ABSTRACT EVALUATION OF AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING PROGRAM AT A PUBLIC UNIVERSITY USING CIPP MODEL TUN&Ccedil / , Ferda M.S. Department of Educational Sciences Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cennet Engin DEMiR January 2010, 110 pages This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Ankara University Preparatory School program through the perspectives of instructors and students. To this end, the CIPP (context, input, process, and product) evaluation model developed by Stufflebeam (1971) was utilized. 406 students attending the preparatory school in the 2008-2009 academic year and 12 instructors teaching in the program participated in the study. The data were gathered through a self-reported student questionnaire and an interview schedule which was designed for the instructors. Besides, in order to obtain more detailed information about the preparatory school, written documents were examined. While the data based on the questionnaire were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics, content analysis was carried out to analyze the qualitative data. Multivariate Analysis of Variances with Pillai&rsquo / s Trace test was employed to investigate whether the significant differences among dependent variables across independent variables existed. Results of the study indicated that the program at Ankara University Preparatory School partially served for its purpose. The findings revealed that some improvements in the physical conditions, content, materials and assessment dimensions of the program were required to make the program more effective.

<p>The aim of the thesis is to investigate how teaching devices, with focus on ICT use are regarded in education. I make comparison with teaching without technical devices, but emphasize the teaching with such devices. I address questions concerning what technical devices are used and in which way these devices may enhance the education process. In addition, in which way the devices influence power and communication.</p><p>The methods indicate a deductive-abductive approach, observations, interviews, and questionnaires. The theoretical framework focuses, Linguistics, Pedagogy, cognition, and Informatics. The results-part is built up on two cases – one concerning teaching with technical devices, the other concerning teaching without those devices. The results imply that the schools of Sweden use computers and Internet in a very ‘common’ way. However, there are intentions to use cell phones with software to assist the teaching. By this approach, that would be possible to add an additional time to the lectures since the pupils and teachers can work outside the classroom. One problem with technical devices is named ‘noise’, which are things in between the ‘useful’ (technical) devices and issues around that can decrease the learning process. In addition; if the goal is to have a symmetrical relationship between teacher and pupil, it may be difficult without taking carefully account on the (technical) device in use, and perhaps regard them as cognitive tools. From what I found, the tools are not regarded as cognitive.</p>

Foreign language teachers, experts of pedagogy, and textbook publishers often cite frequency as an important tool in the creation of textbooks, as well as in teaching students a foreign language. These same figures, however, rarely question the application of frequency in these works. This thesis examines the application of frequency over a range of first-year German textbooks compared to a textbook that is explicitly based on a particular frequency dictionary. These textbooks are compared to each other and to the Jones and Tschirner Frequency Dictionary of German and Pfeffer’s Grunddeutsch: Basic (Spoken) German Word List, Grundstufe.

Diss. Göteborg : Göteborgs universitet, 2009.

This study investigates expatriate English teachers’ cross-cultural adjustment in Taiwan. Cross-cultural adjustment theories and the differences between Chinese and Western culture are reviewed. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected in order to develop the framework for the study. The process was examined across three facets of adjustment: general, working and interaction with host nation. The study was based on the framework of Black, Mendenhall and Oddou (1991) and develops an empirical cross-cultural adjustment model for native English- speaking expatriates who work in Taiwan as English teachers. The framework was successfully implemented by means of questionnaire and interview data and a literature review. The key findings of this study are: 1. Expatriate English teachers’ job satisfaction, age, previous crosscultural experience and their motivation for or purpose in coming to Taiwan are the key factors which affect their intention to stay in Taiwan. 2. Expatriate English teachers’ Mandarin or Taiwanese language ability has significant effects on their daily activities and social life outside work in terms of general adjustment. 3. Cross-cultural training for expatriate teachers could improve their living conditions in Taiwan in terms of general adjustment. 4. Expatriate teachers who possessed an undergraduate degree had more difficulties in their relationship with school management. 5. The total time expatriate teachers had spent living in Taiwan had some effect on their job satisfaction and adjustment in relation to interacting with the Taiwanese. Based on the empirical findings of this study, some recommendations for language education institutions and Westerners who are working or planning to work as English teachers in Taiwan are as follows: 1. Those who are planning to go to Taiwan to work as English teachers should receive some cross-cultural training and gain basic Mandarin or Taiwanese language skills before departure. An undergraduate degree is the basic qualification but an English teaching certificate or higher degree is strongly recommended. 2. English language education institutions should offer expatriate teachers cross-cultural training which includes basic local language skills, general information about living and working in Taiwan and the differences in the education system, teaching methodology and management style between Taiwanese and Western cultures. 3. When recruiting expatriate teachers, it is recommended that English language education institutions should avoid those who are including a trip to Taiwan as part of wider Asian travel and who are likely to stay in Taiwan for a relatively short time.

The number of learners of Japanese as a second or other language has increased rapidly worldwide over the past several decades. The objectives of their study have largely changed from pursuing purely academic research interests to acquiring the communicative skills needed for business or leisure purposes. There are five language competency skills needed to master foreign languages: reading, writing, listening, speaking and intercultural competence. Students, particularly those studying outside Japan, depend more on textbooks for learning how to speak than their peers in Japan; and speaking is studied formally through analysis of model discourses in selected textbooks. In particular, if the learner’s first language is very different from Japanese, which in fact almost all other languages are, the complexity of the spoken language, including gender difference and respect forms, presents most learners with certain challenges that require adequate explanation to be comprehended. Likewise, the larger the cultural gap between learner and target language, the greater are the challenges for acquiring intercultural competence, which is closely interrelated with the production of ‘natural speech’. It is, therefore, crucial for learners from other cultures who have little opportunity to speak in Japanese to learn from a textbook of good quality which provides appropriate explanation of the social and cultural context of the model dialogues they employ as exemplars. The present study aims to analyse and evaluate the appropriateness of model dialogues contained in intermediate level textbooks for learners of Japanese as a second or other language. The findings suggest that none of the selected textbooks included satisfactory explanation about the model discourses, so there seems to be much room for improvement in this regard. It is anticipated that the results of this study will contribute to the design concept of foreign language textbooks in future.

There are different ways of developing a second language. The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate whether and possibly how music, focused on singing, can improve the development of Swedish as a second language. Through interviews with three vocal teachers, from three different schools in Sweden, and observations of one of the vocal teachers, information about how they work and think about the subject has been collected. The vocal teachers teach groups of second language learners by singing songs made especially for second language learning. The vocal teachers consider singing beneficial in the development of the pronunciation and improvement of the prosody, which affects the students’ capacity to sound like a native Swedish speaker. They also mention factors which contradict the positive improvement of the language learning, for example when the prosody in singing does not coincide with the prosody in speech, which inhibits learning. The teachers are however in agreement about singing being beneficial and the categories of prosody, joy and pleasure are emphasized.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the Turkish Language Teaching Program for Foreigners at Minsk State Linguistic University in Belarus. The study aims to answer the following two main questions: 1) what are the discrepancies between the current status and the desired outcomes of the Turkish program at MSLU? 2) What aspects of the Turkish program should be maintained, strengthened or added? In order to answer these questions, data were collected from students who were attending the program in the 2002-2003 academic year, instructors who were teaching in the program in the same academic year, the graduates of the program, former instructors of this program, the parents of the students who were currently attending the program, the authorities at the institution, the employers of the graduates of this program in Minsk. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected in the study. The quantitative data were collected through questionnaires. The qualitative data were collected through interviews and written document analysis. The results of the data showed that the Turkish Language Program at Minsk State Linguistic University partially meets the needs and demands of all the involved parties. However, it was observed that enthusiasm and interest for the Turkish language among the current students, graduates and the University authorities were high. Some changes and additions could be made in the program to make it better suited to the needs and demands of its under goers and institution.

This thesis aims to examine students&rsquo / attitudes towards brain-based applications in the English Composition II course. For this purpose, a case study was carried out with a group of 23 first year students at the Department of Foreign Language Education at Middle East Technical University in the second half of the 2002-2003 academic year. After receiving writing training with a brain-based methodology for ten weeks, the students were given an attitude questionnaire which aimed at identifying their attitudes towards brain-based applications in the course. One week later, the iv researcher also conducted interviews with 10 of the 23 students separately to investigate students&rsquo / attitudes towards brain-based applications in the course further. The analysis of the data collected through the attitude questionnaire indicated that 93 % of the students showed significant positive attitudes towards the brain-based applications, while only 1 % of the students had negative attitudes towards the brain-based applications. The analysis of the results of the interviews also revealed that all students had positive feelings about the brain-based applications. Accordingly, the results indicated taking this composition course resulted in highly positive feelings such as confidence, relaxation, or being valued in the students. All students found writing meaningful and relevant to themselves. They stated to have acquired various skills during the course such as writing skills, computer skills, teaching skills, emotional intelligence, and an awareness of needs. They found these useful and meaningful for their lives in general, as students, and as teachers as part of their future profession.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Full text release at OhioLINK's ETD Center delayed at author's request