English Language Teaching

1 Considering the special needs and the learning styles of their learners, foreign language teachers should use the most effective methods or approaches which are appropriate for their teaching strategies. Redundant or a diverse range of teaching techniques are not meant to use in the process of their learners' acquiring new vocabulary items; instead, the most effective and to the point teaching techniques in terms of each language skill should be employed. Efficiency of language learners in terms of their command of the vocabulary can be assessed through their understanding any reading or listening context and managing to be productive in speaking or writing procedures in language acquisition process. Phonological, morpho-syntactic, or socio-pragmatic positions of new lexical items as well as the learners' learning styles and multiple intelligences should all be taken into consideration by language teachers so that their learners could really reach an efficient level of vocabulary power. This efficiency has been identified as having a language passport in terms of the proficiency level of the learners within the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) for Languages by all EU countries in recent years. Foreign language teachers should try very hard to supply their learners with the required qualifications in every language skill so that they can have a linguistic identity both in their own societies and inter-cultural or multi-cultural contexts. Within this framework, foreign language teachers will hopefully make use of any suggested approach presented in this study so as to widen their learners' horizons in language acquisition process.

[ Yavuz, Ayhan ]  [ Fundamentals Of Curriculum Design For Translation  Courses in Social Sciences for Undergraduate Students in the  Departments of Translatıon and Interpretation ]  [ M.A. Thesis ]  [ Ankara, 2011 ]

Just like professional translators who transfer written or oral messages within different cultures and societies and hope their works of art to be appreciated suitably by the parties of the communications, professional translator trainers as well want their students, as their works of art, to be appreciated by authorities all around the world. This appreciation can be done through evaluating the curricula of the courses that the students have in their education process. These curricula are developed by academicians specialized in the area of curriculum development. The aim of this thesis is to set forth the safest ways of curriculum development process within the accepted criteria specified by the most authoritative scholars in this field. This study will also unite the old and the modern theories about curriculum development. To develop such a sound means to integrate the old and the modern theories with their beneficial aspects in the most useful way is the final destination that the curriculum developers want to take educators to. This thesis, therefore aimed to reach the point where it is possible to see whether alternative ways of curriculum development from various models can be applicable to enrich the program for the Department of Translation and Interpretation at Vocational School of Fatih University, Ankara.
Key Words:
1. Oral Message
2. Translator Trainer
3. Curriculum Development
4. Translation and Interpretation Department

Tum dunyadaki insanlarin, Ingilizceyi dogru ve akici kullanmalari yonuyle iletisimsel becerilerinin yani sira konusma kabiliyetlerinin de gelismesi, Avrupa Birligi ulkelerinde AOOC‘nin (Avrupa Ortak Olcut Cercevesi) formu le edilip sekil verilmesiyle hatiri sayilir derecede onem kazanmistir. AOOC ve onun dil ogretim ve ogrenimine getirdigi kriterler, Turk dilbilimci ve otoriteleri tarafindan bu alanin temel taslari olarak kabul edilmislerdir. Avrupa Konseyi, AOOC‘nin gelism esiyle birlikte Avrupa ulkelerinin cok yakin iliskileri ve uye ulkelerin de sosyal ve kulturel yonden isbirligine gitmeleri sonucu tum kulturel degerlerine kucak acma noktasina geldi. Bunu yaparken birligin temel dayanak noktasi, cok kulturlu ve cok dilli bir birliktelik vasitasiyla kulturel farkliliklara karsi gelisen karsilikli anlayis ve hosgoru olmustur. Bu calisma, B1 duzeyindeki universite ogrencilerinin iletisimsel yeterliklerini ve buna bagli olarak da diger kulturlere karsi hosgorulerini artirabilm eleri...

Considering the special needs and the learning styles of their learners, foreign language teachers should use the most effective methods or approaches which are appropriate for their teaching strategies. Redundant or a diverse range of teaching techniques are not meant to use in the process of their learners' acquiring new vocabulary items; instead, the most effective and to the point teaching techniques in terms of each language skill should be employed. Efficiency of language learners in terms of their command of the vocabulary can be assessed through their understanding any reading or listening context and managing to be productive in speaking or writing procedures in language acquisition process. Phonological, morpho-syntactic, or socio-pragmatic positions of new lexical items as well as the learners' learning styles and multiple intelligences should all be taken into consideration by language teachers so that their learners could really reach an efficient level of vocabulary power. This efficiency has been identified as having a language passport in terms of the proficiency level of the learners within the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) for Languages by all EU countries in recent years. Foreign language teachers should try very hard to supply their learners with the required qualifications in every language skill so that they can have a linguistic identity both in their own societies and inter-cultural or multi-cultural contexts. Within this framework, foreign language teachers will hopefully make use of any suggested approach presented in this study so as to widen their learners' horizons in language acquisition process.

It is almost a century that Palmer (1937) first suggested about the significance of frequency in vocabulary acquisition. Since then on, countless discussions conducted over the issue from the points supporting and falsifying the claim. But what made all these studies similar to one another was the study context. All the studies aimed to reveal the frequency effect had preferred to study in reading classes; furthermore, they had divided the frequency only into two as high and low. However, could frequency not be regarded more than high and low? Then, Nation (2006) introduced a new term 'mid-frequency', which is a term studied few. All told so far was the hub where the present study stemmed from. This study aimed to reveal the possibility of lexical acquisition through frequency effect in a context where the focus is not vocabulary, but grammar. The second associative purpose was to investigate if there is mid-frequency effect or not. The vocabularies of the book that students studied through two terms were analysed, and categorized as high-, mid-, and low-frequency. Then each frequency vocabularies were asked to the participants. As last, which frequency type got the highest correct reply was detected, and each frequency was compared to one another through ANOVA analysis to see if there was any significant difference among high-, mid-, low-frequency vocabularies. The findings showed both parallelism and divisions to the studies in the literature.

It is claimed by many interactionists that Corrective Feedback (CF) has an important role in steering learners' attention in L2. Accordingly, attracted considerable attention in SLA, CF was divided into two as explicit and implicit, which embodied 'recast' in implicit feedback type. But, of all implicit feedback types, recasts have emerged to be the issue of intensive theoretical and empirical studies, and possibly seem to be continuing as one of the widespread ones. Although it seems there is a pile of studies in the literature conducted over recast as CF, they are all the same on the basis that regarding recast as only implicit but not explicit. So far, the great majority of the studies have been carried out over 'recast' in contexts where the point was the treatment of grammatical errors of learners. In this respect, the present study is of major importance in determining the efficiency of recast in a context where the focus is 'reading errors' rather than grammatical errors. The present study aimed to investigate whether it was implicit or explicit recast which showed more promise in reducing the number of reading errors. The participants were divided into two random groups and required to read different texts. Meanwhile, They were provided implicit feedback for the implicit feedback group and explicit feedback for the explicit feedback group. The data, collected from pre-, post-, and delayed-post tests, were recorded and analysed through paired sample t-test in order to see whether there was a statistically significant difference between two types of recast in terms of efficiency. The results were of great importance for those who wanted to employ recast for learners.

The mastery of academic writing in English or English as Academic Purpose (EAP) has a crucial role at Turkish universities; whereas some EAP problems still face Turkish Academics. One of the major EAP problems is 'writing'. This study focuses on mechanical writing errors of Turkish Academics, and aims at revealing: the common errors of Turkish Academics; annual rejected article number due to English-borne troubles; and the reason of writing in English. The data were collected through 30 English written articles from 3 different universities, and analyses were done in tabulated forms. To able to ensure the equality in data, the gathered articles were separated into two: Positive Sciences and Social Sciences, and analyzed in accordance. The articles collected as data were those which were turned down by the Journals due to grammatical errors. The errors found in the writings of Turkish Academics were classified under 10 categories, which were thought as the most common error types by Gaskell and Cobb (2004). The findings reveal that some error types were much more frequent than others. Furthermore, thanks to the study, it is understood why Turkish academics insisted on writing their articles in English although they had difficulty in doing so. Özet İngilizcede makale yazma üzerine uzmanlaşma yada akademik olarak İngilizce yazabilme becerisi Türk üniversitelerinde önemli bir role sahipken Türk akademisyenler hala akademik İngilizcede çeşitli problemlerle karşılaşmaktadırlar. En sık rastlanılan sorunlardan biri 'yazma' becerisidir. Bu çalışma Türk akademisyenlerin İngilizce yazarken ortaya çıkan mekanik yazım hatalarına odaklanmaktadır. Çalışmanın amacı; Türk akademisyenler arasındaki yaygın İngilizce yazım hataları, İngilizce kaynaklı reddedilen makale sayıları ve akademisyenlerin makalelerini İngilizce yazma amaçlarını ortaya çıkarmayı hedeflemektedir. Bu çalışmanın verisi 3 farklı üniversiteden 30 İngilizce yazılmış makaleden toplanmıştır. Makalenin örnekleminde bir eşitlik sağlayabilmek için veri iki ayrı bilim dalında toplanmış-Fen Bilimler ve Sosyal Bilimler-ve bu doğrultuda analiz edilmiştir. Çalışmada kullanılan makaleler İngilizce dilbilgisel kaynaklı reddedilen makalelerden oluşmaktadır. Türk akademisyenlerin makalelerinde bulunan hatalar, en sık rastlanılan İngilizce hatalar olarak kabul edilen (Gaskell & Cobb, 2004) 10 kategori altında toplanmıştır. Araştırmanın sonucu bazı hataların diğerlerine oranla daha sık yapıldığını göstermekte. Sonuçlar aynı zamanda İngilizce makale yazmakta zorlanmalarına rağmen neden İngilizce yazmada ısrar ettikleri konusunda da bazı sebepler göstermektedir.

Globalisation, without doubt, is one of the major defining characteristics of modern society. It constitutes both a threat and a challenge, depending on the points of view and the predisposition of the observer. Thanks to the globalisation, borders are losing their former importance, and the world is becoming 'a small village' (Mcluhan, 1962). The globalised people are looking for a common language to communicate with each other and get benefit of globalisation. At that stage, English, indispensably, emerges as the language of the new world. Having become a member of NATO in 1952, the fast spread of 'Englishization' in Turkey has been felt more than anytime else. The present study aims at revealing the effects of irresistible power of English language on Turkish language based upon the views of Turkish undergraduate students and Academics. At the same time the study argues the place of English as an international language in Turkey. The data were collected through questionnaires from 306 undergraduate students and 80 academics, and then the data were analysed. The results provided valuable information to able to get Turkish academics' and undergraduate students' views on English language, its irrepressible spreading, and its impact and prospect impact on Turkish language.

Boosting, an authorial commitment, and hedging, a authorial mitigating, are two issues interconnected one another with a gaining importance in the last decades (for detail see Gillaerts & Velde, 2010). However, boosting has remained as an issue needing to be studied from different aspects; for instance, cross-linguistic, cross-disciplinary, cross-cultural or comparative while hedging gains a great deal of attention from researchers. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the corpora in terms of statistical inclusion of certainty markers in the research articles written in English by Turkish, Japanese and Anglophonic authors, and then to explain the results obtained through statistical tests in the sense of linguistic and cultural factors. A corpus of total 60 research articles written by 20 Anglophonic authors, 20 Japanese authors, and 20 Turkish authors of English constituted the data for the present study. The data were scanned by researchers of the present study. Having completed the scanning, the words functioning as boosters were categorized in line with the taxonomy created for the present study. Then, the total certainty markers for each group of scholars were calculated and analyzed through ANOVA test. The test results provided whether there were any statistically significant differences among the groups in terms of including boosters in the research papers. Furthermore, the present study formed a boosting list as a result of dictionary scanning, which may be a reference for further studies, and the most and the least used boosters of authors were gathered in the tables.

Awareness of language or language competency has greatly changed from the focus of language itself as form and structure to language use as pragmatics. Accordingly, it is widely accepted that different cultures structure discourse in different ways. Moreover, studies have shown that this holds for discourse genres traditionally considered as highly standardized in their rituals and formulas. Taking inspiration from such studies, this paper employs a corpus-based approach to examine variations of the apology and thanking strategies used in English and Italian. First the apology itself as a form of social action is closely analyzed and then thanking. This study also pays special attention on analyzing and contrasting apology and thanking strategies in American English and in Italian in terms of Marion Owen's remedial strategies (Owen, 1983), and Olshtain & Cohen's semantic formulas in the apology speech act set (Olshtain & Cohen, 1983). The purpose of the study is not only to compare apology and thanking speech acts but to also learn their contextual use. The findings suggest that the status and role of the situation affect the speakers' choice of apology and thanking strategies, and semantic formulas are of great importance.

Boosters are an important metadiscourse device for writers because it creates an emphatic impression in the reader. In addition, the competence of metadiscourse devices such as boosters is crucial in having native-fluency in academic writing. Therefore, this avoidance of using boosters may spawn foreignness in non-native writers' academic texts. The present study has four-fold aims to accomplish: (1) whether there is a statistically significant difference between native and non-native writers of English in terms of the number of boosters and lexical diversity of boosters; (2) whether there is a correlation between a writer's competence of boosters and native-fluency in academic writing; (3) to suggest pedagogical implications for writers regarding the use of boosters; and (4) to create a list of boosters that may be used by writers in their prospective studies. Accordingly, the present study investigated 200 articles written in English by Anglophone and non-Anglophone writers. The results provided partly statistically significant differences. Another significant result which may be a reference point for further research is that Anglophone writers are prone to writing their academic texts with a higher lexical variety when compared to non-native writers.

Given the use of appropriate uncertainty, the right strength of claim for the data, politeness and proper positioning oneself, though hedging is an important component of western academic discourse there appears inadequate awareness. The present study aims to reveal the tendency and preferences of Turkish and Anglo-sphere scholars in terms of using hedging strategies, and frequency of hedges and whether any differences exist in their published articles. Data corpus was composed of 100 articles published in English that equally belong to Non-native writers (Turkish) and native writers of English (Anglo-sphere). Three main parts of the articles i.e. Introduction, Discussion, and Conclusion, where hedging devices are commonly used will be analyzed through a concordance program to get the hedge frequencies. The outputs will be categorized according to a framework included 9 hedge types (Adverbs of Frequency, Quantifiers, Modal Auxiliary Verbs, Epistemic Verbs, Adjectives & Adverbs, Nouns, Conversational & Informal, Introductory phrases, Vague References). The categorized outputs will be analyzed by means of MANOVA and Mann-Whitney tests to compare Non-native writers (NNW) and Native writers (NW) in terms of the hedge frequency. Having completed statistical analyses, the function of hedges used in both groups was examined so as to interpret hedging strategies. The results will provide important insights about using tentative language strategies of NNWs and NWs of English. Further, as for nine hedging types, the results will reveal each group's hedging tendencies and differences.

In the field of ELT, a growing awareness has been paid to the use of correct and appropriate word combinations. Of methods and techniques existed in the literature, the issue of lexical collocation gets a great deal of attention. However, one of the main obstacles, particularly for non-native writers (NNW), is indeterminate knowledge of word combinations. Through the acquisition of collocation, it may be possible for NNW to increase their lexical competence. The present study attempted to investigate the use of English lexical collocations in the texts written by native writers of English (NW) and non-native writers of English (NNW), and to examine whether there are any statistically significant differences between NW and NNW in terms of employing collocations in their written productions. The corpora for the current study consisted of 40 research articles (RAs) published in leading journals in ELT, 20 of which belong to native speakers of English while the rest to non-natives. Only RAs published in ELT discipline were included in the corpora because lexical collocation may show difference across disciplines. Before analysing, the data were categorized according to a taxonomy divided into seven: verb+noun, verb+adj./adv., noun+verb, noun+noun, adjective+noun, adverb+adjective,andadverb+verb. To able to explore the data, Independent Samples T-test was employed. The findings yielded significant results. Further, the current study sheds light on whether to include lexical collocations for a better writing. At the end, based on the research findings, some pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research and collocation awareness were discussed.

Collocations, no matter where to use them, are an important linguistic issue if it is native fluency that is longed for in academic writing. In line with that, the present study aimed at increasing the awareness towards the importance of collocations in order to have native fluency in academic writing; making some suggestions regarding involvement of collocations in academic texts, and creating a practicable list of collocations to be used especially in research articles by non-native writers of English. A hundred research articles written in English in the field of ELT by native speakers of English made up the data of the present study. The data were analysed and the collocations were identified and categorized. The categorized collocations were enhanced through collocations dictionaries to be able to create a comprehensive list of collocations. The findings showed that native speakers heavily rely on collocations while writing academic texts. In addition, the literature also provided compelling evidence regarding the close relation between native fluency in academic texts and correct collocation use.

Ambiguities are naturally found in languages and largely categorized into lexical and syntactical ambiguities. They are responsible for ambiguous expressions and may cause confusion in readers; therefore, accurate evaluation of them is critical for clear writing which is one of the prominent prerequisites for academic writing. The literature shows that novice writers such as students are those who suffer from ambiguity the most. Accordingly, the present study examined student writing to reveal students' lexical and syntactical ambiguities in their writing and evaluate the result accordingly. The aim of this study is to investigate whether lexical or syntactical ambiguities are more common in student writing, and also to suggest some pedagogical implications for the instructors at higher education to disambiguate expressions. This study collected data from four exams held in 2019-20 fall and spring terms. The results showed that student writing includes more lexical ambiguities than syntactical ambiguities and students are more prone to lexical ambiguities of verbs when compared to other grammatical items.