Papers by Tunay Taş
Current Academic Reflections on English Language Teaching in an EFL Setting, 2024
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis suggests that languages a human being speaks, to a varying extent, aff... more The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis suggests that languages a human being speaks, to a varying extent, affect their way of thinking. This study investigates the thoughts and perceptions of Turkish prospective teachers of English regarding two versions of this hypothesis: linguistic determinism and linguistic relativity. 60 participants have been surveyed about whether they find the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis credible and reasonable. The qualitative data have been analysed through axial coding to determine the participants’ orientations on the continuum of linguistic determinism and linguistic relativity. Findings show that linguistic relativity is deemed more credible by the majority of the participants, revealing that they take a more cautious stance as to how languages affect one’s thinking. Implications are discussed in terms of the extent to which such a stance could affect prospective teachers’ theoretical dispositions and instructional practices in their future English classes.
TESOL Journal, 2024
Over decades, the body of research about the experiences and perceptions of prospective teachers ... more Over decades, the body of research about the experiences and perceptions of prospective teachers of English during their teaching practicum has grown substantially. However, little research is currently available on the role of the wider educational context in shaping the TESOL practicum. The current study attempts to fill this gap by differentiating the wider educational context from the local situational context through providing details and insights about prospective teachers' intricate interactions with their wider educational context. In this study, the researchers used an exploratory qualitative research design. Following analysis of 24 participants' written observation reports collected over a 10-week period, they conducted a focus group discussion with five participants. Findings revealed four key themes pertaining to the Turkish educational context, showing that several factors beyond the control of prospective teachers inevitably affect their practicum experience. In conclusion, this study delves into the complexity of the TESOL practicum by highlighting the intricate interplay between the wider educational context and prospective teachers' experiences. It is suggested that investigating context-bound factors and gaining a deeper understanding of the elements that frame prospective teachers' perceptions of their wider educational context could ultimately result in more principled and effective teacher education.
International Online Journal of Education and Teaching, 2024
The teaching practicum is a valuable source of experience for prospective teachers of English. Th... more The teaching practicum is a valuable source of experience for prospective teachers of English. This study aims to scrutinise prospective teachers’ experiences throughout a practicum course by investigating their written reflective reports collected over a ten-week period. In order to examine the dimensions of practicum-based experiences, qualitative data collected from 24 participants have been analysed through a thematic content analysis. Findings show that prospective teachers form their practicum experiences primarily based on three dimensions: (a) learning environment, (b) mentor teachers, and (c) students. Themes emerging from these dimensions have been found to include both positive and negative aspects according to participants’ reflective viewpoints. Consequently, it is discussed that how these experiences pertaining to different dimensions interrelate with each other is important for understanding what affordances practicum can offer to prospective teachers of English.
International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, Sep 1, 2021
This study aims to investigate whether there is a discrepancy between local and international lan... more This study aims to investigate whether there is a discrepancy between local and international language coursebooks as regards types of speaking activities and their compliance with the goals related to developing learners’ communicative competence as stated in the Turkish official curriculum of language education. It comparatively classifies speaking activities in two 9th grade language coursebooks according to a taxonomy developed by Khan & Tas (2019). In this taxonomy, speaking activities are divided into categories as pre-communicative and communicative.  Results indicate that the international coursebook is relatively more communicative than the local one, the latter of which seems to be dependent more upon pre-communicative activities, hence deviating from the communicative goals. The difference implies an advantage in favour of the international coursebook with respect to developing learners’ communicative competence. It is, therefore, discussed that a truly communicative mindset is not only required in preparing the curriculum but also writing local coursebooks that are assumed to reflect the goals of that curriculum
Linguistic multi-competence holds that the knowledge of more than one language in the L2 user’s m... more Linguistic multi-competence holds that the knowledge of more than one language in the L2 user’s mind results in an overall system in which there is a constant state of inter-connectedness between cross-language components. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of linguistic multi-competence on L2 speech rhythm through acoustic analysis. The study design comprised the criteria of L2 evidence, (outer) baselines, multiple-language evidence, and total system. The study was conducted online via audio-conferencing. The study group consisted of seven multi-competent Turkish EFL teachers, who have successively acquired English as their L2. Across three elicitation methods, read and spontaneous speech samples were collected from the multi-competent participants for both English and Turkish. The speech data, segmented by the researcher, were analysed using Praat, measuring rhythm metrics ΔC and %V, as well as articulation rate. The acoustic analysis has yielded that the type of rhythm in Turkish speech differs from that of English, highlighting rhythm as a language-specific property that needs to be accommodated in L2 acquisition. Furthermore, it was revealed that even highly proficient non-native teachers of English bear traces of their L1 in L2 speech rhythm, which could denote that it is nearly impossible to constrain the effects of knowing multiple languages in speech production. It was accordingly concluded that rhythm, affected by the idiosyncratic state of bi/multilingual cognition, is a suprasegmental feature that needs to be integrated into the L2 user’s multi-competence as part of an inter-connected meaning-making system.
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) seeks mutually comprehensible social interaction in spoken ... more Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) seeks mutually comprehensible social interaction in spoken discourse. To serve this purpose, coursebooks undoubtedly play a key role as to how speaking practice takes place. In Turkey, local coursebooks are prescribed by the Ministry of National Education (MoNE); however, many practitioners seem to opt for the international alternatives. Considering the debate over qualitative adequacy, the current study compares two coursebooks in terms of the ground given to speaking skills. The method involves two 9 th grade English language coursebooks, Teenwise (local) and Talent 1 (international), being analysed via Taxonomy for Identification of Coursebook Speaking Activities (TICSA). Findings indicate that the international coursebook allocates slightly more space to speaking than the local book. TICSAwise, the local coursebook is two times more structural than the international coursebook. Whilst half the local coursebook is classified as quasi-communicative, the international one demonstrates an increase for these activities. Although both books ignore social interaction, the international coursebook has an edge over the local one in functional communication. These findings suggest that the local coursebook falls behind of the international counterpart for the teaching of speaking. Consequently, the adoption of a genuinely communicative mindset is discussed when developing language teaching materials so as to catch up with global publications and meet the pedagogical demands of CLT.
International Journal of Education Technology and Science, 2021
Questions that take place in an instructional context may vary according to their topicality, age... more Questions that take place in an instructional context may vary according to their topicality, agent, preponderance of answers, authenticity, source, and syntax. This study aims to investigate the distribution of different question types employed in a foreign language setting at tertiary level through a typology-based checklist prepared by the researcher. The findings, based upon the video recordings of 3 consecutive sessions, show that teacher-directed node questions play an important role in the construction of classroom discourse, as demonstrated by their quantitative predominance. Moreover, closed, referential, and factual questions seem to be preferred over open, display, and inferential or experience-based questions, respectively. It is indicated on account of these results that classroom discourse may be shaped by factors that are intrinsically different from that of daily communication. In addition to the prevalence of node questions, authenticity and dependence upon sources other than factual information are discussed as key points that could render a foreign language classroom more communicative.
GLOBETSonline: International Conference on Education, Technology and Science; Conference Proceedings, 2020
The development of communicative competence is the raison d’être of Communicative Language Teachi... more The development of communicative competence is the raison d’être of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). Defining it as the ability to establish meaningful communication within the dynamic boundaries of socially effective practices of interaction, Dell Hymes tacitly sets forth a fourfold framework for communicative competence to operate within. Building upon Hymes’s four pillars (formal possibility, feasibility, performability, and appropriacy), Canale & Swain aggregate these subcompetencies under linguistic system and functional aspects, which later respectively transform into organisational competence and pragmatic competence in Bachman’s model of communicative competence. Further, taking Savignon’s inverted pyramid into account brings about a perfect storm, which is to be dealt with in this paper. Through a discussion about both theoretical concerns and practical implementations, this paper pays a necessary re-visit to the earlier conceptualisations of communicative competence. In conclusion, Taxonomy for Identification of Coursebook Speaking Activities (TICSA) is posited to be a means of realising how foreign language learners
can effectively develop their communicative competence in CLT classes.
Novitas-ROYAL (Research on Youth and Language), 2020
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) seeks mutually comprehensible social interaction in spoken ... more Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) seeks mutually comprehensible social interaction in spoken discourse. To serve this purpose, coursebooks undoubtedly play a key role as to how speaking practice takes place. In Turkey, local coursebooks are prescribed by the Ministry of National Education (MoNE); however, many practitioners seem to opt for the international alternatives. Considering the debate over qualitative adequacy, the current study compares two coursebooks in terms of the ground given to speaking skills. The method involves two 9 th grade English language coursebooks, Teenwise (local) and Talent 1 (international), being analysed via Taxonomy for Identification of Coursebook Speaking Activities (TICSA). Findings indicate that the international coursebook allocates slightly more space to speaking than the local book. TICSA-wise, the local coursebook is two times more structural than the international coursebook. Whilst half the local coursebook is classified as quasi-communicative, the international one demonstrates an increase for these activities. Although both books ignore social interaction, the international coursebook has an edge over the local one in functional communication. These findings suggest that the local coursebook falls behind of the international counterpart for the teaching of speaking. Consequently, the adoption of a genuinely communicative mindset is discussed when developing language teaching materials so as to catch up with global publications and meet the pedagogical demands of CLT. Anahtar Sözcükler: Ders kitabı incelemesi, konuşma becerileri, yerel ders kitapları, uluslararası ders kitapları Özet: CLT sözlü söylemde karşılıklı anlaşılabilir sosyal etkileşimin peşindedir. Bu amaca hizmet etmek için, konuşma becerisi uygulamalarına fırsat sağlamada ders kitapları önemli bir rol oynar. Türkiye'de kullanılacak yerel ders kitapları Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı'nca bildirilir, mamafih görünen odur ki birçok öğretmen uluslararası alternatiflere yönelmektedir. Bahsi geçen niteliksel yeterlik tartışmasına istinaden, bu çalışma iki ders kitabını konuşma becerilerinin geliştirilmesine sağladıkları yer bakımından karşılaştırmadır. Yöntem Teenwise (yerel) ve Talent 1 (uluslararası) iki 9. sınıf İngilizce ders kitabının Taxonomy for Identification of Coursebook Speaking Activities (TICSA) dâhilinde incelenmesini içerir. Sonuçlar uluslararası kitabın konuşma becerilerine yerel kitaptan biraz daha fazla yer verdiğini işaret etmektedir. TICSA bazında, yerel ders kitabı uluslararası ders kitabından iki kat daha fazla 'yapısaldır'. 'Yarı iletişimsel' aktiveteler yerel ders kitabının yarısını kaplarken, uluslararası ders kitabında bir artış göstermektedir. 'Sosyal etkileşim' iki kitapta da göz ardı edilmesine karşın, uluslararası kitap 'işlevsel iletişim' aktivitelerinde yerel ders kitabının önüne geçmektedir. Bu bulgular yerel kitabının konuşma becerilerinin öğretiminde uluslararası muadilinin gerisinde kaldığını önermektedir. Sonuç olarak, küresel yayınları yakalamak ve CLT'nin eğitsel gereklerini karşılamak amacıyla yabancı dil öğretimi materyallerini geliştirirken gerçek bir iletişimsel anlayışın benimsenmesi gerektiği tartışılmaktadır.
1st International Educational Research Conference Full Abstract Book, 2019
Interaction, providing the blueprint necessary for communication, has a pivotal role in language ... more Interaction, providing the blueprint necessary for communication, has a pivotal role in language development. In this regard, communication-oriented language teaching methodologies such as CLT are intuitively characterised with various types of student-originated interaction patterns. However, the disarray in showing the direction of these dyadic interactions and the lack of empirical work hinder an objective judgement of the types of classroom interaction put into use by language teachers. In order to remedy this problem, the teacher-student dialogues written by pre-service English teachers at Hacettepe University are analysed, and a comprehensive convention which can be used for showing various classroom interactions is formed through this study. Convention of Classroom Interaction Patterns (CCIP) breaks down instances of classroom interaction into two types as teacher-originated and student-originated, with 20 distinct directional patterns. The results have yielded the quantitative supremacy of teacher-originated (59%) as opposed to student-originated (41%) instances. The most frequent pattern has been found to be T-WC (43.9%). Furthermore, certain types have been spotted to vary according to proficiency levels. In the end, CCIP is proposed as a unifying guide to develop a better understanding of student-oriented pedagogy, which is profoundly the interactional mindset entailed by communicative language policies. SINIF İÇİ ETKİLEŞİM ÖRÜNTÜLERİNİN ARAŞTIRILMASI: METİN TEMELLİ ANALİZ Özet İletişim için elzem temeli sağlaması nedeniyle karşılıklı etkileşimin dil öğreniminde merkezi bir rolü vardır. Bu minvalde, İletişimsel Dil Öğretimi (CLT) gibi iletişim yönelimli dil öğretim teknikleri öngörüsel olarak çeşitli öğrenci kaynaklı etkileşim örüntüleriyle nitelendirilmiştir. Mamafih, ikili etkileşimin yönünü göstermedeki düzensizlik ve ampirik çalışmaların yetersizliği, öğretmenler tarafından kullanılan sınıf içi etkileşim örüntülerinin nesnel bir değerlendirmesinin önündeki engellerdir. Bu soruna çözüm sunabilmek için, Hacettepe Üniversitesi'nde eğitimini sürdüren hizmet öncesi İngilizce öğretmenlerinin yazdığı öğretmen-öğrenci diyalogları incelenmiştir ve akabinde birçok farklı sınıf içi etkileşimini göstermede kullanabilecek kapsayıcı bir konvansiyon oluşturulmuştur. Sınıf İçi Etkileşim Örüntüleri Konvansiyonu (CCIP) sınıf içi etkileşim örneklerini toplam 20 farklı yönelimsel örüntü ihtiva eden öğretmen kaynaklı ve öğrenci kaynaklı iki türe bölmektedir. Sonuçlar öğrenci kaynaklı etkileşimlere (%41) nazaran öğretmen kaynaklı örneklerin (%59) sayısal üstünlüğünü göstermiştir. En sık karşılaşılan etkileşim örüntüsü T-WC (% 43.9) tespit edilmiştir. Buna ek olarak, bazı örüntü tiplerinin yeterlik düzeyine göre değişiklik gösterdiği saptanmıştır. Sonuç kısmında, iletişimsel dil planlarının gerektirdiği etkileşimsel zihniyet olan öğrenci temelli eğitime yönelik daha iyi bir anlayış geliştirebilmek için CCIP birleştirici bir kılavuz olarak önerilmektedir. Anahtar Sözcükler: Sınıf içi etkileşim; etkileşim örüntüsü, öğretmen kaynaklı; öğrenci kaynaklı
Thesis Chapters by Tunay Taş
Unpublished Master's Thesis., 2021
Linguistic multi-competence holds that the knowledge of more than one language in the L2 user’s m... more Linguistic multi-competence holds that the knowledge of more than one language in the L2 user’s mind results in an overall system in which there is a constant state of inter-connectedness between cross-language components. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of linguistic multi-competence on L2 speech rhythm through acoustic analysis. The study design comprised the criteria of L2 evidence, (outer) baselines, multiple-language evidence, and total system. The study was conducted online via audio-conferencing. The study group consisted of seven multi-competent Turkish EFL teachers, who have successively acquired English as their L2. Across three elicitation methods, read and spontaneous speech samples were collected from the multi-competent participants for both English and Turkish. The speech data, segmented by the researcher, were analysed using Praat, measuring rhythm metrics ΔC and %V, as well as articulation rate. The acoustic analysis has yielded that the type of rhythm in Turkish speech differs from that of English, highlighting rhythm as a language-specific property that needs to be accommodated in L2 acquisition. Furthermore, it was revealed that even highly proficient non-native teachers of English bear traces of their L1 in L2 speech rhythm, which could denote that it is nearly impossible to constrain the effects of knowing multiple languages in speech production. It was accordingly concluded that rhythm, affected by the idiosyncratic state of bi/multilingual cognition, is a suprasegmental feature that needs to be integrated into the L2 user’s multi-competence as part of an inter-connected meaning-making system.
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Papers by Tunay Taş
can effectively develop their communicative competence in CLT classes.
Thesis Chapters by Tunay Taş
can effectively develop their communicative competence in CLT classes.