International Journal of Language Academy

1-10

Authors: Murat ÖZBAY & Demet KARDAŞ

This research was conducted to evaluate the effect of gender, social, economic and cultural characteristics of Gazi University Education Faculty students to their speaking skills. The total of 155 subjects, who were selected from Gazi University Faculty of Education, Computer Education and Technology Education, Biology Education, Mental Retardation Education, Visually Impaired Education, are examined to find out the effect of gender, social, economic and characteristics to their speaking skills. The data obtained from the students were analyzed by SPSS 15.0 statistical software package, with significant t-test between two variables, with one-way significance between more than two variables (ANOVA). Tukey test was used for the detection of the degree of correlation between more than two variables. According to the study, while social and economic characteristics of the students were not detected to have a significant effect on speech, the speech of students who read and write regularly was concluded to be more successful. It was determined in the study that female students were more successfull than male students.

23-36

Authors: Fulya TOP, Dilek FİDAN & V.Doğan GÜNAY

In this research, it has been examined whether the use of creative writing techniques in teaching Turkish as a foreign language can contribute improving writing skills. This research has been carried out with B1 level (n=42) and C1 level (n=24) students, all of whom (N=66) attended to Intensive Turkish Courses at Istanbul University Language Center. This research, which is quantitative, continued 5 weeks and it has been performed on a study group and control group separately. The study group (n=26) were applied the creative writing program, which was designed by the researcher, 2 hours per week. The control group (n=40) wasn’t given any special program, but they continued their regular schedule at the Language Center. In the research, “the pre-test/ post-test control group experimental design” was used. In the process of obtaining data "European Language Portfolio B1 and C1 Levels Written Expression Self-Efficacy Scale" was used. In order to evaluate students' attitudes towards writing the "Writing Attitude Scale", which was developed by Susar Kırmızı (2009), was used; and to evaluate their creative writing products "Creative Writing Evaluation Scale" was applied. The statistical analysis’s, which are Mann Whitney U Test and Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test, have been applied to the collected data. The following conclusions have been observed as a result of the research; creative writing studies that have been implemented on B1 and C1 level students of Turkish as a foreign language have positively affected students' attitudes towards writing and have enhanced students' self-efficacy perceptions and have made efficient the writing processes.

50-65

Authors: Arif ÇAKIR & Fatih KANA

The purpose of this study is to find out the effectiveness of the videos used for improving listening skills in the teaching of Turkish as a foreign language. The effectiveness of the teaching of Turkish carried out with the use of videos and without any videos on students’ achievements was tested through the use of a complete experimental method, with a pre-test, post-test and experimental and control group. Mixed embedded experimental design was used in the study. In the analysis of the quantitative data, SPSS package program was used, and content analysis technique was used in the analysis of the qualitative data. The sampling of the study consists of 36 students studying at the branches of TÖMER, Ankara University in 2013-2014 school year. Pre-test was used in the exams delivered to the students at TÖMER to measure their listening skills. At the end of four weeks, the listening tests used by TÖMER, Ankara University, were given as posttest. The scores of the control and experimental group which they took along the four weeks were calculated at the end of the treatment and the means of the scores were compared. The comparison of the mean scores revealed that the mean score of the control group was 75,277 and the mean score of the experimental group was 81.652. The results obtained with this study reveal that the listening activities carried out with videos is much more effective than those carried out without videos but only audial activities. It was also tested on the sampling group that the use of videos in listening activities in teaching of Turkish as a foreign language has made the learning easier and more permanent

83-97

Authors: İlhami SIĞIRCI

In this study, Turkey's EU membership was examined in terms of language and cultural issues. Within this context, studies conducted within EU regarding language and culture policies were evaluated and it was tried to point out Turkey’s situation in terms of these policies with a comparative method. In the process of EU integration and competition, it is of great importance that the multilingualism will be a necessity, and not only students but also adults should be taken into consideration in terms of foreign language education and policies should be defined for them to learn minimum three languages. EU’s effort to assess and disseminate member countries’ languages on an equal basis is a consequence of the fact that it is against monolingualism and defences multilingualism. The number of official languages will increase to twenty four with the membership of Turkey and Turkish (15%) will be the secondly most spoken mother tongue after German (16%) within EU. However, it can be seen that the proportion of Republic of Turkey’s citizens’ knowing a foreign language is quite behind compared with that of EU citizens. Yet the research done in 2012 showed that slightly more than half of the Europeans (54%) can communicate in a language apart from their native tongue, 25% of them know minimum two languages and %10 of them can communicate in minimum three languages. It can be predicted that Turkey will not face too many problems in terms of culture during EU membership process and it will overcome this process more easily than other countries because of its multiculturalism experience that continues from its past to present, and EU will live real cultural diversity with the membership of Turkey.

107-123

Authors: Ekrem BEKTAŞ

It is known that 124 000 prophets were sent from Prophet Adam who is the first person and prophet until Prophet Muhammad who is the last messenger and 25 of these prophets have been taken place and named in Quran. It is also obvious that there are some miracles and short stories about mentioned prophets in the Quran. These miracles and stories are covered in the literal work of Muslim society. As the prophets are sent to as a guide to mankind, they have been tested with a variety of trouble and tribulation. There is not any prophet who has not undergone any trouble in the world. One of the prophets named and described with the story in the Quran is the Prophet Ayyub. Prophet Ayyub ,who had many goods, property and children once, loses his all property and possessions in time, his house is destroyed and in this destruction he loses his children. He catches an incurable disease. Wounds occur on his body and worms fall into the wounds. However, he would never complain about what happened to him. When his illness becomes more serious, he could not able to chant to Allah.Therefore, he has to pray to Allah.After the prayer he gets well and he seems like a newborn baby. In this way,Prophet Ayyub succeeds in his patience exam and has a reputation as the epitome of patience. In this article, it is focused on the couplet of divan poetry which is about Prophet Ayyub and his patience and it is studied how this subject is discussed in Divan poetry.

136-148

Authors: Erol DURAN & Nesime ERTAN ÖZEN

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of English storybooks (printed or interactive) on the fifth graders’ reading comprehension. The research was conducted in accordance with descriptive survey model. The first study group consists of 57 randomly chosen 5th grades students who study in Darıcı, Kestel and Kınık Secondary Schools in 2014-2015 education year in Kütahya, Simav. The second study group consists of 20 students who were chosen randomly from the first study group. At first 6 equivalent English storybooks were determined by the groupwork with 3 English language teachers and a field expert. 5 open-ended comprehension questions about the storybooks were formed. In the last stage of the research, an interview was conducted and 6 questions were asked to the students. By these questions it was aimed to understand students’ opinions about interactive storybooks. According to the findings of the research there is a statistically meaningful difference between the reading comprehension scores of the students on the interactive storybooks and on the printed books. The codes as “general view, preferences, attractiveness and health” emerged from students’ opinions about interactive storybooks. Majority of the students stated that they wanted all of their books in interactive form. Visuals, sound, touching the screen, moving visuals etc. got the attention of the students. Most of the students pointed out that interactive storybooks were not harmful to their health. But some students said that they had eye fatigue and pain in their hands.

167-183

Authors: Murat TOPAL, Bekir İNCE & Safa EROĞLU

This study was conducted in survey model to investigate information and communication technologies (ICT) usage levels of bilingual Turkish students that being educated in several elementary state schools in France in terms of some variables. The sample was determined as purposive sampling method that is a non-random sampling method and all the participants were asked to participate the study. Hereby sample included 109 elementary school students who had agreed to participate the study. “The Utilization of Information and Communication Technologies Scale” that developed by Özmusul (2011) was used for data collection. The scale included 18 items and prepared in fourth-Likert-type. The findings of the survey revealed significant differences between the genders in favor of male students. Also, with some exceptions, in general the survey revealed grade level and age of the students increased jointly with increment of the ICT usage levels. Moreover, according to the findings students mostly preferred French in access to information and research-analysis activities than the other activities; on the other hand mostly preferred Turkish in self-expression and communication activities than the other activities.

201-219

Authors: Derya YILDIZ

In the studies of teaching writing, essay is considered to be one of the genres which can be commonly used as it develops thinking skills in addition to its topic variety and feature of narration. In this research, the purpose was to compare blended learning and direct instruction approaches in essay writing skills of students. This research which was conducted on 8th grade students from a primary education school in the center of Konya in 2014-2015 academic year was designed in accordance with pretest – posttest control group experimental model, which is one of the experimental research models. Each of experimental and control groups in the research consisted of 21 students. The data were collected using “Essay Writing Evaluation Form” developed by the researcher. Applications were performed for 10 weeks through activities prepared according to blended learning approach in the experimental group and activities prepared according to direct instruction approach in the control group. Based upon the findings of the research, it was concluded that the activities which were prepared by using blended learning approach developed essay writing skills of the students further.

235-249

Authors: Furkan ÖZTÜRK

Münşeat magazines are literary works that play a crucial role in Ottoman Cultural Studies, history of literature and Ottoman biography. In these münşeat’s, one can often come across with meticulously knitted letters that comprises terms and concept, revolving around the Turkish vocabulary which comprises humorous and witticism elements. In this framework the Münşeat of Kani, a poet, a scribe and an Ottoman Bureaucrat, serves as a great collection of letters, including his diplomatic and personal correspondence, that sheds light on Kânî’s life story and his art. In this collection, there are Kani’s personal letters that takes part in Ottoman prose anthology (Letâif-i İnşâ, Nevâdirü'z-Zürefâ, Numûne-i Edebiyyât-ı Osmâniyye, Müns eât-ı Azîziyye fi Âsâr-ı Osmâniyye). Among these letters, the letter that this study scrutinizes principally focuses on the 'baş' concept. The concept is artfully knitted in proverbial and colloquial patterns while craftily blending with humorous elements. This study scrutinizes this letter in a critical way while comparatively studying the Kânî’s Münşeat written samples and Ottoman prose anthology. The letter which serves as an advisory letter, Kânî craftily exhibits his sensations with regards to loneliness, being in abroad and his opinions about faith along with the prominent place of respect to father in the framework of Ottoman composition. By artfully sprinkling all language playfulness’s into the selected sentences, Kânî has a very prominent place in Ottoman prose and humor history.

260-279

Authors: Tahir ZORKUL

A.Vahap Akbaş is one of the poets and writers of the post-1980 Turkish literature who were not given much emphasis. Akbaş is a personality from the  movement called New Islamist Movement, which gathered around the magazine Mavera and was comprised of people including Sezai Karakoç, Cahit Zarifoğlu, Nuri Pakdil, Erdem Bayazıt, Rasim Özdenören,etc.. The author has approximately twenty works published in the areas of poetry, story, verse, essays, anthologies and children's literature. He compiled a total of sixteen stories of his which were published in various newspapers in a book called “Ayna ve Sûret (the mirror and the image)”. In these stories, which focus on individual and community problems, events are presented from the perspective of the narrator, and from this aspect, his stories have autobiographical characteristics. The objective of a majority of these stories is to establish certain bonds with tradition. Akbaş represents his commitment to Islamic culture and civilization, which feeds this tradition and appears in its background, by quoting particularly from ottoman poetry and referring to folk songs, one of the products of anonymous folk literature. Some of the story texts in the book can be said to be also eligible for intertextual reading. In addition to this, doubts and personality fragmentation of young people from Anatolia before love and modernization continue to be an important line in these stories. Young people coming to cities for some reason, mostly to complete their education/study at the university have difficulty in communicating in such environments where emphasis is placed on material values and human tenderness and sensitivity are lost, and they fail to hold on to life. They see "villages/towns" as a place of refuge with exotic nature and nonperishable human values compared to the city. Story heroes- mostly the narrator- get their true identity in such environments modern life couldn’t, even partially, disrupt or corrupt. They exhibit more natural behaviors and feel much more secure there. Another important line in Akbaş’s story universe becomes evident in the contrast of the thing that changes/does not change. In this sense, the individual finds himself/herself again in the thing that does not change. To sum up in a single sentence, love, holding on to life in the city, escape to villages/towns, longing for childhood, lost values appear as main themes in the author's stories.

293-305

Authors: İlke ALTUNTAŞ & Emine AKYÜZ

Basic aim of Turkish education is to make students improve and achieve main skills of language. Listening which is based on comprehension has got a very special place among the other skills as successful communication is based on successful listening (Nunan,1989, p. 32). The aim of the research is to find out the problems that 3rd and 4th grade teachers encounter in teaching listening according to their views. Data was collected through interview with teachers of 3rd and 4th grade in state primary schools in some of the central districts (Seyhan, Çukurova) of Adana and Çankaya district of Ankara, Turkey. The workgroup were determined through sampling criteria for purposeful sampling. The collected data was analyzed with content analysis technique. Results showed that all teachers had problems in teaching listening and thought that the reasons for these problems were not related with themselves. This study has been conducted on teaching listening in Turkey. As language education is offered all over the world, similar studies can be conducted in the other countries. Additionally, the problems encountered in teaching listening or other language skills in all educational institutions can be investigated.