English Language Teaching Department

Geçmişten günümüze teknolojinin ilerlemesi, bilgi kavramının değişmesi, ülkelerin değişen siyasal, sosyo ekonomik yapısı, toplumların benimsedikleri felsefi düşüncelerin yansıması büyük oranda eğitim alanında da görülmüştür. Eğitim sistemi, toplumlardaki değişimle birlikte evrildiği için her ülkede farklı türde eğitim sistemi meydana gelmiştir. Eğitim sistemindeki bu farklılıklar da beraberinde birçok soruyu getirmiştir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, OECD (Avustralya, Fransa, İngiltere, ABD, Güney Kore ve Türkiye) ülkelerindeki eğitim sistemlerinin incelenerek benzerlikler ve farklılıklarının ortaya konulmasıdır. Ele alınan ülkelerde eğitim sisteminin şekillenmesinde rol oynayan en önemli faktörlerin ülkelerin siyasal ve toplumsal yapısı olduğu görülmüştür. Ayrıca benimsenen ideolojilerin, ekonomik alt yapının ve çağa ayak uydurma isteğinin de etkileri büyüktür.Türkiye, Güney Kore ve Fransa'da eğitimden sorumlu birim olarak Eğtim Bakanlığı milli bir sıfata sahiptir. Avustralya'da ve İngiltere'de eğitim hükümetin sorumluluğundayken Amerika'da Eğitim Dairesi adı altında ele alınmaktadır. Araştırmada söz konusu olan ülkelerde, eğitim dili her ülkenin kendi ana dilidir ve yabancı dil eğitimine önem verilmektedir. Eğitim finansmanları, genel olarak ülke hükümetleri tarafından sağlanmaktadır. Türkiye, son yıllarda eğitime ayırdığı bütçeyi artırmasına rağmen, elde edilen güncel raporlara göre AB ve OECD ülkelerin eğitime ayırdığı kaynakların hala gerisinde kalmaktadır. Türkiye'de eğitimde reformu yapılması konusu sürekli gündemde olmasına rağmen, ne tür bir reform yapılması gerektiği konusunda henüz bir uzlaşmaya varılmamıştır. Anahtar kelimeler: siyasal yapı, sosyoekonomik yapı, eğitim sistemi, benzerlik ve farklılıklar, eğitim dili, eğitim finansmanı Abstract

The purpose of this study is to find out the language assessment literacy (LAL) of teachers who teach English at state elementary, middle, and high schools in Turkey. 101 teachers working in various cities participated in this study. A mixed-methods research design was employed in the study, so the data were collected through both quantitative (questionnaires) and qualitative (interviews) instruments. The data for the quantitative part of the study were collected by means of the "Teachers Questionnaire" prepared by Vogt & Tsagari (2014) under three domains regarding language testing and assessment (LTA); classroom-focused LTA, purposes of testing and content and concepts of LTA. The data from questionnaires were analyzed via SPSS in terms of means, percentages, and frequencies to find out the training levels and needs of the respondents in language assessment. In the qualitative phase, a total of 18 teachers volunteered to take part in the interviews. The qualitative data that was gathered through semi-structured interviews were analyzed one by one in terms of their similarities and differences, and selective coding was utilized. The overall results from the questionnaires indicated that EFL teachers who work at state high, middle and elementary schools in Turkey perceived their training levels in all three domains of LTA insufficient, and they were also in need of further basic training in those domains. Furthermore, qualitative findings also supported the findings from the questionnaires by also providing insights into the reasons for participants' insufficiency of LAL levels.

It is generally stated that assessment and grading are essential aspects of effective teaching. The purpose of this investigation is to describe actual classroom assessment and grading practices of EFL teachers teaching in different levels; namely, primary school, secondary school, high school, and university and also to understand whether they are aware of alternative assessment methods and if they are aware, how often they actually use them in the classroom. The participants of this study consist of 25 EFL teachers from Turkish state schools and the data were collected by means of a questionnaire adapted from McMillan (2001). The findings of the study suggest that the participants are well-aware of alternative assessment methods and they mostly believe in their usefulness; however, they do not use them in their classes as they think their classrooms are too crowded and the number of English course hours is not sufficient for it.

Background: The abrupt transition to virtual language learning environments due to the Covid-19 pandemic has brought considerable challenges to educational practices. In the context of foreign/second language learning and teaching, it has become more difficult to ensure that learners have the necessary engagement and motivation levels along with sufficient support and guidance. As educators and researchers report, the adversities in today's online learning environments need to be challenged. Purposes: The study is meant to contribute to language learning and teaching practices by sharing the results of the implementation of a self-supporting tool, namely, Self-Monitoring Chart for Effective Writing Strategies. The chart has been developed by the researchers for an online academic English writing course at higher education level to assist learners their writing improvement and to become self-regulated learners while maintaining their engagement in their writing tasks. Methodology/Approach: The study was designed as a qualitative case study and the opinions of the participants on their experiences of using the chart were elicited using semi-structured interviews. The participants were students at English Language Teaching departments of two state universities (N=48). The qualitative data gathered was analyzed using systematic content analysis. Findings and Discussion: The results indicate that the learners greatly benefited from using the SMC. In particular, they reported to have become aware of SRL writing strategies, to have learned how to implement them, to be more engaged and more motivated in writing tasks. The implications are meant to contribute to online language learning and teaching contexts.

Recent studies in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) have shown that there is an apparent relationship between teachers' beliefs and their classroom practices of oral corrective feedback in second language teaching. Even though many experimental and classroom studies show that it is beneficial for second language acquisition, relatively little research has explored the relationship between beliefs and practices of teachers in terms of oral corrective feedback. This descriptive study aims to examine the relationship between teachers' stated beliefs and their practices about oral corrective feedback in classrooms in a Turkish EFL setting. The data were collected through classroom observations of ten EFL teachers working at a preparatory language school of a privately funded university in Turkey, semi-structured interviews and scenario-based error correction simulation. The results showed that most of the teachers have an awareness of oral corrective feedback and believe that it is useful for students when provided appropriately to avoid touching learners' affective states negatively. Recasts were observed as the most frequently employed feedback type because of its implicit nature, even though most of the instructors reported elicitation as the most effective corrective feedback strategy. In this respect, the results revealed inconsistencies between teachers' stated beliefs and their actual practices about oral corrective feedback; that is, the types of errors corrected in the classroom also showed deviation from the teachers' stated beliefs.

COVID-19 has brought serious challenges to education and many other sectors. Within the educational context, the main difficulties experienced have been reported as challenges related to not only mechanical impediments—such as technology or infrastructure—but also to methodological and personal features, such as lack of motivation or online learning/teaching experiences. The abrupt transition from face-to-face to online education has created the need for some specific abilities, such as digital literacy on the side of the learners at all educational levels. In this context, this mixed-method study aims to determine the digital literacy levels of learners belonging to different school levels and whether age, gender and school degree were significant variables. This study also investigates the technology-related challenges students experienced during COVID-19 pandemic. The sample consisted of 510 participants representing different school levels, age groups, and genders; in addition, ...