AN INVESTIGATION ON 5-8TH SECONDARY SCHOOL TURKISH GRAMMAR TEACHING

ORTAOKUL 5-8. SINIF TÜRKÇE DİL BİLGİSİ ÖĞRETİMİ ÜZERİNE BİR İNCELEME

Abstract

This research has been carried out in accordance with the opinions of Turkish language teachers in order to evaluate the grammar education in the secondary school and to draw attention to the contradictory situations encountered, dwelling on the necessity of the usage of grammar data in grammar education. In accordance with the purpose of the research, the answers to the questions below have been searched. 1. Is grammar education necessary according to the Turkish teachers? Why? 2. Do Turkish teachers explain the students why they should learn the subjects stated in the grammar attainments? Why? 3. Do Turkish teachers use the spiral approach in teaching grammar? Why? 4. Regarding the grammar activities in the Turkish textbooks, a. Do Turkish teachers think that the activities are sufficient to realize grammar attainments? Why? b. Do Turkish teachers carry out the grammar activities? Why? c. Do Turkish teachers think that the grammar subjects are correctly graded according to the grade levels? Why? 5. According to the Turkish teachers, are the students enthusiastic about learning grammar? Why? In this qualitative research, case study from the qualitative research patterns has been used. The data of the research have been collected with the open ended questionnaire method. The semistructured interview form has been applied to the Turkish teachers in order to reveal their opinions about the grammar education of the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade students. The interview form has been prepared by the researcher and the content validity consists of questions provided by two academicians and three Turkish teachers. The study group of the research has been formed according to the maximum variation sampling method among the purposive sampling methods. Revealing various aspects of the problem has been attempted depending on the sample variety in the study. The study group of the research consists of 17 Turkish teachers working in schools with different socioeconomic levels in the central districts of Erzurum, Bursa and Rize during the 2014 – 2015 school year. In the analysis of the research data, “categorical analysis”, a type of content analysis method has been used. In the analysis stage, all data have been read and the general ideas stated by the participants have been viewed. Later on, the research has passed to the data coding stage. In the coding stage, the data have been divided into categories and organized. The frequency and the percentage value of the categorized elements have been determined. In order to validate the research, the coding and the categorization have been checked by an academician specialized in this field. Also, the opinions of the teachers who had participated in this study have been quoted in the text. According to the findings of the study, the majority of the Turkish teachers state that grammar education is necessary. They believe, above all, that the grammar education is essential for the students in order to develop the skill of using the language masterfully in compliance with the rules of the language, to express themselves sufficiently, and to comprehend the structure and functionality of the language. According to the findings regarding the explanation of the reason behind teaching the grammar subjects to the students, it is seen that most of the teachers provide one. The teachers have stated that they explain it to the students in order to “draw the attention and interest of the students”. Other reasons stated by the teachers are the contribution of grammar knowledge in the learning process, the necessity of recognition of the relationship between the grammar subjects, the functionality of language in the communication process, reinforcing the curiosity of the students, the opportunity of getting to know life better by knowing their own language, the necessity of grammar knowledge of their native language, and concretizing the grammar subject. It is seen that the grammar education is not being carried out in a supportive manner to other fields of skill as stated in the program. It is seen that most of the teachers spare a separate hour for the grammar subject in order to teach it better. Although the program emphasizes that the grammar education should be realized using the spiral approach, the lack of such activities in the teacher guidance books and the concern to prepare the 8th grade students to the central exams could be considered as the reason behind the grammar education through separate activities carried out within a separate hour. 29% of the teachers stated that grammar shouldn’t be separated from other fields and the students shouldn’t be overwhelmed, indicating that they practically realize the grammar education within other learning fields as the occasion arises. Meanwhile, 24% of the teachers stated that they both teach grammar within other fields of skill and spare a separate hour for the grammar on the grounds of making sure that the subject of grammar is learned better and preparing the students for the exams. The findings of the study show that 82% of the Turkish teachers believe that the grammar activities are insufficient in realizing grammar attainments. According to the teachers, the textbooks contain a limited number of activities, which are not distributed in a well-balanced way in terms of grade levels, are below the students’ level, are not wary of individual differences, are unable to draw the student’s attention, are aimed at memorizing and searching for rules, are boring and prepared imprecisely. 82% of the Turkish teachers in the study carry out the grammar activities in the textbooks. The teachers have stated that they realize these activities because they reinforce the subject and help the students learn the subject better. The statement of one teacher, expressing that he carries out the activities just for the sake of formality can be classified as a remarkable finding. The findings point out that 18% of the teachers do not carry

Özet

Dil pek çok alt sisteminin bir arada mükemmel bir biçimde işlediği bir üst sistem/dizgedir. Dilin işleyişi ile ilgili çalışmalar yapılırken onun sistem olduğu gerçeğinden uzaklaşılmamalıdır. Bir dil sisteminin işleyişini birtakım kurallar çerçevesinde ele alan dil bilgisi çalışmalarında sistemin birbiri ile ilgili olan parçaları tek tek ele alınmakta, bu yaklaşım dil bilgisi öğretimine de yansıtılmaktadır. Dil bilgisi öğretim sürecinde gerçekleştirilen etkinliklerin yapılandırmacı yaklaşıma uygun etkinlikler olduğu düşünülse de bu etkinliklerin dil olgusunu genellikle biçimsel yaklaşımla ele alan etkinlikler olduğu görülmektedir. Bir dil sistemi olarak Türkçenin dil bilgisini kurallar bütünü olarak ele alıp bu kuralları biçime odaklanan etkinliklerle öğretmeye örtüşmemektedir. Bu şekilde bir öğretim öğrencileri birbiriyle ilişkisiz görünen biçimleri ezberlemeye yöneltmekte, yapılandırmacılığın ilkeleri ile çelişen bir durum sergilemektedir. Bu araştırmada ortaokul dil bilgisi öğretimini öğretmen görüşlerinden hareketle değerlendirerek dil bilgisi öğretiminin yapılandırmacı yaklaşımla örtüşmeyen yönlerine dikkat çekmeye çalışılmıştır. Nitel araştırma desenlerinden durum çalışması (case study) deseninin kullanıldığı araştırmanın verileri 17 Türkçe öğretmeni ile gerçekleştirilen açık uçlu anket görüşmesi ile elde edilmiştir. Görüşme kayıtlarının analizinde içerik analizi türlerinden kategorisel analiz yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın bulgularına göre Türkçe öğretmenlerinin çoğu dil bilgisi öğretimini gerekli görmekte, dil bilgisi etkinliklerini uygularken öğrencilere kazanımlarda verilen dil bilgisi konusunu niçin öğrenmeleri gerektiğini açıklamaktadır. 2006 Türkçe Dersi Öğretim Programı ve Kılavuzu'na göre dil bilgisi öğretiminin sarmal olarak gerçekleştirilmesine vurgu yapılırken öğretmenler dil bilgisi etkinliklerini genellikle ayrı bir ders saatinde uygulamakta, ders kitaplarındaki dil bilgisi etkinliklerini dil bilgisi kazanımlarını gerçekleştirmede yeterli bulmamakta, dil bilgisi kazanımlarının aşamalandırıldığını belirtmekte ve öğrencilerin dil bilgisini öğrenmede genellikle isteksiz olduklarını düşünmektedirler