Papers by Mert Topkaraoğlu
Professional Development in the Lives of English as a Foreign Language Teacher: The Turkish Context
EDULEARN16 Proceedings, 2016
Vocabulary size and depth in lexical competence
Maltepe Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, 2013
The Impact of Vocabulary Instruction on Vocabulary Size Levels of Students
The purpose of this study is to determine the difference between two groups of students as regard... more The purpose of this study is to determine the difference between two groups of students as regards to vocabulary size levels after the implementation of vocabulary enhancement activities. While the students in control group followed the regular curriculum including the second one thousand most frequent words in English, the students in experimental group had a fourteen-week schedule of vocabulary implementation with enhancement activities consisting of the second one thousand most frequent words in English integrated into the regular curriculum. The sampling of the study consists of the students from a vocational school in Yalova. A total of 88 male, second-grade students participated in the study in the academic year of 2010–2011. This study adopted Version 1 of the Vocabulary Levels Test (Schmitt, 2000) as an instrument to examine the students' general vocabulary size levels. After the implementation period, it was observed that there was a significant difference between the e...
International Journal of Language Academy, 2017
Reform is not an easy process. It is by and large slow and painful. As English proves to be an ef... more Reform is not an easy process. It is by and large slow and painful. As English proves to be an efficient tool in the international arena, it is essential that the significance of ELF (English as a Lingua Franca) awareness be reconsidered with particular reference to language policy development, syllabus design, and teacher development. It is essentially the skill that L2 learners should acquire to adapt into diverse situations. When the students who learn English as a foreign language in Turkey are considered, it could be seen that the real problem is not the different pronunciations and the different usages of the words but the different varieties of English that they are not aware of. Mostly, L2 learners have a strong desire to speak like a native speaker thus neglect the different usages, dialects and cultural norms of other Englishes. In addition to all these, a strong initiative for an extensive ELF curriculum including the application methods and techniques has yet to be introduced. Language teaching activities are carried out by using either American or British based course books that contain few local elements such as pictures and dialogues sprinkled throughout the chapters for marketing purposes. Sociocultural, local, historical and international aspects of English are mainly neglected. Taking all these into consideration, this study focused on ELF awareness in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) context in terms of language policy development, syllabus design, and teacher development. For this purpose, the study aimed to investigate what Turkish EFL teachers understand about ELF and how ELF-aware they are by means of a crosssectional survey conducted with 19 participants. Semi-structured follow-up interviews were carried out with four instructors for the purpose of obtaining content analysis and thus bolstering the quantitative results to reach more precise conclusions pertaining to ELF awareness. On the whole, the results of the study revealed that although the transition from EFL teacher to ELF practitioner is not an easy task and clearly necessitates time and encouragement, making teachers aware of the 'plurality of Englishes' and the importance of multiculturalism proved to be valuable in encouraging them to revise their teaching practices within the new developments in English language teaching.
EFL Teachers’ Professional Development Efforts: A view from Turkey
International Journal of Research, 2017
Although professional development is assumed to be of value and considered as an essential compon... more Although professional development is assumed to be of value and considered as an essential component of quality teaching, there has been little research on how and why teachers engage themselves in continuous learning and whether professional development affects teaching or student learning. In tandem with this, despite the ongoing pursuit to expand the knowledge and skills of EFL teachers in Turkey and regardless of the innovative language policy reforms that have been put into practice in the country, the learners are yet to achieve the desirable language proficiency levels. Though increasingly more research has been in progress for examining the effectiveness of the professional development activities, they usually tend to disregard the primary needs of teachers. With respect to this issue, the present study aimed to investigate how EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers in Turkey perceive professional development and which factors facilitate/hinder their professional devel...
Sözcük Geliştirme Aktivitelerinin Öğrencilerin Sahip Oldukları Genel Dil Seviyeleri Üzerindeki Etkisi
Bu calismanin amacini, sozcuk gelistirme aktivitelerinin iki grup ogrenci arasinda genel dil sevi... more Bu calismanin amacini, sozcuk gelistirme aktivitelerinin iki grup ogrenci arasinda genel dil seviyeleri bakimindan bir farklilik yaratip yaratmadiginin belirlenmesi olusturmaktadir. Kontrol grubunda yer alan ogrenciler ek bir kelime calismasinin yapilmadigi Ingilizcede en sik kullanilan ikinci bin sozcugu iceren normal mufredati takip ederken, deney grubundaki ogrenciler ise Ingilizcede en sik kullanilan ikinci bin sozcugu iceren sozcuk gelistirme aktivitelerinin normal mufredata entegre edildigi on dort haftalik programi izlemislerdir. Bu arastirmanin calisma grubunu, Yalova ilinde bir meslek yuksek okulunda 2010–2011 egitim-ogretim yilinda ikinci sinifta ogrenim goren 88 erkek ogrenci olusturmustur. Bu calismada, Cambridge Hizli Seviye Belirleme Testinin birinci versiyonu veri toplama araci olarak kullanilmistir. Uygulamanin ardindan, deney grubu ile kontrol grubu arasinda, genel dil seviyeleri acisindan deney grubu lehine anlamli bir fark olusmustur.
The Impact of Vocabulary Instruction on Vocabulary Size Levels of Students
The purpose of this study is to determine the difference between two groups of students as regard... more The purpose of this study is to determine the difference between two groups of students as regards to vocabulary size levels after the implementation of vocabulary enhancement activities. While the students in control group followed the regular curriculum including the second one thousand most frequent words in English, the students in experimental group had a fourteen-week schedule of vocabulary implementation with enhancement activities consisting of the second one thousand most frequent words in English integrated into the regular curriculum. The sampling of the study consists of the students from a vocational school in Yalova. A total of 88 male, second-grade students participated in the study in the academic year of 2010–2011. This study adopted Version 1 of the Vocabulary Levels Test (Schmitt, 2000) as an instrument to examine the students' general vocabulary size levels. After the implementation period, it was observed that there was a significant difference between the e...
The Role of Student Feedback as a Source of Teacher Reflection
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Oct 7, 2014
Bu çalışmanın amacını, sözcük geliştirme aktivitelerinin iki grup öğrenci arasında genel dil sevi... more Bu çalışmanın amacını, sözcük geliştirme aktivitelerinin iki grup öğrenci arasında genel dil seviyeleri bakımından bir farklılık yaratıp yaratmadığının belirlenmesi oluşturmaktadır. Kontrol grubunda yer alan öğrenciler ek bir kelime çalışmasının yapılmadığı İngilizcede en sık kullanılan ikinci bin sözcüğü içeren normal müfredatı takip ederken, deney grubundaki öğrenciler ise İngilizcede en sık kullanılan ikinci bin sözcüğü içeren sözcük geliştirme aktivitelerinin normal müfredata entegre edildiği on dört haftalık programı izlemişlerdir. Bu araştırmanın çalışma grubunu, Yalova ilinde bir meslek yüksek okulunda 2010-2011 eğitim-öğretim yılında ikinci sınıfta öğrenim gören 88 erkek öğrenci oluşturmuştur. Bu çalışmada, Cambridge Hızlı Seviye Belirleme Testinin birinci versiyonu veri toplama aracı olarak kullanılmıştır. Uygulamanın ardından, deney grubu ile kontrol grubu arasında, genel dil seviyeleri açısından deney grubu lehine anlamlı bir fark oluşmuştur.
Sözcük Öğretiminin Öğrencilerin Sahip Oldukları Sözcük Sayı Düzeyleri Üzerindeki Etkisi
Abant İzzet Baysal Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 2015
International Journal of Language Academy, 2017
Reform is not an easy process. It is by and large slow and painful. As English proves to be an ef... more Reform is not an easy process. It is by and large slow and painful. As English proves to be an efficient tool in the international arena, it is essential that the significance of ELF (English as a Lingua Franca) awareness be reconsidered with particular reference to language policy development, syllabus design, and teacher development. It is essentially the skill that L2 learners should acquire to adapt into diverse situations. When the students who learn English as a foreign language in Turkey are considered, it could be seen that the real problem is not the different pronunciations and the different usages of the words but the different varieties of English that they are not aware of. Mostly, L2 learners have a strong desire to speak like a native speaker thus neglect the different usages, dialects and cultural norms of other Englishes. In addition to all these, a strong initiative for an extensive ELF curriculum including the application methods and techniques has yet to be introduced. Language teaching activities are carried out by using either American or British based course books that contain few local elements such as pictures and dialogues sprinkled throughout the chapters for marketing purposes. Sociocultural, local, historical and international aspects of English are mainly neglected. Taking all these into consideration, this study focused on ELF awareness in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) context in terms of language policy development, syllabus design, and teacher development. For this purpose, the study aimed to investigate what Turkish EFL teachers understand about ELF and how ELF-aware they are by means of a crosssectional survey conducted with 19 participants. Semi-structured follow-up interviews were carried out with four instructors for the purpose of obtaining content analysis and thus bolstering the quantitative results to reach more precise conclusions pertaining to ELF awareness. On the whole, the results of the study revealed that although the transition from EFL teacher to ELF practitioner is not an easy task and clearly necessitates time and encouragement, making teachers aware of the 'plurality of Englishes' and the importance of multiculturalism proved to be valuable in encouraging them to revise their teaching practices within the new developments in English language teaching.
Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, Oct 7, 2014
Bu çalışmanın amacını, sözcük geliştirme aktivitelerinin iki grup öğrenci arasında genel dil sevi... more Bu çalışmanın amacını, sözcük geliştirme aktivitelerinin iki grup öğrenci arasında genel dil seviyeleri bakımından bir farklılık yaratıp yaratmadığının belirlenmesi oluşturmaktadır. Kontrol grubunda yer alan öğrenciler ek bir kelime çalışmasının yapılmadığı İngilizcede en sık kullanılan ikinci bin sözcüğü içeren normal müfredatı takip ederken, deney grubundaki öğrenciler ise İngilizcede en sık kullanılan ikinci bin sözcüğü içeren sözcük geliştirme aktivitelerinin normal müfredata entegre edildiği on dört haftalık programı izlemişlerdir. Bu araştırmanın çalışma grubunu, Yalova ilinde bir meslek yüksek okulunda 2010-2011 eğitim-öğretim yılında ikinci sınıfta öğrenim gören 88 erkek öğrenci oluşturmuştur. Bu çalışmada, Cambridge Hızlı Seviye Belirleme Testinin birinci versiyonu veri toplama aracı olarak kullanılmıştır. Uygulamanın ardından, deney grubu ile kontrol grubu arasında, genel dil seviyeleri açısından deney grubu lehine anlamlı bir fark oluşmuştur.
Bu çalışmanın amacını, sözcük geliştirme aktivitelerinin iki grup öğrenci arasında genel dil sevi... more Bu çalışmanın amacını, sözcük geliştirme aktivitelerinin iki grup öğrenci arasında genel dil seviyeleri bakımından bir farklılık yaratıp yaratmadığının belirlenmesi oluşturmaktadır. Kontrol grubunda yer alan öğrenciler ek bir kelime çalışmasının yapılmadığı İngilizcede en sık kullanılan ikinci bin sözcüğü içeren normal müfredatı takip ederken, deney grubundaki öğrenciler ise İngilizcede en sık kullanılan ikinci bin sözcüğü içeren sözcük geliştirme aktivitelerinin normal müfredata entegre edildiği on dört haftalık programı izlemişlerdir. Bu araştırmanın çalışma grubunu, Yalova ilinde bir meslek yüksek okulunda 2010-2011 eğitim-öğretim yılında ikinci sınıfta öğrenim gören 88 erkek öğrenci oluşturmuştur. Bu çalışmada, Cambridge Hızlı Seviye Belirleme Testinin birinci versiyonu veri toplama aracı olarak kullanılmıştır. Uygulamanın ardından, deney grubu ile kontrol grubu arasında, genel dil seviyeleri açısından deney grubu lehine anlamlı bir fark oluşmuştur.
Bu çalışmanın amacını, sözcük geliştirme aktivitelerinin iki grup öğrenci arasında genel dil sevi... more Bu çalışmanın amacını, sözcük geliştirme aktivitelerinin iki grup öğrenci arasında genel dil seviyeleri bakımından bir farklılık yaratıp yaratmadığının belirlenmesi oluşturmaktadır. Kontrol grubunda yer alan öğrenciler ek bir kelime çalışmasının yapılmadığı İngilizcede en sık kullanılan ikinci bin sözcüğü içeren normal müfredatı takip ederken, deney grubundaki öğrenciler ise İngilizcede en sık kullanılan ikinci bin sözcüğü içeren sözcük geliştirme aktivitelerinin normal müfredata entegre edildiği on dört haftalık programı izlemişlerdir. Bu araştırmanın çalışma grubunu, Yalova ilinde bir meslek yüksek okulunda 2010-2011 eğitim-öğretim yılında ikinci sınıfta öğrenim gören 88 erkek öğrenci oluşturmuştur. Bu çalışmada, Cambridge Hızlı Seviye Belirleme Testinin birinci versiyonu veri toplama aracı olarak kullanılmıştır. Uygulamanın ardından, deney grubu ile kontrol grubu arasında, genel dil seviyeleri açısından deney grubu lehine anlamlı bir fark oluşmuştur.
Altyazilarin İngi̇li̇zceyi̇ Yabanci Di̇l Olarak Öğrenen Öğrenci̇leri̇n Di̇nleme Etki̇nli̇ği̇ne Ai̇t Tabandan Yukari İşlemleme Beceri̇leri̇ndeki̇ Rolü
International Journal of Language Academy
Abant İzzet Baysal Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 2015
The purpose of this study is to determine the difference between two groups of students as regard... more The purpose of this study is to determine the difference between two groups of students as regards to vocabulary size levels after the implementation of vocabulary enhancement activities. While the students in control group followed the regular curriculum including the second one thousand most frequent words in English, the students in experimental group had a fourteen-week schedule of vocabulary implementation with enhancement activities consisting of the second one thousand most frequent words in English integrated into the regular curriculum. The sampling of the study consists of the students from a vocational school in Yalova. A total of 88 male, second-grade students participated in the study in the academic year of 2010-2011. This study adopted Version 1 of the Vocabulary Levels Test (Schmitt, 2000) as an instrument to examine the students' general vocabulary size levels. After the implementation period, it was observed that there was a significant difference between the experimental and the control groups in favor of the experimental group in terms of vocabulary size levels.
International Journal of Language Academy
Reform is not an easy process. It is by and large slow and painful. As English proves to be an ef... more Reform is not an easy process. It is by and large slow and painful. As English proves to be an efficient tool in the international arena, it is essential that the significance of ELF (English as a Lingua Franca) awareness be reconsidered with particular reference to language policy development, syllabus design, and teacher development. It is essentially the skill that L2 learners should acquire to adapt into diverse situations. When the students who learn English as a foreign language in Turkey are considered, it could be seen that the real problem is not the different pronunciations and the different usages of the words but the different varieties of English that they are not aware of. Mostly, L2 learners have a strong desire to speak like a native speaker thus neglect the different usages, dialects and cultural norms of other Englishes. In addition to all these, a strong initiative for an extensive ELF curriculum including the application methods and techniques has yet to be introduced. Language teaching activities are carried out by using either American or British based course books that contain few local elements such as pictures and dialogues sprinkled throughout the chapters for marketing purposes. Sociocultural, local, historical and international aspects of English are mainly neglected. Taking all these into consideration, this study focused on ELF awareness in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) context in terms of language policy development, syllabus design, and teacher development. For this purpose, the study aimed to investigate what Turkish EFL teachers understand about ELF and how ELF-aware they are by means of a crosssectional survey conducted with 19 participants. Semi-structured follow-up interviews were carried out with four instructors for the purpose of obtaining content analysis and thus bolstering the quantitative results to reach more precise conclusions pertaining to ELF awareness. On the whole, the results of the study revealed that although the transition from EFL teacher to ELF practitioner is not an easy task and clearly necessitates time and encouragement, making teachers aware of the 'plurality of Englishes' and the importance of multiculturalism proved to be valuable in encouraging them to revise their teaching practices within the new developments in English language teaching.
This study aims to describe the relationship between subtitles and EFL learners' bottom-up proces... more This study aims to describe the relationship between subtitles and EFL learners' bottom-up processing skills in listening. After Grade 12 students at a boarding school were given a placement test, two groups of 40 students were selected for the study. First, participants' preferences for subtitles were identified through reaction papers. Then, the two groups watched the 10 episodes of a recent American series named " Alcatraz " , one with subtitles in English (SVG) and the other without subtitles (WSG). At the end, both groups were given a test of minimal pairs to observe if they differed significantly in their performances on the test. A two-tailed independent t-test was run. Finally, participants in the WSG were asked to comment on the process of viewing without subtitles. Reaction papers showed that students favored subtitled viewing at first, but the process of watching without subtitles changed their preferences. Results of the independent samples test revealed that there is a relationship between subtitles and bottom-up processing skills. Students in the WSG did significantly better on the test of minimal pairs, which meant improved bottom-up processing skills. The findings of this study contribute to certain theories in listening processes. As observed in the study, Cognitive Load Theory serves a theoretical framework for explaining the relationship between subtitles and listening comprehension. Thus, the results endorse the split-attention effect. Another theoretical basis that finds proof in the study is that " listening is not a single skill, but a variety of sub-skills ". For that reason, teachers are required to maintain a balance between top-down and bottom-up listening practices. Öz Bu çalışma İngilizceyi yabancı dil olarak öğrenen öğrencilerin dinlemeye ait tabandan yukarı (bottom-up) işlemleme becerilerindeki rolünü tanımlamayı amaçlamaktadır. 12. sınıftan sonra yatılı bir okulda eğitim görmekte olan öğrencilere yerleştirme sınavı uygulanarak iki gruptan oluşan 40 öğrenci seçilmiştir. İlk önce katılımcıların altyazılara ait tercihleri geribildirim raporları aracılığıyla tespit edilmiştir. Daha sonra, her iki grup güncel bir Amerikan dizisi olan Alcatraz'ın 10 bölümünü birinci grup İngilizce altyazılı (SVG), diğer grup ise orjinal seslendirmesiyle (WSG) izlemiştir. Son olarak her iki grup yalın-çift (minimal pairs) testine tabi tutulmuş ve testteki performanslarının anlamlı bir şekilde değişip değişmediği gözlemlenmiştir. Elde
The International Journal of Research in Teacher Education, 2017
Although professional development is assumed to be of value and considered as an essential compon... more Although professional development is assumed to be of value and considered as an essential component of quality teaching, there has been little research on how and why teachers engage themselves in continuous learning and whether professional development affects teaching or student learning. In tandem with this, despite the ongoing pursuit to expand the knowledge and skills of EFL teachers in Turkey and regardless of the innovative language policy reforms that have been put into practice in the country, the learners are yet to achieve the desirable language proficiency levels. Though increasingly more research has been in progress for examining the effectiveness of the professional development activities, they usually tend to disregard the primary needs of teachers. With respect to this issue, the present study aimed to investigate how EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers in Turkey perceive professional development and which factors facilitate/hinder their professional development efforts. For this purpose, the researcher explored the professional development efforts of three in-service Turkish EFL teachers throughout their career by means of semi-structured interviews. Follow-up observation notes, analytic memos and graphic elicitations were also utilized to supplement the results and to detect the perspectives of in-service teachers about professional development in terms of conditions in their lives and institutions. Qualitative data indicated that EFL teachers in Turkey appreciate the importance of professional development and they are willing to improve themselves. However, only to the extent that they are encouraged and fostered by institutional support, could they most likely be genuinely motivated to reflect upon their own practices, share their experiences and problems with colleagues and move forward in their professional lives.
Reform is not an easy process. It is by and large slow and painful. As English proves to be an ef... more Reform is not an easy process. It is by and large slow and painful. As English proves to be an efficient tool in the international arena, it is essential that the significance of ELF (English as a Lingua Franca) awareness be reconsidered with particular reference to language policy development, syllabus design, and teacher development. It is essentially the skill that L2 learners should acquire to adapt into diverse situations. When the students who learn English as a foreign language in Turkey are considered, it could be seen that the real problem is not the different pronunciations and the different usages of the words but the different varieties of English that they are not aware of. Mostly, L2 learners have a strong desire to speak like a native speaker thus neglect the different usages, dialects and cultural norms of other Englishes. In addition to all these, a strong initiative for an extensive ELF curriculum including the application methods and techniques has yet to be introduced. Language teaching activities are carried out by using either American or British based course books that contain few local elements such as pictures and dialogues sprinkled throughout the chapters for marketing purposes. Sociocultural, local, historical and international aspects of English are mainly neglected. Taking all these into consideration, this study focused on ELF awareness in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) context in terms of language policy development, syllabus design, and teacher development. For this purpose, the study aimed to investigate what Turkish EFL teachers understand about ELF and how ELF-aware they are by means of a cross-sectional survey conducted with 19 participants. Semi-structured follow-up interviews were carried out with four instructors for the purpose of obtaining content analysis and thus bolstering the quantitative results to reach more precise conclusions pertaining to ELF awareness. On the whole, the results of the study revealed that although the transition from EFL teacher to ELF practitioner is not an easy task and clearly necessitates time and encouragement, making teachers aware of the 'plurality of Englishes' and the importance of multiculturalism proved to be valuable in encouraging them to revise their teaching practices within the new developments in English language teaching.
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Papers by Mert Topkaraoğlu