Intercultural communicative competence through the eyes of Turkish university students

With increased globalization over the last few decades, the status of English has been recognized as an international language; and thus, the need for an intercultural focus in foreign language teaching has become crucial. Many researchers, concerned with intercultural awareness, intercultural competence, intercultural communicative competence and the integration of intercultural competence into English language teaching, conducted studies in various parts of the world. However, the number of Turkish studies on intercultural competence needs to be increased and the scope of the studies should be broadened as most of the studies focus on teacher perceptions on intercultural competence. This mixed-method study examines the perceptions of intercultural communicative competence by 93 English language learners enrolled in the English Language Teaching Department of three universities in Turkey. The study specifically searches into learners’ perceptions of efficiency of English language courses about intercultural awareness and competence. For data collection purposes, a questionnaire, a semi-structured interview and focus-group interviews were conducted. The quantitative data were analyzed using the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science) program and the qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. Findings of the study indicate that English language learners are aware of the importance of intercultural competence; however, they expect to be exposed more to intercultural aspects of English in their English courses. The study reveals that in designing the curriculum and choosing the activities, intercultural aspects should be emphasized more and the teacher should have an active role in helping the learners become aware of intercultural competence. The study also implies that teachers should be involved in in-service teaching programs which aim to (1) provide necessary background on intercultural competence and (2) help teachers integrate their theoretical and practical knowledge on intercultural competence into in-class activities

ELT MENTORS’ AND MENTEES’ AWARENESS LEVELS OF SOCIAL SKILLS IN THEIR PROFESSION

The debate over the qualifications that a teacher should have has long been going on and the discussions among scholars have gone far beyond academic skills of teachers as a result of emerging concepts, one of which is the social skills. In the field of English language teaching, these skills seem crucial as the learning environment additionally causes difficulty for the learners since they both try to learn a language and try to overcome their fears and anxiety at the same time. It becomes more crucial for the language teachers to provide a fruitful and most importantly relaxing environment in which social and lifelong learning can take place. Similarly, for the English teacher mentors and mentees who continuously hold conversations and are in the process of planning and decision making about building self- esteem and boosting motivation; setting goals and finding the best ways to achieve goals; coping with every possible situation in the language classroom, having social skills seem to be of great importance. The purpose of this study is to deal with the first step of a social skills training program for English mentors and mentees; and specifically search into the level of awareness of English teacher mentors and mentees towards social skills in teaching. The study aims to shed light on how to integrate social skills development training into teacher training curriculum in the field of English Language Teaching  Article visualizations

Modeling the association between EFL students’ boredom and enjoyment: The mediating role of teacher humor style

This study sought to explore the association between English as a foreign language (EFL) students‟ foreign language learning boredom (FLB) and foreign language enjoyment (FLE) (i.e., personal enjoyment, teacher appreciation, and social enjoyment) as well as the mediating role of student-perceived teacher humor styles (i.e., affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-defeating). In doing so, we firstly investigated the relationship between 229 (67 male and 162 female) Turkish EFL university students‟ FLB, FLE, and perceived teacher humor styles. We then probed to determine whether perceived teacher humor styles predict their FLB and FLE. The results indicated that all three indices of FLE had significant negative correlations with FLB. While affiliative and self-enhancing humor styles were significantly and positively correlated with FLE, they were negatively associated with FLB. Aggressive humor had only a significant negative correlation with the teacher appreciation subscale of FLE whereas self-defeating humor indicated a significant positive correlation with FLB. The results also showed that FLE could negatively predict FLB. Finally, the results of the mediation analysis indicated two significant mediation relationships which were significantly related to FLB through affiliative and self-enhancing humor. Implications are discussed in the context of teacher education

Self-Efficacy and the Use of Compensatory Strategies: A Study on EFL Learners

This study aimed to explore the relationship between Turkish English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ self-efficacy level and their use of compensatory strategies (CSs). The study further searched into the most and the least frequently used CSs by Turkish EFL learners. The participants of the study were fifty university students enrolled in the department of English Language Teaching at a private university in Istanbul, Turkey.  Results indicated that the level of self-efficacy among Turkish learners of EFL was high. The top two most frequently used CSs by the learners were concluded to be the use of non-verbal signals (i.e., mime, gesture, facial expression) and circumlocution (i.e., describing an object or idea with a definition). In addition, the two least frequently used strategies were word coinage (i.e., creating a non-existent second language word based on a supposed rule) and avoidance (i.e., avoiding a topic, concept, grammatical construction, or phonological element that poses difficulty). The findings also revealed that the participants’ strategy use was not related to their degree of self-confidence

Academic self-efficacy and academic procrastination: Exploring the mediating role of academic motivation in Turkish university students

The aim of this study has been to investigate the relationships among academic self-efficacy, academic motivation, and academic procrastination. The study has further delved into the question of whether academic motivation mediates the relationship between self-efficacy and academic procrastination. In order to investigate such links, three hundred and nineteen university students (218 females and 101 males) enrolled in the education faculty of a private university in Istanbul, Turkey, offered data. For data collection, the Aitken Procrastination Inventory, Academic Self-Efficacy Scale, and Academic Motivation Scale have been used. The results of the study indicate that academic motivation partially mediate the relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic procrastination

İngilizce öğretmeni adaylarının etkili öğretim ve öğretmen üzerine yaklaşımları

Researchers in the field of foreign language teaching and learning have for a long time conducted studies of learners' perceptions regarding their perspectives, beliefs, thoughts, and values about language learning, the language teacher and language learners. The present study focused on Turkish preservice English language teachers' views regarding the characteristics required for an effective language teacher. The participants in the study were a total of 220 freshman students, aged between 18-20 years old, enrolled in an English teaching program. Data for this study was collected through student paragraphs and interviews and were analyzed by means of thematic analysis. The results suggest that language learners are mostly affected by both cultural and personal factors.Yabancı dil eğitim ve öğretimi alanında yapılan basilica çalışmalar öğrencilerin dil öğrenimi hakkındaki inançları, tutumları ve düşüncelerini içermektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı İngilizceyi yabancı dil olarak öğrenen Türk üniversite öğrencilerinin etkili dil öğretmeninin özellikleri hakkındaki görüşlerini ortaya çıkarmaktır. Çalışmanın verilerini öğrencilerin yazdığı paragraph düzeyindeki metinler ve birebir görüşmeler oluşturmaktadır. Veri analizi tema çözümlemesi tekniğiileyapılmıştır. Bu çalışmanın katılımcıları yaşları 18 ve 20 arasında değişen 220 birinci sınıf İngilizce öğretmenliği lisans öğrencisidir. Bulgular dil öğrencilerinin etkili öğretmen kavramına ait düşüncelerinin kültürel ve kişisel faktörlere dayandığı yönündedir

Using humor in language classrooms: Greasing the wheels or putting a spanner in the works? A study on humor styles of Turkish EFL instructors

Humor has often been seen as an important element in the learning process, facilitating both teaching and learning. Nevertheless, the utilization of humor in the educational setting has had its opponents. In recent years, many attempts have been made to conceptualize the various forms of humor implemented in the practice of education. Despite a myriad of studies aimed at linking humor with personality traits, there seem a dearth number of research studies addressing the multifaceted humor styles of EFL instructors while interacting with the students in the classroom. There have been a number of scales thought-up in order to best assess the humor styles of the individual. However, the one identified by Martin et al. (2003) attempts to deal with the functions of humor, rather than particular personalities it may or may not represent. The four specific humor styles identified in this scale encompass two benign (affiliative and self-enhancing), and two injurious (aggressive and self-defeating) humor styles. The present study seeks to examine the humor styles adopted by English language instructors in Turkey by investigating (1) whether there is a difference between male and female instructors with regard to employing humor, (2) whether the educational level of the participants influences their tendency to use humor while interacting with the students in the classroom, and (3) whether the age of the instructors is an influential factor in adopting various styles of humor. A total of 64 English language instructors working at private and state universities in Turkey completed a standardized form of the Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ) online. Results indicated no significant difference between male and female instructors with regard to adopting humor styles in the classroom. Nor were there any differences between instructors of varying educational level in terms of the use of humor styles. In addition, no differences were seen according to age

Pre-Service English Language Teachers' Views of the Effective Teacher and Teaching

Yabancı dil eğitim ve öğretimi alanında yapılan basilica çalışmalar öğrencilerin dil öğrenimi hakkındaki inançları, tutumları ve düşüncelerini içermektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı İngilizceyi yabancı dil olarak öğrenen Türk üniversite öğrencilerinin etkili dil öğretmeninin özellikleri hakkındaki görüşlerini ortaya çıkarmaktır. Çalışmanın verilerini öğrencilerin yazdığı paragraph düzeyindeki metinler ve birebir görüşmeler oluşturmaktadır. Veri analizi tema çözümlemesi tekniğiileyapılmıştır. Bu çalışmanın katılımcıları yaşları 18 ve 20 arasında değişen 220 birinci sınıf İngilizce öğretmenliği lisans öğrencisidir. Bulgular dil öğrencilerinin etkili öğretmen kavramına ait düşüncelerinin kültürel ve kişisel faktörlere dayandığı yönündedir.Researchers in the field of foreign language teaching and learning have for a long time conducted studies of learners' perceptions regarding their perspectives, beliefs, thoughts, and values about language learning, the language teacher and language learners. The present study focused on Turkish preservice English language teachers' views regarding the characteristics required for an effective language teacher. The participants in the study were a total of 220 freshman students, aged between 18-20 years old, enrolled in an English teaching program. Data for this study was collected through student paragraphs and interviews and were analyzed by means of thematic analysis. The results suggest that language learners are mostly affected by both cultural and personal factors

THE CONTRIBUTION OF PERCEIVED COLLECTIVE EFFICACY BELIEFS AND INTERPERSONAL EMOTION REGULATION TO TURKISH EFL TEACHERS’ JOB STRESS

The goal of this study was to explore the relationship between perceived job stress and a specific set of predictor variables among the selected university preparatory school EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers in Turkey. To comprehensively analyze the issue of perceived job stress, interpersonal emotion regulation, and teacher collective efficacy used as variables. The sample consisted of 48 EFL teachers in various Turkish university preparatory schools. It was hypothesized that high levels of teacher collective efficacy beliefs would be a negative predictor of perceived stress among the EFL teachers. A negative relationship was also predicted between interpersonal emotion regulation and perceived job stress levels among the selected teachers. The research hypotheses were tested using data collected through surveys. While the relationship between EFL teachers’ collective efficacy beliefs and interpersonal emotion regulation was significant, their perceived job stress and interpersonal emotion regulation were negatively related, but the association was not strong enough to reach a significant level. The results of the study indicated that demographic variables such as age, and the years of language teaching experience did not have any significant effect on teachers’ collective self-efficacy belief, perceived job stress, and interpersonal emotion regulation of the selected Turkish EFL Instructors in university preparatory programs. The study highlighted the fact that enhancing EFL teachers’ collective efficacy belief would reduce the tension teachers experience in the form of stress and would improve their emotion regulation skills.  Article visualizations

Mediating the effect of cognitive flexibility in the relationship between psychological well-being and self-confidence: A study on Turkish university students

This study examined the role of self-confidence and cognitive flexibility in psychological well-being. The study looked into whether cognitive flexibility mediates the relationship between self-confidence and psychological well-being. The study involved the participation of 284 university students (192 female and 92 male) enrolled in the Faculty of Education at a private university in Istanbul, Turkey. Data was collected via the Self-Confidence Scale, Flourishing Scale and Cognitive Flexibility Scale. The results of our multiple regression analysis revealed that self-confidence and cognitive flexibility statistically predict psychological well-being. Self-confidence and cognitive flexibility were found to explain 38% of the variance in psychological well-being. Furthermore, cognitive flexibility served as a mediator in the relationship between self-confidence and psychological well-being