Browsing by Subject "Conceptual socialization"

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Open Access
Conceptual socialization in EFL contexts : a case study on Turkish EFL learners‟ request speech acts realization
(2016-09) Şanal, Merve
This study aimed to investigate Turkish EFL learners‟ development of conceptual socialization in terms of their speech acts realization. More specifically, the study examined if the development of conceptual socialization is possible in EFL contexts by analyzing the similarities and differences between native speakers of English and Turkish learners of English in their request, refusal and acceptance speech acts realization in terms of the level of formality, politeness, directness and appropriateness in written and oral activities. In this respect, 25 higher level Turkish learners of English studying in a preparatory school and 10 native speakers of English working as language instructors in the same school took part in the study. In this mixed-methods approach study, the qualitative data were collected through written Discourse Completion Tasks (DCT) in English and Turkish including requests, refusing and accepting requests and audio recordings of role plays as oral discourse completion tasks. Qualitative data gained from the native speakers‟ and Turkish EFL learners responses to DCTs and role plays were graded by using a criterion and the results were quantified to analyze descriptively by using the native speaker responses as a baseline. The findings revealed that although Turkish EFL learners could perform similar to native speakers in terms of realizing appropriate acceptance speech acts, the learners could not produce appropriate request and refusal speech acts in different social situations. That was mostly because their level of formality and politeness was lower than the level of formality and politeness in native speaker responses. When their responses in Turkish were analyzed, linguistic and socio-pragmatic transfer from their mother tongue was observed. Additionally, Turkish EFL learners overused similar structures in each social interaction while native speakers used various linguistic structures. These findings helped draw the conclusion that learners‟ development of conceptual socialization in EFL context might be affected by classroom instruction and their L1 socialization in Turkish. Considering the results above, this study implied the importance of learner experiences in classroom teaching in EFL context, where there is no authentic interaction, and raising learners‟ awareness about the cultural differences reflected on the language use in different social encounters to help them develop conceptual socialization.
Open Access
Conceptual socialization in EFL contexts: a case study on Turkish EFL learners’ request speech acts realization
(Selçuk University, 2019) Şanal, Merve; Ortaçtepe, Deniz
Conceptual socialization refers to the process second/foreign language learners go through to transform their conceptual system so as “to fit the functional needs of the new language and culture” (Kecskes, 2002, p. 157). Therefore, the present study examined Turkish EFL learners’ conceptual socialization by analyzing the similarities and differences between native speakers of English and Turkish learners of English in their request speech acts realization. The data were collected from Turkish learners of English (focal group) and native speakers of English (baseline group) through role-plays and a written discourse completion task on requests both in Turkish and English. Participants’ responses were rated in terms of the level of formality, politeness, directness and appropriateness. The results indicated that although the Turkish EFL learners were higher level learners, they could not produce the required level of politeness, formality and appropriateness in their speech acts as much as the native speakers did. This study reveals that in EFL contexts, where there is lack of authentic social interaction and engagement with a community of practice, language learners’ conceptual socialization process is bound to their experiences of classroom instruction and L1 socialization.
Open Access
Formulaic language and conceptual socialization: the route to becoming nativelike in L2
(Elsevier, 2013-10) Ortaçtepe, D.
The present study addressed the question whether formulaic expressions indicate nativelike selection in the target language by examining seven Turkish students’ use of formulaic expressions during their first year in the United States. Fourteen external raters who spoke English as their first language rated the Turkish (focal group) and American students’ (control group) DCT responses in terms of nativelike language use. The results indicated that the American students not only received higher nativelikeness ratings but also produced more formulaic expressions than the Turkish students. This finding confirms that freely generated utterances based on grammatical units and lexis forecast non-membership to the speech community (Skehan, 1998) while the use of formulaic expressions is an indicator of nativelike selection. The results also revealed that gaining competency over formulaic expressions for second language learners is not a linear process but open to creativity.
Open Access
Turkish EFL learners’ interpretation of metaphors: A study on conceptual socialization
(2017-11) Kökcü, Şeyma
The aim of this study was to investigate the conceptual socialization of Turkish EFL learners in terms of their interpretation of English metaphors. In this respect, the similarities and differences between native English speakers and Turkish EFL learners in their interpretation of metaphors were analyzed by looking at their performance in three categories of metaphors; a) conceptually and linguistically similar, b) conceptually similar, but linguistically different, and c) conceptually and linguistically different metaphors. The role of two other variables (presenting the situational context and EFL learners' familiarity with the metaphors) on their interpretation of metaphors were also examined. The participants consisted of two groups; 38 Turkish advanced level EFL learners and seven native English speakers. In this mixed-methods study, data were collected through a familiarity scale (FAMscale) and two metaphor tests called sentence level test (SLT) and situation-based test (SBT) including all three categories of metaphors. Data analysis was accomplished by scoring the EFL learners’ responses to metaphor tests according to the baseline of correct response by the native English speakers and analyzing the results according to the research questions. The results of the analyses showed that presenting the metaphors in context did not have a significant role in Turkish EFL learners’ interpretation of metaphors. However, conceptual and linguistic similarities and differences played a significant role in their interpretation. Familiarity with the metaphors did not play a significant role in their interpretation of metaphors as well. Moreover, Turkish EFL learners differed very much from native English speakers regarding correct metaphor interpretation although they are advanced level learners. These findings indicated that Turkish EFL learners’ conceptual socialization into English was not sufficient due to lack of exposure to the English conceptual system and enough interaction with native speakers. Based on the findings mentioned above, this study suggested that, in order to promote conceptual socialization in EFL context, teachers can emphasize cultural differences to raise awareness, and conceptual and linguistic similarities and differences between the L1 and the TL, and they can draw explicit attention to metaphors in class by creating opportunities for the students to practice the language as a good source of the target language conceptual system.