Content teachers' perceptions of the academic aural-oral skills of post-preparatory school students in departments at Anadolu University

Abstract

Recent studies show that lectures are moving away from traditional style towards more conversational style, where negotiation of meaning and spoken interaction becomes increasingly important. These changes in lecture style require learners to use language more effectively in academic settings. Furthermore, students need to engage in interactions with the content course teachers through questions, comments, explanations or answers. This shift leads content course teachers to expect students to participate in their classes through questions, comments, viewpoints, and difficulties of students in displaying these skills. Language programs should identify expectations of content course teachers about academic aural-oral skills and students’ difficulties in displaying these skills to equip students with the skills that are expected from them in departments. Therefore, this study investigates the perceptions of content course teachers in terms of academic speaking / listening English skills with reference to post-preparatory students in departmental courses at Anadolu University. Data was collected through questionnaires. A sample of 20 teachers was selected for follow-up interviews. The results show that askinganswering questions are the most commonly expected speaking skill. The questionnaire results revealed statistically significant differences between staff teaching social sciences, and those teaching natural sciences. Furthermore, lecturing style has an impact on students’ listening comprehension, and expected participation forms from students. Moreover, it was found that emphasis given to oral participation and type of course has an influence on expectations of content course teachers and observed difficulties of students.