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Flourishing autonomous and well-becoming language learners: Exploring the impacts of a learning advisory-adapted program through the lens of a proposed model in Turkish context
This study examines the experiences and perspectives of students participating in a curriculum-integrated, advising-oriented program that aims to enhance language acquisition and self-regulation skills while promoting a sense of well-being. A program called the Learning Advisory Program (LAP) Club Speaking Classes was devised, based on a multidimensional adapted model known as The Butterfly Model, which incorporated self-determination theory (SDT), PERMA (the five pillars of well-being), and intentional reflective dialogue (IRD) to foster group advising practices. The content was given in accordance with the phases outlined in the equipped-for-future (EFF) framework and standards. This program was created for the LAP unit of AYBU SFL. This research is guided by two primary research questions. Firstly, it investigates the learners' experiences and perceptions of the program's implementation of the six core components of the Butterfly Model. Data from session-end surveys and post-program interviews were analyzed to identify themes related to these components, and the findings were interpreted within the framework of Basic Psychological Needs Theory. Secondly, the study explores learners' experiences regarding the program's contribution to their well-being in relation to the five core elements of the PERMA model. Data for this research question were collected using the PERMA meter questionnaire, and themes related to the five core elements of the PERMA model were identified and interpreted. The study involved an average of 104 students in the LAP Club Speaking Classes over a 7-week academic period. Data collection enabled an exploration of learners' perceptions, motivations, and well-being throughout the program. The analysis focuses on the impact of each component of the Butterfly Model and its relationship to learners' well-being. Overall, this study aims to provide valuable insights into the experiences of LAP Club participants and establish a foundation for the wider and sustainable implementation of similar programs within the institution.
Türkçe ve Türk işaret dili (TİD)'nde hikaye başlangıçları ve karakter tanıtımları: Dil kanalının farklı olması bize neyi gösterir?
The aim of the current thesis is to track the developmental patterns in learning to set the scene and introduce referents in narrations produced by hearing children acquiring Turkish and deaf children acquiring Turkish Sign Language (Türk İşaret Dili - TİD). While narrating events presented in visual modality as in picture stories, spoken language acquiring children need to translate them into sequential segments of verbal output following the linguistic structures of their language (Berman and Slobin, 1994). This is not the case for deaf children who acquire a sign language where space is used to describe events and linguistic structures bear visual resemblance to the real events. The data were collected from three age groups in TİD and Turkish: Younger children between 3;5-6;8 years, older children between 7;2-9;11, and adults. There were 10 participants in each age group in each language, thus a total of 60 people took part in the current study. The participants were asked to narrate a picture story (Balloon Story, Karmiloff-Smith, 1981) to a deaf or a hearing person depending on the language condition. All the data were annotated and coded by deaf and hearing research assistants for the linguistic elements used to set the scene at the beginning of the narration (i.e., who, where, what information for the first picture) and the use of explicit linguistic forms to introduce the referents (i.e., the boy, the balloon man, the balloon). The results of the analyses showed that TİD-signing and Turkish-speaking children reached the adult patterns in learning to use scene setting elements at similar ages: In both languages, older age children, but not younger age children, were similar to adults in how frequently they used different types of scene setting elements. As to referent introduction, even younger children in both languages were adult-like in making explicit referrals to different referents of Balloon Story. Turkish speakers, in general, used explicit referrals to the main and secondary animate and inanimate characters of the story more frequently than TİD signers, which could be an effect of modality or typological difference between two languages.
The effects of being Instateacher on English teachers' professional development and teacher identity
In recent years, especially after COVID-19, it has become popular to use social media as a part of teaching and professional development. Before the popularity of social media, teachers were forced to attend seminars or conferences that were chosen by educational institutions, and the administrators of the institutions used to decide on the professional development programs that teachers would attend. Top-down learning strategies were predominant and common however, with the popularity of social media, bottom-up strategies became popular, and teachers began to use them both for teaching and their professional development. The teachers also find standard-based professional development models ineffective and boring because they can't practice the activities in enough amount of time. Therefore, recently, the individual-based professional development model is much more preferable and popular. Thanks to the bottom-up, individual-based professional model, teachers started to choose the seminars they want to attend. On social media, it is easy to achieve anybody, any information, and any trends. In this current exploratory qualitative research study, the newly popular social media platform, Instagram is observed and the effects and contributions of being an Instateacher on English teachers' professional development and teacher identity are examined. The teachers who use Instagram for educational and developmental purposes by sharing materials, websites, lives, videos, seminars, or workshops are named as "Instateachers" in this study. This is the first time they are names as Instateachers. Interviews were conducted with 9 Instateachers from different parts of the world but mostly from Turkey. Conforming to the triangulation method, interviews were supported with related visuals from the accounts of Instateachers, and peer-editing was done by using initial coding. The findings of the study reveal that being an Instateacher and using Instagram contribute to English teachers' professional development and their teacher identities can be negotiated, changed and new identities can be added. It was proved that using Instagram actively and affectively helps teacher growth and the positive effects emerged in the data analysis with a truthful perspective of the subject matter.
Headway intermediate, headway pre-intermediate, language hub intermediate, language hub pre-intermediate kitaplarindaki yaşam tarzi değişikliği karşilaştirmali çalişmasi
Bu çalışma 1987 ve 2020 yılları arasında yayımlanan dört İngilizce ders kitabındaki yaşam tarzı yansımalarını ve değişikliklerini araştırmak ve karşılaştırmak amacıyla yapılmıştır. Kitaplar yabancı yazarlar tarafından oluşturulmuş olup farklı kuruluşlarda ve İngiliz Dili Eğitimi alanında kullanılmıştır. Bu çalışmanın amacı İngiliz Dili Eğitimi ders kitaplarındaki yaşam tarzı yansımalarını, yaşam tarzı ögelerinin kategorilendirilmesiyle nicel ve nitel olarak araştırmaktır. Buna ek olarak, bu çalışma yıllar içinde İngiliz Dili Eğitimi ders kitaplarındaki yaşam tarzı yansımalarının neler olduğunu ve hayat tarzının nasıl değiştiğini birbirleriyle karşılaştırarak tespit etmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu sonuçlara ulaşabilmek için, bu çalışma yedi farklı kategoride incelemeye alınmıştır: a) yiyeceklerle ilgili görseller b) teknolojik ürünler, cihazlar, araçlar ve ekipmanlar c) ırk, etnik köken ve uyruk, d) boş zaman faaliyetleri, e) kıyafetler, f) kadın rolleri, meslekleri ve aktiviteleri, g) erkek rolleri, meslekleri, ve aktiviteleri. Görsel veriler bu kategorilere göre tablolara dönüştürülerek nicel ve nitel olarak analiz edilmiştir. Araştırmanın sonucu ders kitaplarının karşılaştırılmasıyla yaşam tarzı yansımalarının Headway Intermediate (1987), Headway Pre-Intermediate (1991), Language Hub Intermediate (2019) ve Language Hub Pre-Intermediate (2020) kitaplarında büyük ölçüde farklılık gösterdiğini ortaya koymuştur. Yiyecek içecek, ırk, etnik köken ve uyruk, ve boş zaman aktivitelerindeki çeşitlilik Language Hub Intermediate (2019) ve Language Hub Pre-Intermediate (2020) kitaplarında belirgindir. Tümünde, kıyafetlerin ve cinsiyet rolleri çeşitliliği neredeyse paraleldir, ancak kapsamları farklıdır. Hem cinsiyet rollerinin hem kıyafetlerin kapsamı ve öğelerin çeşitliliği konusunda ders kitapları gelişen teknoloji ve globalleşme sebebiyle değişikliğe uğramıştır.
Turkish digital linguaculture: Intertextual practices of a Facebook community
This discourse-based study aims to provide a perspective on online Turkish linguaculture through the practices of a Facebook Specific Interests Group (SIG) and the possible implications of these practices in context. Focusing on posts and comments of the SIG members, the study investigates how the heteroglot practices and intertextual references made through diverse semiotic resources such as text and visuals including GIFs, images, videos and emoticons, and also the original contexts where these references are used and taken from. The analysis draws on the content produced on the SIG in a 3-month data collection period. The findings of the study demonstrate that members' linguacultural practices manifest themselves commonly in their use of figurative language, multimodal resources and English that reflect their multiliteracies. Thanks to these practices, a hybrid digital discourse and the linguaculture of the SIG are constructed through multilayered heteroglot and intertextual relations.
Raising EFL learners` awereness of verb-noun collocations through chunking to extend their knowledge of familiar nouns
Research in vocabulary has received much attention recently due to the recognition of a need that a larger lexicon of L2 is a prerequisite to effective communication. Corpus linguistics such as the COBUILD project has shown us that vocabulary is not consisted only of single words but a much wider part of real language includes multi-word units; polywords, collocations, fixed, semi-fixed utterances etc. The purpose of this study is to see to what extent Turkish learners of English chunk collocations i.e. word partnerships in texts, and whether a focus on these partnerships through an awareness-raising activity makes any contribution to learners' productive/receptive vocabulary use. The study, in particular, aims to prove that frequent verb collocates of familiar nouns escape notice through reading on the assumption that such words are already known and do not need further attention. To this end, a native speaker of English formed two texts including common verb + noun collocations under the topics of Education and Traffic with reference to Oxford Collocations Dictionary (2002). Then, one productive and one receptive test were formed, each comprising 25 items, 13 of which were found in the two texts. The study was conducted with two classes of 36 Upper- Intermediate level students, 18 of them being in the experimental group and the other half in the control group. The results of the study revealed that the experimental group that was trained in chunking collocations in texts scored higher in both forms of posttests. in
Teachers questions: Do they encourage critical thinking?
We can easily underline that today there are two related terms with society:knowledge and technology. Every person living in a society should always thinkcritically in order to cope with a developing technology and knowledge. Besidesanalytical skills, firstly critical thinking abilities should be taught to help students inthe process.Developing individuals who posse critical thinking skills, is one of the mostimportant goals of our education system. Teachers, instructors, and lecturers play agreat role in developing critical thinking. Considering the classroom environment,teachers can do different tasks to promote this; for example, they can start a classdiscussion by which students can have the chance to express their personal opinions.Topics given should ideally encourage students to do research, synthesize the relevantideas and present them in a logical way. Furthermore, teachers can act as facilitatorspromoting students? critical thinking abilities by asking questions which can fosterstudents? ability to analyze, synthesize, reason, and express their ideas freely.Paying attention to the importance of the questions in developing criticalthinking skills, the aim of this study is to identify what kind of questions teachers askat Intermediate level in Listening / Speaking courses at Anadolu University School ofForeign Languages. Moreover, the study aims to find out whether the questions askedby the teachers include High- Order questions or not.The study was conducted in 2005- 2006 at Anadolu University School ofForeign Languages with eight teachers teaching 400 students at Intermediate level.The eight teachers were video- recorded for eight class hours over a week period intheir Listening / Speaking courses. It has to be underlined that from those eightteachers, three teachers were chosen based on their teaching experiences and theirnative languages and the recordings of those particular teachers were analyzed. Thetotal process of recording lasted for three weeks between the 12th of December 2005and 2nd of January 2006.The findings of the study revealed that teachers ask different types ofquestions. Since the focus of the study was the High- Order Questions, the resultsindicated that the percentage of the High- Order Questions asked inListening/Speaking classes is not high.Key Words: Questions, High- Order Questions, Language Teaching,Classroom Discourse
Visually enhanced input, input processing or pushed output: A study on grammar teaching
How should the teachers draw the attention of the learners to fonn? This is the question that shaped the study at hand. The main goal of the researcher was to find out the most effective attention drawing technique used in focus on fonn and therefore infonn the practitioners in the field about the results. In order to test the efficiency of the attention drawing techniques, an experimental study with a pre, post-test design was conducted. The subjects of the study were the intennediate level students of the School of Foreign Languages of Dokuz Eylii1 University in the Fall Tenn of 2006-2007 academic year. They were students enrolled at an intensive English preparatory class of which the class hours ranged between 24 to 30 hours a week. They were between 21 to 23 years old. 90 subjects were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. There were three experimental groups: pushed output group, visually enhanced input group and processing instruction group. Control group received traditional grammar instruction which was shaped according to the infonnation gathered from the class teachers. Each group was given the pre-test and later they received treatment. After treatment, they were given the same test as post-test and 4 weeks later as the delayed post-test. The analyses of the results of the pre-test, post-test and the delayed posttests reveal that pushed output and processing instruction were effective in the teaching of the target fonn. However, as for the delayed post-test only processing instruction stays well in the interlanguage of the participants
An investigation of cooperating teachers' roles as mentors during the teaching practicum at distance b.a. program in elt at Anadolu University open education faculty
The present study aims to investigate the perceptions of the cooperating teachersand student teachers as to mentoring roles of the cooperating teachers. 1846 4th yearstudent teachers who enrolled to the Distance B.A Program in ELT at the AnadoluUniversity Open Faculty (AUOF) and took `School Experience II and Teaching PracticeCourse? during the 2006-2007 academic year and their 358 cooperating teachersparticipated in the study. `Cooperating Teacher Questionnaire? and `Student teacherQuestionnaire? which were designed in a 5-point Likert scale. The StudentQuestionnaire was a similar version of The Cooperating Teacher Questionnaire. Theitems of the two questionnaires were matched. The analysis of the CTQ indicated thatCronbach alpha value was 0. 928 and the principal component analysis with ten factorsand 43 indicators explained 60.196 % of the total variance. The results of the studyindicated that cooperating teachers often performed their mentoring responsibilities.Moreover, cooperating teachers indicated that they most frequently provided moralsupport and gave feedback on teaching performance and least frequently facilitatedsocialization of student teachers and interacted with other cooperating teachers. Thescores of the cooperating teachers and student teachers for almost all mentor roles were inline. Student teachers and cooperating teachers differed from each other at a statisticallysignificant level in terms of `providing facilitative information to enhance classroomperformance?, providing moral support.As a result of this study, a reliable and valid Cooperating Teacher Questionnairewith regard to their mentor roles was constructed. This questionnaire has been the firstand the only one constructed with regard to the mentor roles at distance English teachertraining context up to now. The results of this study contribute to increased understandingof cooperating teacher support related to mentoring process at the distance BA ELTprogram during teaching practicum. This study has been the only study conducted indistance ELT teacher training practicum to the present. The findings of this study suggestnumerous possibilities for future research.Key words: Teaching practice, practicum, cooperating teacher, student teacher,mentoring
The effects of receptive and productive tasks on vocabulary retention
This study was designed to investigate the effects of receptive and/or productive tasks on vocabulary gains. The study included two successive word sets to confirm the results. Four groups of students at the same proficiency level, lower-intermediate, were randomly assigned to different task groups: one group for receptive, one group for productive, one group for mixed (receptive+productive), and one control group, which did not receive any of the tasks. 127 students were present in the application of word set I, and 117 students were present in the application word set II.8 target words were explicitly taught in each word set. Then, students read a text in which they could see the target words. Following that, they received tasks, except the control group. All students were tested on both same receptive and productive tests just before, immediately after and four weeks after the application of each word set. Finally, a total retention test for 16 target words dealt with in word set was administered six weeks after the applications.The results revealed that all groups showed a statistically significant increase in their scores both in receptive and productive parts from pre test to post tests. With regard to receptive tests, no significant decrease was observed in task groups from immediate to delayed post test; however, the control group could not maintain its gains and decreased its scores significantly over time. In the productive tests, on the other hand, although receptive group was able to retain its gains from immediate to delayed post test, there was a significant decrease in the other groups over time.When the scores were investigated between groups, no significant effect of different tasks on students? vocabulary gains was found in receptive and productive tests applied at different intervals. However, receiving any of the tasks had a significant positive effect on receptive and productive gains of the students because task groups were significantly better than the control group, which always received the lowest scores.The results of the total retention test which included 16 target words together and which was applied 6 weeks after the applications of the word sets revealed that there was no significant difference in receptive and productive tests between the task groups. However, all groups receiving tasks were significantly different from the control group as they had significantly better scores than the control group.The findings of this study may confirm the importance of tasks as it proved just presenting target words was not enough to retain vocabulary over time. The type of task (receptive and/or productive) was not found to have divergent effects on vocabulary retention, though.
A study on blended learning model for teaching practice course in pre-service English language teacher training program
The aim of the present study is to develop a model based on blended learning for pre-service teaching practice course in English Language Teacher Training Program at Anadolu University. It is supposed that providing a blended learning environment for teaching practice course would improve the practice and contribute to the professional growth of pre-service teachers. Since it will increase the contact hours among students and university supervisors and facilitate peer feedback among pre-service teachers, which in turn, create a productive learning environment for them.Within the framework of `pedagogical action research? design, 18 fourth year students participated in the present study. Various data gathering techniques including a survey on participants? attitudes towards the Web (computer) based instruction and a survey on the participants? satisfaction with the blended teaching practice course were used. Additionally, in order to perform an in-depth analysis of the findings, standardized open-ended interviews were conducted with participants.The analysis of the data revealed that participants had positive attitudes towards the Web component of blended teaching practice course and all of the participants were satisfied with the blended teaching practice course since they reported that it met their expectations. It was also found that there was not a relationship between the participants? participation to the asynchronous discussions and their overall satisfaction levels of blended teaching practice course. The findings indicated that the pre service teachers thought that participating in a course level blended teaching practice course increased their teaching skills, primarily their skills on preparing lesson plans and the skills on performing their teaching practices.Although results of the present study indicated that blended learning environment was perceived positively by students, there is a need for further research to determine if the similar results could be obtained at other courses in different settings.
Impact of peer feedback on EFL learners' foreign language writing anxiety and their ideas about peer feedback
The present study aims at researching the impact of peer feedback on foreign language writing anxiety experienced by Turkish prep school students studying EFL and their opinions about peer feedback. To achieve these aims, the participants in the experimental group got training on peer feedback, gave and received peer feedback for nine weeks. 120 participants in both control and experimental groups responded to Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI) at the beginning and end of the study. Besides, 15 participants from the experimental group were interviewed about their thoughts regarding peer feedback and its impact on foreign language writing anxiety. The study revealed that training and practices on giving and receiving peer feedback had a significant impact on decreasing foreign language writing anxiety. The present study highlighted the idea that peer feedback practice needs to be a well-planned implementation supported with a continuous learner training on how to give peer feedback effectively and efficiently. For the participants in the present study, getting and giving peer feedback was helpful in feeling more relaxed and self-confident as they realized that their peers do similar mistakes and have similar worries during writing. As a conclusion, training and practices on peer feedback have the potential to lead learners to believe that they can be successful by reducing foreign language writing anxiety and increasing their awareness about EFL writing.
An analysis of the functional moves in the introduction sections of research articles written by Turkish scholars
English is the main medium of communication among academic researchers. Publishing in international journals may become very challenging for non-native speakers who may have different conventions of writing research articles. In the existing literature, research articles (RAs) written in English and in other languages have been examined in order to explore whether the textual organization in various languages is similar or different. However, intercultural studies of texts produced by L2 writers in English are few in number - in particular studies focusing on the introduction section which is known to be troublesome for novice writers (Ahmed, 2004; Jogthong, 2001). Moreover, while abstracts in academic writing have received attention recently, much less research has investigated introduction sections and there has been little descriptive investigation of their move structure, including interdisciplinary variation. Introduction sections of RAs are of great importance because in these sections writers create rhetorical patterns in each language to claim knowledge. Due to lack of enough research in the introduction sections of RAs, this study aimed to examine research article introductions (RAIs) written in English and Turkish by Turkish speakers across two disciplines- Preschool Education and Special Education, using Swales' (2004) CARS Model to focus on the move and step structures. The analyses of the data indicated the existence of both similarities and also differences. The findings demonstrated that both native and non-native writers are well aware of the functional moves of the introduction sections of the research article proposed by Swales (2004). The results demonstrated that although less than half of the RAIs followed the move sequence of 1-2-3 in both of the disciplines, regardless of the sequence, all of the moves were existent to a high degree in the RAIs. A couple of implications were drawn from the study and some suggestions were made regarding teaching second language writing in general and also teaching English academic writing for Turkish advanced learners and Turkish scholars. Key words: Research Articles, Introduction Sections, Contrastive Rhetorics, CARS Model, Teaching Academic Writing.
Online support application for oral communication skills course: A case study
The purpose of this research study is to explore how first year candidate teachers of English made use of online asynchronous speaking and listening activities outside the classroom as an online support to their EFL oral communication courses. In relation with the purpose of the study, a case study research paradigm was conducted. There were three research questions posed for the study. The first research question explored how the participants used the online support. The data for this research question came from the learning logs and researcher's logs. The second research question targeted at revealing the opinions of the participants. The last research question examined the factors that prevented the participants from using the online support. The study lasted for one whole semester and a total of 21 first year candidate teachers of English participated the study. The findings of the study suggest that the online support has potentials as a supplementary independent study tool to support oral communication courses. Those who used the online support found it useful and necessary to support the oral communication skills course. They reported gains in language proficiency, fluency, and confidence to speak in English. Especially, the feedback they received helped them to realize their weaknesses in grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. They also believed that the activities in the online support helped them to make spontaneous speech and prepared them for unrehearsed speech. Half of the participants thought it helped them to develop their pronunciation, whereas the other half disagreed. Similarly, half thought completing the speaking activities helped them to reduce their anxiety, whereas the other half disagreed. The participants used the activities in the online support mainly to expand the learning that takes place in the classroom and to revise the relevant content. Previewing was another reason to use the activities; however, it was not as common as the other two purposes. However, participants' effective use of the online support depends on availability of internet connectivity and finding suitable study environments. Furthermore, personal factors, such as disinclination, the presence of other required course work and poor time-management, also have a role in participants' effective use of the online support. One last factor that affects participants' decision to use the online support is attitudes towards computer mediated asynchronous communication. Participants who have negative attitudes towards computer mediated asynchronous communication decide not to use the online support from the beginning. Others, who are neutral prior to the implementation, may develop negative feelings towards computer mediated communication in the course of implementation and decide not to use the online support.
Interactional speech modification strategy use of teachers of young EFL learners
In light of the research finding that language learning is facilitated through the interactive and modified teacher discourse in the classroom (Thoms, 2012), this study aimed to examine teacher talk in the context of young English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in Istanbul, Turkiye. With the purpose of investigating the types of specific patterns teachers may use to make input comprehensible and meaningful for the young learners, 10 EFL teachers' interactions with their primary school and preschool students were collected through lesson observations and audio-recordings of teacher talks. For primary school context, data were collected from two sessions of two teachers from each grade (the first to the fourth). This totally makes 16 sessions. Moreover, for preschool context, data were collected from two sessions of two teachers in kindergarten, four-five years old and five-six years old classes, as one lesson from each age group. This entirely equals four sessions. Furthermore, these data were also supported with semi-structured interviews with the same teachers to learn their conceptual understanding of using interactional language with young learners and whether they will report employing specific strategies of meaning negotiation. The study employed a qualitative case study design. The qualitative data collected in the study were analyzed through discourse analysis to learn the purpose of teachers' spoken interactions with their students. Content analysis method was also used for the interview data. Although discourse analysis is inductive in nature, specific patterns from the literature were also used as a guide to create a code scheme for the teacher discourse analysis. The results displayed that EFL teachers implemented various speech modification strategies in their lessons to make the input understandable while teaching their young learners. These strategies were categorized under seven themes: modifying linguistic resources, teachers' echo, teachers' scaffolding, teachers' conversational frames, teachers' interactional feedback, teachers' epistemic questions, and teachers' echoic questions. On the other hand, semi-structured interviews revealed that they consciously employed speech modification strategies in their sessions to make input comprehensible for young learners. Even though teachers' self-reported and actual uses of speech modification strategies did not match completely compared to the observations of the same participants during the semi-structured interviews, these speech modification strategies were mainly about the seven themes: elaboration, simplification, peer assistance, repetition, echoic questions, epistemic questions, and role-play. This study fills a significant gap by exploring the use of interactional speech modification strategies by teachers of (very) young EFL learners in the context of Turkiye. This study also proposed several implications for the field of teacher education and language teaching. Initially, it is clear that teacher talk has a facilitatory effect on language learning; therefore, schools should accept it and all EFL pre-service and in-service teachers of young learners should be supported via teacher talk training programs for their professional development. Secondly, these training programs may serve as opportunities for teachers to gain awareness of the strategy use, thus preventing communication breakdowns between teachers and young learners in the classroom. Hence, modified interactions can support meaning making mechanisms of young learners.
EFL teachers' research engagement at a private university
The main aim of this study is to find research engagement level of English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers at Ozyegin University by reading published academic materials in the literature or doing teacher research, and the motives behind this engagement level. In addition, the research culture of the institution's relevant department, and how teachers perceive this culture was also aimed to be reported at the end of the study. Lastly, apart from the institutional research culture, EFL teachers' perception regarding what research is another issue addressed by the study. To achieve the goals of the study, fifty-five EFL teachers from with different backgrounds, years of teaching experiences and majors participated in the study. The participants were given a Likert type questionnaire adapted from Borg & Liu (2013) to get data of their background information, research engagement level, and institutional and personal research cultures. The questionnaire was followed by an e-mail interview for further exploration. After analyzing the both quantitative and qualitative data, the study showed that even though EFL teachers at Ozyegin University engage with and in research, their perception regarding teacher research or in other words teacher as a researcher were not quite parallel to the teacher research studied as a concept in the literature. To better the institutional and professional conditions, the reasons suggested by the study could be investigated.
Possible effects of the teaching proficiency through reading and storytelling TPRS) approach on very young learners' l2 vocabulary acquisition
Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS) is a methodology developed by an American teacher in 1990s to teach Spanish to adolescent and adult learners. Based on the principles of Asher's Total Physical Response and Krashen's Natural Approach, this methodology aims to provide language learners with considerable amount of comprehensible input through stories for language and literacy development. Although it has already demonstrated high potential with adolescent and adult learners of English, its implementation within the context of young and very young learners and its impact on their language acquisition is an issue that remains to date underexplored. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the possible effects of TPRS on very young learners' L2 receptive and productive vocabulary acquisition. Nineteen four-year-old kindergarten students of a private school constituted a single treatment group of the study. The target vocabulary was selected from five age appropriate storybooks used by the school following the steps of frequency check with an online vocabulary profiler tool and a children's dictionary. The study had pretest-treatment-immediate posttest-and delayed posttest design. For the TPRS treatment that lasted five weeks, lesson plans were prepared by adapting the establishment of the meaning, asking a story and reading stages of TPRS to the context of very young learners. In order to check children's knowledge of target vocabulary prior to the treatment and to measure their immediate recall and delayed retention two weeks after the treatment, receptive and productive picture tests were developed and administered by the researcher in one-to-one sessions with each participating child. The scores obtained on the tests were analyzed using descriptive statistics to evaluate the effectiveness of the method on target vocabulary acquisition. The results of the study show that TPRS has a positive effect both on recall and retention of receptive and productive vocabulary. The study provides guiding implications for language teachers and curriculum developers at preschools who would like to adapt this method to the context of very young learners considering the special needs and characteristics of children at this age. Key words: Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS); very young learners; vocabulary acquisition; receptive and productive vocabulary; using storytelling in vocabulary acquisition.
Comparing the effects of processing instruction and production-based instruction on the regular verb form of English simple past tense: The role of explicit information
Over the last two decades, the importance of grammar instruction for second language (L2) development has occupied a major place in the pedagogy. This dissertation study investigated the effectiveness of processing instruction (PI) and production-based instruction (PBI) on the acquisition of English simple past tense regular verb morphology (-ed). In addition, the role of explicit grammatical information (EI) was examined. In total, 194 EFL university students at the preparatory school of a private university in Turkey were randomly selected to form four instructional groups: PI groups with EI (PI+EI) and without (PI-EI); PBI groups with EI (PBI+EI) and without EI (PBI-EI), and a control group. The performance of all five groups was measured three times throughout the study: a pretest one week before the study, an immediate posttest one day after the instructions, and a delayed posttest three weeks after the instructions. The tests included interpretation (aural and written) and production (oral and written) tasks. A series of 5 × 3 ANOVA with repeated measures were run for the analyses. Firstly, the results revealed that all four instructional groups improved their performance more than the control group from pretest to posttest 1 and posttest 2. Secondly, while PI+EI group outperformed PBI+EI group on the interpretation tasks, both groups performed equally well on the production tasks. Thirdly, however, PI-EI group did not perform better than PBI-EI group on the interpretation tasks; both performed equally well on the production tasks. Fourthly, no statistically significant difference was found for the comparison of PI+EI vs. PI-EI groups, and PBI+EI vs. PBI-EI groups, which thereby showed that EI did not play a significant role in either PI or PBI. This dissertation provides an array of theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical implications to L2 teachers in general and Turkish EFL teachers, in particular. For instance, the study showed that both PI and PBI were effective in helping Turkish EFL learners acquire the target form. But as for the greater effectiveness of the instructions among each other (PI+EI vs. PBI+EI and PI-EI vs. PBI-EI), especially on the interpretation tasks, PI-EI group receiving structured input activities alone did not perform better than PBI-EI group receiving structured output activities alone (PI-EI = PBI-EI). When EI was added as one component into instructional sequence for PI and PBI groups, this time PI+EI performed better than PBI+EI on the same interpretation tasks (PI+EI > PBI+EI), which thereby showed that VanPatten's input processing model needs one more component: Explicit Information (see figure 7). That is, structured input activities per se are not enough. This study partially confirmed VanPatten's processing instruction which helped learners produce as well as learners receiving production-based instruction on the production tasks. However, in contrast to what VanPatten found, processing instruction needed EI to be able to outperform PBI groups on the interpretation tasks. The study also offers some clear directions for future research to L2 researchers, such as the effect of L1 transfer on L2 interlanguage development and the involvement of computer-based tools such as "E-prime" as a methodological instrument to ensure the accuracy of the collected data.
The effectiveness of multiple intelligence activities on vocabulary learning in elementary classes
iiABSTRACTThis study sought to reveal the efficacy of the teaching activities based on theMultiple Intelligence Theory on the pupils? vocabulary learning and retention.In this study; thirty words, including `parts of the body?, `house?, and`members of the family?, were chosen to be taught to the control and theexperimental groups consisting of the fourth graders in two classes, 4-A and 4-B,which were kept intact. While doing so the foreign language syllabus was followedwithout making any changes.The study took place in the Manisa Saruhanbey Primary School. Asmentioned above two classes were selected for the research. There were thirtystudents in each class. The 4-A class was determined as the control group and the 4-B class as the experimental group. The quasi-experimental research design was usedto test the effectiveness of the MI activities on the retention of vocabulary items,since the research was carried out with the two fourth year classes that were keptintact.In order to answer the research question, the pretest-immediate post test-delayed post test design was used. Prior to the onset of the research, a pretest wasadministered to the subjects. The results of the pre-test revealed the fact that thesubjects were not familiar with the selected lexical items as they all scored 0 (zero).The pre-test was administered to the subjects in both groups before thebeginning of the research and the immediate post test was administered during thelast five minutes of the lesson each week to check their learning. The same test wasgiven again after a month as a delayed post test in order to find out the effectivenessof the MIT activities on the retention of the items in the long term memory.The findings revealed that there was a significant difference between the twogroups in achievement tests in favor of the experimental group. In other words theactivities related to the MIT have a positive influence on the pupils? vocabularylearning and retention in the experimental group.
An investigation into the effects of using cooperative learning activities on vocabulary learning in the 10th grade English course
The study aimed at investigating whether the implementation of cooperative learning (CL) activities, in the subject of English classrooms, will have an effect on students? academic achievement of vocabulary learning and recalling levels of the vocabulary. It was an experimental study in which cooperative learning method was compared with traditional learning method. This study was conducted in Ezine Anatolian High School, Çanakkale. The subjects were from the researcher?s two English classes of 10th grade in the second semester of 2011. One class was selected as a control group and the other one was experimental group. The experimental group received teaching method using cooperative learning method and Jigsaw technique which was a cooperative learning technique, while the control group received traditional teaching method. The treatment phase lasted for two weeks period. Data were gathered in this study using types of sources; pre- test, post-test, delayed-post test (VKS) and students? comments on cooperative learning activities. To determine the effect of cooperative learning method on achievement in vocabulary learning and recall levels of students, non-parametric tests were used for analysing techniques. Data analysis revealed that both the experimental and the control groups showed positive performance of vocabulary learning. However after the treatment respondents of the experimental group showed better performance than the control group who did not show similar achievement. The experimental group outscored significantly the control group on post-test showing the supremacy of cooperative learning method over traditional learning method. Furthermore a delayed post- test showed that the recall levels of the students in the experimental group were better than the students? recall levels of the control group. Moreover, the students? comments on cooperative learning revealed that students had positive attitudes towards cooperative learning. Hence, the ultimate result of the study indicated that cooperative learning method was more effective for vocabulary learning of English as compared to the traditional learning method.Keywords: Cooperative Learning, Traditional Teaching, Vocabulary Learning, ForeignLanguage Learning.
Pre-service teachers perceptions of media literacy in the department of English language teaching in Turkey
In a media-saturated society, it is becoming extremely difficult for audience, especially the young ones, to discern between positive and negative, fact and fiction, true and false, reliable and unreliable content. In such an environment, MEDIA LITERACY, the ability to critically analyse, evaluate and discern media content and its production is imperative. Through a survey of 183 degree students from Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University (ÇOMU) this paper attempts to find out media literacy perceptions of pre-service teachers attending Department of English Language Teaching based on the theories provided by the scholars in this field.The research was conducted in eight different classes, two classes in every grade level. A hundred and eighty three pre-service teachers took part in the survey consisting of four parts: Media Literacy perceptions of the students, dealing with media to improve English Language skills, benefits of Media Literacy in learning and teaching English Language, and Media Literacy levels of ELT teachers in the eyes of the pre-service teachers.The data obtained from the study results were analyzed by the researcher by means of Excel and Statistical Package for Social Sciences Program (SPSS) through the use of descriptive statistics and DUNCAN analysis.Results showed that pre-service teachers attending Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University English Language Teaching Department are eminently aware of the concepts of Media Literacy, and that their ELT teachers frequently exploit different kinds of media forms in teaching English language skills although they pay partly less attention to the concepts of ?Media Literacy? than to the use of media forms.
Readers emotional involvement in reading L2 short stories
Reading short stories evokes emotions on readers and the readers respond to shortstories with their emotions. These emotional responses get the readers to beemotionally involved in reading. Emotional involvement in reading makes the readingprocess more enjoyable and beneficial for the L2 learners. Thus, this study aims tosearch into the process of the readers? emotional involvement in reading L2 shortstories. Fifty-one (51) student-teachers at Çukurova University, ELT Department,were administered a literary response questionnaire (LRQ) in order to investigate theiremotional responses to short stories in general and their emotional involvement in theprocess of reading L2 short stories. Moreover, three female (3 F) and three male (3 M)student-teachers, out of these fifty-one (51) participants, were administered emotiondiaries, another questionnaire about the stories they read in the study and interviewsfor a thorough analysis of the process of emotional involvement. In the light of thedata gathered, the present research suggests that EFL/ESL teachers should select thereading materials that will promote emotional involvement and design appropriateactivities.Key Words: Emotional response, emotional involvement, empathy, identification,short story
A teacher development program for young learners of English: An action research
In 1999, the Turkish Ministry of Education instituted English as a foreign language intothe fourth and fifth grade curriculum. However, the Ministry of Education (MEB) didnot prepare teachers to teach these grades. As a result, the necessary backgroundinformation, skills, and techniques needed for this new task were lacking in theseteachers.This led the researcher implement a teacher development program entitled ?TeachingEnglish at the 4th and 5th Grades?. Hence, a survey was sent to 220 schools under thejurisdiction of Konya City Directorate of the Ministry of Education. Second, given 120survey results, plus participants? expectations; the researcher conducted a teacherdevelopment program.This study, conducted as an action research, is based on Kelly?s (1955) PersonalConstruct Theory, which considers everyone a personal scientist. The Repertory GridTechnique, the data collection tool of the Personal Construct Theory is the main datacollection tool used in this study.It is used at the beginning of the study to elicit the participants? underlying personalbeliefs on efficient primary grades English teachers. These have been made explicit fortriggering participants change and development. The Repertory Grid Technique is usedat the end of the ?Teaching English at the 4th and 5th Grade? teacher developmentprogram? to determine the changes in the content and structure of the participants?beliefs.The results revealed changes in both the content and structure of the participants?beliefs, regarding the features of English teachers teaching at the grades of four andfive.Key words: Teacher Development, Personal Construct Theory, Repertory GridTechnique, English in the Primary Grades, In-service Teacher Development Program.
The use of hedges in research articles by Turkish interlanguage speakers of english and native english speakers in the field of social sciences
Studies relating to hedging phenomena have often been directed at the analysis of spoken interaction or at language use in general. However, especially from the mid-1980s onwards, the role of hedges in written discourse and particularly in academically and scientifically oriented language use has become a point of considerable interest for researchers.The study examines the instances of various kinds of hedges in the corpora compiled from research articles by native and non-native authors in hte field of social sciences and to determine whether or not variation exists between the two corpora under investigation in terms of occurence and functions of hedges. The questions of the research are:1. To what extent do native and nonnative speakers of English employ the same linguistic means of expressing hedging?2. Do native and nonnative speakers of English show variation as regards the frequency of the use of epistemic modality markers as hedging devices?3. What functional differences in the use of hedges do both corpora display?The study was conducted with 90 research articles written by Turkish inter-language speaker of English and native speakers in the field of social sciences. The corpora were analyzed through Word Smith tool.Keywords: Hedges, Linguistic Variation, Epistemic Modality Markers
A study of the effects of processing instruction on the development of English wh-questions used by Turkish EFL learners
This dissertation has aimed at comparing the possible effects of processing instruction (PI) and traditional instruction (TI) on the development of English wh-questions by Turkish EFL learners, examining whether the possible improved performance would be long-lasting in the long-term memory. For this study, 56 Turkish students attending preparatory program at Foreign Languages Center (YADIM) at Çukurova University were randomly assigned as a) processing instruction group, and b) traditional instruction group. In this study, two different instructional packets, a pretest, and two posttests were administered. The tests were consisted of two parts: comprehension and written-production. In the comprehension part, there was a grammaticality judgement task (GJT). In the written-production part, on the other hand, we had a translation task (TT) and a picture-cued task (PCT). Two weeks before the instructional treatment, the pretest was administered. The instructional treatment and the posttest1 spanned a period of one week. Four weeks after the posttest1, the posttest2 was administered. The raw scores obtained from the pretest and posttests were examined through using two-way ANOVA and the results were presented in tables and figures.The findings obtained from the comprehension task, namely GJT, revealed that both the PI and TI groups resulted in some kind of knowledge gain due to the treatments. However, the results of the posttest2 presented that only the effects of PI were retained over time.The results of the analysis of the written-production data indicated that both the PI and TI groups resulted in some kind of knowledge gain and both the TI and PI had a positive effect on how learners produced the English wh-questions. However, in the posttest2, the TI group was unable to retain the proficiency gains across the postest1 and posttest2 while the PI group?s scores were durable.KEY WORDS: Processing instruction, traditional instruction, wh-questions
Acquisition of English as a second language by a Turkish adult (Case study)
This study aims at investigating the acquisition of English as a second language in its natural setting by a twenty-seven year old Turkish adult. The study focuses on two aspects of her English acquisition: Grammatical Morpheme Acquisition and the preference of her Language Learning Strategies. Except our main data source `Diaries? that the participant sent through e-mails almost everyday, we applied The Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency (MTELP) to conceive her improvement, and Strategy Inventory for Learning Strategies (SILL) to figure out her strategy preference.The analysis of `diaries? gave different results from SILL on the strategy preference. It revealed that Cognitive Strategies were favored the most. Unlike `diaries? the results of SILL showed that our participant preferred the Communication Strategies more than other strategy groups, and Cognitive Strategies were the least group used by her. Though her Morpheme Acquisition Order showed similarities with the general sequence of order studies, unlike them, the first morpheme acquired by our participant was `Aux be? and the second one was `Irreg. Past?. Yet, the results of our study support the current theories of Second Language Acquisition of English.
Using semantic mapping strategy for teaching content words practice in EFL context
The current study consists of two phases as experimental and descriptive.The primary aim hereby is to raise awareness towards lexical semantic relations (LSRs) through semantic mapping as a vocabulary learning strategy. EFL learners' individual and social experiences are intended to provide the necessary knowledge to fill the slots in their lexical schemata. The experimental phase mainly concerned with the extent of the mapping of LSRsin terms of its contribution to the vocabulary learning in an academic EFL context.20 EFL students participated in the treatment procedure.They were asked to follow an individual path first, and a collaborative one in the classroom next. During the individual study, each student composed a personal learner's dictionary based on their real world knowledge. The collaborative part was in terms of compiling such individual data and accumulating them on a web database. Still, no single strategy is enough to meet the whole needs in a language classroom. Therefore, investigating the influence of the other supplementary strategies over semantic mapping was another purpose of the study.A further point that the study also seekedwas on any change in the size of the vocabulary known as well as the vocabulary learned after the practice. The statistical results indicated a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of the treatment group for both the vocabulary learned and known. Besides, there seemed to be no remarkable difference between the impacts of the other supplementary strategies on the process.The participants of the treatment were asked to provide feedback in the descriptive phase. They were directed four survey items online after the end of the semester. The data obtained from the responses were analysed using NVivo10, software to interpret qualitative data. A correspondence between the findings of both phases was evident towards the use of mapping of LSRs as a vocabulary learning strategy. Keywords: Semantic mapping, schemata, lexical semantic relations, vocabulary learning strategies, vocabulary size.
An examination of reflective teaching tools used by instructors in Turkey
Teacher Development (TD) is recently one of the most popular topics among education faculties and teaching departments' curriculums all over the world. Reflective teaching is one of the most prominent methods in TD. Considering these recent developments about teaching, the purpose of this study is to identify which reflective tools are commonly used by instructors at preparation schools of both private and public Turkish Universities. It is known that despite the pre-service and in-service programs, and university courses, there is a lack of detailed information about reflective teaching and its application in the classrooms. One of the most popular methods in teacher development is reflective teaching (RT). Reflective teaching was firstly appeared with John Dewey. In the 1930s, John Dewey defined reflection as a proactive, ongoing, examination of beliefs and practices, their origins and their impacts (Stanley 1998). According to Dewey (1993), the purpose of reflective practice is to change teachers' actions and decisions and how it impacts the outcomes of those decisions. Since it firstly came on the stage, it has evolved a lot but it is still very effective and it will continue to be popular because of supporting and guiding a lifelong learning system for its practitioners. Teachers generally believe that professional development is something which is done in a top down way with extrinsic motivation. However, these are mostly trainings which are term based, certificate supplied, topics generally chosen by the authorities, imposed and top down ones. On the other hand, teacher development has a bottom up process; it is optional, and continuous. In the light of these teacher development criteria, reflective teaching tools and procedures seem the most usable techniques to acquire teacher development for every teacher who wants to develop and continue his/her development for lifelong. So in this study, the aim is to know which reflective teaching tools are being used by instructors at universities in Turkey, and identify the most useful and common ones according to the results of the study. Keywords: Teacher development, reflective teaching, reflective teaching tools, foreign language education
Exploring university teachers' and students' perceptions of intercultural awareness
The global spread of English has resulted in diverse varieties of the language and not surprisingly it has influenced English language education worldwide. Its role as an international language therefore, highlights the need to raise intercultural awareness in English language teaching. The aim of this study is to gain an insight into English language instructors and learners' perceptions toward intercultural awareness at a university prep school in Turkey. In order to broaden the scope of the study, this research employed a mixed-method research design, combining quantitative and qualitative measures. The data consists of questionnaires conducted with 45 instructors including NESTs and NNESTs and 92 learners; semi-structured interviews with 8 instructors, and focus group interviews with 24 learners. The quantitative data was analyzed using the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science) software version 19.0, and the qualitative data were analyzed using the NVivo qualitative data software version 10.0. The investigation focused on four areas: participants perceptions toward the ownership of English, cultural integration in English language teaching, intercultural efficiency of the ELP program, and suggestions to enhance intercultural awareness. The results revealed that both the instructors and the learners acknowledged the importance of the English language in the realm of intercultural awareness, but both lacked a full understanding of the concept. The findings also indicated that the ELP program could not be considered as successful enough to raise intercultural awareness adequately and a set of recommendations on the issue was provided by the participants. Based on the outcomes of the study, remarkable implications were suggested in order to raise English language teachers' and students' intercultural awareness. The results of the study pointed to the substantial need for in-service teacher training programs and curriculum reflecting intercultural dimension of English language, and extra-curricular cultural activities that promote intercultural awareness. This study aims to contribute to English language teaching by revealing both teacher and student perspectives, which has been seldomly investigated and also offering several recommendations to enrich intercultural perspective in English language teaching.
Practicum stress and coping strategies of pre-service language teachers
As the leading position of English as the world's primary language for international communication has evidently been continuing for several decades, English language teacher education is getting more and more important. One of the most major components of teacher education programs is the practicum that requires senior pre-service language teachers to observe classes and do practice teaching before actual teaching profession. Recently, there has been increasing research focusing on identifying practicum-related stress sources and their coping strategies in order to maximize the efficiency of practicum. Based on a mixed-method research design with pragmatism research paradigm, this study constitutes an example of a multiple case study which aimed to investigate the pre-service language teachers' stresses and their coping strategies throughout the second term of the practicum. This study was conducted with the participation of fifteen senior pre-service language teachers who were selected by convenience sampling. The data for the study were collected through questionnaires, reflective journals, focused group and one-to-one interviews, observation visits, video-taping of formal micro-teaching performances, and field notes. The quantitative data of the study was analyzed by SPSS 18 and the qualitative data was analyzed through content analysis. The sources of practicum-related stresses were discussed under seven categories: classroom management, social factors, school mentors' attitude, affective factors, ELT methods and techniques, textbook, and professional factors. The highest source of stress was associated with classroom management. In coping with practicum-related stresses, the most frequently used strategies by pre-service language teachers (from high to low) during the second term of practicum were maintaining discipline, following interesting activities, ignoring, and negotiating with university supervisor. Also, the most effective stress coping strategy was negotiating with university supervisor. It is suggested that stress generating factors and the strategies that pre-service language teachers employ should be discussed and reflected upon in pre-service language teacher education programs.
KPDS ve ÜDS'nin akademisyenlerin dil öğrenimine etkisi: Nevşehir örneği
The influence that a test has on learning and teaching is defined as washback effect. Washback effect can be divided into three categories; positive, negative, or neutral. If a test influences learning in a positive way, it is called as positive washback. However, if it influences the learning process in a negative way, then it is called negative washback. If a test does not affect education in any way, then it is called neutral washback. The purpose of this study is to find out the washback effects of two high-stake tests, KPDS and ÜDS, on the language development of academic personnel. The study was conducted at Nevsehir University. A questionnaire and interviews with academicians were used to collect the data. The questionnaire part focused on 103 academic personnel. For the interview part, two assistant professors and two research assistants were interviewed face to face. To analyze the data a program called SPSS version 19.0 was used. In order to better understand the data obtained from the surveys, descriptive statistics (mean, SD, frequency and percentage) of the data were presented. As for results, it has been found out that KPDS and ÜDS had some positive and negative washback effects on different skills. Reading is the only skill on which these exams had positive washback effect. Most of the participants agreed that they studied to improve their reading comprehension since it was widely tested in KPDS and ÜDS. In addition, KPDS and ÜDS had positive washback effect on vocabulary. Finally grammar is also positively affected by KPDS and ÜDS. As to listening, speaking, and writing, since KPDS and ÜDS do not test these skills, these exams had strong negative effects on these skills. Furthermore, the participants also suggested that if KPDS and ÜDS tested listening, speaking, and writing they would study to improve these skills.
The effect of using contextual vocabulary learning strategies on developing productive vocabulary knowledge of university preparatory class students
The aim of this present study is to investigate the effect of using contextual vocabulary learning strategies such as guessing or inferring technique on developing active, productive, vocabulary knowledge. It aims to focus on whether guessing technique to learn new vocabulary items is helpful to use them actively in writing, as well as recognizing when encountered in a text.This study was applied with 40 pre-intermediate level students; 20 for experimental, and 20 for control group; who were at preparatory class at a state university to learn English as a foreign language. Descriptive statistical values were interpreted and a t-test was applied in order to see whether there was significant difference between the experimental and the control group.In this study, 4 reading texts were chosen in the coursebook and the students in the experimental group were encouraged to guess the meaning of unknown words by referring to certain clues in the text after the training sessions about contextual vocabulary learning strategies. However, the ones in the control group learnt the words with other traditional techniques such as memorizing or listing. At the end of each reading texts, the students were asked to write a short text with a parallel topic as a post-reading activity. The writings of the students were analyzed to see whether they used the newly-learnt words or not.According to the analysis of the results, the students who learnt new vocabulary items with contextual vocabulary learning strategies are more able to remember and produce them actively in a written context. However, if they consult to traditional techniques such as listing the words with their first language definitions and memorizing, they become less successful while using the same words. Key Words: Language teaching, vocabulary learning strategies, guessing technique, productive vocabulary, active words
A study on error correction to reduce learning anxiety in oral communication in EFL classes
The purpose of this study is to investigate EFL students? preferences of error correction strategies in oral communication and the extent to which their preferences are affected by the anxiety levels of the students. This study is conducted at three state universities with the participation of 266 students from the department of ELT in Turkey. Three sets of data were collected through three instruments. The first set of data was collected through the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) questionnaire. The subjects in the study were first asked to complete FLCAS to assess their general language anxiety level. Then they were categorized into three different anxiety levels: low, medium and high. The aim of categorizing the subjects into three different anxiety levels is to determine whether the students? preferences of error correction methods change according to their anxiety levels. The second set of data was collected through Chaudron?s (1988) taxonomy concerning error correction strategies which was a list of 27 error correction methods and the third set of data was collected by two open ended questions with regard to the types of errors that learners preferred to be corrected and person who provides correction. The analyses of the quantitative data reveal that nearly half of the students (43.8%) believe the corrections of pronunciation errors are important for them. Moreover, the results also indicate that the majority (62.1%) of the students prefer their teachers to correct their errors during oral communication. In addition, the results indicate that there is significant relationship between student?s preferences of error correction methods and their anxiety levels. All students with low levels of anxiety prefer to be corrected explicitly, they prefer some correction technique in which the teacher supplies the correct answer. Whereas some students with mediumand high levels of anxiety feel better when they are corrected implicitly, these students prefer the error correction technique in which their teacher shows the place of error and gives a clue about how to correct it. Keywords: Foreign language anxiety, English language teaching, error correction.
The effects of using blogs on the development of foreign language writing proficiency
The new trend in computer technology and internet has increased in everybody?s life. Teaching English as a Foreign Language is the same category and has been influenced by web technology nowadays. As developing writing proficiency is considered a basic goal of language learning, researchers try to find various ways to improve writing skill. Using web technology in language learning can affect the students? writing proficiency considerably. Weblogs can create a real situation for students to practice their materials.This study attempts to investigate the effects of using weblogs on the students? writing proficiency. It also investigates the effects of weblogs on some key qualities of 6+1 trait of writing such as ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and convention.The total number of 30 students were chosen and divided in two groups of 15 in Kish Language Learning institute preparing for TOEFL & IELTS. The control group (N=15) got the materials normally with no change in the instruction. Experimental group (N=15) got the same instruction using weblogs during the course. It lasted for 14 weeks. All of the students in experimental group detailed the typical process for each assignment, such as, writing paragraphs, working in groups, posting their assignments to blogs, reading their comments, making corrections and uploading their corrected assignments, and turning in their final assignments to the instructor. The students narrated some major issues for them like working in groups, peer editing, giving and receiving feedback, as well as interacting with classmates and with others. Peer reviews, the giving and receiving of feedback were the biggest issue. Their written products were collected during the term and analyzed according to the rubric.Data analysis indicated that blog-based group outperformed the students who got their materials traditionally. Moreover there was a significant difference in their writing proficiency in terms of idea, organization, word choice, sentence fluency, and convention but it didn?t make significant difference on voice. As a whole, the students found that weblogs were useful improving the students? writing proficiency and further expressed that they had more opportunities to receive more information. They also believed that weblogs helped them to prepare themselves by collecting suggestions for their writings and to continue their jobs effectively.
The effect of computer assisted and teacher-led storytelling on vocabulary learning of 5th grade students
Beş ana bölümden oluşan bu çalışmanın amacı, ilköğretim beşinci sınıf öğrencilerine kelime öğretiminde bilgisayar destekli hikaye anlatımının mı yoksa öğretmen destekli hikaye anlatımının mı daha etkili olduğunu saptamaktır. Çalışma, 2010?2011 öğretim yılında iki ayrı sınıftan toplam 60 beşinci sınıf öğrencisi üzerinde uygulanmıştır. Her bir sınıf için 10 ders saati alan araştırmayı gerçekleştirmek ve verileri toplamak için Siirt Sancaklar İlköğretim Okulu araştırma yapılacak okul olarak seçilmiştir.Çalışmanın birinci bölümü giriş bölümüdür. Bu bölüm, genel olarak çalışmanın bütünü, temeli, amacı, sınırlılıkları, varsayımlar ve kullanılan yöntem hakkında kısa bir bilgi vermektedir. İkinci bölümdeyse, çocuklar ve özellikleri, öğrenme stilleri, etkili kelime öğretim yolları açıklanarak genel bir bilgi verilmesi amaçlanmaktadır. Ayrıca çocukların kelime öğreniminde hikaye anlatımının ve de bilgisayar destekli dil öğreniminin yerine değinilmiştir. Üçüncü bölümde, çalışmayı gerçekleştirmek için başvurulan metod ve veri toplama aracına ve uygulamalara değinilmektedir. Dördüncü bölüm ise veri analizini ve bunların yorumlanmasını içermektedir. Ön ve son test sonuçları tablolarda gösterilip yorumlanmaktadır. Beşinci ve son bölüme gelinceyse, çalışmanın kısa bir özeti ve elde edilen sonuca dair birtakım önerilere yer verilmiştir. Ayrıca ekler bölümünde, çalışmada yer alan hikaye anlatımına ilişkin tamamlanmış beş ders planı ve ön ve son testler sunulmaktadır.
Designing an in-service teacher training program for english language instructors and identifiying the effectiveness of the program: An implication at Afyon Kocatepe University
It is of crucial importance for teachers of English to develop professionally at this time of rapid change. In order to encourage this aim of the teachers, the institutions should have attempts like having offices responsible for professional development of the academic staff and organizing events for the sake of on-going development. This study was conducted at Afyon Kocatepe University School of Foreign Languages Department and the participants of the study were the 10 newly hired teachers and 12 experienced teachers. In order to meet the needs of the academic staffs? professional development Teacher Training and Development Office was founded and it organized in service teacher training program (hereafter INSET) considering the needs of the participants. To be more helpful and beneficial, needs were analyzed in a comprehensive way. During the implementation of the program different techniques, models, activities like microteaching, peer observation, on the job observation, intensive INSET program were applied to meet the needs of the participants and the effectiveness of these studies was evaluated as a part of this study. The research questions posed for this study investigated to what the novice teachers and experienced teachers? needs are and what aspects affect these needs and to evaluate the effectiveness of the overall program. Two data collection instruments were employed in this study. First, a survey was completed at the beginning and at end of the program. Second, semi-structured interviews with ten randomly chosen participants were conducted after the intense 15-day INSET and after microteaching activities. Generally speaking, the results showed that novice and experienced teachers? needs differ in most of the components, their needs were met at the end of the program, and all components of the program resulted in success.
An NLP-based teacher development program for enhancing efl teachers' communication skills
This qualitative study was conducted with the voluntary participation of five non-native EFL teachers at a state secondary school in Adana/Turkey during the second term of 2009-2010 academic year. The NLP-TD program was conducted on weekly basis, amounting to a total of 16 sessions.The aim of this study is three fold. First it aims to explore in depth the nature of secondary school EFL teachers? personal theories of effective communication. Second, it aims to investigate the impact of Neuro Linguistic Programming based teacher development (NLP-TD) program to see if there are any changes in the development of EFL teachers? personal theories of communication skills. Third, based on the results of the teachers? reflection, this qualitative study attempts to provide EFL teachers with a framework for a new teacher development program based on NLP techniques.Drawing on Kelly?s (1955) Personal Construct Theory, this study used the repertory grid technique as pre and post diagnostic tool. The data elicited from the teachers were analyzed by utilizing the Rep Grid 2 Computer program. In order to find out the structure of participant teachers? constructs, each of the repertory grid data obtained from the teachers was subjected to FOCUS analysis separately. The two grids obtained from the participant teachers at the beginning and end of the study were also subjected to Exchange Grid Analysis to explore the patterns of the changes in the content and structure of teachers? personal theories. The nature of the participant teachers? construction of ?self? as teacher and ?ideal? teacher were also investigated. Follow-up interviews were employed to confirm the data taken from the repertory grid constructs.Throughout the NLP-TD program, reflection sheets were employed for process evaluation. As a third data collection tool, a Course Evaluation Questionnaire (CEQ) was used to triangulate the findings. By means of the CEQ and reflections sheets, participant teachers? views and feedback were obtained to shed light for future implications of the NLP-TD program.The findings of this study indicate that teachers have their own personal theories in terms of their perception of effective communication. In particular, the findings point to positive responses as regards the effectiveness of the NLP-TD program in terms of enhancing the communication skills of the participant teachers. In the light of the Repertory Grid, findings suggest that participant teachers? personal theories displayed change both in the content and structure.In conclusion, the NLP-TD program may be suggested as a new framework of a teacher development program for enhancing non-native EFL teachers? communication skills.
The effects of reading strategies on the improvement of inferential skills
The aim of this study is to reveal whether in reading comprehension, Gazi University Faculty of Education English Language Teaching Department first year students have the necessary knowledge sources and strategies and whether they use them appropriately and strategically in reading comprehension.In in the fall semester of 2006?2007 academic year, the first year students were first administered a 50 item Likert type scale in order to determine the knowledge sources and strategies they utilize. The students scored quite high points on the scale. Thus, although they, as stated in the scale, agreed that they were supposed to have the knowledge sources and strategies and to read the text by using appropriate reading strategies, it was revealed that they are quite poor at basic reading skills and general and inferential reading skills by the results of the pre-test administered soon after the scale.Following the pre-test, each student was applied the Think-alould method to reveal to what extent he uses the knowledge sources and strategies. By the results of the analysis, a parallel result emerged to that in the pre-test; that is, the students cannot benefit from the necessary knowledge sources, and cognitive and metacognitive strategies and they cannot use them appropriately.Thus, based on the results of these three instruments, the students were given strategy instruction in the fall semester of 2007 ? 2008 academic year in order to improve all the aspects of their reading performance. After the strategies instruction, a post-test was administered. Thus, it was revealed how much the students benefited from the reading strategies instruction. As a result, they improved their poor reading performance, and advanced these qualities to a further level. Based on the results, some suggestions were made regarding some aspects of reading comprehension and comprehension instruction.Key Words: Theories of reading comprehension, knowledge sources, stratejic reading, cognitive and metacognitive strategies, inference and theories of inference, reading comprehension instruction, role of L1 and L2 in reading, and good and poor readers.
Student anxiety and the identification of its effect in the speaking compenent of a proficiency test
The aim of the current study is to investigate whether the preparatory school students at a university may have speaking test anxiety. Additionally, it was examined whether there are differences in anxiety levels among students according to gender and the students' departments. To collect data, 126 preparatory school students were given a GEPT (General English Proficiency Test) Scale consisting 3 categories. The 36 items in the questionnaire were subjected to Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to determine the sub-categories of the scale. Moreover, 33 students were interviewed to get their opinions on how to overcome speaking test anxiety. Both quantitative and qualitative method design was applied to be able to answer the research questions. The data was analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences software (SPSS), version 17.0. The results showed that, preparatory school students were anxious during the speaking test. Also, it was found out that male students were much more relaxed during the speaking test comparing to female students. As for the departments, students in law department were more worried comparing to others. Students also believe they can overcome the speaking anxiety by doing speaking activities, making foreign friends, talking to their native teachers and going abroad. Those results were discussed within the context of relevant literature. Key words: English speaking anxiety, English speaking test anxiety
The attitudes of elt instructors toward blended learning at Zirve University
The aim of this study is to find the attitudes of instructors toward blended learning at School of Foreign Languages, Zirve University, and to find out the nature of Schoology, a learning management system, for blended learning puproses. The participants who participated in this study were 35 English language instructors working at Zirve University. A questionnaire developed by Moukali (2012) was used as a data collection tool in this study. The findings revealed that the English language instructors working at Zirve University have a positive attitude toward blended learning. On the other hand, the opinions of the participants to make blended learning more successful in language teaching and learning environments were reflected comprehensively in the study. Keywords: Blended Learning, Teaching/Learning Methods, Learning Management Systems, Attitudes of Teachers.
Comparision of computer adaptive individual video tutoring with whole class video lessons
The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to examine the recent developments in the field of computer assisted language learning/testing and to investigate how these developments can be best integrated with video utilization techniques in a language classroom. The special reason for trying to combine these developments with the use of video for language teaching was that; from the point of communicative approach, video is a motivating and meaningful teaching material which offers more clues to meaning and which can make learning in the classroom more like what occurs outside the classroom. The second purpose of this study -with the light of information gathered and on the basis of students? perspective on video and computers- is to suggest a new model of video tutoring, named as Computer Adaptive Individual Video Tutoring. A software was developed to integrate computer assisted language testing principles with the use of video in language teaching so that video lessons take place as an interactive and student centered learning process based on the principles of Communicative and Cognitive approaches. In order to reveal the effectiveness and pedagogic value of the software, a contrastive study was conducted. Lesson plans, classroom observations, four achievement tests and a questionnaire were used to reveal the difference between traditional whole class video lessons and the computer adaptive individual video lessons.The data collected indicated that computer adaptive video tutoring might have a great positive impact on enhancing learning and retention of knowledge as well as dramatically increasing student motivation, participation and engagement.
The role of formulaic sequences in speaking fluency in intermediate English as a foreign language classes
This study investigates whether the students at preparatory classes at Foreign Language Teaching, Implementation and Research Center (FLTIRC) at Gazi University are taught formulaic sequences (FSs) or not. Also, it explores the role of the conversation gambits, a type of FSs, in speaking fluency of the students at FLTIRC preparatory classes at Gazi University.The data were obtained from the questionnaire results given to 93 students (75 of them were composed of the ELT Preparatory Classes (ELTPC) and 18 of them were from General Preparatory Classes (GPC)) at FLTIRC and from the results of pre and post oral tests. The oral tests were applied to 20 GPC students; ten of them comprised the experimental group and the other ten ? the control group. The objective of the study was to explore the role of conversation gambits in improving speaking fluency. The results of the pretests of both groups were recorded in order then to compare with the posttest with regard to changes. The list of 38 useful conversation gambits and activities containing these gambits were prepared. The students of experimental group took treatment lessons, which were based on these activities containing conversation gambits. After a month, the oral posttest was conducted. The fluency of the students was measured according to 6 variables picked up from the previous studies in the literature. As a result of the measurement it was found that the students in both groups improved their performances in almost all of the variables, but the students of experimental group seemed to have improved more than those of the control group.It was concluded that explicit teaching of conversation gambits, if applied more often and longer periods, can provide students with confidence and can enhance their speaking fluency.
An EFL coursebook evaluation study for vocabulary teaching in reading texts a case study: New Bridge To Success
The study was conducted with 21 English teachers and 185 students from 7 different Anatolian High Schools in Ankara during March 2009. Two sets of data were used for this study. First, a questionnaire was distributed to185 students and to the 21 teachers of the 9th grades of 7 Anatolian High Schools in Ankara, who follow the NBS as the only coursebook. Then, the correspondences and discrepancies between the teachers? and students? reports were determined and the coursebook is investigated according to these findings. In the questionnaires how the students and the teachers evaluate the coursebook according to reading skill, how they evaluate the reading texts according to vocabulary teaching aspect, the techniques the teachers use to teach vocabulary while reading, the techniques the students use when they meet an unknown word and the techniques the students use to learn new vocabulary are investigated. The data in the questionnaires was analyzed by calculating the mean scores, percentages and frequencies. Flesch-Kincaid readability test was administered to randomly selected seven reading texts in terms of determining the readability.The results revealed that both the teachers and the students felt negative about the most of the characteristics of the reading texts and vocabulary aspects of the coursebook. Majority of the teachers mentioned that the reading passages needed to be simplified in terms of both vocabulary load and structures. It was also mentioned that the book needs revision and during revision special attention should be paid to the vocabulary teaching/learning aspect.Key words: Textbook Evaluation, Teaching/learning Vocabulary, Reading skill and vocabulary, New Bridge to Success (Elementary)
A case study on oral communicative skills while teaching English on the basis of "Lingua Franca" term at university preparatory schools
The high spread of English around the world as an international means of communication has brought about the need to explore the current orientations in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT).The assumption that the teaching of a global language should be different from that any other second language serves as the main point of departure of this study.Lingua Franca interactions in English- those exclusively involving non-native speakers- are mostly common, everyday occurrences worldwide. By examining the naturally-occurring, work-related talk of management personnel communicating in ?lingua franca? English, this paper explores a range of issues surrounding the applicability of conversation analytic methodology to lingua franca talk-data.This study is conducted at preparatory school students and instructors in different universities such as; Marmara University, Başkent University, Osmangazi University, METU, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Pamukkale University. The participants consist of 138 preparatory class students and 43 instructors working at these schools. Students? group fill out A Grammar Test consisting of grammatically wrong sentences, A questionnaire analyzing of speaking classes at preparatory classes, and A Likert Type Attitude Questionnaire. Instructors? group is also given the questionnaires except from grammar test which were prepared in a parallel way to the students? questionnaires. The results of both groups were compared and the findings are interpreted statistically and verbally.Analyses of data indicated that students benefit from lingua franca English in oral communicative skills. The degree of their developmental progress differed depending upon their level of English and motivation respectively.
Expectations of young learners and teenagers in terms of language teaching materials
This study analyses the material expectations of young learners and teenagersin English lessons. When the characteristics of each age group are identified, theimportance of choosing right activity types for each group is highlighted as well. Ifthe activity types and choice of materials appeal to age groups appropriately,language learning will become an enjoyable, memorable and interesting experience.The work is composed of five chapters and the first chapter aims to give thepurpose of the study. However, the second chapter informs readers about the relatedstudies made in the field. After identifying young learners, the ideas of philosophersand educational psychologists are presented chronologically about how childrenlearn. Then, teenagers and the way they learn are defined. Finally, language teachingmaterials and their characteristics are introduced in detail.In chapter three, methodology, data collection and analysis techniques aredescribed. Pre- test results gathered from both groups are analyzed and sample lessonplans which are followed by post- tests analysis of students and observers areexemplified. This chapter ends with a conclusion section.Chapter four consists of suggested activity types and materials for younglearners and teenagers.The last chapter includes conclusions which are derived from the findings.The study has six appendices; full version of the questionnaire so called pre-test -one in Turkish and one in English, the post test with English and Turkish translationand finally the one for observers which is in English and in Turkish again.
Reflective foreign language teacher development: A case study
This dissertation describes a piece of action research conducted with three English Language Teaching university instructors looking for a way to develop themselves professionally while continuing with their normal workload. The data, which consisted of the transcribed post-observation conferences held between pairs of participants and the entries in the personal reflective journals, were coded by the researcher; and the sections relevant to the research questions were analysed statistically to find how the reflective codes identified by the researcher clustered around the variables of role and context of reflection. There were three types of findings that emerged from this study: those of the qualitative analysis, those of the statistical analysis, and those of the action research process. The qualitative analysis produced a list of reflective modes that each participant was engaged in, and a list of categories that describe the content of their reflection. The findings of the statistical analysis show that certain reflective categories occurred more frequently in particular contexts, that each participant had different patterns of reflection, and that there was no linear relationship between their private and collaborative reflections. The findings of the action research process shows that each participant achieved change mostly at the level of awareness, although one participant noticeably changed. The findings are significant in that they show how and on what aspects of their practice instructors reflect; that collaborative reflection can provide alternative reflection patterns to private reflection; and that they present a simple framework for instructors to engage in self and collaborative development.
An analysis of the awareness levels of the state school efl teachers on reflective teaching:a case study
The aim of this study is to identify the awareness levels of the state school EFL teachers on Reflective Teaching and whether they prefer using reflective teaching in their profession or not. The study consists of five chapters. These are introduction to the study, literature review part, the methodology of the study, data analysis and interpretation, conclusion and suggestions. Chapter 1 consists of introduction, the problem, aim and scope of the study, methodology and assumptions. Chapter 2 consists of the literature review section. In this chapter, models of reflective teaching; the background of reflective teaching, the definition of reflective teaching, types of reflection, forms of reflective teaching practice, strengths and pitfalls of reflective teaching are intoduced. Chapter 3 contains the methodology of the study. The introduction to the methodology is introduced in a detailed way.The subjects, materials and procedure of the study are described in the third chapter Chapter 4 contains data analysis, interpretations, result and discussion. Chapter 5 includes the overall conclusion of the study, teacher training and development, and suggestions to improve teacher development are introduced.
The cognitive and cultural aspects of metaphor in the comprehension of columns
This study aims to find out whether metaphors are culture specific and the typesof reading strategies students use while reading texts, also whether there is one-to-one correspondence between the meaning of metaphors assigned by languages.Chapter 1 presents the background to the study, problem, aim of the study, themethod and the assumptions of the study.Chapter 2 presents the review of literature which consists three parts.The first part presents reading comprehension.The second part presents everything about metaphor.The fird part presents what culture is and shows how culture and metaphors areconnected.In chapter 3, the methodology that the present study makes use of is explainedwith reference to the subjects that participated in the study, the instruments used, andhow data are collected.Chapter 4 includes the analysis and the interpretation of data collected from thestudents.Chapter 5, which is the conclusion part of this study, summarizes the study,further highlights the importance of metaphor in reading and discusses the importanceof metaphor understanding and interpretations for foreign language teaching.
Promoting learner autonomy through activities at Gazi University preparatory school
The aim of this study is to promote learner autonomy through the activities to beexploited at Gazi University, Preparatory School. Since the prep school education is vital forthe learners who have just commenced their education in terms of acquiring several aspectswhich will aid them in their future education, this study focused on this point.In order to reach this aim, two classes, the former of which was the experimentalgroup and the latter of which was the control group, were appointed randomly. They were thelearners studying English from various faculties at Gazi University. Prior to theimplementation phase, Learner Autonomy Questionnaire, consisting of three parts abackground questionnaire, LAQ 1 and LAQ 2, was administered to the learners in bothgroups so as to reveal how much autonomy each group possessedWhereas the experimental group was instructed with the autonomy implementation,the control group continued their education with no change. After the 12-weekimplementation stage, the same questionnaire was administered to both groups one more time.The results from both groups were gathered and analyzed by the use of student t-test andpaired sample t-test so as to reveal whether any change would exist between the groups.At the end of this process, the statistics results were commented on. The resultsdisplay that the learners in the experimental group scored higher than those in the controlgroup, and showed more autonomy than the control group with a few exceptions. Moreover,the results from the experimental group were compared with those from the control groupitem by item. Total results were statistically shown in the tables.In the following chapter of the study, the conclusion and summary of the study wasmade with pedagogical implications and suggestions for further studies included
Vocabulary teaching to the second year cadets in the army academy to improve listening and reading skills within the framework of MI theory, in Turkey
Bahaeddin Özkişi who was born in İstanbul in 1928, to taked part in 20. centuryTurkısh Literature with his stories and novels; he succeeded to capture to a stylespecial to him with his expression and choosed subjects.The writer, used a comprehensible and net expressions, to loaded impressivemeanings to details that we eve neglected usually and he dealed with the eventspsychologaclly. Bahaeddin Özkişi who grewn with comprehensive Sufism culture,reflected this to his works. So, his works ?novels and stories- is like his mirror.Bahaeddin Özkişi is a writer and however he is an artist who signed to differentbusiness. He made the models of old İstanbul houses? and he gilded on the glass.