Browsing by Subject "Language and languages Study and teaching."
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Item Open Access European language portfolio as a self-directed learning tool(Bilkent University, 2006) Ceylan, MeralThe study investigated to what extent the European Language Portfolio (ELP) can promote self-directed learning in the School of Foreign Languages at Anadolu University in the 2005-2006 academic year. The study also examined the attitudes of students, teachers and administrators towards the ELP and its implementation into the curriculum. Five data collection instruments were employed in this study. Interviews were conducted with students, one teacher, and administrators. Questionnaires were given to the students. Besides, student learning diaries and student ELPs were collected. Group discussions were held with teachers and students, as well. The results revealed that most of the students carried out self-directed learning activities and had positive attitudes towards the ELP although they had difficulties in setting their learning goals and assessing their language learning processes. The teachers reported that the ELP could be used to promote self-directed learning; however, it could be difficult to use the ELP with the student profile in this school. The administrators also felt positive towards the ELP and believed that pilot projects should be conducted before implementing the ELP into the curriculum. The results suggested that the ELP could be used as a first step to promote selfdirected learning in the School of Foreign Languages at Anadolu University.Item Open Access Project work : How well does it work? : Assessment of Students and Teachers about Main Course Project Work at Yıldız Technical University School of Foreign Language Basic English Department(Bilkent University, 2006) Kemaloğlu, ElifThis study investigated the students’ and teachers’ assessments about Main Course project work applied at the English preparatory classes of Yıldız Technical University (YTU) School of Foreign Languages Basic English Department. The students from upper-intermediate and intermediate levels studying English in the preparatory classes of YTU and the teachers who supervised their projects participated in the research. They were asked to assess Main Course project work in respect to three aspects: (1) Achievement of institutional project work goals, (2) Learning gains acquired from project work, (3) Problems experienced with project work accompanied by suggested solutions. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. The results of the data analysis revealed that in general, institutional project work goals were moderately achieved. The reported learning gains included content learning; vocabulary improvement; improvement of research, oral presentation, writing, translation and computer skills; grammar reinforcement, and raising consciousness about the benefits of disciplined studying. The major problems found were about project topics, inadequate teacher support, lack of improvement in speaking and listening skills at a desired level, excessive use of translation, and plagiarism. A variety of suggestions were made for these problems emphasizing the necessity of collaboration and negotiation between students, teachers, and administrators in addition to the significance of a well-structured project training.Item Open Access The role of task design in students'L2 speech production(Bilkent University, 2006) Özpınar, PınarThe main objective of the present study is to investigate the impact of different task types with different task features – a decision making task, a problem solving task and a role play with planning time – have upon eight L2 learners’ oral performance, in terms of accuracy, fluency, and complexity at Preparatory School of Celal Bayar University. The data gathered by audio recording, were submitted to both qualitative and quantitative analysis by the researcher. In order to measure accuracy, fluency and complexity, three different criteria were decided on. Errors per a hundred words, the number of self-corrections and target-like use of plurals were used as measures of accuracy. The number of repetitions, reformulations and false starts were used in order to measure fluency. Lastly, complexity was measured by using amount of subordination, frequency of conjunctions and hypothesizing statements. In terms of quantitative data, the numerical data obtained from transcriptions were computed as frequencies and percentages. Results revealed that task 1, a decision making task (a convergent task) whose topic was not familiar to the students and no planning time was given to the participants , yielded more complex speech. Task 2 , a problem solving task (a convergent task) with a specific problem and in which the topic was familiar to the students , on the other hand, fostered more accurate speech. Task 3, a role play in which the participants were given 10 minutes planning time, yielded more fluent speech. Findings revealed the existence of two trade-offs operating in the participants’ speech samples. The first trade-off is that between accuracy and complexity, whereas the second trade-off is that between fluency and complexity. The results from the present study may call teachers’attention to the value of the design of oral task, so that teachers can evaluate learners’ oral production successfully.