Sibel Özdemir-Çağatay - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Uploads
Conference Presentations by Sibel Özdemir-Çağatay
The present study examined factors that were assumed to play an important role in training motiva... more The present study examined factors that were assumed to play an important role in training motivation. In order to collect data regarding trainee characteristics surveys were conducted with newly hired teachers before and after an in-service training program run at the Department of Basic English, METU, Turkey. All trainees involved in the study filled out the questionnaires that included questions regarding professional background, personality, pre-and post-attitudes toward training, and motivation to learn and transfer. The statistical analysis of trainee responses revealed that training value, that is, attitudes toward training, and motivation to transfer increased after the training program among all participants regardless of their previous background. Personality factors such as openness, conscientiousness and agreeableness were more prevalent among trainees holding an MA degree whereas factors such as extraversion and emotional stability were observed more among trainees with a MA degree. Based on the findings it was also concluded that trainee personality had no effect on the trainee's motivation to develop further. The study also underlined the importance of factors such as teaching environment and training programs in motivating trainees to learn and transfer, and suggested some points to consider for future design and delivery of training programs in order to enhance training motivation of all involved.
This thesis reports on research exploring students' and instructors' attitudes towards speaking p... more This thesis reports on research exploring students' and instructors' attitudes towards speaking portfolios with regard to certain advantages and disadvantages of these assessment tools at the tertiary level. The participants were 77 Turkish university students, five instructors and two administrators at an English preparatory program of a state university. At the end of one semester implementation of the Speaking Portfolio (SP), a questionnaire was administered to the students, and then five focal students, the instructors, and the program administrators were interviewed individually.
Papers by Sibel Özdemir-Çağatay
The relationship between ideal L2 self, achievement attributions and L2 achievement, 2020
This study examines whether learners' (high vs. low) 'ideal L2 self' exerts an effect on causal a... more This study examines whether learners' (high vs. low) 'ideal L2 self' exerts an effect on causal attributions and which of these causal attributions could predict future L2 achievement. To this end, 1006 EFL students were invited from a state university in Ankara, Turkey. The data were collected with an attribution scale composed of 29 questions and with a questionnaire containing 10 items measuring learners' ideal L2 self. The researchers also collected the students' achievement scores to measure the predictive power of causal attributions. The impact of high and low ideal L2 self on causal attributions was analyzed through MANOVA and the prediction power of these attributions for achievement was measured through regression analysis using SPSS 23. It was found that learners' ideal L2 self (high vs. low) influenced causal attributions, including ability, school system, teacher, family and classroom environment. It was also found that the attribution to effort, luck and ability are the best predictors of future exam scores of learners. These predictors could provide insightful implications for EFL teachers with regard to the actions they can take in order to diagnose motivationally at risk students and to boost their motivation through effective designs of interventions embedded into the curriculum.
The Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, 2020
Causal attribution theory has attracted the attention of the scholars recently as it has a pivota... more Causal attribution theory has attracted the attention of the scholars recently as it has a pivotal role in learners’ motivated behaviour and effort for their future learning experiences. According to this theory, learners’ perceived cause of their academic performances can be based on locus of control, controllability or stability. In this way, it might be easier for scholars or teachers to identify the “motivationally-at risk” students and take necessary actions. Although learners might state a wide range of reasons for their performances including effort, ability, or teacher, it is challenging to collect quantitative data when the number of the participants is quite high as a valid and a reliable scale, specifically designed for language learning- has not been developed in the world yet. Considering this shortcoming, this study purports to develop a scale to measure causal attributions of language learners, so that scholars can easily determine motivational problems among students.
A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING (ELT) AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (ELL) STUDENTS’ LEVEL OF RECOGNITION OF EXTENDED COMPLEX SENTENCES, 2019
Complex sentences are formulated by combining an independent or a main clause with a dependent or... more Complex sentences are formulated by combining an independent or a main clause with a dependent or a subordinate clause. This sentence type can be extended at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the sentence, which makes these sentences even harder to recognize on the part of the learners. For this reason, the present study particularly aims at finding out to what extent first year English Language Education (ELT) students and English Language and Literature (ELL) students, as prospective language professionals, can recognize extended complex sentences among other sentence structures such as simple, compound, and compound-complex sentences. The present paper attempts to reveal if there is any significant difference between first year ELT students and Literature students' level of recognition after the six-hour remedial teaching. 40-question multiple choice English test was administered to the participants. The alternatives of the test are composed of simple, compound, complex and extended complex sentences and the participants are expected to recognize and mark the extended complex ones among the others. Findings which were analyzed using SPSS 21 reveal that all (100%) ELT students and 93% of the ELL students cannot recognize extended complex sentences before the instruction. However, both groups' scores increased significantly after the intervention. The current study also indicates that students at the ELT department performed significantly better than the ones at the Literature Department after the six-hour instruction.
Journal of Foreign Language Education and Technology, 2019
English learning has gained a momentum considering its notable role and status worldwide; therefo... more English learning has gained a momentum considering its notable role and status worldwide; therefore, the widespread view is that the medium of education is to be English, as higher education in this era aims at preparing students for an international career. Some opponents, however, claim that Englishmedium instruction (EMI) puts certain burden on learners’ as well as teachers’ shoulders. Considering this disparity, this study purports to delve into 146 undergraduate students’ perceptions on EMI at a state university in Turkey where EMI started to be implemented for the first time and it also aims to reveal whether gender affects their beliefs on EMI. A composite questionnaire including 5-point Likert scale and open-ended questions were administered to 146 students. Data were analyzed through SPSS version 21 using descriptive statistics, frequencies and independent-samples t-test. As for the open-ended responses, deductive qualitative analyses were made. Overall, findings showed that 63 % of the students in the English language teaching department and 59.26 % of the students registered in other departments believe that the instruction at higher education needs to be conducted in English. More specifically, accessing to a wide range of resources easily, employment opportunities, and contribution to academic success have been mostly appreciated upsides of EMI. Conversely, a high number of participants noted that EMI prevents being involved in the subject matter and comprehending it fully. Lastly, gender seems to be influential in EMI at a statistically significant level. In language learning contexts, the path to follow might be to help learners to be highly proficient to be equipped well enough to follow the content in their majors during their studies. This can be best achieved by a great collaboration between content and language specialists while exploiting such gaining of EMI as accessing to different resources and finding jobs as global citizens. Keywords: English Medium Instruction, EFL, EAP, advantages, disadvantages
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is a comprehensive guideline for teac... more Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is a comprehensive guideline for teachers with respect to the processes of planning, learning, teaching and assessing and it has brought standardization, transparency, coherence and consistency across different countries. Despite its popularity, reputation and wide spread approval, CEFR-based English language teaching is far from effective implementation in Turkey. This study aims to reveal this problem-if any-by referring to English language instructors' perceptions regarding their current teaching practice on the basis of CEFR and CEFR based curriculum at the tertiary level. An adapted Likert Scale was administered to 18 instructors from private university and 36 instructors from state institution. The data gathered from the survey were analyzed quantitatively using SPSS.17 and descriptive statistics were performed. The findings of the study shows that although their perceptions do not vary on the knowledge about the CEFR and the necessity of CEFR-based curriculum development, there is a significant difference between instructors working at a state university and private university regarding their CEFR based experiences. One striking result is that in-service training they have received exerts an enormous impact on the practices of English language instructors at the private university. Another finding is that both groups desire to have more projections of CEFR on the curriculum and teacher training services. These results imply that both pre-service and in-service training should educate teachers on CEFR and raise their awareness on how to use the reference for foreign/second language teaching in a more effective way ranging from setting objectives, materials development to evaluation.
The present study examines EFL students' Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety (FLSA) and its possibl... more The present study examines EFL students' Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety (FLSA) and its possible reasons as well as some solutions to it. The participants were 147 Turkish students at the English preparatory program of a state university. A questionnaire was administered to the students from each proficiency level to explore their FLSA. The findings revealed that EFL students experience a moderate level of FLSA. Furthermore, female students seem to be highly anxious while speaking. Another striking point is that students' FLSA increases when communicating with a native speaker compared to with class members. As to the proficiency level of the students, FLSA does not seem to rest upon this aspect. This study concludes that encouraging EFL learners to participate in authentic contexts such as study abroad programs and addressing FLSA by appealing to both genders could be more contributory to language development and communicative competence of the learners.
Communication, which has always been one of the basic elements of life, is becoming more and more... more Communication, which has always been one of the basic elements of life, is becoming more and more intercultural in today's world. People are not only transferring goods and technology among nations; they are also transferring their thoughts, ideas, and cultures. As this flow of communication among nations becomes common, intercultural communication problems, which is called as intercultural miscommunication, is becoming common as well. This paper investigates possible reasons of miscommunication among people from different cultures. Twenty-two participants from different nationalities took part in the study, and shared their intercultural miscommunication experiences. The researchers analyzed these miscommunication experiences by classifying them according to the categories suggested in the literature and the categories the researchers themselves suggested. The participants feelings and thought about their miscommunication experiences were also investigated. This study showed that there are many causes and factors that can lead to intercultural miscommunication. Thus, effort, desire and patience is needed a lot to get better mutual understanding and learn more about cultural differences so that we can increase cross-cultural awareness.
The present study examined factors that were assumed to play an important role in training motiva... more The present study examined factors that were assumed to play an important role in training motivation. In order to collect data regarding trainee characteristics surveys were conducted with newly hired teachers before and after an in-service training program run at the Department of Basic English, METU, Turkey. All trainees involved in the study filled out the questionnaires that included questions regarding professional background, personality, pre-and post-attitudes toward training, and motivation to learn and transfer. The statistical analysis of trainee responses revealed that training value, that is, attitudes toward training, and motivation to transfer increased after the training program among all participants regardless of their previous background. Personality factors such as openness, conscientiousness and agreeableness were more prevalent among trainees holding an MA degree whereas factors such as extraversion and emotional stability were observed more among trainees with a MA degree. Based on the findings it was also concluded that trainee personality had no effect on the trainee's motivation to develop further. The study also underlined the importance of factors such as teaching environment and training programs in motivating trainees to learn and transfer, and suggested some points to consider for future design and delivery of training programs in order to enhance training motivation of all involved.
This thesis reports on research exploring students' and instructors' attitudes towards speaking p... more This thesis reports on research exploring students' and instructors' attitudes towards speaking portfolios with regard to certain advantages and disadvantages of these assessment tools at the tertiary level. The participants were 77 Turkish university students, five instructors and two administrators at an English preparatory program of a state university. At the end of one semester implementation of the Speaking Portfolio (SP), a questionnaire was administered to the students, and then five focal students, the instructors, and the program administrators were interviewed individually.
The relationship between ideal L2 self, achievement attributions and L2 achievement, 2020
This study examines whether learners' (high vs. low) 'ideal L2 self' exerts an effect on causal a... more This study examines whether learners' (high vs. low) 'ideal L2 self' exerts an effect on causal attributions and which of these causal attributions could predict future L2 achievement. To this end, 1006 EFL students were invited from a state university in Ankara, Turkey. The data were collected with an attribution scale composed of 29 questions and with a questionnaire containing 10 items measuring learners' ideal L2 self. The researchers also collected the students' achievement scores to measure the predictive power of causal attributions. The impact of high and low ideal L2 self on causal attributions was analyzed through MANOVA and the prediction power of these attributions for achievement was measured through regression analysis using SPSS 23. It was found that learners' ideal L2 self (high vs. low) influenced causal attributions, including ability, school system, teacher, family and classroom environment. It was also found that the attribution to effort, luck and ability are the best predictors of future exam scores of learners. These predictors could provide insightful implications for EFL teachers with regard to the actions they can take in order to diagnose motivationally at risk students and to boost their motivation through effective designs of interventions embedded into the curriculum.
The Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, 2020
Causal attribution theory has attracted the attention of the scholars recently as it has a pivota... more Causal attribution theory has attracted the attention of the scholars recently as it has a pivotal role in learners’ motivated behaviour and effort for their future learning experiences. According to this theory, learners’ perceived cause of their academic performances can be based on locus of control, controllability or stability. In this way, it might be easier for scholars or teachers to identify the “motivationally-at risk” students and take necessary actions. Although learners might state a wide range of reasons for their performances including effort, ability, or teacher, it is challenging to collect quantitative data when the number of the participants is quite high as a valid and a reliable scale, specifically designed for language learning- has not been developed in the world yet. Considering this shortcoming, this study purports to develop a scale to measure causal attributions of language learners, so that scholars can easily determine motivational problems among students.
A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING (ELT) AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (ELL) STUDENTS’ LEVEL OF RECOGNITION OF EXTENDED COMPLEX SENTENCES, 2019
Complex sentences are formulated by combining an independent or a main clause with a dependent or... more Complex sentences are formulated by combining an independent or a main clause with a dependent or a subordinate clause. This sentence type can be extended at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the sentence, which makes these sentences even harder to recognize on the part of the learners. For this reason, the present study particularly aims at finding out to what extent first year English Language Education (ELT) students and English Language and Literature (ELL) students, as prospective language professionals, can recognize extended complex sentences among other sentence structures such as simple, compound, and compound-complex sentences. The present paper attempts to reveal if there is any significant difference between first year ELT students and Literature students' level of recognition after the six-hour remedial teaching. 40-question multiple choice English test was administered to the participants. The alternatives of the test are composed of simple, compound, complex and extended complex sentences and the participants are expected to recognize and mark the extended complex ones among the others. Findings which were analyzed using SPSS 21 reveal that all (100%) ELT students and 93% of the ELL students cannot recognize extended complex sentences before the instruction. However, both groups' scores increased significantly after the intervention. The current study also indicates that students at the ELT department performed significantly better than the ones at the Literature Department after the six-hour instruction.
Journal of Foreign Language Education and Technology, 2019
English learning has gained a momentum considering its notable role and status worldwide; therefo... more English learning has gained a momentum considering its notable role and status worldwide; therefore, the widespread view is that the medium of education is to be English, as higher education in this era aims at preparing students for an international career. Some opponents, however, claim that Englishmedium instruction (EMI) puts certain burden on learners’ as well as teachers’ shoulders. Considering this disparity, this study purports to delve into 146 undergraduate students’ perceptions on EMI at a state university in Turkey where EMI started to be implemented for the first time and it also aims to reveal whether gender affects their beliefs on EMI. A composite questionnaire including 5-point Likert scale and open-ended questions were administered to 146 students. Data were analyzed through SPSS version 21 using descriptive statistics, frequencies and independent-samples t-test. As for the open-ended responses, deductive qualitative analyses were made. Overall, findings showed that 63 % of the students in the English language teaching department and 59.26 % of the students registered in other departments believe that the instruction at higher education needs to be conducted in English. More specifically, accessing to a wide range of resources easily, employment opportunities, and contribution to academic success have been mostly appreciated upsides of EMI. Conversely, a high number of participants noted that EMI prevents being involved in the subject matter and comprehending it fully. Lastly, gender seems to be influential in EMI at a statistically significant level. In language learning contexts, the path to follow might be to help learners to be highly proficient to be equipped well enough to follow the content in their majors during their studies. This can be best achieved by a great collaboration between content and language specialists while exploiting such gaining of EMI as accessing to different resources and finding jobs as global citizens. Keywords: English Medium Instruction, EFL, EAP, advantages, disadvantages
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is a comprehensive guideline for teac... more Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is a comprehensive guideline for teachers with respect to the processes of planning, learning, teaching and assessing and it has brought standardization, transparency, coherence and consistency across different countries. Despite its popularity, reputation and wide spread approval, CEFR-based English language teaching is far from effective implementation in Turkey. This study aims to reveal this problem-if any-by referring to English language instructors' perceptions regarding their current teaching practice on the basis of CEFR and CEFR based curriculum at the tertiary level. An adapted Likert Scale was administered to 18 instructors from private university and 36 instructors from state institution. The data gathered from the survey were analyzed quantitatively using SPSS.17 and descriptive statistics were performed. The findings of the study shows that although their perceptions do not vary on the knowledge about the CEFR and the necessity of CEFR-based curriculum development, there is a significant difference between instructors working at a state university and private university regarding their CEFR based experiences. One striking result is that in-service training they have received exerts an enormous impact on the practices of English language instructors at the private university. Another finding is that both groups desire to have more projections of CEFR on the curriculum and teacher training services. These results imply that both pre-service and in-service training should educate teachers on CEFR and raise their awareness on how to use the reference for foreign/second language teaching in a more effective way ranging from setting objectives, materials development to evaluation.
The present study examines EFL students' Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety (FLSA) and its possibl... more The present study examines EFL students' Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety (FLSA) and its possible reasons as well as some solutions to it. The participants were 147 Turkish students at the English preparatory program of a state university. A questionnaire was administered to the students from each proficiency level to explore their FLSA. The findings revealed that EFL students experience a moderate level of FLSA. Furthermore, female students seem to be highly anxious while speaking. Another striking point is that students' FLSA increases when communicating with a native speaker compared to with class members. As to the proficiency level of the students, FLSA does not seem to rest upon this aspect. This study concludes that encouraging EFL learners to participate in authentic contexts such as study abroad programs and addressing FLSA by appealing to both genders could be more contributory to language development and communicative competence of the learners.
Communication, which has always been one of the basic elements of life, is becoming more and more... more Communication, which has always been one of the basic elements of life, is becoming more and more intercultural in today's world. People are not only transferring goods and technology among nations; they are also transferring their thoughts, ideas, and cultures. As this flow of communication among nations becomes common, intercultural communication problems, which is called as intercultural miscommunication, is becoming common as well. This paper investigates possible reasons of miscommunication among people from different cultures. Twenty-two participants from different nationalities took part in the study, and shared their intercultural miscommunication experiences. The researchers analyzed these miscommunication experiences by classifying them according to the categories suggested in the literature and the categories the researchers themselves suggested. The participants feelings and thought about their miscommunication experiences were also investigated. This study showed that there are many causes and factors that can lead to intercultural miscommunication. Thus, effort, desire and patience is needed a lot to get better mutual understanding and learn more about cultural differences so that we can increase cross-cultural awareness.