Date

2007

Author

Gültekin, İnci

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The purpose of this study was to analyze the extent of instructors at TOBB University of Economics and Technology, Department of Foreign Languages regard in-service training programs crucial for their professional development. Another aspect of the study was to identify the professional needs of the instructors teaching preparatory classes as well as to determine the preferred instructional methods of an INSET program. The final aim of the study was to determine whether there are statistically significant differences between novice and experienced instructors regarding their needs and expectation of an in-service training program.The study was conducted among thirty-nine instructors who are teaching preparatory classes at TOBB ETU, DFL. The chairperson of the DFL also took part in the study. Data from the 39 instructors were collected through questionnaires which were developed to uncover the opinions of instructors in terms of the characteristics of effective in-service training programs, to identify the needs of the instructors and determine the instructional methods preferred in-service training program. The questionnaires included both Likert scale and open-ended items. Moreover, 50-minute lessons of 10 instructors were video recorded. Video recordings aimed to identify the needs of the instructors that should be addressed through an in-service training program. Finally, interviews were conducted with 10 instructors whose classes were video recorded. The aim of the interviews was to enable the instructors to reflect on the findings of the questionnaires and the video recordings. Another interview was conducted with the chairperson of the DFL to uncover to what extent his perceptions about in-service training activities correlate with those of the instructors. Data collected through the instruments were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Close-ended items were analyzed via the SPSS program and mean scores for each item were calculated besides an independent sample t-test. The qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis. The results of the study revealed that the instructors believe INSET is crucial for their professional development, they would like to keep on track with new developments in the field of ELT and participate in seminars and conferences as part of INSET programs. In terms of the professional needs, it was found that instrcutors need to be trained on teaching speaking skills and pronunciation, written and oral correction, promoting student autonomy, dealing with classroom management problems, teaching mixed-ability groups, raising language awareness of students and reflecting on their own experience. The t-test results demonstrated that there was a statistical significance between the answers of novice and experienced instructors concerning being trained in ‘teaching vocabulary,’ ‘teaching grammar’ and ‘improving in written and oral correction strategies.’ It was found that experienced teachers are particularly interested in training sessions on teaching grammar, teaching vocabulary, and improving written and oral correction strategies. As a result of the findings, an ongoing INSET program model was proposed for the Department of Foreign Languages at TOBB ETU.

URI

http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12608814/index.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/17075

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis