şule çelik korkmaz - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by şule çelik korkmaz

Research paper thumbnail of Teacher Trainees' Perspectives on Storytelling in Primary EFL Classrooms: The Case of Online Training to Tell Stories Effectively

Journal of English Teaching, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has obliged EFL teacher trainers to find new pathways to prepare teacher tr... more The COVID-19 pandemic has obliged EFL teacher trainers to find new pathways to prepare teacher trainees (TTs) for future classrooms. For the TTs enrolled in the Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYLs) course, telling stories effectively is of utmost important. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the TTs' perspectives on creating and telling storybooks in EFL primary classrooms besides the necessity for being trained to tell stories effectively via their out-of-class video-recorded microteaching sessions. The data were collected via the questionnaire and the focus group interviews. The findings revealed: (1) the TTs approved the necessity of creating and telling stories in primary EFL classrooms, which indicates their developed cognition regarding the pedagogical advantages of telling stories to children; (2) effective and interactive storytelling skills were associated with the story teller's narration skills, tone of voice, mimicry, gesture, and interaction skills; (3) the TTs were more in favor of the necessity for being trained to tell a story effectively through face-to-face education than through online education despite reporting several pros and cons of both ways; (4) female TTs were more in favour of creating story books and the necessity for being trained to tell a story effectively via face-to-face training.

Research paper thumbnail of Amerika’da Okul Öncesi Eğitim

Research paper thumbnail of Farklı Ülkelerde Karşılaştırmalı Eğitim

Research paper thumbnail of Target Language Use in EFL Classrooms: Turkish EFL Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices

IJELTAL (Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics), 2021

Considering the teacher talk as the main input in English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms,... more Considering the teacher talk as the main input in English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms, this descriptive study aimed to elucidate the beliefs and practices of Turkish EFL teachers regarding their use of a foreign language, namely English (L2) in their classrooms by taking into account school types, experience, and travelling abroad as variables. Accordingly, 308 EFL teachers from different regions of Turkey were given a questionnaire with two parts, firstly beliefs and then practices, to clarify this prominent issue. The results indicated the high level of teacher awareness about the necessity for using L2 for several reasons but without dismissing the use of their native language, namely Turkish (L1). Conversely, the study highlighted the clashes between their espoused beliefs and practices. Furthermore, being more experienced teachers and working in primary or high schools were not reported as significant factors in teacher agency in making language choices to teach L2 w...

Research paper thumbnail of Third Language Learning Strategies of ELT Learners Studying Either German or French

Hacettepe Universitesi Egitim Fakultesi Dergisi-hacettepe University Journal of Education, 2013

The present study mainly explores the most and the least frequently used language learning strate... more The present study mainly explores the most and the least frequently used language learning strategies of ELT learners when learning German or French as their L3. Comparing independent samples t-test results and mean scores of the groups, it was investigated whether there is any difference in the use of language learning strategies of both groups. Moreover, the study aimed at finding out whether there is a correlation between the learners’ strategy use and their success. The quantitative results revealed that the participants from both groups employed parallel strategies; compensation strategies emerged as the most frequently used ones whereas affective strategies appeared as the least frequently used ones. Moreover, no positive significant correlation was found between the use of strategies and the participants’ success except for the memory strategies used by learners who were studying French. In addition that negative correlation was found between the learners’ affective strategy ...

Research paper thumbnail of Teaching English to Young Learners: Through the Eyes of EFL Teacher Trainers

ELT Research Journal, 2014

Turkey has recently changed the English language teaching (ELT) program for primary schools. The ... more Turkey has recently changed the English language teaching (ELT) program for primary schools. The new changes required an earlier start for language learning, which are promising in terms of the importance given to foreign language teaching. However, the implementation of these changes requires readiness on the part of the teachers and preparation for the universities to compensate for the pre- and in-service training needs. Involvement of teacher trainers and teachers in the language teaching process is important for a successful implementation of a language policy. Thus, this study aims to investigate the teacher trainers’ views about the starting age for L2 learning, and the appropriate methodology for teaching English to young learners. A survey-type data collection method was used. 72 EFL teacher trainers from seven different public and private universities contributed to the study. The results revealed that EFL teacher trainers prefer language education to start at the first st...

Research paper thumbnail of Temel Edebi Unsurlarla Resimli Hikâye Kitabı: İngiliz Dili Öğretmen Adaylarının Kitaplarını Öz-değerlendirmeleri

Trakya Eğitim Dergisi, 2020

Bu calisma, 101 3.sinif Ingiliz Dili Egitimi ogretmen adayinin yabanci dil olarak Ingilizce ogren... more Bu calisma, 101 3.sinif Ingiliz Dili Egitimi ogretmen adayinin yabanci dil olarak Ingilizce ogrenen cocuklar icin hazirladiklari resimli hikâye kitaplarinin oz degerlendirmelerini arastirmistir. Ogretmen adaylarina kitaplarinin oz degerlendirmelerini yapmalari icin Cronbach alfa skoru 933 olan 23 maddelik besli likert olceginde bir anket uygulanmistir. Anketin maddeleri temel edebi ogeleri ve cocuklara yabanci dil ogretim kriterlerini iceren iki kategoriyi isaret etmektedir. Ek olarak, ogretmen adaylarinin oz degerlendirmelerinin sonuclari uzmanlarin degerlendirmelerinin sonuclariyla karsilastirilmis ve sonuclar yazarlarla yapilan yari yapilandirilmis mulakat sonuclariyla detaylandirilmistir. Genel sonuclar, yazarlarin kitaplarini ozellikle metinler ve goruntuler arasinda etkili iletisimlere, egitici temalara, iyi tasarlanmis kapak sayfalarina, kapsamli basliklara, tanidik karakterlere ve mufredata uygun senaryolara sahip olmalari acisindan basarili bulduklarini ortaya cikarmistir. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Teacher Trainers as Action Researchers: Scrutinizing the Reasons for Student Failure

Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 2015

This action research aims to identify the teacher trainees’ attributions for their failure, their... more This action research aims to identify the teacher trainees’ attributions for their failure, their locus of control and their achievement goals as a result of high failure rate in “Teaching English to Young Learners” course at a large state university in Turkey. For this purpose, qualitative and quantitative data were gathered via an attribution questionnaire, locus of control (LOC) scale, and interviews. The 35-item attribution questionnaire was developed by the researchers and consisted of four parts investigating student, instructor, course, and exam related reasons. The student related reasons had also four sub categories such as study skills, critical thinking ability, in-class performance/attendance and group work performance/attendance. The questionnaire also had an open-ended part with the same categories. The overall reliability of the questionnaire was found to be .80 and .77, .78, .70, .81 for respective sub-groups. The participants were also given a LOC scale and finally ...

Research paper thumbnail of Foreign Language Teaching Within 4+4+4 Education System in Turkey: Language Teachers' Voices

Problem Statement: In 2012 Ministry of National Education in Turkey has revised the education sys... more Problem Statement: In 2012 Ministry of National Education in Turkey has revised the education system so that the new 4+4+4 system requires a three-tier model of education with primary, secondary, and high school components. As with many changes in the curriculum, foreign language (FL) teaching has also been changed and the starting age for learning a FL has been lowered to 6.6 years of age (second grade). As one of the parties of the education process, teachers’ views about this curriculum change and their understanding of teaching English to young learners (TEYL) have great importance. Purpose of Study: The current research aims to investigate English teachers’ ideas towards the starting age for FL learning, how it should be conducted with young learners, and finally what their current practices are when teaching children. Methods: The data for the study is gathered from 203 primary school English teachers from seven different regions of Turkey via a questionnaire consisting of thr...

Research paper thumbnail of Classroom Research: What Do ELT Teacher Trainees Experience When Performing Collaborative Group-Work Tasks?

This classroom research firstly examines strengths and weaknesses of performing cooperative group... more This classroom research firstly examines strengths and weaknesses of performing cooperative group work tasks within the context of “Teaching English to Young Learners” course by dwelling on the most exigent problems to offer solutions to provide learners more qualified educational experiences and have more empowered pre-service learners. This study was conducted with 75 teacher trainees enrolled in Uludag University Faculty of Education ELT Department in Turkey. The data were collected via both quantitative and qualitative instruments such as open-ended and semi-structured questionnaires in addition to semi-structured interviews. The results revealed that the problems were mostly related to equal work sharing, and conflict among group members. Finally, suggested solutions were offered in the light of the interview results

Research paper thumbnail of Multisensory Language Teaching

Advances in Early Childhood and K-12 Education, 2021

This study aims to investigate the effects of multisensory vocabulary teaching (MSVT) on 4th-grad... more This study aims to investigate the effects of multisensory vocabulary teaching (MSVT) on 4th-grade learners' English vocabulary knowledge. Accordingly, the experimental group was taught through MSVT while the control group was given mainstream coursebook-based instruction. Both quantitative and qualitative data collection instruments were used. The non-parametric Wilcoxon tests yielded statistically significant differences regarding pupils' vocabulary achievement in favor of the experimental group both in the immediate post-vocabulary test and in the delayed post-vocabulary test. Furthermore, content analysis of the learners' diaries, teachers' blogs, and interviews revealed mostly positive views about learning words through MSVT compared to coursebook-based learning.

Research paper thumbnail of Materyal Değerlendi̇rme Ve Uyarlama: Öğretmen Adaylarinin Algilari Ve Tecrübeleri̇

Uludağ Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 2020

Bu çalışma, Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi'nde öğrenim gören 120 dördüncü sınıf İngiliz dili eğitimi ö... more Bu çalışma, Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi'nde öğrenim gören 120 dördüncü sınıf İngiliz dili eğitimi öğretmen adayının, ilk olarak materyal değerlendirme, uyarlama ve oluşturma, ikinci olarak etkili bir İngilizce öğretimi ünitesinin bileşenleri ve son olarak da materyal tasarımını etkileyen bazı temel yaklaşımlar ile ilgili perspektif ve deneyimlerini bir anket ve yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme uygulayarak araştırmayı amaçlamıştır. Sonuçlar, katılımcıların en çok materyal oluşturma, sonra uyarlama ve son olarak da değerlendirme becerilerini geliştirdiklerini ortaya çıkarmıştır. Ayrıca, katılımcılar materyal değerlendirme, uyarlama ve oluşturma ile ilgili deneyimlerinin, aldıkları öğretmen eğitimine, uygulama okul türlerine, uygulama okullarındaki danışman öğretmenlerine, öğrencilere ve okul politikalarına göre şekillendiğini rapor etmişlerdir. Katılımcılar, materyal tasarımında çok izlenceli güncel yaklaşımı ve iletişimsel yaklaşımı desteklemiş ve geleneksel yaklaşımı sorgulamışlardır. Katılımcılar yaklaşımlara olan görüşlerine paralel olarak, etkili bir İngilizce öğretimi ünitesinin bileşenlerinde en çok ısınma bölümlerinin, dört beceri bileşenlerinin, iletişimsel aktivitelerin, kelime ve telaffuz kısımlarının olması gerektiğini bildirmişlerdir.

Research paper thumbnail of English Language Teaching within the New Educational Policy of Turkey: Views of Stakeholders

International Education Studies, 2017

Teaching English to young learners has gained speed in the past twenty years. Many countries in E... more Teaching English to young learners has gained speed in the past twenty years. Many countries in Europe are offering English at the primary level as advised by the EU. The efforts to lower the age for foreign language learning have echoed in countries in Asia as well. Turkey as one of these countries has changed its educational policy in 2012 and launched the new English Language Teaching Program for grades 2-8 in 2013. Along with many changes, the new system offers EFL in the second grade. The present study not only aims to investigate the views of prospective ELT teachers towards this change, but also to compare their views with those of trainers, and English teachers who were investigated in the earlier phases of the study. The results indicate that although all three groups of participants favor an earlier start in foreign language education, there are significant differences between groups in terms of the appropriate starting time and teaching methodologies used. Teachers were i...

Research paper thumbnail of The Impact of Multi-sensory Language Teaching on Young English Learners’ Achievement in Listening Skills

Journal of Foreign Language Education and Technology, 2017

The study aimed to investigate the effects of multi-sensory language teaching on young learners’ ... more The study aimed to investigate the effects of multi-sensory language teaching on young learners’ listening skill in English by employing a quasi-experimental design. The experimental group was taught English through multi-sensory language teaching while the control group was taught through mainstream coursebook-based instruction. A four-section and 18-item listening test developed by the researcher and evaluated in terms of its reliability and validity was administered to the groups as pre-, post and delayed posttests. Although the Mann-Whitney U test result indicated that there was no statistically significant difference between the groups’ pre listening achievement test scores there appeared statistically significant differences between the groups in favor of experimental group with regard to their listening comprehension both immediate after the treatment and a month after the treatment. Moreover, the qualitative data collected through the learners’ diaries, the teacher’s blogs a...

Research paper thumbnail of İngiliz Dili Eğitimi Öğretmen Adaylarinin Etkili Bir İngilizce Öğretmeni Hakkindaki Görüşleri

Egitimde Kuram Ve Uygulama, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Teaching young learners: The role of theory on practice

Elt Research Journal, Dec 31, 2012

The current study aims at investigating ELT trainees’ understanding of beliefs about basic theory... more The current study aims at investigating ELT trainees’ understanding of beliefs about basic theory on teaching English to young learners and how this knowledge affected their teaching philosophy during implementation in the school experience course. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used for data collection. The first group of data is gathered from 179 ELT trainees via a questionnaire, (Cronbach alpha .702) and the second group of data is collected from 27 trainees in the form of a structured interview. The results indicate that the trainees have gained the necessary theoretical information at a moderately high level. The interview results supported that the trainees implemented their beliefs about teaching young learners in most of the areas except for the organization of the resources and the use of appropriate teaching methodology. In other areas such as classroom management, child-adult differences, assessment, and children’s characteristics trainees’ beliefs were justified with their actual classroom practice.

Research paper thumbnail of Language Games as a Part of Edutainment

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2013

Teaching English through games is one of the best ways to provide entertainment when learning a l... more Teaching English through games is one of the best ways to provide entertainment when learning a language. Hence, this study aims at investigating what primary school children think about learning a language through games, and finding out whether there is congruence between the children's and English language teachers' perspectives about the issue. 121 5th grade learners and 60 language teachers were asked to complete a 23-item questionnaire about different aspects of using games in language classes. The results revealed mostly positive opinions about the issue and there are statistically significant differences between learners' and teachers' ideas on several points. Selection and peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Ferhan Odabaşı.

Research paper thumbnail of Contextualization or De-contextualization: Student Teachers’ Perceptions about Teaching a Language in Context

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2013

Language cannot be acquired or learned through de-contextualized practice as many studies emphasi... more Language cannot be acquired or learned through de-contextualized practice as many studies emphasized, thus, this study aims at investigating student teachers' views about teaching a language in context. To that end, 30 senior student teachers of Uludag University Faculty of Education ELT Department were given a five-point likert scale questionnaire besides conducting the structured interviews just after they had completed their practicum. As a result, the significance of contextualization was esteemed by most of the participants and they were able to use different techniques of creating context when teaching during their practicum. Moreover, the participants reported that more samples of different contexts for teaching different subjects should be provided to them to plan and teach more effective lessons.

Research paper thumbnail of Foreign Language Teaching within 4+4+4 system in Turkey: Language Teachers' Voices

In 2012 Ministry of National Education in Turkey has revised the education system so that the ne... more In 2012 Ministry of National Education in Turkey has revised the education system so that the new 4+4+4 system requires a three-tier model of education with primary, secondary, and high school components. As with many changes in the curriculum, foreign language (FL) teaching has also been changed and the starting age for learning a FL has been lowered to 6.6 years of age (second grade). As one of the parties of the education process, teachers’ views about this curriculum change and their understanding of teaching English to young learners (TEYL) have great importance. The current research aims to investigate English teachers’ ideas towards the starting age for FL learning, how it should be conducted with young learners, and finally what their current practices are when teaching children. The data for the study is gathered from 203 primary school English teachers from seven different regions of Turkey via a questionnaire consisting of three parts concerning the aforementioned issues. The first part has closed and open-ended questions and aims at finding teachers views about the starting age/grade for language learning. Second part investigates teachers’ beliefs about TEYL and third part investigates teachers’ classroom implementations while teaching YLs. The reliability is taken for each part of the questionnaire. As a result, all sections of the questionnaire are found reliable with alpha values .758, .796, and .806 consecutively. Frequency analysis, Wilcoxon signed rank test, and ANOVA were used to make the analysis. The results indicate that teachers prefer language education to start at the first stage of primary school and even earlier during pre-school. Pertaining to teacher’s beliefs about TEYL, most of the teachers revealed that FL teaching in primary school should be mainly based on listening and speaking rather than grammar; within a context through visual/kinesthetic activities, songs, and games rather than worksheets. However, the Wilcoxon signed rank test results revealed that there are significant differences between the participants’ beliefs and their implementation. Consequently, teachers are in favor of the recent changes in the curriculum; however, some teachers might need some in-service training regarding the use of appropriate techniques with YLs. These in-service training courses should involve practical tips to implement theoretically sound language teaching to children. Contribution and understanding of teachers, parents, and other educational institutions/organizations should be supported for a successful implementation of a language policy.

Research paper thumbnail of Teacher Trainees' Perspectives on Storytelling in Primary EFL Classrooms: The Case of Online Training to Tell Stories Effectively

Journal of English Teaching, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has obliged EFL teacher trainers to find new pathways to prepare teacher tr... more The COVID-19 pandemic has obliged EFL teacher trainers to find new pathways to prepare teacher trainees (TTs) for future classrooms. For the TTs enrolled in the Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYLs) course, telling stories effectively is of utmost important. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the TTs' perspectives on creating and telling storybooks in EFL primary classrooms besides the necessity for being trained to tell stories effectively via their out-of-class video-recorded microteaching sessions. The data were collected via the questionnaire and the focus group interviews. The findings revealed: (1) the TTs approved the necessity of creating and telling stories in primary EFL classrooms, which indicates their developed cognition regarding the pedagogical advantages of telling stories to children; (2) effective and interactive storytelling skills were associated with the story teller's narration skills, tone of voice, mimicry, gesture, and interaction skills; (3) the TTs were more in favor of the necessity for being trained to tell a story effectively through face-to-face education than through online education despite reporting several pros and cons of both ways; (4) female TTs were more in favour of creating story books and the necessity for being trained to tell a story effectively via face-to-face training.

Research paper thumbnail of Amerika’da Okul Öncesi Eğitim

Research paper thumbnail of Farklı Ülkelerde Karşılaştırmalı Eğitim

Research paper thumbnail of Target Language Use in EFL Classrooms: Turkish EFL Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices

IJELTAL (Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics), 2021

Considering the teacher talk as the main input in English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms,... more Considering the teacher talk as the main input in English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms, this descriptive study aimed to elucidate the beliefs and practices of Turkish EFL teachers regarding their use of a foreign language, namely English (L2) in their classrooms by taking into account school types, experience, and travelling abroad as variables. Accordingly, 308 EFL teachers from different regions of Turkey were given a questionnaire with two parts, firstly beliefs and then practices, to clarify this prominent issue. The results indicated the high level of teacher awareness about the necessity for using L2 for several reasons but without dismissing the use of their native language, namely Turkish (L1). Conversely, the study highlighted the clashes between their espoused beliefs and practices. Furthermore, being more experienced teachers and working in primary or high schools were not reported as significant factors in teacher agency in making language choices to teach L2 w...

Research paper thumbnail of Third Language Learning Strategies of ELT Learners Studying Either German or French

Hacettepe Universitesi Egitim Fakultesi Dergisi-hacettepe University Journal of Education, 2013

The present study mainly explores the most and the least frequently used language learning strate... more The present study mainly explores the most and the least frequently used language learning strategies of ELT learners when learning German or French as their L3. Comparing independent samples t-test results and mean scores of the groups, it was investigated whether there is any difference in the use of language learning strategies of both groups. Moreover, the study aimed at finding out whether there is a correlation between the learners’ strategy use and their success. The quantitative results revealed that the participants from both groups employed parallel strategies; compensation strategies emerged as the most frequently used ones whereas affective strategies appeared as the least frequently used ones. Moreover, no positive significant correlation was found between the use of strategies and the participants’ success except for the memory strategies used by learners who were studying French. In addition that negative correlation was found between the learners’ affective strategy ...

Research paper thumbnail of Teaching English to Young Learners: Through the Eyes of EFL Teacher Trainers

ELT Research Journal, 2014

Turkey has recently changed the English language teaching (ELT) program for primary schools. The ... more Turkey has recently changed the English language teaching (ELT) program for primary schools. The new changes required an earlier start for language learning, which are promising in terms of the importance given to foreign language teaching. However, the implementation of these changes requires readiness on the part of the teachers and preparation for the universities to compensate for the pre- and in-service training needs. Involvement of teacher trainers and teachers in the language teaching process is important for a successful implementation of a language policy. Thus, this study aims to investigate the teacher trainers’ views about the starting age for L2 learning, and the appropriate methodology for teaching English to young learners. A survey-type data collection method was used. 72 EFL teacher trainers from seven different public and private universities contributed to the study. The results revealed that EFL teacher trainers prefer language education to start at the first st...

Research paper thumbnail of Temel Edebi Unsurlarla Resimli Hikâye Kitabı: İngiliz Dili Öğretmen Adaylarının Kitaplarını Öz-değerlendirmeleri

Trakya Eğitim Dergisi, 2020

Bu calisma, 101 3.sinif Ingiliz Dili Egitimi ogretmen adayinin yabanci dil olarak Ingilizce ogren... more Bu calisma, 101 3.sinif Ingiliz Dili Egitimi ogretmen adayinin yabanci dil olarak Ingilizce ogrenen cocuklar icin hazirladiklari resimli hikâye kitaplarinin oz degerlendirmelerini arastirmistir. Ogretmen adaylarina kitaplarinin oz degerlendirmelerini yapmalari icin Cronbach alfa skoru 933 olan 23 maddelik besli likert olceginde bir anket uygulanmistir. Anketin maddeleri temel edebi ogeleri ve cocuklara yabanci dil ogretim kriterlerini iceren iki kategoriyi isaret etmektedir. Ek olarak, ogretmen adaylarinin oz degerlendirmelerinin sonuclari uzmanlarin degerlendirmelerinin sonuclariyla karsilastirilmis ve sonuclar yazarlarla yapilan yari yapilandirilmis mulakat sonuclariyla detaylandirilmistir. Genel sonuclar, yazarlarin kitaplarini ozellikle metinler ve goruntuler arasinda etkili iletisimlere, egitici temalara, iyi tasarlanmis kapak sayfalarina, kapsamli basliklara, tanidik karakterlere ve mufredata uygun senaryolara sahip olmalari acisindan basarili bulduklarini ortaya cikarmistir. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Teacher Trainers as Action Researchers: Scrutinizing the Reasons for Student Failure

Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 2015

This action research aims to identify the teacher trainees’ attributions for their failure, their... more This action research aims to identify the teacher trainees’ attributions for their failure, their locus of control and their achievement goals as a result of high failure rate in “Teaching English to Young Learners” course at a large state university in Turkey. For this purpose, qualitative and quantitative data were gathered via an attribution questionnaire, locus of control (LOC) scale, and interviews. The 35-item attribution questionnaire was developed by the researchers and consisted of four parts investigating student, instructor, course, and exam related reasons. The student related reasons had also four sub categories such as study skills, critical thinking ability, in-class performance/attendance and group work performance/attendance. The questionnaire also had an open-ended part with the same categories. The overall reliability of the questionnaire was found to be .80 and .77, .78, .70, .81 for respective sub-groups. The participants were also given a LOC scale and finally ...

Research paper thumbnail of Foreign Language Teaching Within 4+4+4 Education System in Turkey: Language Teachers' Voices

Problem Statement: In 2012 Ministry of National Education in Turkey has revised the education sys... more Problem Statement: In 2012 Ministry of National Education in Turkey has revised the education system so that the new 4+4+4 system requires a three-tier model of education with primary, secondary, and high school components. As with many changes in the curriculum, foreign language (FL) teaching has also been changed and the starting age for learning a FL has been lowered to 6.6 years of age (second grade). As one of the parties of the education process, teachers’ views about this curriculum change and their understanding of teaching English to young learners (TEYL) have great importance. Purpose of Study: The current research aims to investigate English teachers’ ideas towards the starting age for FL learning, how it should be conducted with young learners, and finally what their current practices are when teaching children. Methods: The data for the study is gathered from 203 primary school English teachers from seven different regions of Turkey via a questionnaire consisting of thr...

Research paper thumbnail of Classroom Research: What Do ELT Teacher Trainees Experience When Performing Collaborative Group-Work Tasks?

This classroom research firstly examines strengths and weaknesses of performing cooperative group... more This classroom research firstly examines strengths and weaknesses of performing cooperative group work tasks within the context of “Teaching English to Young Learners” course by dwelling on the most exigent problems to offer solutions to provide learners more qualified educational experiences and have more empowered pre-service learners. This study was conducted with 75 teacher trainees enrolled in Uludag University Faculty of Education ELT Department in Turkey. The data were collected via both quantitative and qualitative instruments such as open-ended and semi-structured questionnaires in addition to semi-structured interviews. The results revealed that the problems were mostly related to equal work sharing, and conflict among group members. Finally, suggested solutions were offered in the light of the interview results

Research paper thumbnail of Multisensory Language Teaching

Advances in Early Childhood and K-12 Education, 2021

This study aims to investigate the effects of multisensory vocabulary teaching (MSVT) on 4th-grad... more This study aims to investigate the effects of multisensory vocabulary teaching (MSVT) on 4th-grade learners' English vocabulary knowledge. Accordingly, the experimental group was taught through MSVT while the control group was given mainstream coursebook-based instruction. Both quantitative and qualitative data collection instruments were used. The non-parametric Wilcoxon tests yielded statistically significant differences regarding pupils' vocabulary achievement in favor of the experimental group both in the immediate post-vocabulary test and in the delayed post-vocabulary test. Furthermore, content analysis of the learners' diaries, teachers' blogs, and interviews revealed mostly positive views about learning words through MSVT compared to coursebook-based learning.

Research paper thumbnail of Materyal Değerlendi̇rme Ve Uyarlama: Öğretmen Adaylarinin Algilari Ve Tecrübeleri̇

Uludağ Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 2020

Bu çalışma, Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi'nde öğrenim gören 120 dördüncü sınıf İngiliz dili eğitimi ö... more Bu çalışma, Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi'nde öğrenim gören 120 dördüncü sınıf İngiliz dili eğitimi öğretmen adayının, ilk olarak materyal değerlendirme, uyarlama ve oluşturma, ikinci olarak etkili bir İngilizce öğretimi ünitesinin bileşenleri ve son olarak da materyal tasarımını etkileyen bazı temel yaklaşımlar ile ilgili perspektif ve deneyimlerini bir anket ve yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme uygulayarak araştırmayı amaçlamıştır. Sonuçlar, katılımcıların en çok materyal oluşturma, sonra uyarlama ve son olarak da değerlendirme becerilerini geliştirdiklerini ortaya çıkarmıştır. Ayrıca, katılımcılar materyal değerlendirme, uyarlama ve oluşturma ile ilgili deneyimlerinin, aldıkları öğretmen eğitimine, uygulama okul türlerine, uygulama okullarındaki danışman öğretmenlerine, öğrencilere ve okul politikalarına göre şekillendiğini rapor etmişlerdir. Katılımcılar, materyal tasarımında çok izlenceli güncel yaklaşımı ve iletişimsel yaklaşımı desteklemiş ve geleneksel yaklaşımı sorgulamışlardır. Katılımcılar yaklaşımlara olan görüşlerine paralel olarak, etkili bir İngilizce öğretimi ünitesinin bileşenlerinde en çok ısınma bölümlerinin, dört beceri bileşenlerinin, iletişimsel aktivitelerin, kelime ve telaffuz kısımlarının olması gerektiğini bildirmişlerdir.

Research paper thumbnail of English Language Teaching within the New Educational Policy of Turkey: Views of Stakeholders

International Education Studies, 2017

Teaching English to young learners has gained speed in the past twenty years. Many countries in E... more Teaching English to young learners has gained speed in the past twenty years. Many countries in Europe are offering English at the primary level as advised by the EU. The efforts to lower the age for foreign language learning have echoed in countries in Asia as well. Turkey as one of these countries has changed its educational policy in 2012 and launched the new English Language Teaching Program for grades 2-8 in 2013. Along with many changes, the new system offers EFL in the second grade. The present study not only aims to investigate the views of prospective ELT teachers towards this change, but also to compare their views with those of trainers, and English teachers who were investigated in the earlier phases of the study. The results indicate that although all three groups of participants favor an earlier start in foreign language education, there are significant differences between groups in terms of the appropriate starting time and teaching methodologies used. Teachers were i...

Research paper thumbnail of The Impact of Multi-sensory Language Teaching on Young English Learners’ Achievement in Listening Skills

Journal of Foreign Language Education and Technology, 2017

The study aimed to investigate the effects of multi-sensory language teaching on young learners’ ... more The study aimed to investigate the effects of multi-sensory language teaching on young learners’ listening skill in English by employing a quasi-experimental design. The experimental group was taught English through multi-sensory language teaching while the control group was taught through mainstream coursebook-based instruction. A four-section and 18-item listening test developed by the researcher and evaluated in terms of its reliability and validity was administered to the groups as pre-, post and delayed posttests. Although the Mann-Whitney U test result indicated that there was no statistically significant difference between the groups’ pre listening achievement test scores there appeared statistically significant differences between the groups in favor of experimental group with regard to their listening comprehension both immediate after the treatment and a month after the treatment. Moreover, the qualitative data collected through the learners’ diaries, the teacher’s blogs a...

Research paper thumbnail of İngiliz Dili Eğitimi Öğretmen Adaylarinin Etkili Bir İngilizce Öğretmeni Hakkindaki Görüşleri

Egitimde Kuram Ve Uygulama, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Teaching young learners: The role of theory on practice

Elt Research Journal, Dec 31, 2012

The current study aims at investigating ELT trainees’ understanding of beliefs about basic theory... more The current study aims at investigating ELT trainees’ understanding of beliefs about basic theory on teaching English to young learners and how this knowledge affected their teaching philosophy during implementation in the school experience course. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used for data collection. The first group of data is gathered from 179 ELT trainees via a questionnaire, (Cronbach alpha .702) and the second group of data is collected from 27 trainees in the form of a structured interview. The results indicate that the trainees have gained the necessary theoretical information at a moderately high level. The interview results supported that the trainees implemented their beliefs about teaching young learners in most of the areas except for the organization of the resources and the use of appropriate teaching methodology. In other areas such as classroom management, child-adult differences, assessment, and children’s characteristics trainees’ beliefs were justified with their actual classroom practice.

Research paper thumbnail of Language Games as a Part of Edutainment

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2013

Teaching English through games is one of the best ways to provide entertainment when learning a l... more Teaching English through games is one of the best ways to provide entertainment when learning a language. Hence, this study aims at investigating what primary school children think about learning a language through games, and finding out whether there is congruence between the children's and English language teachers' perspectives about the issue. 121 5th grade learners and 60 language teachers were asked to complete a 23-item questionnaire about different aspects of using games in language classes. The results revealed mostly positive opinions about the issue and there are statistically significant differences between learners' and teachers' ideas on several points. Selection and peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Ferhan Odabaşı.

Research paper thumbnail of Contextualization or De-contextualization: Student Teachers’ Perceptions about Teaching a Language in Context

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2013

Language cannot be acquired or learned through de-contextualized practice as many studies emphasi... more Language cannot be acquired or learned through de-contextualized practice as many studies emphasized, thus, this study aims at investigating student teachers' views about teaching a language in context. To that end, 30 senior student teachers of Uludag University Faculty of Education ELT Department were given a five-point likert scale questionnaire besides conducting the structured interviews just after they had completed their practicum. As a result, the significance of contextualization was esteemed by most of the participants and they were able to use different techniques of creating context when teaching during their practicum. Moreover, the participants reported that more samples of different contexts for teaching different subjects should be provided to them to plan and teach more effective lessons.

Research paper thumbnail of Foreign Language Teaching within 4+4+4 system in Turkey: Language Teachers' Voices

In 2012 Ministry of National Education in Turkey has revised the education system so that the ne... more In 2012 Ministry of National Education in Turkey has revised the education system so that the new 4+4+4 system requires a three-tier model of education with primary, secondary, and high school components. As with many changes in the curriculum, foreign language (FL) teaching has also been changed and the starting age for learning a FL has been lowered to 6.6 years of age (second grade). As one of the parties of the education process, teachers’ views about this curriculum change and their understanding of teaching English to young learners (TEYL) have great importance. The current research aims to investigate English teachers’ ideas towards the starting age for FL learning, how it should be conducted with young learners, and finally what their current practices are when teaching children. The data for the study is gathered from 203 primary school English teachers from seven different regions of Turkey via a questionnaire consisting of three parts concerning the aforementioned issues. The first part has closed and open-ended questions and aims at finding teachers views about the starting age/grade for language learning. Second part investigates teachers’ beliefs about TEYL and third part investigates teachers’ classroom implementations while teaching YLs. The reliability is taken for each part of the questionnaire. As a result, all sections of the questionnaire are found reliable with alpha values .758, .796, and .806 consecutively. Frequency analysis, Wilcoxon signed rank test, and ANOVA were used to make the analysis. The results indicate that teachers prefer language education to start at the first stage of primary school and even earlier during pre-school. Pertaining to teacher’s beliefs about TEYL, most of the teachers revealed that FL teaching in primary school should be mainly based on listening and speaking rather than grammar; within a context through visual/kinesthetic activities, songs, and games rather than worksheets. However, the Wilcoxon signed rank test results revealed that there are significant differences between the participants’ beliefs and their implementation. Consequently, teachers are in favor of the recent changes in the curriculum; however, some teachers might need some in-service training regarding the use of appropriate techniques with YLs. These in-service training courses should involve practical tips to implement theoretically sound language teaching to children. Contribution and understanding of teachers, parents, and other educational institutions/organizations should be supported for a successful implementation of a language policy.