English Language Teacher Education Programs at Turkish Universities: A Statistical Overview, 2023
Considering the significant role of English Language Teacher Education (ELTE) programs on future ... more Considering the significant role of English Language Teacher Education (ELTE) programs on future English teachers' teaching skills and eventually on the English proficiency of future generations, the present study investigated some statistics concerning the academics and students of these programs. All the statistics were gathered from YÖK Atlas, a website initiated by the Council of Higher Education (CoHE) in Türkiye. The data were analyzed to find out the differences between public and private universities' ELTE programs, and to find out correlations among various elements of the ELTE programs regardless of the type of universities. The findings revealed the superiority of the ELTE programs at public universities over the ones at private universities in various aspects. However, students' decreasing number of ELTE program preferences in recent years at both public and private universities were among the major findings of the present study. Moreover, some positive correlations among the variables were reported. The findings were discussed in light of the related literature. Finally, some implications including employment of more professors and a better projection while opening new ELTE programs are drawn based on the findings.
Acuity: Journal of English Language Pedagogy, Literature, and Culture, 2022
Despite the abundance of studies investigating the impact of academic procrastination on several ... more Despite the abundance of studies investigating the impact of academic procrastination on several aspects of learning, less is known about how this construct is perceived by adolescent foreign language learners with different levels of academic procrastination and their reasons to delay tasks and potential suggestions to reduce it. This study was designed to find out the academic procrastination behaviors of 136 learners aged 11-12. Additionally, another major aim was to find out how the participants' reasons to procrastinate and suggestions to reduce it differed according to gender and their academic procrastination level. The participants were divided into three groups as low, average, and high procrastinators considering their mean scores on the academic procrastination scale. A focus group interview was conducted with 12 learners to create a list of reasons, replacement activities, and suggestions. The findings indicated that all three groups followed a similar academic procrastination behavior pattern. However, in terms of reasons, while boys preferred playing computer games as a replacing activity, girls were more inclined to read books. Some suggestions were also provided by the learners to reduce it. The study provides implications for teachers, parents, and learners.
EFL Teachers’ Work Tasks Motivation towards Class Preparation, Teaching, and Evaluation of Students, 2022
Introduction: Motivation plays a central role in teachers' instructional practices. Teaching qual... more Introduction: Motivation plays a central role in teachers' instructional practices. Teaching quality and teacher effectiveness contribute positively to student achievement. In line with this, teachers face several tasks in their profession, and they exhibit various motivational levels consisting of different motivational constructs, such as intrinsic, introjected, identified, external motivation, and amotivation. Therefore, this study aims at revealing Turkish EFL teachers' motivations towards the work tasks of class preparation, teaching, and evaluation of students, which all teachers have to conduct in their profession. Methods: To collect data, Work Tasks Motivation Scale for Teachers was used. The sample consisted of 1786 EFL teachers teaching throughout Turkey in all types of schools and locations across seven geographical regions. Results: The quantitative data revealed that motivational constructs vary according to the work tasks of class preparation, teaching, and evaluation of students indicating that teacher motivation has a multifaceted nature and is a non-uniform construct. Discussion: The results indicated that Turkish EFL teachers did not value the task of classroom preparation, while the task of evaluation of students seemed to be valued. Gender-based differences also indicated that female teachers had higher amotivation and external regulation levels towards classroom preparation and teaching despite their higher levels of intrinsic motivation towards evaluation of students. In addition, considering age variable, the younger group of EFL teachers were found to be more intrinsically motivated towards teaching and evaluation of students compared to the older groups while being more amotivated towards the task of classroom preparation.
According to recent modifications in Turkish educational system, English language teaching starts... more According to recent modifications in Turkish educational system, English language teaching starts in the second grade. Young learners studying in this grade were in the focus in this study. This paper reported on the findings of a mixed method study conducted in three different primary schools in the west of Turkey. The main aim was to represent the views of the second graders regarding their motivation and attitudes toward learning English and their perceptions concerning English language learning and instruction. While quantitative data were gathered via two questionnaires from 192 participants; three personal semi-structured interviews and a focus-group interview were conducted for qualitative data gathering. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Following data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing/verification phases, qualitative data were analyzed through interpretive-descriptive analysis technique. The findings indicated that parents, teachers...
Problem Statement: The studies based on the relationships between personality and language learni... more Problem Statement: The studies based on the relationships between personality and language learning strategies have produced inconsistent results. There have been very few number of studies conducted to find the relationships between personality and language learning strategies. In addition to this, there have been few second language studies based on the Big Five model which is expected to renew interest in the study of the role of personality factors in language learning. Purpose of the Study: The main objective of this study is to examine the relationship between the personality and language learning strategies of Turkish university students studying at a two-year vocational high school in a Turkish state university. Methodology: This study investigated the personality trait levels, language learning strategy levels and the possible relationships among them by employing a quantitative approach. Two different surveys which were translated into Turkish by the author were used as th...
Foreign language anxiety has already been reported to deteriorate learners' language learning... more Foreign language anxiety has already been reported to deteriorate learners' language learning performance. It is closely related to how learners perceive their communication performance in the target language and how tolerant they are when they face ambiguities in foreign language learning. Therefore, the current study investigated learners' foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA), second language tolerance of ambiguity (SLTA), and self-perceived communication competence (SPCC). The study also aimed to examine the potential predictive power of SPCC and SLTA on Turkish EFL learners' FLCA. Mixed-methodology design was used combining the data gathered from four semi-structured interviews and three different questionnaires. 156 freshmen studying at a Turkish state university enrolled in different departments participated in this study. Descriptive statistics showed that students had a moderate level of FLCA, but low SLTA and SPCC. Multiple regression analyses significantly...
This study investigated Big Five Personality Traits and test anxiety of Turkish EFL learners. The... more This study investigated Big Five Personality Traits and test anxiety of Turkish EFL learners. The data were gathered via two questionnaires, Goldberg’s (2001) International Personality Item Pool and adapted version of Sarason's (1984) Test Anxiety Scale. The main objectives were to find out participants' test anxiety and to identify personality traits predicting students’ test anxiety. Descriptive statistics showed that students had a moderate level of test anxiety. It was obvious that students had a confidence problem. Students believed that they would do better after the exam. On the other hand, the participants were found to be less anxious about the motivation related items. Pearson product moment analyses yielded negative relationships between test anxiety and personality traits of ‘emotional stability’, ‘imagination’, and ‘extraversion’. Regression analyses significantly identified ‘emotional stability’, and ‘imagination’ personality traits as predicting test anxiety.
This study investigated 24 English teachers’ conceptions of ‘learning’ and ‘learner’ through meta... more This study investigated 24 English teachers’ conceptions of ‘learning’ and ‘learner’ through metaphor analysis. A metaphor elicitation task including the statements “Learning English is like …………… because…………………..” and “An English language learner is like …………… because…………………..” was used for data gathering. Results showed that the teachers’ conceptions with regard to learning and learner were not the reflections of a traditional understanding. Their conceptions which seemed to be rather learner-centered could be attributed to their undergraduate education and the policies guiding the education of English language teachers during the period when they were students at education faculties.
Metaforlar insanlarin dusunme ve dunyayi algilamalarini yansitirlar. Ogretmenlik mesleginde dusun... more Metaforlar insanlarin dusunme ve dunyayi algilamalarini yansitirlar. Ogretmenlik mesleginde dusunulduklerinde, ogretmenlerin meslekleri hakkindaki goruslerini yansitan guclu gostergeler olabilirler. Ogretmenlerin kendileri ile iliskilendirdikleri anlami da ortaya cikarabilirler. Ogretmenlerin kendilerini nasil kavramsallastirdiklari noktasindaki onemine ragmen, yapilan calisma sayisi oldukca dusuktur. Bu nedenle bu calisma metaforik tanimlamalarla yabanci dil olarak Ingilizce ogreten ogretmenlerin kendi rolleri hakkinda ne dusunduklerini ortaya cikarmak icin kurgulanmistir. Farkli deneyimlere sahip 24 Ingilizce ogretmeni, "Bir Ingilizce ogretmeni gibidir cunku " ifadesini iceren olcme aracini doldurmustur. Veri, De Guerrero ve Villamil'in (2000) ortaya cikardigi ikinci dil olarak Ingilizce ogreten ogretmen rolleri siniflandirmasina gore analiz edilmistir. Bu nedenle, teori temelli cikarimsal icerik analizi kullanilmistir. Analiz, verinin De Guerrero ve Villamil'in ...
Although the number of pragmatics-based studies has increased recently, the comparison of speech ... more Although the number of pragmatics-based studies has increased recently, the comparison of speech act performances of non-native speakers of English is an under-researched area. The present study was conducted to bridge this gap by comparing the refusal responses of Turkish, Polish and Latvian pre-service English teachers in terms of the strategies they used and the appropriateness levels by using a Discourse Completion Test created by the author including 4 refusal eliciting situations. The responses were coded and evaluated. According to the results, it was found out that indirect refusal strategies were more popular than direct strategies for all groups. The most common strategies found for direct and indirect categories are the same for all groups. Evaluation of a native speaker showed that there was no significant difference among the groups in terms of appropriate use of refusal strategies.
Bu calisma gorev yapmakta olan 24 Ingilizce ogretmeninin ‘ogrenme’ ve ‘ogrenen’ algilarini metafo... more Bu calisma gorev yapmakta olan 24 Ingilizce ogretmeninin ‘ogrenme’ ve ‘ogrenen’ algilarini metafor analizi yolu ile incelemistir. “Ingilizce ogrenmek………………... gibidir cunku…………………..” ve “Ingilizce ogrenen ……………..gibidir cunku…………….” ifadelerini iceren metafor uretme araci veri toplamak icin kullanilmistir. Sonuclar, ogretmenlerin ‘ogrenme’ ve ‘ogrenen’ algilarinin geleneksel bir anlayisi yansitmadigini, aksine genel anlamda ogrenen merkezli algilara sahip olduklarini ortaya koymustur. Ogretmenlerin ogrenen merkezli algilari, lisans egitimlerine ve lisans egitimleri surecinde Ingilizce ogretmenligi lisans programina rehber olan ogretmen egitimi yaklasimlarina atfedilebilir.
Welcoming more than 1.7 million refugee and asylum-seeker children, Turkey has put a considerable... more Welcoming more than 1.7 million refugee and asylum-seeker children, Turkey has put a considerable effort in turning this tragedy into an advantage for these children in terms of their education. Language teaching has played a remarkable role in this effort. Turkey has offered both Turkish and English language courses to these people. Considering the significance of English as a global language for social integration and future studies, this study attempted to investigate young Syrian refugee students' attitudes toward English language and their reasons to learn English. Moreover, their perspectives were compared with Turkish young learners. Thirty-eight Turkish and 26 Syrian 5 th graders (aged 10-11) voluntarily participated in this study. The findings indicated that learning English makes Syrian students happy, whereas Turkish students enjoy the fun activities in English classes. Learning English is considered both relatively easy and important by both groups. Turkish and Syrian young learners' reasons to learn English differed slightly. Suggestions were provided for refugee young learners to overcome the potential problems regarding language learning.
Qualifications of language teachers affect their students’ language development and proficiency. ... more Qualifications of language teachers affect their students’ language development and proficiency. Turkish learners’ low performance in international English proficiency indices requires an investigation of the qualifications of language teachers from a critical point of view. Without doubt, one of the crucial qualifications that language teachers need to possess is a high proficiency and competency in the target language. However, graduating from different programs in high schools, students are placed in English language teaching (ELT) programs with limited English proficiency. Considering the success of the Netherlands as the top country in international English proficiency indices, this study aims to find the admission requirements of the ELT programs in the Netherlands, to compare them with the ones in Turkey, and to suggest comprehensive admission requirements for ELT programs in Turkey. In this regard, a document analysis merging a detailed analysis of information regarding the admission requirements of the ELT programs in both countries and national and international statistics was conducted.Consequently, some recommendations regarding the likely changes to be made in the admission requirements to the ELT programs in Turkey are made.
Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi Eğitim Bilimleri Enstitüsü Dergisi, 2021
This study investigated two groups of students' attitudes and motivation towards ESP and ESP cour... more This study investigated two groups of students' attitudes and motivation towards ESP and ESP course-related needs in the field of tourism. The groups comprised the first-year students taking the General English (GE) course and the second-year ones who had completed their summer internships and started taking the ESP course. The instructor of the courses was also involved to find out the extent to which the existing ESP course meets the communication needs of the students. The results indicated both groups of students' high and positive attitudes and motivation, but also revealed students' unpreparedness for and uncertainty about it. More than half of needed communication skills were found to be almost fully covered in the current ESP course. Speaking and listening were found to be the most needed skills. Internship period was found to be a significant factor differentiating students' needs. Some implications were drawn for the GE and ESP courses.
Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 2021
Considering recent advancement of technology and increased video use in language teaching and lea... more Considering recent advancement of technology and increased video use in language teaching and learning, this study attempted to investigate main findings of the studies conducted to examine the impact of video use on learners’ listening skill and vocabulary development in English language teaching (ELT). In this regard, 51 articles published between the years 2000 and 2020 in various scientific journals indexed in several research databases were found by searching relevant keywords. Analysis was conducted employing content analysis and constant comparison method. Some major themes were found such as ‘the learners’ attitudes towards watching videos,’ ‘the effects of watching videos on listening skill,’ and ‘the role of subtitles in improving listening skill’ considering the impact of video watching on listening skill; and ‘effects of watching videos on vocabulary development’ and ‘effects of subtitles on vocabulary development’ regarding vocabulary development. The findings presented the effectiveness of different forms of subtitling on learners’ listening skill and vocabulary development as well.
English language teaching (henceforth ELT) has always been criticized due to the performance of T... more English language teaching (henceforth ELT) has always been criticized due to the performance of Turkey in global English proficiency indices and students' lack of speaking ability. Despite several attempts to change language teaching programs, it cannot be claimed that the situation has transformed. ELT programs and students studying in these programs as one of the major elements of language teaching and learning issues in the country have been investigated in this study. The statistics regarding ELT programs and ELT students between the years 2016 and 2019 have been taken from YÖK Atlas, an online platform launched by the Council of Higher Education. The statistical data taken from this platform were analyzed, taking students' gender, educational background, university preferences, and foreign language test mean scores as well as ELT programs' academic staff, performance in exchange programs, and students' program preference statistics into account. The statistics indicated the dominance of female students and relatively low English proficiency of the students in ELT programs. Assistant professors were found to be the leading academic staff in these programs. Moreover, ELT students' preferences with regard to geographical proximity and availability of student exchange programs have been provided in the findings. Finally, some potential future research topics have been suggested.
SINGING AS AN ANXIETY-REDUCING STRATEGY FOR LEARNERS STRUGGLING WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM ANXIETY, 2020
Foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) adversely affects learners' performance in foreign lang... more Foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) adversely affects learners' performance in foreign language classes. The related literature focuses on the relationship between FLCA and learners' achievement or its potential sources. Considering the possibility of students' having different levels of FLCA in classes, this study was designed to find out whether teaching English songs could decrease FLCA of the students having different levels of anxiety and whether it could increase foreign language examination performance of these learners. The participants consisted of 161 tenth graders. FLCA scale (Horwitz et al., 1986) was administered as a pre-test at the beginning of the study which determined the participating classes as high anxiety (two classes) and low anxiety (two classes). The students in two experimental classes were taught four songs chosen through their votes in four weeks. The results indicated that teaching students' favourite English songs in regular English classes decreased students' FLCA regardless of their anxiety level, though higher anxiety group benefited more. Moreover, the results also showed an increase in students' foreign language examination performance with the use of song teaching due to decreased FLCA.
English Language Teacher Education Programs at Turkish Universities: A Statistical Overview, 2023
Considering the significant role of English Language Teacher Education (ELTE) programs on future ... more Considering the significant role of English Language Teacher Education (ELTE) programs on future English teachers' teaching skills and eventually on the English proficiency of future generations, the present study investigated some statistics concerning the academics and students of these programs. All the statistics were gathered from YÖK Atlas, a website initiated by the Council of Higher Education (CoHE) in Türkiye. The data were analyzed to find out the differences between public and private universities' ELTE programs, and to find out correlations among various elements of the ELTE programs regardless of the type of universities. The findings revealed the superiority of the ELTE programs at public universities over the ones at private universities in various aspects. However, students' decreasing number of ELTE program preferences in recent years at both public and private universities were among the major findings of the present study. Moreover, some positive correlations among the variables were reported. The findings were discussed in light of the related literature. Finally, some implications including employment of more professors and a better projection while opening new ELTE programs are drawn based on the findings.
Acuity: Journal of English Language Pedagogy, Literature, and Culture, 2022
Despite the abundance of studies investigating the impact of academic procrastination on several ... more Despite the abundance of studies investigating the impact of academic procrastination on several aspects of learning, less is known about how this construct is perceived by adolescent foreign language learners with different levels of academic procrastination and their reasons to delay tasks and potential suggestions to reduce it. This study was designed to find out the academic procrastination behaviors of 136 learners aged 11-12. Additionally, another major aim was to find out how the participants' reasons to procrastinate and suggestions to reduce it differed according to gender and their academic procrastination level. The participants were divided into three groups as low, average, and high procrastinators considering their mean scores on the academic procrastination scale. A focus group interview was conducted with 12 learners to create a list of reasons, replacement activities, and suggestions. The findings indicated that all three groups followed a similar academic procrastination behavior pattern. However, in terms of reasons, while boys preferred playing computer games as a replacing activity, girls were more inclined to read books. Some suggestions were also provided by the learners to reduce it. The study provides implications for teachers, parents, and learners.
EFL Teachers’ Work Tasks Motivation towards Class Preparation, Teaching, and Evaluation of Students, 2022
Introduction: Motivation plays a central role in teachers' instructional practices. Teaching qual... more Introduction: Motivation plays a central role in teachers' instructional practices. Teaching quality and teacher effectiveness contribute positively to student achievement. In line with this, teachers face several tasks in their profession, and they exhibit various motivational levels consisting of different motivational constructs, such as intrinsic, introjected, identified, external motivation, and amotivation. Therefore, this study aims at revealing Turkish EFL teachers' motivations towards the work tasks of class preparation, teaching, and evaluation of students, which all teachers have to conduct in their profession. Methods: To collect data, Work Tasks Motivation Scale for Teachers was used. The sample consisted of 1786 EFL teachers teaching throughout Turkey in all types of schools and locations across seven geographical regions. Results: The quantitative data revealed that motivational constructs vary according to the work tasks of class preparation, teaching, and evaluation of students indicating that teacher motivation has a multifaceted nature and is a non-uniform construct. Discussion: The results indicated that Turkish EFL teachers did not value the task of classroom preparation, while the task of evaluation of students seemed to be valued. Gender-based differences also indicated that female teachers had higher amotivation and external regulation levels towards classroom preparation and teaching despite their higher levels of intrinsic motivation towards evaluation of students. In addition, considering age variable, the younger group of EFL teachers were found to be more intrinsically motivated towards teaching and evaluation of students compared to the older groups while being more amotivated towards the task of classroom preparation.
According to recent modifications in Turkish educational system, English language teaching starts... more According to recent modifications in Turkish educational system, English language teaching starts in the second grade. Young learners studying in this grade were in the focus in this study. This paper reported on the findings of a mixed method study conducted in three different primary schools in the west of Turkey. The main aim was to represent the views of the second graders regarding their motivation and attitudes toward learning English and their perceptions concerning English language learning and instruction. While quantitative data were gathered via two questionnaires from 192 participants; three personal semi-structured interviews and a focus-group interview were conducted for qualitative data gathering. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Following data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing/verification phases, qualitative data were analyzed through interpretive-descriptive analysis technique. The findings indicated that parents, teachers...
Problem Statement: The studies based on the relationships between personality and language learni... more Problem Statement: The studies based on the relationships between personality and language learning strategies have produced inconsistent results. There have been very few number of studies conducted to find the relationships between personality and language learning strategies. In addition to this, there have been few second language studies based on the Big Five model which is expected to renew interest in the study of the role of personality factors in language learning. Purpose of the Study: The main objective of this study is to examine the relationship between the personality and language learning strategies of Turkish university students studying at a two-year vocational high school in a Turkish state university. Methodology: This study investigated the personality trait levels, language learning strategy levels and the possible relationships among them by employing a quantitative approach. Two different surveys which were translated into Turkish by the author were used as th...
Foreign language anxiety has already been reported to deteriorate learners' language learning... more Foreign language anxiety has already been reported to deteriorate learners' language learning performance. It is closely related to how learners perceive their communication performance in the target language and how tolerant they are when they face ambiguities in foreign language learning. Therefore, the current study investigated learners' foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA), second language tolerance of ambiguity (SLTA), and self-perceived communication competence (SPCC). The study also aimed to examine the potential predictive power of SPCC and SLTA on Turkish EFL learners' FLCA. Mixed-methodology design was used combining the data gathered from four semi-structured interviews and three different questionnaires. 156 freshmen studying at a Turkish state university enrolled in different departments participated in this study. Descriptive statistics showed that students had a moderate level of FLCA, but low SLTA and SPCC. Multiple regression analyses significantly...
This study investigated Big Five Personality Traits and test anxiety of Turkish EFL learners. The... more This study investigated Big Five Personality Traits and test anxiety of Turkish EFL learners. The data were gathered via two questionnaires, Goldberg’s (2001) International Personality Item Pool and adapted version of Sarason's (1984) Test Anxiety Scale. The main objectives were to find out participants' test anxiety and to identify personality traits predicting students’ test anxiety. Descriptive statistics showed that students had a moderate level of test anxiety. It was obvious that students had a confidence problem. Students believed that they would do better after the exam. On the other hand, the participants were found to be less anxious about the motivation related items. Pearson product moment analyses yielded negative relationships between test anxiety and personality traits of ‘emotional stability’, ‘imagination’, and ‘extraversion’. Regression analyses significantly identified ‘emotional stability’, and ‘imagination’ personality traits as predicting test anxiety.
This study investigated 24 English teachers’ conceptions of ‘learning’ and ‘learner’ through meta... more This study investigated 24 English teachers’ conceptions of ‘learning’ and ‘learner’ through metaphor analysis. A metaphor elicitation task including the statements “Learning English is like …………… because…………………..” and “An English language learner is like …………… because…………………..” was used for data gathering. Results showed that the teachers’ conceptions with regard to learning and learner were not the reflections of a traditional understanding. Their conceptions which seemed to be rather learner-centered could be attributed to their undergraduate education and the policies guiding the education of English language teachers during the period when they were students at education faculties.
Metaforlar insanlarin dusunme ve dunyayi algilamalarini yansitirlar. Ogretmenlik mesleginde dusun... more Metaforlar insanlarin dusunme ve dunyayi algilamalarini yansitirlar. Ogretmenlik mesleginde dusunulduklerinde, ogretmenlerin meslekleri hakkindaki goruslerini yansitan guclu gostergeler olabilirler. Ogretmenlerin kendileri ile iliskilendirdikleri anlami da ortaya cikarabilirler. Ogretmenlerin kendilerini nasil kavramsallastirdiklari noktasindaki onemine ragmen, yapilan calisma sayisi oldukca dusuktur. Bu nedenle bu calisma metaforik tanimlamalarla yabanci dil olarak Ingilizce ogreten ogretmenlerin kendi rolleri hakkinda ne dusunduklerini ortaya cikarmak icin kurgulanmistir. Farkli deneyimlere sahip 24 Ingilizce ogretmeni, "Bir Ingilizce ogretmeni gibidir cunku " ifadesini iceren olcme aracini doldurmustur. Veri, De Guerrero ve Villamil'in (2000) ortaya cikardigi ikinci dil olarak Ingilizce ogreten ogretmen rolleri siniflandirmasina gore analiz edilmistir. Bu nedenle, teori temelli cikarimsal icerik analizi kullanilmistir. Analiz, verinin De Guerrero ve Villamil'in ...
Although the number of pragmatics-based studies has increased recently, the comparison of speech ... more Although the number of pragmatics-based studies has increased recently, the comparison of speech act performances of non-native speakers of English is an under-researched area. The present study was conducted to bridge this gap by comparing the refusal responses of Turkish, Polish and Latvian pre-service English teachers in terms of the strategies they used and the appropriateness levels by using a Discourse Completion Test created by the author including 4 refusal eliciting situations. The responses were coded and evaluated. According to the results, it was found out that indirect refusal strategies were more popular than direct strategies for all groups. The most common strategies found for direct and indirect categories are the same for all groups. Evaluation of a native speaker showed that there was no significant difference among the groups in terms of appropriate use of refusal strategies.
Bu calisma gorev yapmakta olan 24 Ingilizce ogretmeninin ‘ogrenme’ ve ‘ogrenen’ algilarini metafo... more Bu calisma gorev yapmakta olan 24 Ingilizce ogretmeninin ‘ogrenme’ ve ‘ogrenen’ algilarini metafor analizi yolu ile incelemistir. “Ingilizce ogrenmek………………... gibidir cunku…………………..” ve “Ingilizce ogrenen ……………..gibidir cunku…………….” ifadelerini iceren metafor uretme araci veri toplamak icin kullanilmistir. Sonuclar, ogretmenlerin ‘ogrenme’ ve ‘ogrenen’ algilarinin geleneksel bir anlayisi yansitmadigini, aksine genel anlamda ogrenen merkezli algilara sahip olduklarini ortaya koymustur. Ogretmenlerin ogrenen merkezli algilari, lisans egitimlerine ve lisans egitimleri surecinde Ingilizce ogretmenligi lisans programina rehber olan ogretmen egitimi yaklasimlarina atfedilebilir.
Welcoming more than 1.7 million refugee and asylum-seeker children, Turkey has put a considerable... more Welcoming more than 1.7 million refugee and asylum-seeker children, Turkey has put a considerable effort in turning this tragedy into an advantage for these children in terms of their education. Language teaching has played a remarkable role in this effort. Turkey has offered both Turkish and English language courses to these people. Considering the significance of English as a global language for social integration and future studies, this study attempted to investigate young Syrian refugee students' attitudes toward English language and their reasons to learn English. Moreover, their perspectives were compared with Turkish young learners. Thirty-eight Turkish and 26 Syrian 5 th graders (aged 10-11) voluntarily participated in this study. The findings indicated that learning English makes Syrian students happy, whereas Turkish students enjoy the fun activities in English classes. Learning English is considered both relatively easy and important by both groups. Turkish and Syrian young learners' reasons to learn English differed slightly. Suggestions were provided for refugee young learners to overcome the potential problems regarding language learning.
Qualifications of language teachers affect their students’ language development and proficiency. ... more Qualifications of language teachers affect their students’ language development and proficiency. Turkish learners’ low performance in international English proficiency indices requires an investigation of the qualifications of language teachers from a critical point of view. Without doubt, one of the crucial qualifications that language teachers need to possess is a high proficiency and competency in the target language. However, graduating from different programs in high schools, students are placed in English language teaching (ELT) programs with limited English proficiency. Considering the success of the Netherlands as the top country in international English proficiency indices, this study aims to find the admission requirements of the ELT programs in the Netherlands, to compare them with the ones in Turkey, and to suggest comprehensive admission requirements for ELT programs in Turkey. In this regard, a document analysis merging a detailed analysis of information regarding the admission requirements of the ELT programs in both countries and national and international statistics was conducted.Consequently, some recommendations regarding the likely changes to be made in the admission requirements to the ELT programs in Turkey are made.
Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi Eğitim Bilimleri Enstitüsü Dergisi, 2021
This study investigated two groups of students' attitudes and motivation towards ESP and ESP cour... more This study investigated two groups of students' attitudes and motivation towards ESP and ESP course-related needs in the field of tourism. The groups comprised the first-year students taking the General English (GE) course and the second-year ones who had completed their summer internships and started taking the ESP course. The instructor of the courses was also involved to find out the extent to which the existing ESP course meets the communication needs of the students. The results indicated both groups of students' high and positive attitudes and motivation, but also revealed students' unpreparedness for and uncertainty about it. More than half of needed communication skills were found to be almost fully covered in the current ESP course. Speaking and listening were found to be the most needed skills. Internship period was found to be a significant factor differentiating students' needs. Some implications were drawn for the GE and ESP courses.
Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 2021
Considering recent advancement of technology and increased video use in language teaching and lea... more Considering recent advancement of technology and increased video use in language teaching and learning, this study attempted to investigate main findings of the studies conducted to examine the impact of video use on learners’ listening skill and vocabulary development in English language teaching (ELT). In this regard, 51 articles published between the years 2000 and 2020 in various scientific journals indexed in several research databases were found by searching relevant keywords. Analysis was conducted employing content analysis and constant comparison method. Some major themes were found such as ‘the learners’ attitudes towards watching videos,’ ‘the effects of watching videos on listening skill,’ and ‘the role of subtitles in improving listening skill’ considering the impact of video watching on listening skill; and ‘effects of watching videos on vocabulary development’ and ‘effects of subtitles on vocabulary development’ regarding vocabulary development. The findings presented the effectiveness of different forms of subtitling on learners’ listening skill and vocabulary development as well.
English language teaching (henceforth ELT) has always been criticized due to the performance of T... more English language teaching (henceforth ELT) has always been criticized due to the performance of Turkey in global English proficiency indices and students' lack of speaking ability. Despite several attempts to change language teaching programs, it cannot be claimed that the situation has transformed. ELT programs and students studying in these programs as one of the major elements of language teaching and learning issues in the country have been investigated in this study. The statistics regarding ELT programs and ELT students between the years 2016 and 2019 have been taken from YÖK Atlas, an online platform launched by the Council of Higher Education. The statistical data taken from this platform were analyzed, taking students' gender, educational background, university preferences, and foreign language test mean scores as well as ELT programs' academic staff, performance in exchange programs, and students' program preference statistics into account. The statistics indicated the dominance of female students and relatively low English proficiency of the students in ELT programs. Assistant professors were found to be the leading academic staff in these programs. Moreover, ELT students' preferences with regard to geographical proximity and availability of student exchange programs have been provided in the findings. Finally, some potential future research topics have been suggested.
SINGING AS AN ANXIETY-REDUCING STRATEGY FOR LEARNERS STRUGGLING WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM ANXIETY, 2020
Foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) adversely affects learners' performance in foreign lang... more Foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) adversely affects learners' performance in foreign language classes. The related literature focuses on the relationship between FLCA and learners' achievement or its potential sources. Considering the possibility of students' having different levels of FLCA in classes, this study was designed to find out whether teaching English songs could decrease FLCA of the students having different levels of anxiety and whether it could increase foreign language examination performance of these learners. The participants consisted of 161 tenth graders. FLCA scale (Horwitz et al., 1986) was administered as a pre-test at the beginning of the study which determined the participating classes as high anxiety (two classes) and low anxiety (two classes). The students in two experimental classes were taught four songs chosen through their votes in four weeks. The results indicated that teaching students' favourite English songs in regular English classes decreased students' FLCA regardless of their anxiety level, though higher anxiety group benefited more. Moreover, the results also showed an increase in students' foreign language examination performance with the use of song teaching due to decreased FLCA.
IGI GLOBAL - English as a Foreign Language in a New-Found Post-Pandemic World, 2022
The chapter explores the impact of freewriting on university students' foreign language writing b... more The chapter explores the impact of freewriting on university students' foreign language writing boredom and anxiety in online academic writing classes. Fifty-nine students majoring in English language teaching participated in the study. The equivalent time samples design was used in the study for 10 weeks during which the participants had a freewriting activity every other week. Pre- and post-writing boredom and anxiety surveys, a semantic differential scale, and students' reflections were collected as data. The results indicated a significant decrease in students' boredom and an increase in their anxiety. Weekly analyses of students' responses revealed that students' boredom showed a decreasing trend, and it was continuously lower in the weeks with freewriting activities. However, students' anxiety fluctuated. Thematic analysis was employed to identify recurring themes and categories in students' reflection papers indicating boredom and anxiety increasing and decreasing factors.
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Papers by Mehmet Asmali
doubt, one of the crucial qualifications that language teachers need to
possess is a high proficiency and competency in the target language.
However, graduating from different programs in high schools, students
are placed in English language teaching (ELT) programs with limited
English proficiency. Considering the success of the Netherlands as the
top country in international English proficiency indices, this study aims
to find the admission requirements of the ELT programs in the
Netherlands, to compare them with the ones in Turkey, and to suggest
comprehensive admission requirements for ELT programs in Turkey. In
this regard, a document analysis merging a detailed analysis of information regarding the admission requirements of the ELT programs in both countries and national and international statistics was conducted.Consequently, some recommendations regarding the likely changes to be made in the admission requirements to the ELT programs in Turkey are made.
doubt, one of the crucial qualifications that language teachers need to
possess is a high proficiency and competency in the target language.
However, graduating from different programs in high schools, students
are placed in English language teaching (ELT) programs with limited
English proficiency. Considering the success of the Netherlands as the
top country in international English proficiency indices, this study aims
to find the admission requirements of the ELT programs in the
Netherlands, to compare them with the ones in Turkey, and to suggest
comprehensive admission requirements for ELT programs in Turkey. In
this regard, a document analysis merging a detailed analysis of information regarding the admission requirements of the ELT programs in both countries and national and international statistics was conducted.Consequently, some recommendations regarding the likely changes to be made in the admission requirements to the ELT programs in Turkey are made.