English Vocabulary And Grammar Difficulties Encountered Among Turkish Students: A Case Study At A Turkish State University
Abstract
Students usually estimate the level of difficulty of a foreign language by referring to its grammar. Some of them complain about its vocabulary. Hence, the purpose of this study is to examine these difficulties in two domains of the English language- grammar and vocabulary. The sample of the study included 121 Turkish State University students studying English preparation school (63 females, and 58 males). Participants' mean age was M = 21.27 (SD = 2.61). They were assessed by English Grammar and Vocabulary Difficulties Scale (EGVDS) which has two subscales, English Grammar Difficulties Subscale (18 items) and English Vocabulary Difficulties Subscale (11 items). These subscales are valid instruments for measuring these aspects of English because one factor was extracted within each of these two subscales. In addition, their reliability was very high (α = .948 and α = .920, respectively). These kinds of difficulties were in mutual positive, strong and statistically significant correlation. They also positively correlated with participant's age and the number of years they spent in learning English. Although males reported a higher level of difficulty while learning English grammar and vocabulary, the gender differences were not statistically significant. Additionally, the difference between the level of grammar and vocabulary difficulties was statistically significant in favor of the vocabulary topics.
References
- Azar, B. S. (1992). Fundamentals of English grammar (2nd edition). London: Longman.
- Carlo, M. S., August, D., McLaughlin, B., Snow, C. E., Dressler, C., Lippmann, D. N., Lively, T. J., and White, C. E. (2004). Closing the gap: Addressing the vocabulary needs of English-language learners in bilingual and mainstream classrooms. Reading Research Quarterly, 39(2): 188-215.
- Chen, C. M. and Li, Y. L. (2010). Personalized context-aware ubiquitous learning system for supporting effective English vocabulary learning. Interactive Learning Environments, 18(4): 341-364.
- Ellis, R. (1994). The study of second language acquisition. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Ferris, D. R. (2004). The ''Grammar correction'' debate in L2 writing: Where are we, and where do we go from here? (And what do we do in the meantime...?). Journal of Second Language Writing, 13: 49-62.
- Garcia, G. E. (2000). Bilingual children's reading. In M.L. Kâmil, P.B. Mosenthal, P.D. Pearson, and R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading research, 3: 813-834. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
- Harris, M., Mower, D., and Sikorzynska, A. (2008). New opportunities: Education for life- upper intermediate students' book. Harlow, UK: Longman, Pearson.
- Kolln, M. and Hancock, C. (2005). The story of English grammar in United States schools. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 4(3): 11-31.
- Lee, I. (2004). Error correction in L2 secondary writing classrooms: The case of Hong Kong. Journal of Second Language Writing, 13: 285-312.
- Loewen, S., Li, S., Fei, F., Thompson, A., Nakatsukasa, K., Ahn, S. and Chen, X. (2009). Second language learners' beliefs about grammar instruction and error correction. The Modern Language Journal, 93: 91-104.
- MacIntyre, P. D., Baker, S. C., Clément, R. and Donovan, L. A. (2002): Sex and age effects on willingness to communicate, anxiety, perceived competence and L2 motivation among junior high school French immersion students. Language Learning, 52: 537-564.
- Manyak, P. C. and Bauer, E. B. (2009). English vocabulary instruction for English learners. The Reading Teacher, 63(2): 174-176.
- McClelland, J. L. and Patterson, K. (2002). 'Words or rules' cannot exploit the regularity in exceptions. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 6(11): 464-465.
- Montana, J. G. (2008). Basic English grammar: Structures and vocabulary (A short course in English for adult students, 2nd edition). Santiago de Chile: Departamento Comunicacional Del Ejército.
- Mori, S. and Gobel, P. (2006): Motivation and gender in the Japanese EFL classroom. System, 34: 194-210.
- Nurweni, A. and Read, J. (1999). The English vocabulary knowledge of Indonesian university students. English for Specific Purposes, 18(2): 161-175.
- Shaw, J. R. and Shaw, J. (1970). The New horizon ladder dictionary of the English language. New York: Nail Penguin Inc.
TÜRK ÖĞRENCİLER ARASINDA KARŞILAŞILAN İNGİLİZCE KELİME BİLGİSİ VE DİLBİLGİSİ ZORLUKLARI: BİR TÜRK DEVLET ÜNİVERSİTESİNDE YAPILAN VAKA ÇALIŞMASI
Abstract
Öğrenciler çoğunlukla bir yabancı
dilin güçlük seviyesini gramerine bakarak fikir yürütmektedirler. Kimi öğrenciler
dilin kelimelerinden şikâyet ederler. Bu yüzden, bu çalışmanın amacı
İngilizcenin alanlarından iki tanesi olan grameri ve kelime bilgisini
incelemektir. Örneklem, bir Türk Devlet üniversitesinin İngilizce hazırlık
okuyan 63 bayan ve 58 erkek olmak toplam 121 katılımcı üzerinde
gerçekleştirilmiştir. Katılımcıların ortalama yaşı M = 21.27 (SD = 2.61)'dir.
Çalışma, İngilizce Dilbilgisi Güçlükleri Alt Ölçeği (18 madde) ve İngilizce
Kelime Bilgisi Güçlükleri (11 madde) isimlerinde iki alt ölçek olmak üzere
İngilizce Grameri ve Kelime Bilgisi Güçlükleri Ölçeği (EGVDS) ile
yürütülmüştür. Bu alt ölçekler, tek faktörün bahse konu her iki alt ölçek
içerisinden çıkarılmış olmasından ötürü İngilizcenin bu yönlerini ölçmeye
yarayan geçerli enstrümanlardır. Buna ek olarak, bunların güvenirliklerinin
yüksek olduğu ortaya çıkmıştır (sırasıyla α = .948 ve α = .920). Bu tür öğrenme
güçlükleri karşılıklı olarak pozitif, güçlü ve istatiksel olarak önemli
korelasyon içerisinde olup, katılımcıların yaşları ve İngilizce öğrenmek için
harcadıkları yıl sayıları ile de pozitif yönlü ilişkiler ortaya çıkmıştır.
Katılımcı erkeklerin İngilizce öğrenirken karşılaştıkları dilbilgisi ve kelime
bilgisi ile ilgili olarak karşılaştıklarını ifade ettikleri güçlüklerinin
yüksek olmasına rağmen cinsiyet farklılıklarının istatistiki olarak anlamlı
olmadığı ortaya çıkmıştır. Ayrıca, dilbilgisi ve kelime bilgisi güçlükleri
arasındaki fark, kelime bilgisi konularının lehine olacak şekilde istatistik
olarak anlamlı çıkmıştır.
References
- Azar, B. S. (1992). Fundamentals of English grammar (2nd edition). London: Longman.
- Carlo, M. S., August, D., McLaughlin, B., Snow, C. E., Dressler, C., Lippmann, D. N., Lively, T. J., and White, C. E. (2004). Closing the gap: Addressing the vocabulary needs of English-language learners in bilingual and mainstream classrooms. Reading Research Quarterly, 39(2): 188-215.
- Chen, C. M. and Li, Y. L. (2010). Personalized context-aware ubiquitous learning system for supporting effective English vocabulary learning. Interactive Learning Environments, 18(4): 341-364.
- Ellis, R. (1994). The study of second language acquisition. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Ferris, D. R. (2004). The ''Grammar correction'' debate in L2 writing: Where are we, and where do we go from here? (And what do we do in the meantime...?). Journal of Second Language Writing, 13: 49-62.
- Garcia, G. E. (2000). Bilingual children's reading. In M.L. Kâmil, P.B. Mosenthal, P.D. Pearson, and R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading research, 3: 813-834. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
- Harris, M., Mower, D., and Sikorzynska, A. (2008). New opportunities: Education for life- upper intermediate students' book. Harlow, UK: Longman, Pearson.
- Kolln, M. and Hancock, C. (2005). The story of English grammar in United States schools. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 4(3): 11-31.
- Lee, I. (2004). Error correction in L2 secondary writing classrooms: The case of Hong Kong. Journal of Second Language Writing, 13: 285-312.
- Loewen, S., Li, S., Fei, F., Thompson, A., Nakatsukasa, K., Ahn, S. and Chen, X. (2009). Second language learners' beliefs about grammar instruction and error correction. The Modern Language Journal, 93: 91-104.
- MacIntyre, P. D., Baker, S. C., Clément, R. and Donovan, L. A. (2002): Sex and age effects on willingness to communicate, anxiety, perceived competence and L2 motivation among junior high school French immersion students. Language Learning, 52: 537-564.
- Manyak, P. C. and Bauer, E. B. (2009). English vocabulary instruction for English learners. The Reading Teacher, 63(2): 174-176.
- McClelland, J. L. and Patterson, K. (2002). 'Words or rules' cannot exploit the regularity in exceptions. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 6(11): 464-465.
- Montana, J. G. (2008). Basic English grammar: Structures and vocabulary (A short course in English for adult students, 2nd edition). Santiago de Chile: Departamento Comunicacional Del Ejército.
- Mori, S. and Gobel, P. (2006): Motivation and gender in the Japanese EFL classroom. System, 34: 194-210.
- Nurweni, A. and Read, J. (1999). The English vocabulary knowledge of Indonesian university students. English for Specific Purposes, 18(2): 161-175.
- Shaw, J. R. and Shaw, J. (1970). The New horizon ladder dictionary of the English language. New York: Nail Penguin Inc.
Details
| Journal Section | Articles |
|---|---|
| Authors | |
| Publication Date | June 29, 2017 |
| Submission Date | November 18, 2016 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2017 Volume: 17 Issue: 2 |
