A Qualitative Research on Foreign Language Teaching Anxiety

While research mainly focuses on identification of anxiety, its causes and effects on the learning process and the ways to allay anxiety among foreign language learners, foreign language teaching anxiety has remained a research area that has not attracted much attention. Therefore, in the context of teaching anxiety among pre-service teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL), the current study aims to investigate the sources of foreign language teaching anxiety (FLTA). The sample group in the study consisted of 60 pre-service teachers. A background questionnaire, interviews, reflections and essay papers were used to collect qualitative data. The results indicated that pre-service teachers experience FLTA before, during and after their teaching activities. The study also concluded that the sources of FLTA are teachers’ personality, perceptions of low level language proficiency, fear of negative evaluation, teaching demotivation and amotivation, teaching inexperience and technical concerns. It was recommended that the curricula of pre- and in-service training programs should include topics to raise awareness of FLTA

Factors Causing Demotivation in EFL Teaching Process: A Case Study

Studies have mainly focused on strategies to motivate teachers or the student-teacher motivation relationships rather than teacher demotivation in the English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching process, whereas no data have been found on the factors that cause teacher demotivation in the Turkish EFL teaching contexts at the elementary education level. Thus, this study aims to investigate the demotivating factors in EFL teaching at the elementary level. The study was designed as a qualitative case study, and involved face-to-face conversations, MSN talks and a diary maintained by the subject for data collection. The results showed that the problems were related to the teaching profession, curriculum, working conditions, students and their parents, colleagues and school administrators, and physical conditions

A Qualitative Research on Portfolio Keeping in English as a Foreign Language Writing

Little attention has been paid to the problems about portfolio keeping in English as a foreign language (EFL) writing, while the existing literature mostly focuses on the effects of portfolios on writing skills of learners, rather than those of teachers or pre-service teachers. This study aims to investigate the problems encountered and contributions of portfolios to the language skills of EFL pre-service teachers. The sample group consists of 39 pre-service teachers; a background questionnaire, interviews, a survey, and essays were used for data collection. The results indicate that portfolios significantly contribute to the writing skills, and that there exist potential problems. It was concluded that teachers and teacher trainers should use portfolio as a learning tool after solving the problems

“I am not the same after my ERASMUS”: A Qualitative Research

No data has been found about the influences of the ERASMUS program on Turkish pre-service teachers of English who participated in the ERASMUS Mobility Program. Thus, in this study the researcher aims to evaluate the ERASMUS Mobility Program regarding its contributions to the progress of Turkish pre-service teachers of English and the problems they encountered during the process. The sample group of the study consisted of 23 pre-service teachers and a background questionnaire, interviews, group discussions and essay papers were used for data collection. The results indicated that the ERASMUS process has some significant benefits to language skills and professional and personal development of the pre-service teachers of English; however, it also brings about some potential problems. Finally, some practical recommendations are noted

Does Recreational Reading in Native Language Influence Foreign Language Learning Process?

Limited studies have been conducted on the effects on recreational reading in native language on foreign language learning, whereas no findings exist on the effects of recreational reading in Turkish as a native language (L1) on English as a foreign language (EFL) learning. Thus, this study aims to investigate the effects of recreational reading in L1 on the process of learning EFL. The sample group consists of 70 learners and a background questionnaire, interviews, oral presentations, classroom discussions, essay papers, and responses to examination questions were used for data collection. The results indicated that recreational reading in L1 has some significant contributions to EFL learning although it has some negative effects

A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RESEARCH ON TEACHING ANXIETY

It is evident that teaching anxiety is a significant affective state that may have profound effects on both the learning and teaching processes. However, there is no conclusive evidence regarding the sources and effects of teaching anxiety in an educational context. This systematic review aims to present an overview of the current literature on teaching anxiety, explore the variables that may relate to teaching anxiety in terms of its causes and effects. The study concludes that teaching anxiety is directly related to affective states, while the relationship between teaching anxiety levels and demographic variables is not clear. Another conclusion is that teaching experience, content knowledge, and instruction are effective for decreasing the levels of teaching anxiety. The results also show that teachers’ and students’ characteristics, teaching strategies, time and classroom management, planning, school climate, and the use of technology have considerable effects on teaching anxiety

A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY ON FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING ANXIETY

Anxiety is one of the most commonly investigated topics in the field of foreign language education; however, foreign language anxiety is attributed to learners extensively even though most teachers suffer from high levels of anxiety both as language teachers and language users while teaching. In this study, foreign language teaching anxiety is investigated descriptively to provide a clear picture concerning the terrain of this teacher emotion. Using the Foreign Language Teaching Anxiety Scale (FLTAS) and data collected from 156 teachers with diverse nationalities, the study aims to give a cross-culturally consistent understanding of the phenomenon. The results show that foreign language teaching anxiety cannot be limited to language use of teachers; factors such as low interest among learners and being observed by colleagues, mentors, or supervisors are also anxiety-provoking factors. To add, variables such as age, gender, school type, and teaching experience can also lead to significant results. Accordingly, several implications and recommendations are presented to elevate emotional sustainability in the teaching profession

Pre-Service Foreign Language Teachers’ Perceptions of Research Skills: A Qualitative Study

While research skills seem significant for effective and successful foreign language teaching and learning, few studies focused on how English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers perceive research skills in the EFL teaching and learning processes. Research also lacks how EFL teachers perceive research skills and to what extent they are aware of the role, teacher as researcher. Thus, this study aims to explore pre-service EFL teachers’ perceptions of research skills for a deeper understanding of how their perceptions of research skills affect or contribute to the teaching and learning processes. The sample group in the study consisted of 44 pre-service EFL teachers studying at a state university. A background questionnaire, diaries, reflections and interviews were the tools to collect qualitative data. Results showed that research activities develop pre-service EFL teachers’ content knowledge, research skills and target language proficiency, while they perceive several problems during the process. The study suggests that research skills should be a must course in pre- and in-service teacher education programs

Foreign Language Teachers’ Perceptions of Error Correction in Speaking Classes: A Qualitative Study

Limited studies have been conducted on the effects of error correction on acquiring oral proficiency and the teacher’s role as error corrector. Thus, the present study aims to investigate English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ perceptions of error correction in their speaking classes, reasons and types of errors they correct and their error correction strategies. The sample group in the study consisted of 15 English instructors working at a state university in Turkey. The data collection instruments consisted of a background questionnaire, reflections, interviews and essay papers. Results showed that EFL teachers seem to make corrections to improve learners’ accuracy during speaking, grammar and vocabulary knowledge and pronunciation skills and that EFL teachers believe that error correction may contribute to habit formation in terms of self-correction among students, pragmatic and appropriate use of the target language, learners’ accuracy and fluency. Another conclusion was concluded that teachers concentrate on pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary errors that directly distort meaning while speaking, and that they seem to use various strategies to correct errors. It was recommended that the curricula of teacher training programs should include topics to raise awareness of the issues such as reasons to make corrections, situations that require corrections, error types and correction strategies

Online testing and assessment in the English as a foreign language context: Teachers' perspectives

As online assessment is a rather new phenomenon, available research regarding it is limited, and most of the research in literature today examines the views of students regarding online assessment as they are one of the most important stakeholders of exams. On the other hand, although they are the basic users and practitioners of the system, studies on the views and perspectives of instructors on online assessment in the context of English as a foreign language (EFL) are limited in number. With these concerns in mind, this study aims to explore English instructors’ perspectives of online assessment in tertiary educational institutions in Turkey with regard to their general views on online assessment, along with their views on affective factors, validity, reliability, security, practicality, and the impacts of online assessment on teaching and learning. In this descriptive study, the data were collected from 302 English instructors working at English preparatory schools in various universities in Turkey through a background questionnaire and the Student Perceptions of e-Assessment Questionnaire (SPEAQ). The results show that instructors' overall perspectives on online assessment are neutral