M.A. in Teaching English as a Foreign Language - Master's degree
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Item Open Access Academic oral presentation skills instructors' perceptions of the final project presentation rating scale used in Modern Languages Department at Middle East Technical University(Bilkent University, 2003) Bozatlı, İpekThis study explored ENG 211 instructors’ perceptions of the final project presentation rating scale used in the Modern Languages Department at Middle East Technical University.In order to collect data, 25 ENG 211 instructors were asked to complete a questionnaire. Three rating questions in the questionnaire asked participants to evaluate how essential the rating scale categories are to them according to three different criteria: for distinguishing among strong and weak students, giving instructors feedback on the effectiveness of their instruction, and giving students feedback on various aspects of their oral presentation skills. Through two open-ended questions, positive and negative attributes of the rating scale, as perceived by the the participants, were investigated. Data collected from the rating questions were analyzed quantitatively by employing descriptive statistics, such as frequencies, means and standard deviations; data obtained from two open-ended questions were analyzed qualitatively The data results revealed that most of the rating scale categories were rated as ‘essential’ by the participants for all three rating questions. However, some categories were most commonly rated lower on the three questions. These categories had objectives that were not taught in ENG 211, were felt to be outside the control of ENG 211 instructors, or which instructors felt should have different overall values, and more clear descriptors. In addition, results obtained from the open-ended questions supported the results obtained from the rating questions.Item Open Access Academic reading expectations in English for first-year students at Hacettepe University(Bilkent University, 2005) Eroğlu, Nihan AylinThis study explored the Academic reading needs of first-year students from the perspective of content course teachers in English-medium departments at Hacettepe University. The study was conducted with 35 content course teachers and 99 first-year students in English-medium departments at Hacettepe University in the spring semester of 2005. Three sets of data were used for this study. First, a questionnaire was distributed to 35 first-year content course teachers and interviews completed with 18 of the teachers who returned the questionnaire. In addition, samples of required textbooks were collected from the same first-year content course teachers as well as reading samples from the textbook and the final exam in the Prep school. A vocabulary test was given to 99 first-year students in English-medium departments to determine a baseline measure of their ability. The purpose of the questionnaire administered to first-year content-course teachers was to determine teachers’ academic reading expectations for first-year students. The questionnaire consisted of Likert scale items. The follow-up interviews provided insight into teachers’ perceptions, experiences and practices related to their academic reading expectations of first-year students. Reading samples from the firstyear content courses were collected to specify the precise reading expectations of the content teachers. Reading samples from the final exam and the textbook of the Prep School were collected to determine the exit expectations from the Prep School. The vocabulary test was done to explore the vocabulary levels of the first-year students. To analyze the data, mean scores, percentages and frequencies were used in the questionnaire; a coding system was used in the interviews; Flesch-Kincaid readability test and Vocabulary Profiler were used for analyzing the reading samples and the prep exit exam. To determine the students’ levels of vocabulary knowledge, Nation’s (1990) guideline was used. The interviews were conducted with 18 content course teachers who completed the questionnaire. The results reveal that all content course teachers agree on the necessity of being a proficient reader in order to be successful in content courses. Content course teachers also agree that the academic reading curriculum should be revised to include using texts which are taught in content course departments. Based on these results, adjusting the current curriculum in accordance with the expectations of content course teachers is recommended, particularly in the area of more academic vocabulary training. Another recommendation is to adopt an adjunct model approach to link content courses and language courses thereby providing students with both content and language study simultaneously.Item Open Access Achieving self-reflection through videotaped self-observation(Bilkent University, 2007) Hasanbaşoğlu, BurçinThis study was designed to investigate whether videotaped self-observation contributes to self-reflection and whether teaching experience results in differences between teachers in terms of their levels of reflective thinking. Two trainee teachers attending the METU in-service teacher training course – one experienced and one inexperienced – and two teacher trainers conducting the course participated in this study. Data were collected through reflective narratives written after teacher observations, interviews and think-aloud protocols (TAPs). In this study, one of the teacher observations of each trainee was videorecorded, and the trainees were asked to reflect on their teaching before watching their recorded lesson in an interview, while watching it in a think-aloud protocol, and after watching it in a reflective narrative. Each trainee’s pre- and while-video reflections were compared to explore whether videotaped self-observation contributed to the extent and levels of teachers’ reflection. After analyzing each trainee’s oral and written reflections before and after video, the reflections of the two trainees were also compared to examine whether teaching experience was a determining factor in high levels of reflection. All the data in this study were qualitatively analyzed, and in this analysis the framework for levels of reflective thinking devised by the researcher was used to determine trainees’ levels of reflection. The findings of this study indicated that observing their videotaped lesson contributed considerably to the trainees’ self-reflection, both in terms of the extent and levels of their reflective thinking. Both teachers were able to reflect on an increased number of points in their lessons after self-observation and demonstrated a remarkable growth in high level reflections. However, the extent to which the trainees achieved more detailed and higher level reflections did not seem to result from teaching experience, which might suggest that there may be some other factors contributing to self-reflection.Item Open Access The acquisition of English ergative verbs by Turkish EFL students(Bilkent University, 1993) Abdullayeva, OpheliaThe purpose of the study was to investigate the acquisition of English ergative verbs by Turkish EFL students. In contrast with transitive and intransitive verbs, these verbs can form both grammatically correct passive and intransitive ergative constructions. Generative grammar predicts that in the process of acquiring ergative verbs, learners will prefer to use passive constructions to intransitive ergative ones (Zobl, 1989). The study investigated five research questions and tested nine hypotheses. The research questions considered the difference a) in the overall amount of incorrect judgments about ergative verbs; b) in the amount of incorrect judgments about ergative structures of ergative verbs; c) in the amount of incorrect judgments about ergative versus passive structures of ergative verbs; and d) in the amount of errors in the test sentences with ergative verbs, at three EFL proficiency levels'. One more question studied in the present research was whether the Turkish learners would be able to discriminate between English ergative, intransitive, and transitive verbs. This study is a descriptive study conducted in an experimental setting. Special research instruments were devised to elicit ergative data — a grammaticality judgment task and a production task. The performance of subjects at experimental tasks was compared against language proficiency levels created in accordance with the results of two sections of the Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency. The results of the experimental tasks were analyzed using statistical procedures — Kruskal-Wallis One Way Analysis of Variance and repeated-measures t-test. Analyses showed significant differences between proficiency levels in the overall number of incorrect judgments about ergative verbs and about full ergative structure of ergative verbs (e.g., The window broke into small pieces). However, the difference in the number of incorrect judgments about cut ergative structure (e.g.. The window broke) and in the number of errors in the test sentences with ergative verbs was not statistically significant. The repeated-measures t-test indicated that at the low and mid levels the difference in the number of incorrect judgments about full ergative and passive structures of ergative verbs was statistically significant whereas at the high level this difference was not significant. The analysis of data also showed great variations in the acc[uisition of different verbal structures of acquisition of ergative^ transitive, and intransitive verbs. The results obtained in the present research confirmed the main findings reported in the literature on the acquisition of ergative verbs (Zobl, 1989), i.e., that the learners will overgeneralize the passive rule to ergatives.Item Open Access Adapting Krashen's Five Hypotheses for the teaching of English as a foreign language in Turkey(Bilkent University, 1989) Kaya, AbdullahItem Open Access Administrators', teachers' and students' perceptions about the benefits of and barriers to TELL at Koya University(Bilkent University, 2010) Ali, Hawkar O.This study examined the feelings and viewpoints of administrators, EFL teachers and EFL students on the benefits of and barriers to technology-enhanced language learning (TELL). This study has been conducted in an English Department at a state university in the north of Iraq. The purpose of this study was to understand the attitudes of teachers and students who infrequently use technology for educational purposes towards the use of technology for language teaching and learning. Moreover, this study aimed to find out the participants‘ level of technology use. Finally, barriers that administrators, teachers and students encounter were examined. Questionnaires and interviews were administered in order to collect data. The first questionnaire was distributed to 124 EFL students whose educational grades were freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. The second questionnaire was administered to nine EFL teachers at the same university whose educational degrees were PhD, MA and MA candidate. Moreover, three administrators, three teachers and four students were interviewed in order to get further information. The findings showed that despite their positive attitudes towards technology integration in education, the teachers and students were infrequently incorporating technology into their education. The infrequent use of technology is due to several barriers. Deficiency of technological instruments, financial problem and lack of electricity are challenges that prevent teachers and students from integrating technology into their language teaching and learning. In addition, the results indicated that lack of proficiency in using technology and lack of technology-training courses are also barriers that students suffer from. Finally, this study presented several pedagogical suggestions such as providing sufficient funding for technological instruments, training courses and electricity in order to increase technology integration in education.Item Open Access Affective factors in EFL learning at the Hazırlık programs of the Turkish universities(Bilkent University, 1990) Savaşan, ŞuleItem Open Access American cultural values as seen through a film and their application to a Turkish classroom(Bilkent University, 1999) Bunk, AylinAlthough EFL classrooms are very suitable places to examine cultural aspects of a language, this part of classroom learning is widely neglected because of the attention given to language skills. In many classrooms, students’ exposure to the target culture is far from being systematic; it can be somewhat random. In addition, since the language is taught in the learners' own environment, learners may lack opportunities to be exposed to the target culture. As a result, they may have little or no awareness of the target culture and are likely to experience difficulties in adjustment if they enter a target culture environment. Therefore, language teachers should expose students to cross-cultural contexts that will help them to understand the target culture better and clarify misconceptions; this should also enhance crosscultural communication. On the basis of these views, this study investigated underlying cultural differences between Turkish and American people by examining their perceptions of themes and issues raised in an American film. It also examined which of these insights might be useful in a cross-cultural communication class in Turkey, and for what reasons. Data were collected from two different groups of participants through questionnaires and discussions after watching the film Grand Canyon. One of the groups included six Turkish teachers of English who worked in different universities in Turkey. The other one was a group of five Americans who were teachers at Bilkent University. Both groups viewed the film separately and noted the major themes and issues that they observed. After viewing, the groups discussed the film. Theme discussions were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed through discourse analysis techniques. The data gathered from the transcriptions were categorized for the most part according to American values as presented by Robert Kohls (1984). The results of the study indicated that there are differences between the discussions of Turkish and the American groups, and these can be related to underlying values concerning fate, equality, individualism, work orientation, directness and openness in human and family relationships, materialism, public behavior, efficiency in service, and power. The findings lay ground work for an examination of cultural differences in an EFL class, especially for students who plan to further their study in the target cultureItem Open Access An investigation of the 21st century competencies of prospective EFL teachers in Türkiye(Bilkent University, 2023-08) Mirici, IlgınThis study investigated the competencies on 21st century skills of prospective EFL teachers in Türkiye and ELT department academics’ opinions about their students’ 21st century skills competencies. In this respect, it explored the opinions of the 3rd and 4th grade prospective EFL teachers studying at a state and a foundation university in Ankara, Turkey. To this end, 102 prospective EFL teachers and 14 ELT department academics filled in a questionnaire to take part in the study. Quantitative data was obtained from the questionnaires, and qualitative data was obtained via semi-structured interviews with a sample of 15 prospective EFL teachers and 11 ELT department academics. The results of the study have revealed that both state and foundation university prospective EFL teachers feel competent in using 21st century skills in their classes, with a focus on a range of skills including communication, collaboration, and the use of technology. Likewise, ELT department academics perceive their students' competencies in using the 21st century skills such as communication and technology use, with some slight differences in specific areas.Item Open Access Anadolu University EFL teachers' reading textbook evaluation criteria before and after training(Bilkent University, 2003) Uslu, DuyguA lack of training in evaluating textbooks is one of the drawbacks of teacher education. Many descriptive articles in the literature discuss how to evaluate textbooks, but few empirical studies have been conducted on teachers’ abilities to evaluate textbooks and the criteria that they use. Simply using a textbook is not enough since textbooks do not always meet the needs of learners or the teacher. Nor do they always complement the goals and objectives of the course and institution (Brown, 1995; Byrd, 2001; Pakkan, 1997). As a result, teachers need to know how to evaluate the textbooks that they are using and those that they may use. The aim of the study reported here is to determine teachers’ abilities to judge the appropriateness of language teaching textbooks for English language classes at a Turkish university. The data were collected through a Reading Material Evaluation Questionnaire, pre-training guided think-aloud protocols, and post-training guided think-aloud protocols. The results of the questionnaire revealed that the teachers evaluated their course materials inconsistently. Results of pre- and post-training guided think-alouds showed that textbook-evaluation training changed teachers’ textbook evaluation criteria by raising their consciousness and knowledge base about textbook evaluation. This research indicates a need for pre- and in-service teacher training on the evaluation of textbooks that are/may be/will be used in the classroom.Item Open Access Analysis of factors that promote critical reading by EFL students in a Turkish educational setting(Bilkent University, 1997) Akyüz, BirolThe Turkish education system has frequently been characterized as based on a read and repeat model, imposing knowledge in chunks based on memorization, instead of enabling the individual to think creatively, solve problems and interpret information. The latter set of skills have been collectively labeled as critical thinking (CT). In its basic form, critical thinking in reading (CR) is held to promote the student's ability to think autonomously, by being able to make judgments and predictions, draw conclusions, make inferences, and detect biases during reading. CR is particularly important as these skills are needed to be developed for success in academic studies and post university professions. This study sought to identify the factors that can promote CR. The research questions asked in the study were as follows: 1. What are the factors that teachers judge "critical" in CR? 2.To what extent do students use CR skills in carrying out reading tasks? 3. Which instructional procedures do teachers employ to promote CR? 4.What instructional procedures do students think can provide them with effective use of CR skills? These research questions were investigated by administration of questionnaires to students and their teachers at Erciyes University and through interviews with the teachers of the subject students. The student questionnaire included a reading passage with assigned tasks requiring application of CR skills. These tasks were given to determine the actual performance of the students in terms of CR. The subjects (students and teachers) were asked to rate CR skills according to their perceived importance. In addition, instructors were asked to rate the frequency and kind of CT activities used in their reading classes. The findings of the study are controversial since the responses given by students and teachers were not consistent with one another. Teachers supported the idea that students need more practice, and hence, further enchamcement of CT skills in reading. In contrast, the majority of students indicated little need for the enhancement of CT skills in reading and very few stated that they lacked these skills. The results of the reading text assessment indicated that student performance was not consistent with their questionnaire responses and that, generally, they lacked the ability to perform CR tasks. The mismatch in the answers of students and teachers indicates further need for instructional focus on CR skills.Item Open Access An analysis of medical students' English language needs(Bilkent University, 2007) Taşçı, ÇağlaThis study aimed at finding out the academic and professional English language needs of medical students in an EFL context, from the perspectives of administrators, currently enrolled students, and academicians, in order to contribute to the process of English for medical purposes curriculum development. Data were collected via questionnaires which were designed to compare the perceptions of the currently enrolled students and the academicians at the medical faculty of a Turkish-medium university. An interview was held with the Dean of the Medical Faculty to better obtain information about perceptions of the administration towards the English language needs of the medical students and their expectations from the English classes. The questionnaire data were analyzed quantitatively, and the interview data were analyzed qualitatively. The main results of the study revealed that medical students studying in Turkish-medium contexts primarily need to improve their English reading skills in order to do research for their problem-based learning classes. In addition to English reading skills, medical students regard speaking skills and an interactive way of learning English in groups as very important. This finding indicates a changing trend in the students’ perceptions of their foreign language needs in comparison with the previous needs analyses of English language needs in medical contexts. The overall findings of this study revealed that there is a need to increase the class hours, provide technological equipment, and appoint trained instructors for the efficient teaching of medical English.Item Open Access An analysis of peer review of writing in a Bilkent University freshman English course(Bilkent University, 1999-07) Ayar, ÖzlemThis research study had two main goals. The first one was to find out how Bilkent University Freshman English students participated in peer review sessions. The second one was to find out the perceptions of Bilkent University Freshman English students of the effectiveness of the peer review sessions. The subjects of the study were three Bilkent University Freshman English students fi"om the Economics Department. It was a case study, where, firstly, the researcher videotaped four peer review sessions of one peer review group. Next, the researcher conducted a group interview with the students in the peer review group. The interview had two parts. In the first part, the researcher asked the students ten questions that were determined according to the data obtained from the video recordings of the peer review sessions. In the second part of the interview the researcher asked the subjects’ comments about some scenes in the second and the third peer review sessions. The interview was audiotaped and later both the videotapes and the audiotapes were transcribed for discourse analysis by the researcher. In this case study, the researcher analyzed the transcriptions of the peer review sessions in terms of Issues of Control, The Language That the Students Used, The Peer Review Sheets, and Revising After Peer Review Sessions. The researcher analyzed the transcriptions of the group interview under the following headings: Peer Review: Beneficial or Not, Incorporation of Peer Feedback, Howto Make Peer Review More Effective, Training Before Peer Review Sessions, Peer Review Group Members, Using Native Language in Peer Review Sessions. According to the results, two of the three students were more expressive and they controlled the peer review sessions. Also, the student who was most expressive almost always went to his peers’ papers for specific examples while the most quiet one generally used vague language and did not support his feedback with specific examples . The other student sometimes used vague language and sometimes supported his feedback with specific examples from his peers’ papers. In this study, the researcher argues that the questions on the peer review sheets have an impact on students’ language and suggests that the peer review sheets should have questions that promote discussion and urge the students to go to their peers’ papers for specific examples to support their feedback. Moreover, all three students said that they benefited from the peer review sessions. However, two of the students never revised their writings after peer feedback while one revised only one. The students said that they did not revise because the mistakes that their peers pointed out were not important ones and they wanted to change their writings after they received feedback from their instructor. Finally, the limitations and pedagogical implications of the study are provided.Item Open Access An analysis of students' English needs in the English Language and Literature Department of Selçuk University(Bilkent University, 1999) Gündüz, NazlıEnglish has become now an international language and many people from different nations have been learning English either for educational or professional purposes. English for Academic Purposes (EAR) reflects this need for specialized English for academic programs in higher education. In Turkish universities, some programs are English-medium, however, not all Turkish universities have preparatory programs for students lacking the necessary English language skills to take English-medium discipline classes successfully. The purpose of this research study-was to investigate the English language needs of the students in the English Language and Literature Department of Selçuk University, where the medium of instruction is English, and in addition prepare guidelines for an appropriate preparatory program. Data were collected through interviews and a questionnaire with three groups of informants. The first group of informants consisted of two department heads, a director, an instructor from three institutions outside SU, and 48 students from the ELL Department of SU, whom I interviewed informally. The second group of informants consisted of two administrators, five lecturers and one instructor at SU, whom I interviewed formally. The last group of informants consisted of 80 stratified selected students from the ELL Department of SU, to whom I administered a 30-item questionnaire. Data were analyzed both by employing descriptive statistics, such as frequencies, means and percentages, as well as a categorization system. The interview recordings were initially transcribed and then the questionnaire questions were adapted, developed, and constructed based on the interview data. The results revealed that the students in the ELL Department of SU were at different levels of English, and therefore their English needs were different. As a result they have to be trained to reach a similar level of English to be able to attend departmental classes. The general view of the lecturers and administrators was that all students had to be at least at the upper-intermediate level to follow literature classes. They also stated that all the language skills were equally important for succeeding in classes. On the other hand, the most important finding from the perspective of the students was the need for an appropriate preparatory program where weak students could improve their language and academic study skills in English. Furthermore, next to the need for all four language skills, emphasis was on extra reading, conversation and grammar practice classes. In light of the findings, the researcher presents guidelines for an appropriate preparatory program for the ELL Department of SU, which can meet the English needs of weak students entering that department.Item Open Access Analysis of the current effectiveness of the students' self-study centre at Eastern Mediterranean University English Preparatory School in North Cyprus(Bilkent University, 1999) Şen, AyferSelf-Access Centres are important places for language learners, especially for those learners who have no opportunity to practice the language outside the classroom. They are also important for guiding students to become independent learners who take responsibility for their own learning. This need makes it essential to establish effective study areas for students to practice the language that they are learning. In this study the focus was on the newly organised Students’ Self-Study Centre (SSSC) at Eastern Mediterranean University. Since the use of the new SSSC was a completely new experience both for the students and the class teachers, it was necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of the SSSC in terms of contributing to autonomous learning. To evaluate the effectiveness of the SSSC, a case study was conducted at EMUEPS. Firstly, the appropriateness of the resources and the adequacy of the facilities in terms of supporting autonomous learning were found. Then, the practices that students, class teachers and the SSSC staff engaged in in the SSSC were analysed in terms of the activities and the interaction patterns that they preferred. The data collection procedure started with a preliminary e-mail questiormaire. Then, two parallel questionnaires were prepared for students and class teachers. The questiomiaires were distributed to students and teachers at eleven classes from different levels in the institution. After that, formal interviews were held with the administration, specialist teachers and the SSSC staff Finally, students class teachers and the SSSC staff were observed in the centre during both open-access and scheduled-class hours. The data collected were analysed by calculating the means and the percentages of the questioiuiaire responses. The interviews were transcribed and grouped under specific topics and the observations were analysed in terms of the activities and the interactions that the students, class teachers and the SSSC staff were involved in. The results indicated that the resources were appropriate and the facilities were adequate in terms of promoting autonomy. However, there was still a need to provide more relevant materials prepared according to the interests of the students. Another point to be taken into account was the desire for an increase in the study hours of the SSSC. The presence of class teachers was found to be useful since students needed guidance in effective use of these resources. However, the results also indicated a need for increased training for both the students and class teachers on the aims, purposes and functioning of the SSSC. The practices that the students were involved in suggested that using computers were the most preferred and most useful resources for self-study. This suggests that computers should be provided with more language-based facilities appropriate to the needs of the students.Item Open Access An analysis of the English language needs of the students at the Maritime Faculty of Istanbul Technical University(Bilkent University, 1995) Dengiz, Ayşe AydanAbstract: This needs analysis study investigated the English language needs of the students at the Maritime Faculty of Istanbul Technical University where prospective deck ofiicers and marine engineers are educated to work both on cargo and passenger ships. The lack of a curriculum, the need to identify the objectives and means of the language instruction, and the shortcomings of the current language program at the faculty necessitated a needs analysis study to meet the specific purposes of the maritime students. The participants were 35 prep students, 77 junior students, 10 graduates, 7 language teachers, 8 content course teachers, 3 faculty administrators, and 3 employers from the maritime sector. Semi-structured questionnaires and interviews were used to gather data for this descriptive study. The researcher sought an answer for a major question: What are the English language needs of the students at the Maritime Faculty both for their future careers and their studies? The sub-questions aimed at discovering the proficiency level of English required for deck officers and marine engineers during their studies and professions; the language skills and sub-skills they will need in their work domain and faculties; the suitable teaching approach to be followed; and the shortcomings of the present English language program. The results obtained from the study revealed that maritime students should know English at an advanced or at least intermediate level. The English language skills deck officers and marine engineers will need in their profession were determined as listening and speaking, whereas marine engineers will need reading most. Writing followed these skills for both departments. The following subskills were also considered as important for seamen: writing reports, formal letters, and logbooks; reading instruction manuals, trade books, and professional journals; listening and responding to radio-telephone messages, instructions, and participating in conversations with foreign colleagues. The shortcomings of the current language program are reported to be inappropriate teaching methods, lack of coordination between teachers, inappropriate content of courses, underemphasis of oral/aural skills, and unsuitable regulations. The researcher suggested that an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) approach with appropriate methodology should be followed in teaching English to maritime students and emphasized the urgency of the development of a curriculum that will meet the specific needs of the students at the Maritime Faculty as expressed in this study.Item Open Access An Analysis of the English language needs of veterinary medicine students at Selçuk University(Bilkent University, 1994) Elkılıç, GencerThis study attempted to determine the English language needs of the students of veterinary medicine at Selcuk University. English language courses in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine are taught by using the grammar-translation method without taking the language needs of the students into consideration. Although students need English in order to read journals, magazines, and research papers published in English, they are not taught to develop skills required to do so. This is due to the fact that the English language teachers offer English courses to students who are specializing in physics, geography, engineering, biology and so forth. Thus, teachers are not very well aware of the special needs of students in each specialized area. In order to carry out this study, 67 students, 15 subject professors, and 5 English language teachers were given questionnaires which were designed to elicit information on students' language needs. Students' version of the questionnaire consisted of 22 items, subject professors' version 16, and language teachers' 17. All groups were requested to rank the four language skills according to importance. Reading was unanimously selected as the most important skill. There were mixed opinions concerning the importance of the other three skills. Listening, however, was considered to be the second most important. The students, subject professors, and language teachers also stated that reading was important in order to be able to understand scholarly journals, magazines, and reports as well as to be able to translate materials from English into Turkish. Based on these results, the researcher made recommendations for improving the present English language curriculum at Selcuk University.Item Open Access An analysis of the problems of beginning teachers to develop an induction program for the Basic English Departments of Turkish universities(Bilkent University, 1996) Korukcu, SedaThis descriptive study was aimed at determining the problems of beginning teachers so as to develop an induction program for the Basic English Departments of the universities in Turkey. The study was conducted at eight English-medium universities in Turkey that have both Departments Basic English that provide a one year intensive program of English and English Language Teaching Departments. The participants were 67 ELT students in their fourth year of preservice teacher education and 28 beginning teachers who started teaching in September 1995. The data were collected through questionnaires and analyzed in terms of means, standard deviations, frequencies and percentages by using a computer program called SPSS.The present study addressed three specific research questions. The first research question intended to determine the problems of beginning teachers. The responses to the questionnaires suggested that teaching methods, classroom management, lesson planning and motivation of students were the host problematic areas that beginning teachers need further training on in an induction program before and during their first year of experience. The second research question asked the opinions of fourth year ELT students about the problems they think they may encounter when they start teaching. Similar to beginning teachers, fourth year ELT students also stated that they might have problems in terms of classroom management, lesson planning and motivation of students. In addition, they pointed out their concerns about teaching certain skills such as listening and speaking. The third research question considered what skills and areas should be covered in an induction program. As the responses of the participants in both groups suggested, an induction program should provide beginning teachers with information mainly on different teaching methods, classroom management, lesson planning and motivation of students. According to the results of the data, beginning teachers and fourth year ELT students that will start teaching in four months needed further training on the areas in which they feel less competent and this training can be provided by an induction program that aims at helping and giving guidance to beginning teachers.Item Open Access An analysis of the pronounciation problems of Turkish learners of English(Bilkent University, 1993-08-31) Kaçmaz, TarkanThis study attempted to arrive at an analysis of the pronunciation problems of advanced Turkish learners of English. In this study, the researcher employed Prator & Robinett's (1972) Accent Inventory as diagnostic text in order to elicit the participants' pronunciation. Participants in the study were randomly selected from among the second-year students at the English Department of Dokuz Eylul University, Buca Faculty of Education in Izmir. The researcher recorded the paticipants' voices as they read aloud the Accent Inventory and listened to the recordings several times in order to detect problems in the pronunciation of English phonemes. The researcher calculated the number and percentage of the participants who failed to pronounce a particular phoneme and how they dealt with the problem. The results of the research have shown that Turkish speakers of English do have certain problems in pronuncing certain English phonemes where there are differences between the Turkish and English sound systems. Participants faced problems mainly in producing the English phonemes in the following five cases. (1) When an english phoneme was in free distribution whereas the Turkish counterpart was not. (2) When an English phoneme was non-existent in Turkish. (3) When the place and manner of articulation of a phoneme differed in the two languages. (4) When the allophones of a phonome were non-existent in Turkish. (5) When the Turkish phonotactic rules contradicted the English phonotactic rules. When the participants were faced with one of the above mentioned cases, they adopted certain strategies in order to deal with the problem. Participants' strategies included the following: (1) Substitute a similar sounding Turkish phoneme for the English phoneme; (2) Delete an English phoneme that they had difficulty in pronouncing; (3) Add a Turkish phoneme before, after or in-between the English phoneme(s). It can be concluded from this research that Turkish speakers of English have certain difficulty with some English phonemes and that teachers of English to speakers of Turkish should allocate more time and effort to improve pronunciation in the problematic phonemes detected in this research and before continued mispronunciation leads to fossilization.Item Open Access An analysis of Turkish EFL students' errors in present perfect tenses(Bilkent University, 1999) Mergen, GülçinGrammar is an important aspect of teaching a second language. Since Turkish and English do not have one-to-one correspondence in terms of the present perfect and the present perfect continuous tenses, it creates difficulties for both Turkish teachers and Turkish students in teaching and using these two tenses. This study was conducted to determine the types of errors which Turkish students commit when using the present perfect tenses. It also investigates the sources of these errors and to what extent they are systematic. In addition, it explores the differences in the type of errors depending on the task which the students are required to complete, as well as finding out whether the teachers’ opinions reflect the results that are obtained from the students’ papers. Finally, suggestions on the materials that would be more suitable to Turkish students are prepared in the light o f the teachers’ opinions. The subjects were 120 students and nine teachers from the Department of Basic English at the Middle East Technical University. There are three levels of classes studying during the spring semester at METU: Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate and UpperIntermediate. From each level, three classes and the teachers of these classes were chosen for the study. There were 42 students from the Pre-Intermediate level, 40 from the Intermediate level, and 38 from the Upper-Intermediate level. The students were given a test devised by the researcher which consisted of five sections, graded from the most form-oriented tasks to the least. The first section was composed of fill-in-theblank questions; the second section was a sentence completion task; the third section involved the translation of a dialog between a native Turk and an American tourist mediated by an interpreter; the fourth section was a picture description and the last section was a paragraph writing task. While the students were answering the questions, their teachers were given written interviews in which they expressed their opinions about the difficulties that their students face in the present perfect tenses and the effectiveness of the materials that were being used in class to teach these two tenses. Data analysis involved making a record of students’ errors and classifying them into groups, and then, comparing these results with the opinions of the teachers. The results of this study indicated that Turkish students tend to make direct translations from Turkish into English, using the present continuous tense instead of the present perfect continuous tense, and the simple present or the simple past tense instead of the present perfect tense, caused by the differences in the adverb usages and verb types of the two languages. Additionally, the t)qjes of errors they committed showed consistency except in the function-oriented tasks, where contextual match was the most common error type Finally, the opinions of the teachers reflected the results obtained from the study. Considering these issues, the researcher suggested that consciousness-raising tasks and interpretation tasks be used along with the class materials and the native language be used to compare and contrast the two languages when necessary.