DİL ÖĞRENME İNANÇLARINA BİR BAKIŞ: BRANŞI İNGİLİZCE OLAN VE OLMAYAN ÖĞRENCİLER

A LOOK INTO THE LANGUAGE LEARNING BELIEFS: ENGLISH-MAJOR AND NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS

Özet

Öğrenme sürecinin ayrılmaz bir parçası olarak inançlar, öğrenicilerin kararlarını, öğrenme stratejilerini ve hayat boyu öğrenme eğilimlerini şekillendirir. Yabancı dil öğrenmede inançların önemi göz önünde bulundurulduğunda, bu çalışma Türkiye'de üniversite öğrencilerinin yabancı dil olarak İngilizce öğrenme konusundaki inançlarını belirlemeyi hedeflemektedir. Daha özel olarak, çalışma branşı İngilizce olan ve olmayan öğrencilerin dil öğrenme konusundaki inançları arasındaki benzerlikleri ve farklılıkları ortaya çıkarmayı amaçlamaktadır. Katılımcılar, Adana Bilim ve Teknoloji Üniversitesi ile Çukurova Ünivesitesi'ne kayıtlı 170 öğrenciden oluşmaktadır. Mütercim Tercümanlık ve İngiliz Dili Eğitimi bölümleri çalışmanın İngilizce branşında okuyan öğrencilerini oluşturmaktadır. Branşı İngilizce olmayan öğrenciler ise, Adana Bilim ve Teknoloji Üniversitesi'nde farklı bölümlere kayıtlı hazırlık sınıfı öğrencileridir. Veriler "Dil Öğrenimi Hakkında İnanç Envanteri" ve araştırmacılar tarafından geliştirilen açık uçlu anket ile toplanmıştır. Tüm veriler nicel ve nitel olarak analiz edilmiştir. Dil Öğrenimi Hakkında İnanç Envanteri ile toplanan veriler SPSS programı ile analiz edilmiş olup açık uçlu anket ile elde edilen veriler içerik analizi ile incelenmiştir. Çalışma, farklı bölümlerde okuyan öğrencilerin inançlarını ortaya koymuş ve dile yaklaşımlarını göstermiştir, böylelikle üniversite düzeyinde öğrencilere ve öğretim elemanlarına çıkarımlar sunmuştur

Abstract

As an indispensable part of learning process, beliefs can shape learners’ decisions, learning strategies, and lifelong learning tendencies. Given the importance of beliefs in learning a foreign language, this study aims at specifying beliefs of students about learning English as a foreign language in tertiary context in Turkey. More specifically, the study bears the purpose of finding out the similarities and differences between English-major and non-English major students’ language learning beliefs. The participants were 170 university students enrolled in Adana Science and Technology University and Çukurova University. Students in Translation and Interpreting Studies and English Language Teaching departments constituted English-major students in this study. As to nonEnglish major students, they were from various departments and attended prep classes in Adana Science and Technology University. The data were gathered through the BALLI (Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory) and an open-ended questionnaire developed by the researchers. Based on mixed type research method, all data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The data collected from the BALLI questionnaire were analyzed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS 21.0 version for Windows), and the quantitative data were analyzed using content analysis method. The study makes the beliefs of students in different departments explicit and shows their approaches to language, thus providing implications for both students and instructors at university level This study looks into the beliefs of students of English-major and non-English major students about learning English as a foreign language in tertiary context in Turkey. The study also aims to explore the similarities and differences between the beliefs and attitudes of these two groups of students in terms of learning English as a foreign language. The role of beliefs in language learning is undeniable; they mould students’ stance towards learning process and direct their actions in the process. Additionally, studying beliefs constitutes quite a clear way of eliciting more profound insight into the minds of language learners (Hosseini & Pourmandnia, 2013).An analysis of language learner attitudes and the underlying reasons for their actions makes it necessary to analyse the way they deem teaching and learning, and beliefs are worth researching since they either facilitate or hinder learning (Cephe & Yalçın, 2015). Similarly, Bagherzadeh (2012) notes that students’ beliefs have an effect on their attitudes, willingness and experiences; hence, they hamper or boost their learning. Successful students develop perceptive beliefs about language learning process, their own skills and strategies, which makes learning easier (Bernat & Llyod, 2007). Identification of beliefs poses an impact not only on learning but also on teaching. As Bernat and Gvozdenko (2005) point out, specifying learner beliefs and their effects as well as learner expectations and strategies can provide insight on further syllabus design and teacher practice. Teachers who are aware of the group that they will address to can organize their classroom procedures more efficiently (Nikitina & Furuoka, 2006). According to Altan (2006), beliefs are also important in teacher education programmes since prospective teachers trained to be aware of conceptions and misconceptions of the learners can deal with potential problems in their future teaching environments. English major and non-English major students constituted the participants of the present study. All the participants were enrolled in the preparatory class at Adana Science and Technology University and Çukurova University, and they were divided into two groups as Englishmajor and non-English major students. English-major students were enrolled in two departments, Translation and Interpreting Studies and English Language Teaching. As to non-English major students, they were enrolled in various departments and attended preparatory class. The present study was comprised of both quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data were gathered through the BALLI (Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory) and the qualitative data were obtained from an open-ended questionnaire developed by the researchers. Through the 34-item BALLI, the participants were asked to comment on the areas of language learning which included a) language aptitude; b) difficulty; c) nature; d) communication strategies; and e) motivation. In addition to BALLI, all the participants were asked to answer 8 open-ended questions that aimed to explore more in-depth data with regard to the participants’ views about various aspects of language learning. Hence, they were asked to complete sentences beginning as “Knowing a foreign language …” “Learning a foreign language is like ...”, “English is hard because…”, “English is easy because…”, “What I want to improve most in English is …”, “ I learn English best by …”, “To learn a foreign language better, students should …”, and “To help students learn a foreign language, teachers should…”. Based on mixed type research, the analyses were conducted both quantitatively and qualitatively. Analysis of the data collected from BALLI was performed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS 21.0 version for Windows). All the data obtained from the open-ended questions were subjected to content analysis, without any limitations in the number of participants. Quantitative results indicated that English-major and non-English major students have more similar beliefs than different ones in learning a foreign language. Although students think that everyone can speak English, they still believe that some people have special ability for learning a foreign language, which implies the impact of aptitude in learning success. When it comes to differences in their self-perceptions, more English-major students see themselves as ones with speci