Issue Information

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of using Padlet, a social constructivism-based platform, in enhancing the English writing skills of Thai students in higher education. The research objectives are to examine the impact of using Padlet on the English writing abilities of undergraduate students in Thailand, compare their writing achievement before and after participating in the Padlet-based writing activities, and compare the English writing achievement of the experimental and controlled groups. A sample of 20 undergraduate students was selected through simple random sampling. The pre-post English writing test, English writing lesson plans based on constructivism, and English writing ability evaluation form were used as instruments in the study. The experimental process involved using six lesson plans in the first semester, followed by evaluation of the subjects' writing competence using the English writing ability evaluation form after each lesson. The data were analyzed using mean scores, standard deviation, percentage, effect size, and t-test. The findings indicate that the English writing dexterity of the undergraduate students was at a good level, and there was a significant improvement in their English writing abilities after participating in the Padlet-based writing activities. The experimental group's English writing dexterity was found to be significantly higher than the controlled group.

Speaking is an important skill for English language learners to master. In this context, ICT could play a crucial role in improving students' speaking abilities if used correctly and should be integrated into teaching oral expression since it brings the actual world into the classroom. Hence, the usage of technology significantly impacts on EFL students' capacity to communicate both within and outside the classroom. Improving the speaking skill has always been challenging for students; thus, the current study focuses on the challenges and impediments second year students at University of Bordj Bou Arreridj faced in delivering their oral performances. Seeking to achieve the aim of the study, a semi-structured interview was conducted with 13 students in the English department. The results revealed four main challenges: technical problems, lack of experience in using ICTs, interaction problems between students and instructors, and lack of teachers’ training. 

This study explored how digital news outlets adhere to and violate the Gricean conversational maxims namely quantity, quality, relation, and manner. Using a qualitative research design, 60 Facebook posts from three digital news outlets in Sorsogon, Philippines were analyzed based on the criteria set by H.P. Grice. It was found that the news outlets adhere to the Gricean conversational maxims, especially those of quality and relation. However, there were also instances when they clearly violated the maxims such as those of quantity and manner. These findings suggest that the news outlets share truthful and relevant news but at the same time, they also disseminate unclear messages that lack important details. The analysis further revealed that the creators of these FB posts which do not observe the Gricean maxims have different motives or purposes. The most common possible motives are to emphasize a point, so the readers’ attention is drawn towards a particular piece of information in the post and to capture or sustain the readers’ interest so that they stay tuned for updates about the issue. Hence, the public needs to be more critical in examining FB posts of these news outlets and the possible motives behind every news story for a better understanding and interpretation of media messages.

During the last decade, hyper-diverse school classe' and, by extension, hyper-diverse society' need for inclusive strategies, has been an issue preoccupying the Greek education system, especially after the newest refugee movements from the Middle East. One of the growing matters concerning research in this context, is use of the various languages spoken by newcomer students in Greek classrooms, as first languages consttute an important value in individuals,  lives and multilingualism is a reality that must be taken into accounmt in the educational process. During the study presented in this paper, we investigated whether elements of translanguaging are used in the communication between students with a refugee/migrant background and their teachers and c;lassmates in Greek primary school. Through micro-ethnography and a multimethod research approach, observations were carried out in two primary school units in the city of Ioannina, as well as interviews, with teachers of students with a refugee/migrant background. Results showcased reduced translanguaging in communication within the school community, prevalence of monolingual teaching in the dominant cultural group's language, as well as reduced use of bridge languages, both by students and by teachers.

The aim of this study is to determine the views of prospective Turkish teachers about their digital competence levels. Case study, one of the qualitative research designs, was used in the study. The study group of the research consists of Turkish language teacher candidates studying at a university in western Turkey. The data of the study were collected through the "Forms" internet application of the "Google" company with a semi-structured observation form. Descriptive analysis technique was used on the collected data. In the study, according to the responses of the prospective Turkish teachers about their digital competencies, it was understood that they saw themselves as low level competent. They interpreted the most important reason for this as the faculty of education not supporting them in the field of digital technology. In this context, it is suggested that studies should be conducted on how education faculties should draw a road map to support their students in the technological field.

The aim of this study is to make a comparison between the courses by analyzing the end of theme assessment questions in the textbooks used in teaching Turkish as a foreign language according to the revised Bloom's Taxonomy. As a result of the analysis, the end-of-theme assessment questions were classified according to the cognition stages in the revised Bloom's taxonomy. "Document analysis", one of the qualitative research designs, was used in the study. The study group of the research consists of "Yeni İstanbul Turkish Teaching Set for Foreigners" and "Yedi İklim Turkish Yunus Emre Institute Teaching Set". When the findings of the study are examined, it is seen that end-of-the-the-theme evaluation questions are included at the end of each unit. However, the publishing houses are not parallel to each other in terms of the amount of questions they use. Yeni İstanbul Turkish for Foreigners Teaching Set is superior to Yedi İklim Turkish Yunus Emre Institute Teaching Set in terms of the amount and variety of questions. Both teaching sets concentrate on basic level (recall, comprehension, application) cognition stages. Higher (analyzing, evaluating, synthesizing) cognition stages are not sufficiently included. There is no significant parallelism between the progression of cognitive steps as the level of the course increases.

The subject of this study, which pertains to the listening skill in foreign language education, aims to investigate the listening difficulties experienced by A1 level learners who are learning Turkish as a foreign language. To achieve this aim, the "Model of Listening Difficulties Experienced by A1 Level Learners Learning Turkish as a Foreign Language ", which was prepared by compiling similar studies in the literature and consists of perception, parsing, grammar, task and strategy use dimensions, was used. The model was applied to a total of 96 (57 male and 39 female) learners using the correlational design. While there are statistically significant differences in the perception, parsing and task dimensions of the Model, there is no significant difference in the strategy use and grammar dimensions According to the research results, gender variable has not had an impact on listening difficulties.  On the other hand, age and native language variables were found to be statistically significant. In the light of these findings, it has been revealed that learners' metacognitive awareness should be increased, teachers should take a more active role in the process, and listening activities should be prepared to reinforce listening skills rather than testing knowledge.

The new needs brought by the 21st century have necessitated innovations and transformations in education. The information era has increased students' distractibilities and cognitive focus problems, and increasing migration has led to the need for new teaching models in education. Especially in teaching Turkish to foreign children in the preschool period, the necessity of a model aimed at problem solving and learning-by-doing has emerged. It is desirable to meet the psychological needs of the student related to learning, to improve the comprehensibility and applicability of education and to improve learning a new language with new approaches. The Harezmî Education Model, which proposes a different strategy for the new century, aims to offer a new understanding and a new perspective on the education system, unlike conventional teaching strategies and models. Unlike traditional teaching models, the Harezmî Education Model aims to turn the student into an individual who produces and shapes technology rather than consuming it. This model focuses on developing knowledge-based thinking, interdisciplinary communication and problem solving skills. This study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of the Harezmî Education Model in preschool Turkish language teaching and teachers' attitudes towards this model. For this purpose, case study design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the study. The study group of the research consists of preschool teachers working in public schools in a province in western Turkey. A semi-structured interview form was used as a data collection tool in the research. Content analysis method was used to analyze the data. In this study, it was concluded that the Harezmî Education Model encourages learning process by doing and experiencing on foreign students in preschool education, and that an education based on problem solving also contributes to Turkish learning.

In this study, Turkish teachers' self-efficacy perception towards developing creative thinking skills was analysed. The aim of the research is to determine to what extent Turkish teachers have self-efficacy in developing their students' creative thinking skills. This research is a descriptive research. In the research, the concepts related to creative thinking skills were defined. Then, Turkish teachers' perception of self-efficacy in developing creative thinking skills was evaluated through a questionnaire according to gender and professional experience variables. As a result, it was found that Turkish teachers' self-efficacy towards developing creative thinking skills was good. At the end of the study, suggestions for the development of creative thinking skills were presented.

Flipped classroom is considered a great educational approach, in which the status of homework and classroom activities are reversed. The present thesis aimed to investigate the impact of flipped instruction on intermediate level EFL learners' general proficiency as well as academic self-efficacy. In order to answer the research questions, a number of 60 Iranian intermediate EFL learners studying at a Language Center in Sarabele, Ilam were chosen based on their performance in the QOPT. A pre-test, post-test equivalent group design was applied. As the next step of the study, through random assignment, the participants were assigned to either the experimental (flipped group), or the control group, 30 each. Then, Academic Self-Efficacy Scale by Morgan and Jinks (1999), was run among the participants in the two groups. Then, the treatment for the participants in the experimental group which was online teaching using the Edmodo network was applied. In the experimental group, the teacher delivered the materials through Edmodo; the teachers and learners worked on those materials; they discussed their problems and challenges in the process of learning. The experimental group was taught Top Notch 1 during the program. In the control group learners were provided with the conventional practices. The participants of this group were taught in the traditional classroom, in which the participants were not allowed to use their smartphones and the Internet. What follows is a discussion of the findings. The results of Independent-samples t-tests demonstrated significant differences between general proficiency and self-efficacy levels of the participants in the two groups when they were exposed to flipped method of teaching (.05 > p). The findings of the study can be used by L2 practitioners and teacher trainers to consider the role of technology in language teaching.

The way someone calls or addresses someone else additionally referred to address terms. There are numerous ways on how someone address someone else like using title, first name, surname, last name, etc. This study aimed to identify the variation and function of address terms used in five American and five Persian movies. In addition, it aimed to investigate if there were any significant difference in the types and functions of address terms used by the characters in Persian and English movies .To reach the goals of this study, a corpus including five Iranian and five American English address forms was selected .Wardhaugh’s (2015) model for categorizing address terms and Chaika’s (1982) model for classifying functions of address terms were employed. The results revealed that the highest frequency of the address forms in English and Iranian movies belonged to the class of Giving tu which includes First name, - Full name, - Nickname, - Kinship terms with 24.10% and 24.56%, respectively. In addition, the results of a Chi-square test revealed a significant difference between the two corpora in terms of their frequency (p< .05). Functional analysis of the English corpus revealed that the main function for which the address terms were employed in English movies was showing respect followed by showing power differences as well as showing intimacy. Moreover, the first dominant function of address term was showing respect followed by showing power differential and showing intimacy. Finally, the results of a Chi-square revealed a significant difference between the two corpora in terms of their function (p< .05). Language learners should be encouraged by instructors to develop and enhance the necessary social skills to interact with other interactents in different situations effectively.