Relevance of English language textbooks to Turkish learners of English in Antalya

This study explores to what extent Turkish learners of English identify with the orientation of cultural content of English language textbooks used in their English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes. The study took place at a Teacher Training High School in Antalya, a Mediterranean city and capital of the Antalya province. The participants were 10th and 11th grade English and non-English majors selected on a voluntary basis by the co-operating teacher. Data were collected through a survey examining students’ perceptions and ideas about the relevance of textbooks to their lives. Descriptive statistics were employed during the analysis. The findings indicate that the cultural content of the mainstream English language textbooks being used in Turkey is of little relevance to the reality of Turkish learners. Turkish learners of English seem to suggest that the content incorporated in English language textbooks should correspond to their cultural reality. Based on the findings, a series of pedagogical implications for future study are provided.peer-reviewe

In-service Teachers\u27 Reasoning about Scenarios of Teaching Mathematics to English Language Learners

The student population in the U.S. and worldwide is becoming increasingly diverse, creating a need to support all learners, especially linguistically and culturally diverse subpopulations such as English language learners (ELLs). From a social equity standpoint, the need to support these learners is critical especially in mathematics classrooms. In the U.S, the demand for mathematics teachers who are adequately prepared to teach ELLs has in fact risen. Yet, little is known about what knowledge base is essential to teach mathematics to ELLs. Driven by the need to explore this knowledge base, in this paper I explore what is involved in reasoning about teaching mathematics to ELLs. To this end, a set of instructional scenarios illustrating the work of teaching mathematics to ELLs was utilized within an assessment environment. Interviews with 10 mathematics teachers reasoning about the scenarios showed that they drew on the information provided about ELLs’ proficiency levels while reasoning through the scenarios. Also, teachers’ reasoning seems to be qualified by the extent to which they could both use their content knowledge in mathematics and modify their instructional choices according to ELLs’ language needs specified in the scenarios. This study motivates large-scale future studies examining what systematic teacher knowledge base might differentiate good teaching for ELLs from good teaching for all students

Teacher Trainees’ Reasoning about Teaching Mathematics to English Learners in an Era of Core Content State Standards

Research has indicated over the years that English learners (ELs) are not supported to achieve their goals in learning academic content and acquiring English. Despite a growing body of research on the essential teacher knowledge-base for teaching ELs and effective linguistically-responsive teacher education, there is still a dearth of research on candidate content teachers’ reasoning and instructional decision-making especially regarding teaching mathematics to ELs. This paper explored how a group of ten future mathematics teachers reasoned about a handful of scenarios illustrative of teaching mathematics to ELs. Qualitative analyses of the candidates’ discourse revealed that pre-service mathematics teachers’ perceptions of ELs fell on a continuum ranging from viewing ELs as one homogeneous group of learners to viewing them as heterogeneous in their proficiency levels, cultures, and academic needs. The second pattern was related to candidates’ views as to what effective EL-teaching meant to them. In that, their views about effective EL-teaching also fell on a continuum ranging from the belief in removing all the linguistic demands from the particular mathematics content to convictions about recognizing and incorporating the linguistic demands of the content

Content Representations in Teaching English as a Foreign Language

This study was an exploration of what English language content was represented in a classroom in which English was taught as a foreign language (EFL). The purpose of this study was to explore the way EFL teachers represent English language content/constructs in a classroom setting. The motivation behind this exploration is to contribute to the understandings of EFL teachers' practices in classroom settings. Doyle's task framework was employed, specifically with the intention to map what content representations emerged out of the teachers' classroom practices. All in all, the teachers' classroom content representations were found to be entrenched with the idea of high-stakes test preparation in Turkey