IOJET - International Online Journal of Education and Teaching
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RESILIENCE IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING: A STUDY ON PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ LANGUAGE LEARNING EXPERIENCES
No full textInvestigating pre-service teachers’ language learning experiences is essential as they have an impact on their learning during their departmental studies and their future teaching practices. Given the fact that there is a growing call for the development of resilience in teacher education programs, this qualitative study aims at exploring what resources pre-service English language teachers have relied on to overcome challenges and obstacles to learning English as a foreign language. To achieve this aim, data were obtained from 23 pre-service teachers enrolled in English Language Teaching program at a university in Istanbul, Turkey in the form of a reflective writing activity. To triangulate data, a focus group interview was carried out with five of the participating pre-service teachers. Data were analyzed using the thematic analysis approach (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Findings revealed that pre-service teachers dealt with a variety of obstacles in their English language learning histories such as ineffective methodologies used by teachers, anxiety caused by examinations, obstacles in language skills especially speaking, and language barriers while staying in English-speaking countries. The pre-service teachers mentioned that they demonstrated agency in the process of overcoming these obstacles and their resilience included both personal protective factors and social/environmental protective factors.Keywords: resilience, positive psychology, teacher education, foreign language learnin
DEVELOPING A MODEL FOR TEACHING THE PROBLEMATIC VOCABULARY ITEMS BY COMPUTER
No full textThis study proposes a new design of computer-based vocabulary teaching learning and teaching activity so as to enhance opportunities for learners to expand their vocabulary knowledge. There are a lot of opportunities on the internet to compensate the hampering effect of learning vocabulary items and to improve their vocabulary by means pronunciation, intonation, meaning of target language vocabulary items by using internet facilities with almost no expenses. In this research, a new vocabulary teaching model, called Morphological Pairing Model,is proposed by using electronic dictionaries, audacity programs, and text to speech labs. Some vocabulary items are really difficult to learn due to the shift of stress phonemes, internal vowel changes, intonation, and meaning variation. In this model, problem-causing words are diagnosed and then collected via diagnostic tests. Then, words are grouped in terms of morphological pairs regarding the psycholinguistic difficulties they inherit. Later, the pronunciation and transcription of them are put together in isolation for repetition by downloading them from the electronic dictionaries. Finally, some sentences for each vocabulary item are written down, and while the speaking robots from the Text to Speech Labsread them out, they are downloaded by the Audacity programs. After this, the foreign language teacher designs different types of exercises and practices them in native speaker-like pronunciation and intonation in form of a PowerPoint, which is handed over to the students at the end of the lesson after the classroom practices are over for further practice on their own.
AN INVESTIGATION INTO PRONUNCIATION PROBLEMS OF HAUSA-SPEAKING LEARNERS OF ENGLISH
No full textAbstractThere is no dearth of publication on pronunciation problems of different L1-bacground learners in EFL contexts; however, research in ESL situations (where English is spoken outside the classroom) in general, and in the Nigerian context, in particular, is scarce. Accordingly, to fill this research gap the present study set out to investigate the pronunciation problems of Hausa speakers of English in Nigeria. To achieve the goals of the research, 60 native speakers of Hausa studying at three universities in Northern Cyprus participated in the study. The participants’ pronunciation problems of English were elicited by mean of a pronunciation test that consisted of a word list, a short paragraph, and 15 individual sentences. Moreover, 15 pictures were shown to the participants to name while being audio-recorded. All the test items contained English consonants and vowels with potential pronunciation difficulties for Hausa speakers of English. The collected data were then transcribed and analyzed, and percentages and frequencies of pronunciation errors were computed. The results revealed that native speakers of Hausa face problems in pronouncing certain English vowels (i.e., /ᴧ/, /ᴐ:/ and /з:/) and consonants (/f/, /v/, /θ/ and /ð/). Theoretically, the findings lend support to the notion of negative transfer as all of the errors were the result of mother tongue interference. The findings are interpreted to have pedagogical implications for ESL teachers and syllabus designers in general and in Hausa-speaking communities, in particular.Keywords: Pronunciation problems, segmental phonemes, negative transfer, Hausa speakers of English
CULTURAL TRANSFER IN THE TRANSLATIONS OF MEDIA ORGANIZATION WEBSITES: A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF ARTICLES AND THEIR TURKISH TRANSLATIONS ON THE BBC WEBSITE
No full textThe websites of media organizations address to readers from many different languages and cultures. Each culture has its own specific values, habits and norms. Translators employ some translation strategies in order to transfer these culture specific items (hereinafter; CSIs) from a source text (hereinafter; ST) to a target text (hereinafter; TT). They are supposed to establish translations that are completely comprehensible for the target readers. In this study, the articles of the British Broadcast Company (hereinafter; the BBC) that are translated by BBC Turkish Service translator and published in the link ‘Dergi’ are analysed based on Toury’s translational norms and Aixela’s classification for CSIs. It is designed with a qualitative method and supported with an interview to triangulate the data. The findings show that the translations are generally ‘acceptable’, that is, the translator has the tendency towards target culture according to Toury’ s translational norms. She mostly employs constitution strategies of Aixela to transfer CSIs and this indicates the general tendency of the translations to ‘be a representation of a source text’. However, the translator specifies the target readers of the link as ‘educated young population’ and this does not complicate the comprehensibility of the CSIs by the target readers.Keywords: Translation Studies, Translational Norms of Toury, Cultural Transfer, Culture Specific Items, Aixela, BBC Turkish Service
CROSS CULTURAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION STYLES: DATA REVISITED
No full textThe way conflicts are solved is thought to be culturally learned (Hammer, 2005); therefore, this is reflected through language use. Conflicts, as inevitable parts of communication, naturally mirror cultural differences. Intercultural conflict styles have been studied so far by various researchers. How conflicts are initiated, maintained and escalated or terminated are all culture bound (Leung, 2002) and all the related stages vary from one culture to another. In the related literature, there have been attempts to describe different conflict handling classifications. Using Hammer’s (2005) categorization that was found to be more refined and summative, conflict resolution styles of Turkish and American College students were explored using Discourse Completion Tests (DCT) with eight conflict situations where the respondents were required to write verbal solutions to overcome the conflicts described in the test. Those utterances were categorized according to Directness/Indirectness Scale modified from Hammer’s (2005) “International Conflict Style Inventory (ICSI)” that classifies intercultural conflict resolution styles as high/low level of directness and high/low level of emotional expressiveness. It is believed that the study provides insight into intercultural communication as there are culturally generalizable (etic) and learned patterns of conflict resolution styles pertinent to different cultures (Hammer, 2009, p. 223; Ting-Toomey, 1994).Keywords: conflict resolution styles, Turkish and American cultures
COMMON AND BRANCH-SPECIFIC NEEDS OF TURKISH TEACHERS ABOUT IN-SERVICE TRAINING COURSES WITHIN THE SCOPE OF FATIH PROJECT
No full textFATIH Project is regarded as one of the most inclusive ICT integration attempts in the history of Turkish education. This nation-wide project entails equipping each classroom with an interactive whiteboard and supplying each student with a Tablet PC. The in-service teacher training courses are by far the most crucial component of the project as teachers are the end-users of those facilities in classrooms. Despite the abundance of studies on the opinions and attitudes of teachers towards the use of ICT technologies in general, to our knowledge, there exists no research study which specifically investigates whether the views and in-service training needs of teachers differ according to their distinct subject areas. With this in mind, this qualitative study aims to explore the perceptions and needs of 35 Turkish in-service teachers from different branches about in-service training courses within the scope of FATIH project. The study adopted a case study design. The research site and participants were selected purposefully. The data were mainly collected through questionnaires, and the accuracy of these data was validated through semi-structured interviews conducted with 30% of the participants. The collected data were analysed through the content analysis method. The study findings revealed a good deal of research evidence on the divergent training needs of teachers from various subject areas. Thus, it suggested that in-service training courses should be planned and organised as branch-specific.Keywords: FATIH project, information and communication technologies (ICT), in-service teacher training, integration of ICT into education, interactive whiteboard (IWB
A COMPARISON OF THE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ OPINIONS FROM GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT AND GEOGRAPHY TEACHING DEPARTMENT AS REGARDS THEIR FIELD COMPETENCE
No full text Turkish Ministry of National Education set the Special Field Competences for Geography Teachers in 2010 and enforced them in 2011. Special field competences are the field-specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for effective and productive conduct of teaching profession. The aim of this article is to compare the opinions of the students from Geography Teaching Department and Geography Department as regards field knowledge, one of the special field competences of geography teaching. The study was based on survey method aimed to reveal an existing situation. Yet, face-to-face interviews to 20 Faculty of Education students of were also conducted. The study was performed in the 2014-2015 academic year with 160 students from Geography Teaching Department and Geography Department. Significant differences between students’ opinions for the competences were compared by Chi-Square analysis by their educational programs as for the sub-problems that were based on the research problem. As a result, the Faculty of Education students’ opinions suggested that they were competent in 7 fields out of 13, creating a significant difference. There was no significant difference in the opinions of Geography Department students as to geography field competences.Keywords: Special Field Competences, Geography Field Competences, Geography Educatio
INTERACTIONAL UNFOLDING OF VOCABULARY EXPLANATIONS IN MEANING AND FLUENCY CONTEXTS
No full textIn the field of foreign and second language education, there is great deal of research on vocabulary teaching and learning. However, there is relatively limited research dealing with the vocabulary explanations during ongoing classroom interaction. This article aims to provide vocabulary explanation sequences in meaning and fluency contexts (Seedhouse, 2004). To this end, a foreign language education classroom including 13 students was recorded for a classroom hour, and the interaction in the classroom was transcribed. The classroom interactions were analyzed by using conversation analysis methodology, and vocabulary explanation examples were described in detail. As a result of the analysis, two vocabulary explanation sequences are provided in meaning and fluency contexts based on the students’ responses. Results show that when the students display understanding in their native language, the teacher asks follow–up questions before closing the turn; however, when they display understanding in the target language, the teacher closes the turn without asking further questions.Keywords: conversation analysis, vocabulary explanation, meaning and fluency contexts, classroom interaction
TEACHING THE CEFR ORIENTED PRACTICES EFFECTIVELY IN THE M.A. PROGRAM OF AN ELT DEPARTMENT IN TURKEY
No full textThe Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (hereafter CEFR) and the related documents are the current realities of ELT professionals, mainly in Europe, as part of the practices in their field of study. Although it is labeled as “common” and “European”, the CEFR is an internationally recognized framework worldwide. In this sense, this study aims to uncover whether the CEFR and the other related European documents such as the European Language Portfolio (hereafter ELP), as a course in M.A. classes, have reflected certain degree of effectiveness in relation to students’ expectations. Herein, students’ self-reflection forms and achievement test-retest scores were analyzed. Accordingly, the mixed method laced with both qualitative and quantitative data was implemented. The learners’ test-retest scores as achievement criteria constituted the quantitative part of the study. On the other hand, the qualitative part was composed of the learners’ self-reflection forms for the course and discussion-based self-assessment reports. The results of the study revealed the fact that the CEFR as an M.A course was internalized better on condition that the lecture was followed by self-study, self-reflection, discussion-based self-assessment as a part of review process and test-retest practices respectively, when applied whole and complete
THE EFFECT OF “ARGUMENT-BASED SCIENCE INQUIRY” APPROACH ON SCIENCE TEACHER CANDIDATES' ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS
No full textScience education, when it is dealt with in terms of subject, activities and target behaviours, is an open area to inquiry and development. However, this case is interpreted from a different point of view in a lot of educational institutions in our country (Turkey). The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of “Argument-Based Science Inquiry (ABSI)” approach on the academic achievements of 3rd grade Science Education teacher candidates by applying this approach to the activities and establishing a suitable educational environment, and to reveal their thoughts about it. Mixed methods research has been used in this paper. In the quantitative dimension of the research, a pre-test post-test control group experimental design has been used. At the end of the implementation process, an achievement test has been applied to both groups, and results have been analyzed statistically. The results have shown that there is a statistically significant difference between the pre-test and post-test results of experimental group, and ABSI approach has a positive effect on student success. In the qualitative dimension of the study, semi-structured interviews have been used with the experimental group’s teacher candidates. Data have been analyzed through content analysis method. In accordance with all findings, it is deduced that the ABSI activities affect the academic achievement of teacher candidates more positively than the classical laboratory practices in Laboratory Practices II class.Keywords: argument-based science inquiry, science laboratory activities, science education, academic success