HOW STUDENTS PERCEIVE OUR LANGUAGE PROGRAM

1. HOW STUDENTS PERCEIVE OUR LANGUAGE PROGRAM Ph. D. Hülya İpek Ph. D. Müge Kanatlar Anadolu University

2. STARTING POINT • Observations • Students’ complaints • Emprical studies • Concrete data

3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS How do students perceive the English language program at the School of Foreign Languages? • What are the positive points of the program from their perspectives? • What are the negative points of the program from their perspectives?

4. FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAM

5. FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAM

6. INSTRUMENTQuestionnaire • Do you like to learn English at this school? Why? Please indicate at least 3 (three) reasons and justify your reasons. • I LIKE to learn English at this school because …………………………………………………….…………….. …………………………………………………………………… • I DON’T LIKE to learn English at this school because ………………………………………………………………...... ………………………………………………………………......

7. DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE • End of the fall term of 2006-2007 Academic year • During class hour  appr. 15 min. • Students answered the 2 questions in the questionnaire

8. PARTICIPANTS • Beginner: 541 • Elementary: 324 • TOTAL: 866 (Those students who were not present in class during the administration of the questionnaire didn’t complete it.)

9. DATA ANALYSIS • All the responses were read to have an idea about the categories. • Randomly selected 73 questionnaires were chosen to establish the categories. Namely, the categories are data-driven

10. CATEGORIES

12. DATA ANALYSIS • 124 randomly selected questionnaires were analyzed to establish Interrater-reliability.

13. Interrater-reliability Results

14. DATA ANALYSIS • 742 responses were analyzed. • Responses were coded and marked into the related categories. • Frequency of each category was calculated. • Number and percentage of students with  only negative opinions  only positive opinions  both positive and negative opinions were determined.

15. RESULTS- POSITIVE FACTORS

16. RESULTS, IMPLICATIONS & SUGGESTIONS “Extrinsic Motivation majority of students are extrinsically motivated to learn English reasons for positive extrinsic motivation: future job opportunities, academic career “Teachers”  have good rapports with students  the main positive factors why students like learning English “Facilities”  Ss. find the facilities at our school satisfactory.  Ss. are able and willing to use the facilities that support learning English at hour school. “Classroom Atmosphere”  the positive atmosphere in the classroom motivates them to learn English  a good rapport among classmates makes them feel more motivated to learn English

17. RESULTS, IMPLICATIONS & SUGGESTIONS “Intrinsic Motivation”  a large amount of Ss. are intrinsically motivated to learn English. • reasons for positive intrinsic motivation: like language learning or the English language, interest in communicating with foreigners “Program Frame”  general frame of the program is appreciated  Amount of topics and practice covered are satisfying  Less than half of the respondents are not satisfied because of teaching the skills separately; they usually feel that course contents are disconnected.  Sts. feel pressured by the education in general “Method”  Ss. are generally satisfied by the teaching styles, methods and techniques, yet, some express dislike  Ss. do not like their teachers to use English all the time or to have high expectations from the  Ss.In low levels, use of frequent English could create a negative attitude in sts. language learning.  Teachers should have more realistic expectations from their sts.

18. RESULTS- NEGATIVE FACTORS

19. RESULTS, IMPLICATIONS & SUGGESTIONS “Exit Exam”  99% dislike learning English because of the exit exam  unfair to expect beginner/elementary Ss. to take the same exam with upper-intermediate or advanced Ss.  A different regulation can be applied for beginner/elementary sts. “Passing Grade”  The required passing grade (70) leads to dislike learning English.  Beginner/Elementary find it too high and unachievable.  They compared the passing grade at our school with those of other similar language schools and indicated that they don’t understand why there is such a discrepancy. “Late Comers not Admitted”  Absenteeism increases if a class is missed because they are late  Ss. don’t understand the rationale behind this rule that late comers interfere the flow of the lesson. “Attendance”  Ss. find the 10% right for absenteeism too low. They expressed that this rate is not enough for vital and urgent situations.  The 10% right for absenteeism seems to put sts. under pressure

20. RESULTS, IMPLICATIONS & SUGGESTIONS “Class Hours”  28 hours per week seems to demoralize our Ss. Ss. can’t find any time or effort to study or socialize  negative feelings about class hours lead them to dislike English  Class hours need to be considered  6 hours a day might be affecting Ss. willingness for becoming autonomous learners. “Faculty-induced Factors”  Ss. dislike learning English because of one of the following reasons: obligatory, there is a risk of being dismissed, it compulsory for some faculties that have no subjects in English.  Faculties should either convince their sts. on the advantages of learning English o reconsider their decisions on requiring their Ss. to study at the School of Foreign Languages “Loaded Syllabus”  Ss. find that the syllabus is too loaded  Lessons proceed fast to catch up with the syllabus; this deters comprehension of topics  The syllabus needs to be reviewed and the content lessened “Requirements”  Ss. felt overwhelmed by the assignments, projects, and drafts  Few Ss. (8%) indicated that requirements contribute to their improvement in learning English Revise the content and number of requirements. Class hours--requirements

21. RESULTS, IMPLICATIONS & SUGGESTIONS “Physical Conditions”  Physical conditions of the classrooms create a dislike in learning English.  classes are very small or not well illuminated chairs are uncomfortable “Books”  Ss. find the books dissatisfying  books need to be revised; advisably by levels “Understanding”  Not understanding the lesson leads to dislike learning English  Might be due to : * misplacing students * flow of the lesson * instruction

22. RESULTS - others

23. RESULTS - others

24. DISCUSSION Teacher Method Motivation • “…the teacher as a person is coming to be recognized as the determining factor in the teaching process.” (Sowden, 2007, p. 308) • “The findings of several studies indicate that students who feel emotionally supported by their teachers are more likely to experience enjoyment of learning and motivation for academic success.” (cited in Thuen, Bru, Ogden, 2007, p. 348) • Motivation has been shown to be related to educational variables such as effort and positive emotions. (cited in Noels, Clément, Pelletier, 1999) • “When teachers teach well and provide appropriate learning support, students are more likely to succed…” (cited in Thuen,et.al., 2007, p. 349)

25. DISCUSSION Context specific findings: • Exit Exam • Passing Grade • Obligatory Attendance • Class Hours (28 per week, 6 per day = 392 hours per term) • Faculty induced factors • Loaded Syllabus • Requirements

26. “How much is too much?” “The more complicated the better?”

27. THANK YOU! ARIGATO! Hülya İpek hipek@anadolu.edu.tr G. Müge Kanatlar gmkanatlar@anadolu.edu.tr

28. FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAM

29. FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAM