scholarly journals An Investigation of Learner Autonomy in Turkish EFL Context

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dilek Cakici

This study investigated the teachers’ perceptions as to what extent learners should be involved in decision making processes concerning the general aspects of learner autonomy. The primary aim of the research was to find out learning autonomy perceptions of Turkish prospective teachers of English. It is also aimed to explore the effect of gender on the views held by prospective English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers. To this end, a total of 88 senior students (54 females, 34 males) in the Department of English Language Teaching (ELT) at Ondokuz Mayıs University participated in this study. Data were collected by the questionnaire “Learner Autonomy: the Teachers’ Views” developed by Camilleri (1997). The obtained data were analyzed and interpreted in the form of percentage level for related items. The results of this study indicated that EFL student teachers seem to be ready to take more responsibility and control for their own learning in certain aspects of learner autonomy, whilst in some other areas they still demand teacher’s support and guidance. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that overall males and females held similar views about learner autonomy in EFL context. However, a significant gender-based difference was reported in three items. 

Author(s):  
Yesim Kesli Dollar ◽  
Enisa Mede

This chapter aims to investigate the impact of reflection on freshmen pre-service English teachers' classroom practices. Specifically, it explores how the participating student teachers' perceptions influenced their instructional practices as a result of participation in reflection activities. The participants of the study were ten freshmen student teachers enrolled in the English Language Teaching undergraduate program at a foundation (non-profit private) university in Turkey. Data came from the reflections of the participating student teachers about their recently-completed 15-hour field-based experience at the pre-school level. As a part of this class reflection activity, the participants were prompted to keep a diary in one of their undergraduate courses and respond to a series of statements or questions related to their classroom observation tasks. They were also engaged in class discussions and were required to write their overall feedback based on their field-based experience. The findings of the study revealed that reflective activities helped the prospective student teachers identify their strengths and weaknesses related to classroom activities, use of materials (use of technology and visuals) and classroom management, leading to self-awareness about their understanding and application of teaching skills and strategies.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eidah Abdullah Al-malki

Learner autonomy has been a focus of attention in the realm of English Language Teaching (ELT) research nowadays and the study in hand is an attempt to investigate learner autonomy in theory and practice from the perspective of English language teachers. It aims to identify gender-based perceptions of English language teachers from a Saudi university regarding the role of the textbooks, study material, support of English language teachers, the students’ learning strategies, students’ motivation and self-evaluation in enhancing learner autonomy. This empirical survey has involved 30 male and 30 female (n=60) English language teachers from English language center of Taif University, Saudi Arabia to record their insights and views about their perceptions and prospects of these pedagogical constructs in their teaching practices. The participants of the study responded to a 35-point Likert-scale modified questionnaire to generate data. Independent-samples T-test has been run to calculate percentages of their responses as well as to identify any statistically significant gender-based differences. The results revealed that only six items out of the total 35 have shown significant gender-based differences in the perceptions of the participants of the survey. The findings have revealed that the participants of this study bear extremely positive attitudes towards the pedagogical significance of learner autonomy and have exhibited encouraging trends about the implementation of this construct in the classrooms. Recommendations have been forwarded based on the results of this survey.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-167
Author(s):  
Said OUSSOU

Learner autonomy has been the concern of a number of researchers in English language teaching. The concept has begun life since the 1980s. It has been considered in the Moroccan EFL context among the priorities of education, which English language teachers try to implement in their classes. Studies revealed that there are correlations between learner autonomy and other variables related to learners, which makes autonomy a subject of interest and thus an ability that should be fostered. As such, the present study aims at investigating the extent to which secondary EFL teachers promote autonomy in their learners. To achieve this purpose, a quantitative research design was employed in the study, generating and analyzing quantitative data. Therefore, a sample of 96 (57 males and 39 females) EFL teachers completed the questionnaire. Drawing on the findings, it was found that EFL teachers promote learner autonomy to a great extent and that the results were conclusive among the teachers’ rates of levels of agreement and disagreement regarding the strategies for promoting learner autonomy. Thus, it is concluded that the study reported on the extent to which teachers employ a number of strategies to promote learner autonomy and that it does not necessarily mean that the study explained the degree to which teachers know how to implement those strategies, as this would be beyond the purpose of the present study.


Author(s):  
Yesim Kesli Dollar ◽  
Enisa Mede

This chapter aims to investigate the impact of reflection on freshmen pre-service English teachers' classroom practices. Specifically, it explores how the participating student teachers' perceptions influenced their instructional practices as a result of participation in reflection activities. The participants of the study were ten freshmen student teachers enrolled in the English Language Teaching undergraduate program at a foundation (non-profit private) university in Turkey. Data came from the reflections of the participating student teachers about their recently-completed 15-hour field-based experience at the pre-school level. As a part of this class reflection activity, the participants were prompted to keep a diary in one of their undergraduate courses and respond to a series of statements or questions related to their classroom observation tasks. They were also engaged in class discussions and were required to write their overall feedback based on their field-based experience. The findings of the study revealed that reflective activities helped the prospective student teachers identify their strengths and weaknesses related to classroom activities, use of materials (use of technology and visuals) and classroom management, leading to self-awareness about their understanding and application of teaching skills and strategies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-112
Author(s):  
Stefanie Riegler

Abstract As with any proposal for a change in pedagogy, the starting point for implementation is teacher education. Suggestions have been put forward for an approach to English language teaching (ELT) which takes into account the lingua franca function language can fulfill. Frameworks for how teachers might adopt a pedagogy of English as a lingua franca (ELF), however, are inconsistent with current policy guidelines for student teacher learning. This concerns most notably those directives provided in the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL), which is used in a growing number of teacher formation programs. This paper examines the ‘can-do’ statements which the EPOSTL proposes should represent the required methodological competences of language teachers. Using discourse analytic methods, the article explores what the EPOSTL portrays that prospective teachers need to know about language and how to teach it. It is argued that the language education policy represented by the EPOSTL is based on a conceptual perspective that can only impede the development of a genuinely reflective approach to the education of English language teachers and the implementation of an ELF pedagogy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-154
Author(s):  
Leonardo Veliz ◽  
Scott Smith

This paper reports on a qualitative study that examined the perceptions of English teachers towards the ‘teachability’ of metaphorical language in Chilean EFL classrooms. The study aimed at gaining a better understanding of teachers’ perceptions of the role of metaphor in the English language classroom. A group of six in-service English teachers participated in this qualitative study. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews, which addressed three broad dimensions: (i) the views and definitions of metaphor; (ii) the teachability of metaphorically used language; and (iii) preparedness to teach metaphor. The data were thoroughly coded and analyzed thematically. The results revealed that, despite an apparently heightened awareness of the presence and role of metaphor in culture, this did not permeate the participants’ teaching practices, thus calling for more explicit preparation in teacher education programs and radical changes to the ‘educational culture’ that is still imbued with dominant neoliberal ways of doing and thinking.


SUAR BETANG ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Vira Maharani

This descriptive qualitative study aims to investigate English student teachers’ perceptions of their readiness to take the internship regarding some aspects. The data were mainly collected through interviews. The interviewees were six students in the sixth semester of ELT program of the State University of Malang. The researcher recruited six student teachers with high, average, and low achievement based on their GPA. The data were analyzed descriptively according to three steps which consist of data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The research showed that the student teachers were still feeling not ready enough in some aspects. The first aspect is almost all of them had an issue with the duration of the internship that is too short. Second, not all the student teachers majoring English Language Teaching have a desire to be a teacher although teaching is the primary field of work that they have been prepared for throughout their university study. Third, another factor that makes them feel unready is anxiety. Fourth, from the content courses aspect, there was an issue with the seq uences of the courses that made student teachers confused in planning a lesson. Lastly, regarding skill courses, the respondents thought the courses are already adequate, and they already got good scores, but they stated that they still have some issues with it(Persepsi Mahasiswa KPL tentang Kesiapan Mereka untuk Menjalani KPL Keguruan)Penelitian deskriptif kualitatif ini bertujuan untuk mencari tahu kesiapan mahasiswa KPL Jurusan Sastra Inggris untuk menjalani KPL Keguruan di beberapa aspek. Data penelitian ini didapatkan melalui wawancara. Subjek yang diwawancai adalah enam mahasiswa semester enam dari Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Negeri Malang. Peneliti merekrut enam mahasiswa KPL dengan prestasi tinggi, sedang, dan rendah berdasarkan IPK. Data penelitian dianalisis berdasarkan tiga tahapan yang terdiri atas reduksi data, penyajian data, dan penarikan simpulan. Penelitian menunjukkan bahwa mahasiswa KPL masih belum siap di beberapa aspek. Aspek pertama adalah hampir semua dari enam mahasiswa KPL memiliki pemikiran bahwa durasi dari KPL Keguruan terlalu singkat. Kedua, tidak semua mahasiswa KPL Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris memiliki minat untuk menjadi guru walaupun mengajar adalah peluang kerja yang dipersiapkan selama belajar di universitas. Ketiga, faktor lain yang membuat mereka tidak siap adalah kegelisahan. Keempat, dari aspek mata kuliah konten terdapat isu tentang urutan mata kuliah yang membuat mahasiswa KPL bingung tentang perencanaan pembelajaran. Terakhir di aspek mata kuliah kecakapakan berbahasa Inggris, responden mengatakan bahwa mata kuliah tersebut sudah cukup membantu dan nilainya sudah mencukupi, tetapi mereka masih memiliki beberapa permasalahan


2022 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdurahman Milad ◽  
Dwi Rukmini ◽  
Dwi Anggani ◽  
Rudi Hartono

This study instigates the teachers’ perceptions towards the implementation of the adapted communicative approach to teach English language in Libyan high schools in the city of Khoms. The participants were six teachers of different gender-based high schools. The study followed a pure qualitative method to collect and analyze the date, and the data were collected using an open-ended questionnaire. The findings reveal that the majority of English language teachers in Libyan high schools in Khoms city have positively perceived the implementation of the communicative approach (CA) to teach English language in their high schools’ contexts. They agreed to the majority of the questionnaire’s items such as: the CA emphasizes the communication in the target language and emphasizes that the learners need meaningful communication. All the participants said that they modify the principles of the communicative approach to meet the students’ needs and goals and most of them have agreed that the allocated time is not enough to complete the lesson in the classroom. This study draws out the pedagogical implication that the implementation of the adapted CA to teach English language in high schools in Libya can be quite adaptable, especially when the teachers have to fulfil the students’ needs.


Author(s):  
Ratnawati Ratnawati

Writing, one of the four skills which have to be taught by educators in language learning. Starting from classroom observation implied that students confronted the difficulties in writing involving generating ideas, organizing words, and making compositions. This study supposes to explore some effects of pop culture as authentic materials for English language teaching in improving students’ writing skill. Due to pop culture relates to students’ life and experience, it is considered to be a stimulus for gaining students’ ideas, information, motivation, and interest in teaching writing. The students of secondary school were involved in this study and descriptive case study was employed to observe the importance of pop culture in writing class. Also, questionnaires and students’ works are the instruments to measure its effects. Both students’ works and result of the questionnaires pointed out that significantly improvement obtained after applying pop culture. In line with findings, it can be said that pop cultures have significant effects toward students’ writing skill. So, educators need to apply pop culture as their choices in future planning lesson.


Author(s):  
Ali Al-Issa ◽  
Ali Al-Bulushi ◽  
Rima Al-Zadjali

As a high-stakes international language proficiency benchmark, the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) requires different and special Language Learning Strategies (LLS), which pose numerous challenges to its takers. Some Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) majoring in English Language Teaching (ELT), have therefore, failed to achieve an overall score of Band 6 on the IELTS as a language proficiency requirement and a condition mandated by the Ministry of Education for selecting English language teachers among. This qualitatively driven hermeneutic phenomenology study, hence, discusses this issue from an ideological perspective. The study triangulates data from semi-structured interviews made with six fourth-year ELT Student Teachers (STs) at SQU and the pertinent literature. The critical discussion revealed various ideologies about the powerful impact of the IELTS on the STs’ English language development. The findings have important implications for the practices of the teachers in the Omani ELT school system and elsewhere.


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