English Language Teaching

Knowing the origin of a language helps us to determine the historical background of that language. As language itself is such a system of a society that is continuously evolving as that aforementioned society learns and technologically develops along with its roots or origins. Like many other languages, English is also a language that has roots or origins in many different languages. In this sense, the English language, rooted as Anglo-Saxon, is known to derive most of its words from the Latin and Greek languages by whose modern cultures, it is assumed to be affected most. In this study, this derivation of words and the intrinsic difficulties probable to occur for English as a Foreign Language learners (hereafter EFLs) with a special interest upon the case of pluralization are scrutinized. That is why it is enlightened by the author of this paper within the scope of the historical background, the etymology of the English language within a linguistic perspective. As a result, the most common and confusing plural forms of Greek-originated English words, and some curing methods are defined.

As a part of interaction-based meaningful activities, the use of drama techniques in education has gained popularity so far. The purpose of this study is to tackle the question whether the drama course together with the in-class applications contribute to the attitudes of prospective English language teachers. In that, the study is composed of the quantitative analysis of the attitudes of the prospective teachers from third graders at English Language Teaching (hereafter ELT) department. The data are gathered through the use of a 25-question-attitude scale (Topoğlu & Erden, 2012) which has been administered to all participants, which are in sum 37 sophomore students. The results have indicated positive attitudes towards drama course held in ELT department within the scope of desire to increase in course duration, continuity of the course for future benefits, the development of personal, interactional and social skills, and the improvement of the creativity skill.

Within the scope of educational testing and assessment, setting standards and creating guidelines as a code of practice provide more prolific and sustainable outcomes. In this sense, internationally accepted and regionally accredited principles are suggested for standardization in language testing and assessment practices. Herein, ILTA guidelines for good practice proposed by International Language Testing Association (2007), ALTE code of practice by Association of Language Testers in Europe (1994), JLTA code of good testing practices by Japanese Language Testing Association (2002) and EALTA guidelines for good practice by European Association for Language Testing and Assessment (2006) can be cited. Amidst them, the EALTA guidelines have been adopted to 'frame a validity study' (Alderson, 2010: 63) for language testing and assessment practices. In this sense, due to the abundance of guidelines and principles, it is expected to see myriad of practices to be well-implemented and documented. However, documentation on aforementioned practical cases is rare with a few empirical studies conducted (Alderson & Banerjee, 2008; Alderson; 2010; De Jong & Zheng, 2011). Accordingly, in this paper, a practical case study on YDS (foreign language exam in Turkey) is applied regarding the EALTA guidelines with a special concern on the development of tests in national and/or institutional testing units or centers. It is, therefore, aimed to tackle the question whether YDS adheres the principles purported by EALTA with its probable high-stake consequences. Thus, the results have indicated that taking the EALTA guidelines in the course of the test development process as baseline promotes value-added language testing and assessment practices.

It is a crystal clear fact that assessment literacy has been a primary focus of interest, which blossoms as one of the major professional requirements of an effective teacher. From that point of view, there is a myriad of standards for assessment, and measures for assessment literacy across the world. This study, therefore, aims to unearth the prospective English as a Foreign Language (henceforth EFL) teachers' assessment literacy by means of the Assessment Literacy Survey developed by Volante and Fazio (2007). Additionally, the student-teachers are also invited to have a sit at semi-structured interviews grounded upon the student questionnaire of the European Network of Language Testing and Assessment (ENLTA, 2004) on a volunteer basis. To elaborate the sample group, the participants are 36 senior students from the department of English Language Teaching (henceforth ELT) at a state university in Turkey. As expected, after four years of intensive education to become an English teacher, the student-teachers are somehow to develop an understanding of assessment literacy, and enhance their skills within. Accordingly, student-teachers' utilization of assessment approaches and understanding of underlying principles are at the core to be enlightened. As a result, it is reported that prospective EFL teachers are aware of the concept of assessment literacy though they perceive themselves as not adequately qualified. At the very same, practicum courses in which they enroll do not satisfactorily meet their expectations in developing their assessment skills. Similarly, they have judicious amount of practical knowledge on different types of assessment approaches although they are mindful of the fact that in-class practices are to be laced with various kinds of assessment applications.

The purpose of this study is to frame the European guidelines for good practice in language testing and assessment. Herein, four types of international standards are taken into consideration in order to establish quality profiles for language tests. These are labelled as the standards of European Association for Language Testing and Assessment, the Association of Language Testers in Europe, International Language Testing Association and the Association for Educational Assessment-Europe, all of which get inspired by the implementation of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching and Assessment. The codes of practices within the framework of aforementioned standards are taken into thematic analysis in an effort to point the sub-components which are put forward separately. From that point of view, it is reported that the European guidelines embody the core components developed for test construction, test production, administration and logistics, marking and grading, test analysis, communication with stakeholders and item writing. For each component, unifiers as the integrative elements of each are defined and mentioned in detail. In the light of these, some practical recommendations are given for pursuing good practice in language testing and assessment practices, as well.

This study aims to probe into the influence of Action-Impact-Desired Outcome (AID) model of effective feedback on the professional development of prospective EFL teachers. Eighteen EFL senior students from the department of English Language Teaching at a state university in Turkey participated in the study. The data gathered was composed of three subparts. The quantitative part was constituted by the peer feedback scores on the micro-teaching practices of aforementioned sample group in Teaching English to Young Learners course through an evaluation form of teaching practice by Turkish Ministry of National Education. These scores were laced with AID model of effective feedback session grounded upon the course instructor's observation on student-teachers' in-class teaching practices within the scopes of content knowledge, pedagogical-content knowledge, teaching-learning process, assessment and recording, and other professional competences. Following these, the students were taken to semi-structured interviews on their classroom teaching experiences and the role of AID model on the process. As a result, it was proposed by the findings that: (a) the student-teachers were well-aware of the fact that theory-oriented EFL teacher education program was not satisfactorily conformed with real-life in-class practices during the application process; (b) the AID model of effective feedback had a far better positive impact both on their teaching practices and professional development as the prospective EFL teachers; (c) however; the student-teachers were in need of a more practical curriculum for the teacher training program which they enrolled in, as they believed to hinder their actual potential, of necessity.

Given its focus on a definitely endangered language as noted by the UNESCO Atlas of the World Languages in Danger, and also marked as being threatened by the Ethnologue, this study aims to scrutinize whether Laz people do, or do not use their ancestral tongue, to identify factors involved in their language choice, and ultimately, to comment on its vitality going forward. Concerns addressed in the study include self-reported proficiency in Laz, ethnic self-identification of Laz speakers in Turkey, the effect of external factors (e.g., place of birth and residence, spouse's ethnicity) on Laz language use, the perception of Laz in Turkey, and the Laz community's preferred revitalization efforts. Correlatively, the data were collected using an online questionnaire, and related statistical analyses were performed. As a result, it is reported that Laz speakers define themselves as the good speakers of the language. Ethnic self-identification of Laz speakers are marked as Laz more than Turkish, Turkish more than Laz, and both respectively. However, Laz language is not a preferred choice of new generation. Even more, Laz language use amidst elders is getting lowered since Laz customs are applied in their daily routines to a lesser extent. Besides, it is noted by the perceptions of Laz residing in Turkey that Laz language is perceived either as a Black Sea dialect, or a variation of Turkish language within the community. The Laz community's preferred revitalization efforts are also drawn to provide insights from a survey-based exploration of the factors associated with Laz language endangerment and maintenance in Turkey.

The present study aims to explore English as a Foreign Language (hereafter EFL) instructors " recognition of count-mass distinction regarding the concept of individuation and judgment of quantity. Accordingly, fifteen EFL instructors recruited from different public universities in Turkey were asked to write the plural forms of a sum of fifty count and mass nouns given in a list. Participants, then, were asked to rate the elements of aggregates (either count or mass) in order to identify their semantic mappings. Following these, the participants were also given a self-rating form to check post-experiment familiarity of those fifty nouns in a random order, and they rated how familiar they were with the items given on a basis of very familiar " , " somewhat familiar " and " not familiar ". Descriptive statistics were applied as a part of quantitative data analysis. Demographic information was given on gender and year(s) of teaching experience. As a result, it was reported that EFL instructors conceptualized count nouns as distinct individuals whereas mass nouns were regarded as non-individuals. Familiarity had a probable positive linear effect on success, though. To mention, participants did better at aggregate terms for count nouns than those of mass nouns. Besides, aggregate terms for count nouns were judged to be more familiar than those of mass nouns. The principle of cognitive individuation was confirmed with no external interference of gender and years of teaching experience.

Okul öncesi eğitimde araştırmalar, kağıt-kolaj faaliyetlerinin çocukların psikomotor alanlarına ilişkin etkisini belirlemeye yönelik yapılmış, sanatsal faaliyetlerin çocukların psikososyal gelişim alanına ilişkin etkisi göz ardı edilmiştir. Son yıllarda yapılan çalışmalar ile çocukların psikomotor alanın yanı sıra çocukların kağıt-kolaj faaliyetleri ile psikolojik ve sosyal boyutları üzerine önemli bildirimler ortaya konmuştur. Buradan hareketle çalışmada anaokulunda eğitim gören 3- 4 yaş çocuklarının psikososyal gelişimlerinde kağıt-kolaj temelli etkinlik programının etkililiğinin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırmanın örnekleminde Düzce Üniversitesi Anaokulunda eğitim gören toplam 15 erkek ve 17 kız olmak üzere toplam 32 çocuk deney grubunu, 15 erkek 17 kız olmak üzere toplam 32 çocuk ise kontrol grubunu oluşturmuştur. Araştırmada nicel veri toplama teknikleri kullanılmış, random ön test- eğitim-son test kontrol gruplu deneysel desen uygulanmıştır. Deney grubuna, araştırmacı tarafından geliştirilmiş olan eğitimde sanatsal çalışmalara dayalı etkinlik programları uygulanmıştır. Programlar, toplam 8 hafta süren, ikişer saatlik 6 bölümden oluşturulmuştur. Çocukların psikososyal gelişimini değerlendirmek amacıyla, araştırmada kullanılan ölçme araçları demografik bilgi formu, ve Türkçe uyarlaması Karabekir ve diğ. (2007), tarafından yapılan erken çocukluk dönemi stres indeksi, kısa 0-4 yaş sosyal ve duygusal değerlendirme (BITSEA) ölçeğidir. Elde edilen verilere göre varyanslar tanımlanmış, içerik farkı ve frekanslar bulunarak tablolar üzerinden yorumlamaya gidilmiştir. Elde edilen veriler incelendiğinde, denence ile ilgili olarak deney ve kontrol grupları arasında ön test ile son test puanları ortalaması arasında istatistiksel açıdan anlamlı fark olduğu görülmüştür. Araştırma sonuçlarına göre, kağıt-kolaj çalışmalarının çocuklar tarafından iyi anlaşılarak uygulandığı ve benimsendiği, çocukların psikososyal gelişimine olumlu etkide bulunduğu görülmüştür. Çalışma sonucunda daha betimsel ve kapsamlı sanatsal etkinliklerinin yapılması ve yeni faaliyetlerin uygulanması önerilmiştir.

The descriptors labelled by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching and Assessment was announced to be used across Europe together with the European Language Portfolio as a self-assessment tool (CoE, 2000). As one of the members of the Council of Europe, Turkey has been using the Common European Framework of Reference descriptors along with the European Language Portfolio to provide a basis for learning, teaching, testing and assessment. The current study aims to frame some European guidelines in order to maintain good practice in language testing and assessment practices. Therefore, the European guidelines set by the European Association for Language Testing and Assessment, the Association of Language Testers in Europe, International Language Testing Association, and the Association for Educational Assessment- Europe, all of which comply with the CEFR (CoE, 2001) are elaborated in detail. In this vein, the benchmarks for goodness in language testing and assessment by the European Association for Language Testing and Assessment (EALTA, 2006), the code of practice by the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE, 1994), the guidelines for practice by the International Language Testing Association (ILTA, 2007), and the European framework of standards for educational assessment by the AEA- Europe (AEA- Europe, 2012) are taken into thematic analysis to define the core tenets of how quality profiles for language tests are labelled. Accordingly, it is yielded that the European guidelines embrace the core tenets of test construction, test analysis, administration and logistics, test production, communication with stakeholders, marking and grading, and item writing. Besides, connectives as the integrative elements of each tenet are also probed into. Correlatively, some practical recommendations to pursue quality assurance in language testing and assessment practices through the dissemination and exploitation of these European standards are listed, as well.

It mushrooms as an unerring fact that that assessment literacy has been a focus of interest as one of the major professional requirements of a teacher. Correlatively, there are some manifold standards for assessment and measures for assessment literacy. This study, hereat, aims to unearth the prospective English as a Foreign Language (henceforth EFL) teachers’ levels of assessment literacy. In this context, the Assessment Literacy Survey developed by Volante and Fazio (2007) together with the student questionnaire of the European Network of Language Testing and Assessment (ENLTA) which was developed in 2004 are exploited to collect data. The participants are thirty-six senior students from the department of English Language Teaching (henceforth ELT) at a state university in Turkey. Fundamentally, the pre-service teachers’ utilization of the assessment approaches, and their understanding of underlying principles are at the major axis. As a result, it is reported that prospective EFL teachers are aware of the concept of assessment literacy though they perceive themselves as not adequately qualified. At the very same, practicum courses in which they enroll do not satisfactorily meet their expectations in developing their assessment skills. Similarly, they have a judicious amount of practical knowledge on different types of assessment approaches although they are mindful of the fact that in-class practices are to be laced with various kinds of assessment applications. Some practical recommendations and implications for teacher education are also listed in tow.

This study aims to scrutinize the utilization of the European guidelines in testing and assessment practices of non-formal English language schools. Providing insights from a mixed-methods research design, the quantitative data were gathered from the English language teachers, who were also working as test (-item) developers at three private institutions renowned for quality with the highest course attendee capacity and branches in Turkey to reveal teacher-tester attributes, whereas qualitative data were gathered from the directors of these private institutions to screen directors' control. The results have yielded that (1) the kinds of assessment in use allow for feedback on the performance of the ongoing educational system; (2) the overall evaluation of the total program, and assessment of educational systems are taken into consideration in testing procedures to some extent; (3) what is good for the individual in assessment does not thoroughly align with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child; (4) the assessment applied in the selected private institutions does not mainly cover standardized tests. The results are discussed, and laced with suggestions to improve the quality of current testing and assessment practices by the exploitation of the European Framework of Standards for Educational Assessment (AEA-Europe 2012) regarding non-formal private institutions as the arteries of Turkish education economy.

Purveying insights from a mixed-method research design, this study aims to enlighten the exploitation of the European guidelines in language testing and assessment practices in non-formal educational settings. Accordingly, three non-formal English language schools renowned for quality in Turkey were taken to in-depth analysis in order to offer a general paradigm from a sample of leading professionals on the utilization of the European benchmarks in language testing and assessment practices. The results have yielded that (1) there is a need for a more practical curriculum molded with a real auditing system for the enhancement of the current language testing and assessment practices; (2) there is a request for the validation process for language certificate examinations implemented in non-formal educational settings; (3) there is a demand for cooperation amidst the allies for the standardization process in language testing and assessment practices. The results are laced with some recommendations and implications for language testing and assessment.

Translation from source language (L1) to target language (L2) and/or vice versa plays an important role for language learners since they tend to use translation in order to understand and interpret the language utterances. Perspectives towards the use of translation in foreign language teaching and learning process have changed over the time. As the learners are not native speakers of L2, they are likely to utter some structurally or semantically deviant forms of language. For this reason, conducting an error analysis procedure might be of crucial importance in understanding which domains of language are erroneous for language learners in order to fix the problems and improve language proficiency. In Turkey, English Language Teaching bachelor degree programs include the translation course where student-teachers are supposed to handle translations from L1 to L2 and L2 to L1. In this study, the translation assignments of 30 pre-service EFL teachers were investigated through document analysis and findings point out that the errors fall into structural, lexical and translational/interpretational categories. Finally, the pedagogical implications were drawn in relation to the field.