Analysis of the current effectiveness of the students' self-study centre at Eastern Mediterranean University English Preparatory School in North Cyprus

Abstract

Self-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.