ve konular arası geçişi işaretleme işlevini gören ifadelerin oldukça az kullanıldığı belirlenmiştir. Ayrıca, Türk öğrencilerin çerçeve belirleyicilerini Amerikalı öğrencilere kıyasla oldukça sık ve fazla çeşitte kullandığı saptanmıştır. Bu araştırma sonucunda, İngilizce'yi yabancı dil olarak öğrenen öğrencilerin çerçeve belirleyicileri kullanarak üstsöylem boyutunda savlarını daha düzenli ve açık bir şekilde okuyucuya iletebilmeleri, daha etkili metinler yazabilmeleri için akademik yazma dersleri düzenlenmesinin ve çerçeve belirleyicilerin kullanılması için çeşitli eğitim amaçlı uygulamaların yapılmasının yararlı olacağı düşünülmektedir. Key words: Anadili İngilizce olan ve olmayan öğrenciler, çerçeve belirleyicileri, derlem temelli çalışma, savlama temelli metin, üstsöylem
Employment of stance adverbials as hedges and boosters in argumentative essays of native american and nonnative Turkish university students
The growth of discourse analysis as a key tool in understanding language use, has led to the idea of the importance of interaction in writing. Thus, the concept of metadiscourse has emerged as a way of representing the writer's awareness of the unfolding text as discourse. Metadiscourse is based on a view of writing as social engagement and especially considered to be essential element of persuasive and argumentative writing (Crismore & Farnsworth 1990; Hyland, 2004). Among the metadiscourse markers, hedges and boosters are two crucial devices helping writers to express their authorial stance in their products. Writing argumentative texts is a challenge for the students not only in their mother tongue but also in their foreign language(s). They seem to experience difficulties in producing texts, which clearly interact with the reader(s), guide the reader in the process of reception and interpretation of the text and convince the potential reader of the text. Research on students' argumentative writing is relatively little compared to descriptive, narrative, and expository writing (e.g. Stephens, 2003). For example, two of the related studies have focused on comparison of native speakers with advanced Spanish university writers (ICLE corpus) (Neff, Ballesteros, Dafouz, Martínez & Rica, 2004) and the Greek advanced learners of English (Hatzitheodorou & Mattheoudakis, 2007). More texts need to be analyzed to gain a deeper understanding about how and effective authorial stance is presented. In the Turkish context, the students are not offered an explicit instruction in authorial stance taking and employing stance devices, instead, they are provided with very general writing guidelines and there is a scarcity of study examining comparatively native American and Turkish non-native EFL learners' employment of stance devices as hedges and boosters in their English argumentative writings. Therefore, a detailed and comparative analysis needs to be conducted in order to gain a deeper understanding about how stance-taking is presented by non- native and native students. So this study aims to identify the stance adverbials used as hedges and boosters employed by native American and Turkish non-native students. This study specifically based on the stance adverbials as they expose the author's comment or attitude much clearer. The data of this study consist of the argumentative essays of the native American students (from the Louvain Corpus of Native English Essays - LOCNESS corpus) and of the Turkish non-native students from the corpus of argumentative essays written by Turkish students, majoring in the first year of English Language Teaching Department at Anadolu University. Simple random sampling is used in order to choose 200 argumentative essays (100 from each student group) and native corpus consists of 84,851 words whereas non-native corpus consists of 86,554 words. The data are analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively, percentages, mean frequencies per 10,000 words and Log-likelihood results for each item are calculated and interpreted. The stance adverbials as hedges and boosters are identified with the help of a concordance program, Ant. Conc. 3.3.4. and analyzed in their own contexts manually using Hyland's (2005) interpersonal model of metadiscourse, checked twice and the results are inter-rated by another researcher by using peer debriefing system. The functional use of stance adverbials as hedges and boosters are analyzed in their own contexts and explained in detail. The results of the study show that argumentative essays of students are characterized by extensive use of boosters, and less limited use of hedges and it is found out that Turkish non-native students use more diverse hedges and boosters than native American students use in their argumentative essays. Functional uses of each adverbial are explained, examples from the essays are also presented. The results of this study are believed to create an awareness among both the teachers and the students both in theoretical and linguistic aspects. Keywords: argumentative writing, corpus, hedges and boosters, stance adverbials
The impact of vocabulary knowledge on reading, writing and proficiency scores of b2.2 level Turkish students: A study with Anadolu University English Prep-School students
This study is an attempt to clarify the incremental and multidimensional nature of foreign language vocabulary development and its relation to the participants' reading and writing performance and general language ability of English as a foreign language (EFL). With this principle aim, the current study investigated the relationship between the receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge, the relationship between receptive vocabulary knowledge and reading performance and the relationship between productive vocabulary knowledge and writing performance using their scores on vocabulary knowledge tests, a reading exam and a writing exam. Additionally, the lexical level of the compositions written by the participants and its relation to their productive vocabulary knowledge and the impact of both receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge on the participants' general language ability of EFL were also examined. 175 B2.2 level prep-school students studying at Anadolu University School of Foreign Languages, Eskişehir, Turkey participated in the study. The results revealed that the students' receptive vocabulary knowledge was larger than their productive vocabulary knowledge. It was also found that the contribution of vocabulary knowledge to the foreign language performances of reading, writing and proficiency was significant. Moreover, according to the Lexical Frequency Profile results, the lexical level of the student essays and the students' productive vocabulary knowledge were significantly related. Hence, by looking at the overall results of the present study, it might be suggested that vocabulary awareness should be created for foreign language students in their language learning process. Keywords: receptive vocabulary knowledge, productive vocabulary knowledge, lexical level, lexical frequency profile, reading, writing, proficiency
Fransızca yabancı dil sınıfında eğitsel yönergelerin kullanılması üzerine bir durum çalışması
Hayatımızın her alanında var olan yönergeler, eğitim hayatında da önemli bir yere sahiptir. Gerek sınıf içi etkileşimde, gerekse değerlendirme sürecinde, yönerge öğrenme durumunu yönlendiren önemli bir araçtır. Bu çalışma aracılığıyla ulaşmak istenilen amaç yönergelerin yabancı dil Fransızca sınıflarındaki yeri ve rolünü belirlemek, ayrıca öğretmen ve öğrencilerin bu konudaki sınıf uygulamalarını yakından incelemektir. Bu amaca ulaşmak için katılımcıların algı ve yönelimlerini daha iyi anlamamıza olanak veren nitel bir durum çalışması yürütülmüştür. Araştırma verileri nitel yöntem kullanılarak toplanmıştır. Anadolu Üniversitesi Yabancı Diller Yüksekokulu'ndan dokuz öğrenci ve bir okutman bu çalışmanın katılımcılarını oluşturmaktadır. Veriler yarı katılımlı gözlem, yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme ve doküman inceleme teknikleri kullanılarak toplanmıştır. Öncelikle 10 hafta boyunca yarı katılımlı gözlem yapılmış, aynı zamanda sınıfta kullanılan yazılı dokümanlar incelenmiştir. Gözlemin hemen ardından, gözlem sınıfından yedi öğrenci ve bir okutmanla yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmeler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Verilerin toplanmasının ardından, araştırmacı ve Fransızca yabancı dil eğitimi alanından iki uzman tarafından veriler analiz edilmiş, kod ve temalara ayrılmıştır. Veri analizi sonucunda, dört ana tema ve dokuz alt tema ortaya çıkmıştır. Verilerden elde edilen ana temalar şu şekildedir: (1) Yönergenin Öğretmen Tarafından Aktarılması, (2) Yönergenin Öğrenci Tarafından Okunması, (3) Yönerge Anlama Sorunları, (4) Öğrencilerin Yönerge karşısındaki Farkındalık Düzeyleri ve Tutumları. Anahtar kelimeler: Otonomi, Yönerge, Durum Çalışması, Fransızca Yabancı Dil,Talimat.
Eine kulturspezifische übersetzungsanalyse: Vergleichende analyse des romans huzur von Ahmet Hamdi̇ Tanpınar
Çalışmada Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar'ın Huzur romanın Almancaya yapılan çevirisi karşılaştırmalı bir analiz prensibi ile çeviri eleştirisi ilkeleri bağlamında incelenmiştir. Romandan seçilen, kültür spesifik bağlamda örnekleyici özetler sağlayan, kesitler yolu ile çeviri eleştirileri yöneltilmiştir. Bu çalışma ile varılmak istenen nokta özgün metindeki dil yolu ile aktarılan kültürel öğelerin, Alman diline nasıl aktarıldığını ve bu aktarımların erek kültürdeki alımlanabilirliğini belirlemektir. Çalışmanın ilk bölümü çeviri işlemi, çeviri bilim, çeviri kuramları, çeviri eleştirisi ve kültür konuları ile ilgili teorik bilgileri içermektedir. İkinci bölüm ise ilk bölümde elde edilen bilimsel bilgiler doğrultusunda yapılan karşılaştırmalı analizlerden oluşmaktadır. Örnekleri yorumlayıp, eleştiriye dönüştürürken temel alınan düşünce bir 'kültür okuması' yapıldığıdır. Bu bağlamda oluşturulan yorumlar eserin yapısal özelliklerinin aktarımından çok içeriğiyle ilgilidir. Anahtar Sözcükler: Çeviri, Eşdeğerlik, Yazınsal Çeviri, Yazınsal Çeviri Eleştirisi, Kültür, Analiz, Metinötesi Anlamlar