Lenses on English Literature and Teaching English – From the guest editors

This special issue “Lenses on English Literature and Teaching English” of Lublin Studies in Modern Languages and Literature (formerly Lubelskie Materiały Neofilologiczne) brings together selected papers presented at the 5th International Conference on Language, Literature and Culture, held on May 1-4, 2016 in Burdur, Turkey. The conference was sponsored by Mehmet Akif Ersoy University in cooperation with Çankaya University and Süleyman Demirel University. The conference included a variety of presentations by participants from different countries and featured keynote addresses by Jarosław Krajka (Poland) and Beture Memmodova (Turkey). The conference was devoted to language, literature, and culture, with the main aim to provide a forum for discussion and to facilitate integration in these fields and to bring together researchers, scholars, and students from all areas of language, literature, culture, and other related disciplines from all around the world. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to all the authors and the reviewers for their timely work and to our colleagues, Jolanta Knieja and Jarosław Krajka for their invaluable support and contribution

Bilgisayar destekli dil öğretimi eğitiminin İngilizce öğretmenlerinin teknolojiyi dil eğitiminde kullanımı üzerindeki etkisi.

This study investigates the impact of CALL training on in-service language teachers’ use of CALL-based activities in their classrooms and what factors influence their use of these activities in their classroom. The participants included 35 pre-service English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers who took an undergraduate-level elective CALL course (FLE318) offered during the 2008-2009 academic year in the Department of Foreign Language Education at Middle East Technical University and 25 of these participants who started teaching English during the Fall semester in the academic year 2009-2010 at several private and state institutions. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were applied. The journals kept by the participants during and after the training, the lesson plans of micro and macro teaching, the questionnaires given to the participants to determine their perceived computer knowledge, the interview sessions held with the participants’ on their practices showed that the training provided to the participants helped them infuse a variety of CALL-based materials and tools into their classroom practices. The analyses also indicated that the most paramount factors or issues that affect the infusion of CALL-based materials in language teaching and learning are the school environment, curriculum, and the national exams.Ph.D. - Doctoral Progra

Bilgisayar destekli dil öğreniminin, toefl sınavında öğrenci başarısı üzerindeki etkisi

This study aimed to explore the effect of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) on the sophomore undergraduate students̕ success on the TOEFL exam. The study was designed as quasi-experimental research and two variables were focused on: Computer-assisted language learning and traditional instruction. Participants were 34 sophomore students in EFL department in Middle East Technical University. The participants were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups using a table of random numbers. Experimental (three males and fourteen females) and control groups (two males and fifteen females) consisted of 17 participants each since the language laboratory for experimental group could accommodate that number. Experimental group was taught using computer-assisted instruction in a language laboratory while the control group was taught using a traditional method of instruction in a traditional classroom setting. The sample consisted of 17 participants in each group. The training lasted for 8 weeks and the same instructor met the groups three hours each week. During the first week a pre-test was given to both groups and a post-test was given at the end of the study. The experimental group participants were also interviewed with regard to CALL. Pre and post-test gain scores were statistically analyzed and the interviews were subjected to content analysis. The results showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the control and experimental groups in overall scores and on the structure section. However, statistically significant differences were found in the scores on the reading and listening sections. The interviews showed that the participants in the experimental group valued computer-assisted language learning. However, it was suggested by the participants that computer-assisted language learning should be incorporated into theM.A. - Master of Art

IMPROVING FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT IN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS USING GRADECAM GO!

This study aimed to determine EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers’ perceptions and experience regarding their use of GradeCam Go! to grade multiple choice tests. The results of the study indicated that the participants overwhelmingly valued GradeCam Go! due to its features such as grading printed forms for multiple-choice questions as well as the immediate feedback provided to both teachers and their students. The results of the study also indicate that GradeCam Go! might be a very useful tool for teachers working in schools with large classrooms where technological resources are rare. GradeCam Go! seems to pave the way for an easy and efficient tool for teachers to use regular assessment through frequent quizzes, give immediate feedback, and monitor student progress

Un nouveau regard sur les cours visant à évaluer une langue étrangère dans la formation des formateurs pendant et après la pandémie de Covid-19

Der Artikel enthält das Abstract ausschließlich in englischer Sprache.Assessing learners’ performance is crucial as it informs about learners’ achievement levels in addition to their strengths and weaknesses, not only in face-to-face but also in online teaching. The study aimed at investigating the challenges faced by language teachers in assessing learners during online teaching and to offer some suggestions regarding language assessment courses in teacher training programs. The study adopted a qualitative approach to data collection and analysis. The participants included 22 language teachers whose age was between 24 to 48. Of these teachers, 8 were male, while the rest were female. Their teaching experience varied from 2 to 25 years, with an average of 11.8 years. The data was based on the responses of the participants during semi-structured interviews. The participants were asked to attend ZOOM meetings to be held, considering their availability. The interviews lasted 10 to 25 minutes. The results of the study indicated that the challenges faced by the participants included five major themes: Assessment type, assessment item formats, support, previous training (assessment literacy), and academic integrity. Several suggestions were offered considering online testing and assessment literacy and language assessment courses in teacher training programs. L'article contient uniquement le résumé en anglais

The Pragmatic Knowledge of Turkish EFL Students in Using Certain Request Strategies

This study investigates the pragmatic knowledge of Turkish EFL students in using certain request strategies. Data were collected through a type of DCT, open itemverbal response only production questionnaire, as categorized by Kasper (2000) from 40 undergraduate students, studying at the Department of English Language Teaching, Faculty of Education, Middle East Technical University, whose ages range from 18 to 20. The data collected from the questionnaires were statistically analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results showed that the EFL students in this study had the linguistic means in order to operate pragmatically in various contexts while requesting. However, their success in the use of the request strategies in situations requiring certain level of politeness was relatively not satisfactory. In the conclusion part, it is argued that the results can be closely related with learning contexts and textbook contents and some suggestions are put forward regarding the issu

Соответствие между результатами сложного экзамена в начальных классах средней школы и методикой обучения учителей английского в школе

Der Band enthält die Abstracts ausschließlich in englischer Sprache.The aim of the article is to investigate of the foreign language section of TEOG (Transition Examination from Primary to Secondary Education) on language teacher practices in the classroom. The participants of the study include 32 English language teachers working at lower secondary schools in Turkey. The results of the study indicate that language teacher practices in the classroom are greatly affected by several factors such as the style and content of the language exam. The main harmful washback of this exam is found to be the neglect of teaching several skills such as listening, speaking, and writing as these skills are not assessed, and stakeholders such as students and parents require reasonable level of success on these texts. Some other factors negatively affected have been found to be the selection of course books, the medium of instruction, classroom assessment as well as anxiety.Le numéro contient uniquement les résumés en anglais.Том содержит аннотацию только на английском языке

Guest Editorial: Preface to the Dedicated Issue Honoring Prof. Dr. Gölge Seferoğlu

We are very pleased and honored to have edited this special issue of Focus on ELT (FELT) Journal, which has been prepared as a dedicated issue honoring Prof. Dr. Gölge Seferoğlu. We would like to thank Ahmet Başal, who is the Founding Editor- and Editor-in-Chief, Ceyhun Yükselir and Erdem Akbaş, the Editors of FELT, for the opportunity to prepare and edit this dedication issue together with Prof. Dr. Gölge Seferoğlu’s former students. The honor of this dedicated issue of FELT has been bestowed on Prof. Dr. Gölge Seferoğlu and the field of language teaching and learning that she has always loved and fostered through her professional career, which also underlies her teaching and research philosophy: ‘Live to Learn, Learn to Live.’ It is her teaching philosophy, long-standing commitment to training and mentoring, and dedication to professional service that has a tremendous impact not only on her former and current students’ personal and academic life but also on her field of expertise in applied linguistics and technology-enhanced language learning and teaching