An analysis of subjects' ability to read in English as a foreign language eith regard to reader- related and task- related factors

TEZ1760Tez (Doktora) -- Çukurova Üniversitesi, Adana, 1994.Kaynakça (s. 297-313) var.xiv, 314 s. ; 30 cm.

Investigation of Cross-cultural Communication between Native English-speaking Lecturers and their Students in Turkish Tertiary Education

Cultural diversity between students and teachers may be a source of “miscommunication” that compromises the learning/teaching environment. In such cases, students may be accused of poor performance or teachers may be blamed for inadequate methodology. This comparative study aims to examine the education culture in two Turkish universities involving native teachers, English speaking foreign teachers and their Turkish students in an attempt to understand the strengths, weaknesses, and challenges faced by both students and teachers. Four versions of the questionnaire were administered to 15 teachers and 228 students. All four versions focused on classroom management and examination procedures, pedagogy, and other affective factors. The authors aimed to investigate students’ and teachers’ mutual beliefs, perceptions and expectations of each other within the educational context and whether any differences could be accounted for by cultural differences between the two parties. This study was designed by both a Turkish academic and a native English speaking instructor, a collaboration which serves to temper cultural biases inherent to any culturally based inquiry. We hoped to maximize the effectiveness of cross-cultural classrooms as well as to suggest directions for further researc

The Significance of Using Authentic Tasks and Texts in Language Teaching Materials: Study of a Course Book

As a result of examining an English course book developed for sixth graders and promoted by the Ministry of Education, “Quick Step 6”, the general observation of the present authors has been that the mentioned book fails to meet the standards established by research in the field of language teaching and materials development, as well as the needs of the students it aims to serve. This book has given priority to texts and tasks which have been artificially designed with very narrow pedagogical concerns. The contents of the texts and tasks ignore elements of the target culture and do not carry the features of authentic language use. Such simplified texts are deprived of their natural context and rich language variety, making language learning a difficult and demotivating task. There is a great need for books which takes into consideration the intelligence level and interest areas of learners in constructing studentscentered and student-initiated activities. This article starts with a summary of the basic principles to follow in developing language teaching materials, and continues with definitions of authentic texts and authentic tasks. Lastly, Quick Step 6 is examined with a view to the authenticity of its texts and task

The Relationship between General Motivation and Situation-Specific Attitudes and Beliefs Related to Learning English for Academic Purposes: It’s Impact on Academic Success

The present study aims to document students’ perceptions of their learning experiences in an English-medium university, how certain situation-specific and learner-related variables are active in shaping these attitudes, and finally what is the impact of these variables on participants’ academic success. Participants’ Englishlearning background starting with secondary education as a variable yielded significant and positive associations with their academic success and their attitudes toward English-medium instruction. Positive attitudes that loaded on several factors correlated significantly and positively with each other and negatively so with factors of demotivated attitudes. Learner variables also proved to have a significant impact on participants’ attitudes. The article concludes by making suggestions to policy makers in the ministry of education and concerned universities