Yabancı Diller Eğitimi Anabilim Dalı

Trakya University · Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü

Opinions of English teachers on the challenges faced in 12-hour Elective English/Foreign Language Courses in Türkiye

There is a need to address the importance of teacher thoughts and various opinions about Elective English Courses and the challenges of teaching Elective English Courses. The evaluation of teachers' thoughts and various perspectives regarding the challenges of Elective English Courses and instruction is crucial. Therefore, this study aims to investigate "English Teachers' Views on the Challenges Faced by English Teachers in Elective English/Foreign Language Courses in Türkiye". This study aims to investigate the views of English Language Teachers who teach Elective English courses consisting of 12 hours per week according to the annual plan and curriculum of the Turkish Ministry of National Education. 111 volunteer teachers participated in the study. The study was conducted with an online questionnaire via Google Forms. The data was analyzed quantitatively. This study can also be seen as a suggestion for curriculum and textbook designers for these minority class groups. In this study, the views of EFL teachers on various challenges were examined. Firstly, the difficulties teachers face with students are discussed. Secondly, problems related to the main textbooks were discussed. Thirdly, the difficulties teachers faced with administrative support were emphasized. In addition, teachers' views on the difficulties and inconsistencies of the content of the Elective English Courses in terms of the structure of the YDT exam were analyzed. Finally, the psychological difficulties of teaching Elective English Courses and teachers' experiences of these difficulties were evaluated. These questions aim to gain a comprehensive understanding of the various challenges faced by teachers. Additionally, this study can serve as a resource offering suggestions for curriculum and textbook designers targeting minority class groups. Keywords: Elective English Classes/Courses, Teacher Perspectives, Teacher Opinions , Challenges Faced by English Teachers

Fatma Daniş

Trakya University · Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü

Pre-service English teachers opinions and efficiency perceptions towards alternative assessment and evaluation

The aim of this study is to examine the opinions of pre-service English teachers about alternative assessment and evaluation and their efficiency perceptions towards using assessment and evaluation tools and methods in terms of some variables. For this purpose,''Alternative Assessment and Evaluation Attitude Scale'' and ''Assessment and Evaluation Competence Survey'' developed by İzci et al., (2012) were administered to the 3rd and 4th grade pre-service teachers studying in the English Language Teaching Department of Trakya University Faculty of Education in the 2022-2023 academic year. After the Scale and Survey, open-ended questions were asked to the pre-service teachers by the researcher. Quantitative data obtained from data collection tools were analyzed using SPSS v.27 and AMOS v. 23., and qualitative data were analyzed using the content analysis method. As a result, it has been revealed that pre-service English teachers think that alternative assessment and evaluation approaches provide positive support to the learning and teaching process, but have some limitations. In addition, it was found that the efficiency perceptions of pre-service teachers in using alternative assessment and evaluation tools and methods was higher in methods such as multiple choice tests, true-false tests, projects, observation and worksheets, compared to other methods and less competent in using structured grid, concept misconception test, interviews, rubrics and learning disability assessment tests in the assessment and evaluation process.

Semra Kodra

Yüksek LisansAçık ErişimTR

Almanca öğretmenliği bağlamında eylem araştırması: Önemi, ilkeleri ve uygulama alanları

Eylem araştırması, tarihin en eski zamanlarından beri problem belirleme, belirlenmiş problemleri inceleme, bu probleme çözümler sunma, sorunun çözümünde en etkili yolları bulma gibi birçok alanda hem bilim insanlarına hem de eğitimcilere ışık tutmuş değişim ve gelişimin öncüsü olmuş bir araştırma türüdür. Bu araştırma türünün yaygın olarak kullanıldığı en önemli alanlardan birisi ise eğitim alanıdır. Eğitim, bir toplumu geliştirmede ve ilerletmede en önemli basamaklardan biridir ve eğitimle, toplumun gelişimi ve ilerlemesi için sorunlara çözümler bulanabilir. Bu çalışmada Eylem Araştırması Almanca öğretmenliği bağlamında ele alınmış, önemi, ilkeleri ve uygulama alanları bakımından betimlenmiş, Almanca Öğretmenliği bölümünün ders programı ve Bologna Bilgi Paketi incelenmiştir. Çalışmanın uygulama bölümünde ise üç Almanca Öğretmeni, Eylem Araştırması'nın kullanıldığı bir proje olan PEP'e (Practical Exploration Project-Sınıf İçi Uygulamalı Araştırma Projesi) katılan üç katılımcı ve bir Almancayı Öğretmeyi Öğrenme (Teaching Learning German- DLL) öğreticisi/mentoru ile çeşitli soru-cevap şeklinde görüşmeler gerçekleştirilmiş, PEP uygulaması, Eylem Araştırması ve Eylem Araştırması kullanımının, öğretmen ve öğrencilere fayda düzeyi ortaya çıkarılmıştır. Çalışmanın özgün bölümünde ise Almanca Öğretmenliği lisans programına Eylem Araştırması'nın entegrasyonunun sağlanması ele alınarak yorumlanmıştır ve yapıcı önerilerde bulunulmuştur. Elde edilen veriler değerlendirildiğinde Eylem Araştırması'nın ve PEP'in öğrenme çıktıları açısından öğretmen adaylarına ve öğretmenlere verimli ve etkili olduğu, katılımcı ve yürütücülerle görüşmeler ve formlar aracılığı ile ifade edilmiştir.

Previous literature recognizes the importance of mindfulness practices in education; however, few studies investigate the effect of mindfulness on academic resilience. Therefore, this study aims to explore the impact of mindfulness-based interventions on the academic resilience and mindfulness levels of high school EFL learners. The study adopted a mixed-method explanatory and a quasi-experimental research design. 60 students participated in the study, with 30 in the experimental groups and 30 in the control groups in high-academic achievement school (HAAS) and low-academic achievement school (LAAS). The experimental groups underwent mindfulness-based practices for 8 weeks with the Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) framework (Kabatt-Zin, 1990). The mindfulness level was evaluated using MAAS-A scale (Brown et al., 2011). Academic resilience was evaluated using ARS-30 scale (Cassidy, 2016). Students' perceptions of academic resilience and mindfulness practices were obtained through focus group interviews. The pre-test scores of both schools revealed no significant difference. The post-tests of the experimental group at LAAS indicated a noteworthy improvement in the persistence of academic resilience. Interestingly, the findings of the control group at HAAS showed a significant increase in the adaptive help-seeking while the experimental group had no change in academic resilience. The experimental group at HAAS experienced a significant increase in mindfulness, whereas no significant change was observed in the experimental group at LAAS. Moreover, qualitative data highlighted enhancement in the experimental groups, including optimism, and emotional well-being in both schools. Likewise, students mentioned the positive impacts of mindfulness practices in both schools, including stress reduction, enhanced concentration, and improved anger management. These findings suggest mindfulness-based practices can improve students' academic resilience and mindfulness levels, especially when customized to meet their individual preferences. However, the increase in academic resilience of experimental LAAS students suggests students might learn to become resilient, while the increase in control HAAS students might suggest the students in this context have already these skills and could improve academic resilience without training. Higher mindfulness levels of experimental HAAS students' may indicate they were capable of acquiring these qualities. In this instance, a longer planning period may be necessary to get the desired results for the LAAS students.

Mindfulness

Raziye Şengül

Süleyman Demirel University · Eğitim Bilimleri Enstitüsü

Alternative assessment and evaluation tecniquesWriting anxietySelf-assessment

The effect of self-assessment on high school students' English writing achievement and motivation

Assessment has always been a crucial component of education; however, the methods and perspectives towards education have changed throughout the years in regard with different educational philosophies. In recent years, alternative assessment methods to assess the whole learning process have gained popularity among educators and teachers. Nonetheless, one of these formative assessment alternatives, self-assessment, is relatively new introduced to the classrooms in practice. Hence, the purpose of the present study to investigate the effects of self-assessment implementation on ninth grade students' writing competence and motivation. The study was conducted in a private high school with 11 ninth grade students at A2 level according to the placement test applied at the beginning of 2022-2023 academic year. The study lasted eight weeks in which the students were introduced to self-assessment method and trained on how to implement it. After the introduction and training phase, the students completed an English writing motivation questionnaire and a pre-test writing task, and then they graded their pre-writing task by utilizing the rubric that was explained in detail. During the study process, the students completed 14 writing tasks, including pre and post-test writing tasks, and assessed their own writing works with the simplified rubric. Meanwhile, the researcher also graded the students' writing tasks with the same rubric as the students. Before the completion of the study, the students took the same motivation questionnaire and writing task that they completed at the beginning of the study. The study was designed as quasi experimental study and obtained quantitative data from questionnaire and writing scores, qualitative data from semi-structured interviews conducted with volunteer participants. In line with the research questions, the quantitative data obtained from pre and post writing tasks' scores revealed that self-assessment increased the participants' self-awareness and writing scores. On the other hand, in the light of motivation questionnaire results, the self-assessment implementation has not led to a significant difference in the students' English writing motivation although the participants stated in the semi-structured interview that they found self-assessment useful and effective to improve their writing skill. Keywords: self-assessment, writing achievement, English writing motivation

Melike Özelci

Süleyman Demirel University · Eğitim Bilimleri Enstitüsü

Süleyman Demirel University · Eğitim Bilimleri Enstitüsü

The role of peer relatedness in university students' foreign language learning process: Its relation to student motivation, and academic engagement

Foreign language learning is a natural social process requiring constant communication, peer collaboration and cooperation and social interaction. In this process, peer relatedness among students stands out as a significant factor that impact attitudes towards learning, motivation, interaction in the learning environment, and academic engagement both directly and indirectly. Supportive relationships among students significantly shape both the quality of their motivation (autonomous or controlled) and their level of participation in learning activities. This study aims to investigate the impact of peer relatedness on student motivation and academic engagement in foreign language learning. The study was conducted with 393 undergraduate students taking foreign language courses in the classroom environment in various faculties and departments of a state university in Türkiye. In the study designed with a mixed method approach, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analysed. Students' level of peer relatedness was measured through Peer Relatedness Scale, and their motivation quality and perceptions on the role of peer relatedness in the foreign language learning process were assessed through their responses to the open-ended questions. Additionally, students' agentic and behavioural engagements were measured by student engagement observation checklist filled by the instructors of relevant foreign language course (10 English, 1 French, and 1 German). The validity of Peer Relatedness Scale was confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The reliability of the student engagement observation checklist was ensured by test-retest method. Descriptive analysis revealed that participants have high level of peer relatedness. It was also found that the majority of the students were motivated to learn a foreign language for autonomous reasons. Although the correlations between the variables were generally weak and statistically insignificant, students' responses to open-ended questions underlined the significant role of peer relatedness in shaping their overall foreign language learning experiences. Participants emphasized that supportive peer relationships promote collaboration and cooperation, boost intrinsic motivation, contribute to emotional well-being, and enhance academic engagement.

Semra Onay Taş

2025

Rasch analysis of teacher, artificial intelligence and hybrid feedback on EFL students' writing

Recently there has been a remarkable rise in interest regarding artificial intelligence (AI) tools in educational settings, particularly within language teaching and learning environments. As these technologies evolve, their potential to enhance traditional feedback mechanisms, particularly in writing instruction, is being explored extensively. This study investigates the effectiveness of types of writing feedback—teacher, AI and hybrid feedback—on tertiary-level English as a foreign language (EFL) students' writing. Specifically, the research focuses on the feedback categories including higher- and lower-order concerns in EFL instruction. The study employed an explanatory mixed-methods approach, integrating quantitative analysis of feedback types and qualitative insights from semi-structured interviews with EFL instructors. 80 essays written by tertiary-level EFL students were analyzed, with feedback from four experienced EFL teachers and an AI-based tool. A rubric adapted from existing literature categorized and assessed the feedback units. The results were statistically analyzed, incorporating Rasch analysis, to identify the interaction among feedback types and feedback categories. The results suggest that AI effectively provides feedback on lower-order concerns (LOCs) while less effective when addressing higher-order concerns (HOCs). On the other hand, the teachers effectively provide feedback on HOCs at the discourse level and they are less effective when addressing LOCs due to the workload of grammar, vocabulary and mechanics. Therefore, the hybrid feedback type, which involves EFL teachers supplementing AI's feedback, demonstrated potential for improving the HOCs of students' writing, as well. The qualitative phase of the study was conducted by semi-structured interviews with EFL instructors to discover their perspectives on using AI-generated feedback following the completion of the quantitative analysis. This study demonstrated AI's capability to help reduce the workload of EFL teachers when giving feedback on students' written work at the sentence level. Thus, EFL teachers can concentrate more on the HOCs of EFL students' writing. This study concluded that AI-driven feedback integration with traditional teacher feedback could result in more effective writing instruction in EFL contexts. Contributing to the growing interest in AI in education, the research provides valuable insights for EFL teachers on how to incorporate AI technologies into their writing lessons.

Recently, there has been a growing interest in the study of Formative assessment (FA) in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL). Several attempts have been made to examine the FA strategies used by language teachers from various backgrounds as well as their effect on the language teaching process. However, previous studies have overlooked the Turkish EFL teachers' Formative assessment literacy (FAL) levels owing to the difficulty in finding a reliable scale for the measurement and the predominant state of summative assessment (SA). With this respect, this study aims to achieve a broader understanding of FAL levels of both pre-service and in-service teachers touching upon variables such as gender, age, teaching experience, department of graduation, and postgraduate education for in-service teachers, and year of study for pre-service teachers. A mixed methods research methodology with an explanatory sequential design was adopted in this study. For the quantitative phase, 75 EFL instructors and 154 EFL 3rd and 4th grade students from different universities were contacted to fill in the validated FAL scale from the work of Yan and Pastore (2022). For the qualitative part, 5 instructors and 6 pre-service teachers were invited for semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that in-service teachers demonstrate higher FAL levels compared to pre-service teachers. Furthermore, in comparison to their counterparts, in-service teachers aged 51 and above and teachers with a work experience over 31 years showed a slightly reduced level of FAL. The findings also underscore the necessity for enhanced pre-service training to improve FA implementation. Keywords: language assessment, formative assessment, assessment literacy, assessment for learning, efl teachers

Language teaching

Mustafa Sırakaya

Candidate teachersMatacognitive awerenessMetacognitive reading strategies+7

Reading comprehension in EFL education: Multimodal semiotic approach, attitudes and metacognitive awareness

Reading comprehension is one of the ultimate aims of English language teaching. To achieve this aim, traditional text-bound reading instruction practices such as translation and making detailed grammatical explanations are still being used today. However, thanks to the technological advancements, today's reading tasks have gained a new semiotic environment conveying meaning to readers through various modes such as visuals and sounds alongside words. Therefore, it can be concluded that traditional reading instruction practices do not reflect authentic reading tasks. Also, previous studies conducted in various EFL contexts showed that the application of multimodal teaching approach and employing semiotic signs were effective in improving students' reading comprehension. By combining the multimodal and semiotic approaches, this study aimed to explore their combined effect on English reading comprehension through the multimodal semiotic approach (MSA), students' attitudes towards MSA, and the relationships of MSA's effect on reading comprehension levels with attitudes towards MSA and with metacognitive awareness levels of reading strategies (MARS) in Turkish EFL context, so far uninvestigated in the literature. Post-test only with nonequivalent comparison groups design was employed with two groups of students studying ELT at a state university in Turkey to explore the effect of MSA. Then, a Likert-type survey was administered to experimental group to discover their MARS and attitudes towards MSA. The findings indicated that MSA was helpful in increasing students' reading comprehension levels, attitudes towards MSA were positive, and there were positive relationships of reading comprehension levels by MSA with the attitudes and with the MARS levels. Keywords: multimodality, semiotics, reading comprehension, attitude, metacognitive awareness, english language teaching

Suna Yerdelen

An investigation of motivation levels of preparatory school repeat level students

This research aims to compare the motivation levels of the students at a preparatory school in a private university, in Turkey, during different semesters in which they study in C-Repeat (CR) and C-Proficiency (CP) levels. The students are called repeat-level students because they could not pass TOEFL ITP on their first attempt and continue studying at the preparatory level. In this study, a mixed method was applied. This study embraced Dörnyei's L2 Motivational Self System as its theoretical framework. Data were collected thorough a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews in two consecutive education semesters. The sample consisted of 90 participants from a private university in Ankara, Türkiye. Quantitative data analysis was completed via SPSS 25.0. Thematic Analysis method was used for qualitative data analysis. It was expected that there would be a significant difference between the statistical results of these two groups of repeat students. The results indicated that although there is no significant difference between the motivational levels of CR and CP levels, Ought to self, Instrumentality Prevention, Travelling, and Positive Change of Future Self-Image have been found significant variables that affect the students' language learning motivation. As a result of the interview, the students shared a common response regarding two different curricula, both of which have advantages and disadvantages. When asked whether the curriculum affected their motivation, they asserted the presence of both positive and negative aspects. Keywords: language learning motivation, curriculum, toefl ıtp, preparatory school, repeat-level students

Nida Tok

An investigation of the factors affecting students' low oral participation in EFL classrooms

Oral participation and reasons that affect low oral participation in a classroom have been of interest in the language education field. Factors might be changing from context to context, and despite the well-known importance of oral participation in EFL classrooms, there is minimal information on the Turkish classroom setting especially at high school levels. This case study brings a new perspective on reasons for low oral participation by adopting qualitative research design; contributing to the field with researchers mostly adopting quantitative research design in addition to considering external reasons, with the help of speaking activities in a course book. Based on interviews and video-based observation of 8 students, and 38 students in numbers of task choice, this study aims to investigate what factors are causing the low oral participation of students in the Turkish EFL classroom setting and the effect of task types on oral participation with the help of content analysis. The insights gained from this study will assist other students in increasing their oral participation in EFL classrooms and gain a new perspective for educators about creating their context to have fully active and orally participating classes. Keywords: low oral participation, EFL classrooms, importance of oral participation, students' perceptions

Merve Bilgiç

Nonnative English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) are estimated to make up more than 80 percent of English language teachers worldwide. Therefore, there has been a growing surge of interest in topics regarding NNESTs to better understand these teachers' strengths and challenges in and appreciate their contributions to English language teaching. However, studies focusing on NNESTs' perceptions and attitudes about both themselves and native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) are rare, especially in the contexts of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL). With this in mind, this study aimed to investigate what perceptions and attitudes NNESTs in Turkey hold about themselves and NESTs regarding English language proficiency and teaching abilities. A mixed-method approach was used for data collection in which quantitative data were collected through an online likert scale questionnaire, while qualitative data were gathered through an online open-ended questionnaire on a voluntary basis. The findings showed that NNEST participants considered both themselves and NESTs as adequately proficient in the different areas of English. The participants were also found to perceive both NNESTs and NESTs comfortable in teaching different skills of English. And lastly, it was indicated that the participants held differing attitudes towards their own status as NNESTs and their colleagues' status as NESTs. The participants considered both NNESTs and NESTs as effective models for foreign language learning and teachers' professional qualifications and personal qualities more significant than English nativeness. The findings of the current study have several implications for the empowerment of language teachers and improvement of foreign language teaching and learning.

Figen Selimoğlu

Turkish EFL instructors' attitudes towards translanguaging practices

Translanguaging, valuing students' whole linguistic resources in learning, plays a key role in bilingual/multilingual education. Studying pedagogical translanguaging, suggesting a systematic use of students' native languages (L1) and target language (L2) interchangeably, has also become common in Foreign Language (FL) education in recent years. However, monolingualism, separating languages as L1 and L2, regards FL learners as two monolinguals rather than emergent bilinguals with a single linguistic repertoire. The existing literature shows translanguaging has been investigated in mostly bilingual/multilingual education and emphasizes a need in more research in FL settings especially into teachers' beliefs. Since teachers' beliefs are important in implementing pedagogies and Turkish English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students are also emergent bilinguals, translanguaging is worth being studied in Türkiye. Thus, this mixed methods study drawing on quantitative and qualitative data from a Likert scale questionnaire and written interview with Turkish EFL instructors at three state universities in Türkiye aimed to investigate their attitudes and practices regarding translanguaging. The findings indicated the translanguaging framework, promoting dynamic bilingualism in FL classrooms, was not widely acknowledged as a pedagogy, and spontaneous translanguaging practices were reported with a monolingual bias to mediate the L2 learning for low proficiency students. However, what is promising is that following a definition and examples, most participants were willing to use translanguaging pedagogy emphasising the role of the teacher and in- service training. In light of the findings, this study offers implications for all stakeholders in FL education for the potential of translanguaging as a pedagogy to be recognized.

Esra Tabak

Pre-service EFL teachers' interactional resources for resolving troubles: A micro analysis

Micro-teaching in teacher education has attracted attention for many years because of its convenience in terms of providing a controllable teaching environment and instant feedback for pre-service teachers. However, the gap between real teaching practice and micro teaching specifically for classroom interaction has not been widely questioned by the researchers. Therefore, this study aims to compare classroom interaction in two settings, regarding the use of interactional resources by pre-service teachers (PST) to resolve interactional troubles. The study adopts conversation analysis to investigate the sequential patterns of interactional resources and trouble indicators. Data consists of two sets of video recordings of 40 PSTs: (1) micro-teaching practices at a state university and (2) real teaching practices at a preschool in Türkiye. The data analysis reveals that the significant trouble indicators in real teaching practice are the lack of orientation in the teacher's instruction, silence, and student's repetition of teacher's utterance. However, the student's wrong answer is the most significant indicator in the context of micro-teaching practice. In terms of interactional resources, while certain interactional resources like embodied action and teacher repetition are present in both contexts, their frequency is notably lower in micro-teaching. Moreover, code-switching and simplified instruction occurs in only the real teaching context. This study underscores the significance of classroom interaction and Classroom Interactional Competence (CIC) by elucidating differences in trouble indicators and interactional resources between micro-teaching and real teaching, aiming to increase PSTs' awareness of CIC to create more learning opportunities for learners in TEYL context.

Serra Kılıçaslan Takva

Linguistic complexityLearner corpus

DoktoraAçık ErişimEN

Complexity in spoken language: A corpus-based learning approach

The present study set out to explore the change in the complexity of L2 spoken language over time as a result of corpus-based learning activities in the EFL context. In that regard, the study adopted a mixed research design counting on both quantitative data, which was obtained through a pre-test/post-test experimental study, and qualitative data, which was gathered through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to delve more into the process in which the learners gained a hands-on experience with concordance lines. The participants of the study were 56 EFL learners studying at an English preparatory school at the tertiary level in a fully online learning environment. The spoken data from the pre-test and the post-test was transcribed and analyzed for lexical, phraseological, and morphological complexity indices. The data from the questionnaires and the interviews enabled a closer examination of the participants' perceptions on corpus use. The findings revealed that employing a data-driven learning approach in speaking instruction aided the improvement of lexical and phraseological complexity of oral production. However, direct corpus use did not have an impact on morphological complexity regarding verbs and nouns. Furthermore, the study emphasized the analysis of multi-word units as well as single lexical units in characterizing L2 oral performance development. The study also concluded that while L2 learners benefited from direct corpus use, they found the corpus resources inefficient in practicing vocabulary for speaking due to the lack of audio content, which calls for redesigning the corpus tools to better serve L2 teaching / learning purposes. Keywords: data-driven learning, corpus-based learning, spoken language complexity, phraseological complexity, lexical complexity, morphological complexity

Zehra İtik

The impact of dynamic assessment on secondary school EFL learners' speaking skill

Dynamic assessment based on Vygotsky's sociocultural theory has recently begun to be used in the field of second language acquisition and learning. Thus, this study aims to investigate the effect of dynamic assessment on the speaking skills of secondary school EFL learners. Regarding the gap in the literature, secondary school students were included in the current study. Following a mixed method, this study includes both qualitative and quantitative data. The data consists of speaking tests, an open-ended questionnaire, and an unstructured interview. 10 secondary school EFL learners participated in the study and the participants were divided into two groups: experimental and control group. The study consists of three stages: Pretest- DA Speaking Tests- and Posttest. Participants' speaking skills were assessed based on their narration of short English stories. At the end of the whole process, the scores obtained as a result of the tests were compared statistically. Quantitative data results proved that the experimental group displayed better development in speaking skills than the control group. The researcher also gave an open-ended questionnaire to the experienced teacher and asked him to evaluate the progress of the participants. The teacher's answers were also in line with the quantitative data and indicated that the experimental group performed better. In the last stage, unstructured interviews were conducted with the experimental group participants to evaluate the process. At the end of these interviews, it was concluded that the participants were satisfied with the process and that the process positively affected their development.

Havvanur Rizelioğlu

DoktoraAçık ErişimEN

Developing intercultural awareness through portfolio-based writing activities in Turkish secondary EFL classrooms

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between direct teaching of culture in elementary writing lessons and development of intercultural awareness (ICA) among secondary school EFL learners at a Turkish state lower secondary school situated in the capital of Türkiye. The secondary purpose of the current study was to examine the attitudes from both student and teacher perspectives on developing ICA, focused on the writing skills sections of elementary EFL lessons. The sample consisted of fourteen secondary EFL teachers and 84 secondary EFL learners who were at sixth- (n=45) and eighth-graders (n=39) during the fall semester of 2021-2022 educational year. An adapted version of analytic writing rubric and semi-structured interview items as data collection tools were employed. The quantitative data were run via descriptive and inferential statistics while the qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis. The quantitative findings indicated that the experimental groups demonstrated a substantially superiority regarding ICA development over the control groups based on the achievement scores given to the written assignments in portfolios. Furthermore, between the experimental groups, it was revealed that the eighth-graders showed a slight superiority over the sixth-graders concerning ICA development in writing tasks. The qualitative findings illustrated that both in-service secondary EFL teachers and learners unearthed their general views and experiences about developing ICA and reflected a constructive attitude toward ICA-raising implementations in the pre-writing parts of EFL lessons. Bearing these results in mind, implications and suggestions were presented by addressing to teachers, students and other stakeholders.

Özge Coşkun

The effects of using the EPOSTL on prospective EFL teachers' teaching autonomy

In pre-service teacher education, it is of importance to match the gap between theory and practice. In order to fill this gap, teacher autonomy has continuing concern within the scope of teacher education. Although extensive research has been carried out on this area, there is little published study suggesting techniques to foster teacher autonomy in the field of English Language pre-service teacher education. Hence, this study sets out to explore the potential use the EPOSTL (European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages) to promote prospective EFL teachers' autonomy. It is a comprehensive guide of teacher competencies for prospective teachers projected by the European Center for Modern Languages to harmonize language education across Europe. Adopting mixed method, this study used Teaching Autonomy Scale and semi-structured interviews to collect data from 19 prospective EFL teachers in the third year of their education at Hacettepe University. Before and after the use of the EPOSTL, Teacher Autonomy Scale was implemented to see the change. After the implementation, semi structured interviews were conducted with the participants to investigate their views on using the EPOSTL. The quantitative analyses were performed using IBM SPSS version 25.0 and the qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis. The study indicated that the EPOSTL is a very useful tool to increase awareness of the prospective EFL teachers on teaching autonomy. The EPOSTL was beneficial for the development of reflective skills. This study provided new perspectives for prospective EFL teachers, instructors, curriculum developers and institutions.

Pınar Sasa

DoktoraAçık ErişimEN

Exploring turkish EFL learners' perceptions about the use of European language portfolio and its motivational effects

This study focused on using the European Language Portfolio (ELP) in foreign language classes in terms of two different aspects: learners' opinions about making use of it as a self-assessment tool and its effect on their language learning motivation. It was also within the scope of this study to find out whether training in the use of the ELP had an impact on learners' views about using it. Participants were 160 tertiary level students from a state university on the Black Sea Coast of Turkey. This quasi-experimental study was based on a mixed-methods research design, making use of both quantitative and qualitative data. An 'ELP Opinionaire' developed by the researcher and two different questionnaires about motivation were administered twice, before and after the ELP instruction whose aim was to inform the participants about the ELP use and raise awareness of its use, function and benefits. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with randomly selected ten participants in order to validate the quantitative data. Analysis of the quantitative data is done using SPSS version 29, and the qualitative data is analyzed through thematic analysis. The results of the study revealed that learners had positive opinions about the use of the ELP and it has an influence on learner motivation. Another finding was that the way self-assessment is implemented and learners' proficiency level play a role in their perceptions of the ELP as well as its motivating effect. Keywords: the European Language Portfolio, self-assessment, attitudes, foreign language learning motivation

Demet Kulaç Püren

Yüksek LisansAçık ErişimFR

Klişe ve stereotiplerin Fransız dili öğretimindeki yeri ve etkisi

Çalışmamızın temel amacı yabancı dil olarak Fransızca öğretiminde klişe ve stereotip kavramlarını incelemek ve çözümlemektir. İlk olarak dil ile kültür arasındaki ilişkiyi inceledik, ardından stereotip ve klişelerin temellerini ve türlerini çözümledik. A1-A2 düzeyinde beş ders kitabından ve B1- B2 seviyesinde videolardan oluşan eğitim malzemelerini kapsamlı olarak inceledik. Amacımız, klişe ve stereotiplerin kullanım sıklığı ve türlerindeki farklılıkları belirlemek, bu unsurların farklı eğitim malzemelerinde nasıl kullanıldığını anlamak ve kullanımlarının öğretim düzeyi ve öğrenenlerin yaşına göre nasıl değiştiğini görmekti. Bu çalışmada, Fransızcanın yabancı dil olarak öğretiminde klişe ve stereotiplerin ders malzemelerinde kullanımının, öğrenenler üzerindeki olumlu ve olumsuz olası etkileri tartışılarak ortaya çıkarmaya çalışıldı. Anahtar sözcükler : klişe, stereotip, Fransız dili öğretimi, kültür, kültürlerarasılık

Simin Yeşilkaya