Çelik, S., Arıkan A., & Caner, M. (2013). In the Eyes of Turkish EFL Learners: What Makes an Effective Foreign Language Teacher? Porta Linguarum, 20, 287-297. (original) (raw)
Related papers
Porta Linguarum, 2013
Research on the qualities of successful teachers in Turkey indicates that students consider teacher effectiveness as the ability to ensure an environment in which positive student-teacher interaction can take place. However, further studies are needed to clarify students’ perceptions of the qualities of effective foreign language teachers, in particular, thus providing educators with necessary information concerning the implementation of language teacher development programs. Therefore, 998 undergraduate students at a state university in Turkey were asked to complete a survey concerning the qualities they believed are characteristic of a successful English language teacher. The results provide a detailed profile of university English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ perceptions with respect to pedagogy-specific knowledge, personality traits, professional skills and classroom behavior.
In the eyes of Turkish EFL learners: What makes an effective foreign language teacher
Porta Linguarum, 2013
Research on the qualities of successful teachers in Turkey indicates that students consider teacher effectiveness as the ability to ensure an environment in which positive student-teacher interaction can take place. However, further studies are needed to clarify students’ perceptions of the qualities of effective foreign language teachers, in particular, thus providing educators with necessary information concerning the im - plementation of language teacher development programs. Therefore, 998 undergraduate students at a state university in Turkey were asked to complete a survey concerning the qualities they believed are characteristic of a successful English language teacher. The results provide a detailed profile of university English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ perceptions with respect to pedagogy-specific knowledge, personality traits, professional skills and classroom behavior.
2014
This study reports on the perceptions of a group of Turkish English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students on the attributes of effective language teachers. Data for this study were collected from 140 preparatory year EFL undergraduate students at Western Languages and Literature Department at Karadeniz Technical University. The students were given a questionnaire which included five categories of attributes that define effective language teachers: Rapport, Delivery, Fairness, Knowledge and Credibility, and Organization and Preparation. The results showed that the students placed the highest importance on Knowledge and Credibility attribute which included a good knowledge of English and being qualified for English teaching. They also rated highly rapport attributes such as care, friendliness, and patience and delivery attributes such as providing clear explanations and good examples. Fairness and lesson preparation were also considered important attributes. This research has implicati...
The effective English language teacher from the perspectives of Turkish preparatory school students
2008
Abstract In this study, Turkish EFL students' conceptualization of an effective English language teacher is studied. A survey formerly developed by Yu-Hsin (1999) was adapted and administered to 100 foreign language learners studying at two state universities' English language preparatory schools. Also, participants' written responses were collected to understand the qualities attributed to the effective teacher.
Article, 2019
Teacher educators are the sine qua non for the education and development of teacher candidates. They are associated with several roles such as providing good instruction and materials, guiding for education, supporting teacher candidates in an inspiring way, contributing to student development, serving as a model, to list but a few. Although the characteristics of a good teacher have received by far the most attention, there is a series of studies investigating the qualities of teacher educators. However, for a fuller picture the existing literature needs to be expanded to cover studies focusing on the essential qualities of language teacher educator in particular. To this end, the current qualitative case study was designed to seek a deeper understanding of teacher candidates' perceptions about the qualities of effective language teacher educator. The qualitative data were gathered via an open-ended survey from 97 prospective teachers at 3rd and 4th grade (F=80; M=16), one of whom did not provide demographic information and an interview (n=10). The findings gathered via a thematic content analysis show that the candidates attached great importance to various professional roles and values such as professional development, a transparent assessment, a constructivist teaching philosophy, justice, good classroom management, to list but a few. The candidates also highlighted various personal characteristics such as tolerance, friendly attitude, sympathy, and patience as well as good communication skills. The metaphor analysis further show that the candidates created positive metaphors emphasising the illuminative and guiding function of educators while the negative ones focused on strict control and demotivation. It can be concluded that teacher candidates value language teacher educators who can serve as teacher models for them with their continuing professional development, teaching expertise, good personality traits, and communication skills. The results of such small-scale studies could help paint a consistent picture about who should be appointed as an effective language teacher educator and thus assist those responsible for the development of teacher education programmes and appointment of educators to devise professional standards covering the characteristics and competencies of language teacher educators.
English Language Teaching, 2014
This paper presents a research study designed to investigate the characteristics of effective teachers of English and the uniqueness of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The research is based on four general categories: English language proficiency, educational perception, organization and communication skills, social and emotional skills. These general categories will be viewed in the light of students' perception, the students of English Language at the Faculty of Basic Education in the State Kuwait. The sample was chosen randomly from students of the English Department to measure independent variables Academy in correlation with academic variables. For example, English language courses taken, years of schooling, and levels of English proficiency. The researchers based their research on data collected through a questionnaire based on Lickert's five-point rating distributed to 150 students. It is expected that the results reveal students' belief in the importance of the categories listed above with emphasis on the uniqueness of EFL teachers in comparison with teachers of other disciplines. This study contributes to the understanding of what students expect from EFL teachers; in addition, it will enable the understating of what students believe is required from them as teachers of English in the future. It is expected that this study will contribute to the field of EFL in the College of Basic Education and the Department of Education in Kuwait University, as it would reflect what the English Departments in these colleges need in order to increase students' awareness of the importance and role of EFL teachers.
An Investigation into the Profile of an Effective Language Teacher
ÜNİVERSİTEPARK Bülten
Background/purpose-Teachers have a pivotal role for the academic success of learners both in and out of the classroom. In this study, we attempt to identify the characteristics of effective teachers from the perspective of preservice English language teachers. With this aim, the personal characteristics, professional skills, and academic qualities of effective language teachers, as perceived by candidate teachers, were delineated. Materials/methods-The research adopted was the mixed-method approach with the explanatory sequential design, through which both quantitative and qualitative data were collected in order to gain a better understanding, and to seek to obtain more comprehensive results. The study's participants were 75 junior and senior students studying in the Department of English Language Teaching of a state university. The data were collected through the application of a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The quantitative data were analyzed through descriptive analysis; with mean, standard deviation, and percentage values and qualitative transcribed interview data analyzed through content analysis with themes and codes. Results-The findings revealed that there were critical personal qualities for the effectiveness of language teachers such as treating all students equally and fairly, being motivating, being respectful, and being openminded. Additionally, the most important professional qualities were changing the teaching style in accordance with the target students' proficiency level, making use of various audiovisual materials and technological devices, being effective at classroom management, and knowing how to assess students through the four skills areas of language learning. The participants also highlighted their language fluency according to competence in the four language skills areas and having intelligible pronunciation as critical academic qualities for effective English teachers. Conclusion-According to preservice English language teachers, the study's overall results indicated that the personal characteristics of English teachers were more appreciated than their professional or academic qualities in terms of their effectiveness. Keywordseffective language teachers, teacher characteristics, teaching quality, perception of student teachers, English language teacher.
2016
The question of what makes a good teacher of English has aroused researchers’ interest for many years, and the existing studies comparing NESTs (native English-speaking teachers) and NNESTs (non-native English-speaking teachers) have focused mostly on students’ perceptions of these teachers without considering whether students have had any experiences with NESTs. Therefore, earlier research has backed the assumption that a NEST is by nature the ideal person to teach English. With a purpose to challenge this assumption, the current study, consisting of two phases, aims to explore in the first phase if there is a meaningful difference between Turkish EFL learners’ perceptions of NESTs and NNESTs on their first encounter with them. The second phase explores whether any changes have occurred in students’ preconceptions regarding NESTs within the course of time. The participants are 120 Turkish monolinguals from a private university. Quantitative data was collected through questionnaires consisting of Likert-scale items in both phases. An interview session was added to the second phase to obtain more in-depth insights into students’ perceptions. The findings of the first phase showed that overall, students had neutral perceptions of NESTs and NNESTs. However, in the second phase, the data analysed via qualitative content analysis demonstrated that students’ perceptions were found to have positively changed for NESTs, particularly in terms of personality dimension. In both phases, students perceived NESTs in linguistic and professional dimensions, and NNESTs in pedagogical dimension rather positively. Some implications and directions for further research are briefly discussed.
The Characteristics of Effective EFL Teachers from the Perspective of Turkish EFL Learners
International Journal of Human and Behavioral Science, 2015
EFL teachers’ characteristics may undergo alterations due to several factors including the teachers’ personality and the methods that they pursue. The present paper is aimed to investigate the perceptions of young learners about the characteristics of effective English language teachers. In this respect, 100 students were delivered the Turkish version of an inventory that was developed by Yu-Hsin (1999). It consisted of three different parts of regarding personal, professional and pedagogical qualities. The results indicated that an effective teacher was expected to be friendly, to have accurate pronunciation and to have effective classroom management skills. Moreover, the participants indicated that they expected EFL teachers to be enthusiastic about technological developments, while visual materials clearly helped them feel relaxed during the lectures. Since the overall results indicated the importance of both pedagogical and of personal qualities that help a professional to become an effective teacher, anyone who aims at becoming an effective EFL teacher should be fully aware of them.