Öğretmenlerin Emoji Kullanımı ve Öğrenci-Öğretmen E-postalarında Profesyonellik Hakkındaki Görüşleri

Abstract

Emoji kullanımının teknoloji aracılı iletişimde yaygın şekilde normalleşmesine rağmen, bu ifadelerin resmi akademik söyleme dahil edilmesini inceleyen araştırmalar oldukça sınırlıdır. Bu çalışma, üniversite öğretim elemanlarının öğrencilerin e-postalarında emoji kullanımına yönelik bakış açılarını araştırmaktadır. Öğretim elemanlarının bu ifadeli simgelere karşı hoşgörü düzeyleri ve aşinalıkları incelenmiş, ayrıca bu unsurların öğrencilerin resmiyet derecesini nasıl etkilediği değerlendirilmiştir. Bu amacı gerçekleştirmek için, çeşitli üniversitelerden rastgele seçilen 106 İngilizce öğretmeniyle 22 maddelik bir ölçek uygulanmıştır. Çalışma, emoji varlığının ve algılanan profesyonellik düzeylerinin beklenen seviyeleri aşıp aşmadığını araştırmakta ve emojiye aşinalık ile hoşgörü arasındaki olumlu ilişkiyi incelemektedir. Ayrıca, hoşgörünün resmiyet ve profesyonellik düzeyini ne ölçüde yordadığını; cinsiyet, yaş ve öğretim deneyimi gibi değişkenlere bağlı olarak profesyonellik algılarındaki farklılıkları da ele almaktadır. Bulgular, her ne kadar öğrenci-öğretmen e-postalarında emojiler sıklıkla kullanılsa da, bu kullanımın profesyonel tonu azalttığını ve geleneksel resmiyet beklentilerini pekiştirdiğini ortaya koymaktadır. Emojilere olan aşinalık ile hoşgörü arasında anlamlı bir ilişki gözlemlenmemiştir; bu da dijital iletişime karşı yüksek düzeyde açıklık gösteren öğretmenlerin profesyonelliği daha olumlu değerlendirme eğiliminde olduğunu göstermektedir. Ayrıca, cinsiyet tek etkili yordayıcı olarak öne çıkmakta; kadın öğretmenlerin profesyonellik puanları tutarlı biçimde daha yüksek olmaktadır. Yaş ve öğretim deneyiminin ise sınırlı etkisi olduğu görülmüştür. Çalışma, profesyonel iletişimin dinamik doğasına dikkat çekmekte ve dijital söylemde öğrenci-öğretmen beklentilerini şekillendiren resmiyet sınırlarının yeniden değerlendirilmesi gerektiğini vurgulamaktadır.

Keywords

• Emojis
• formal communication
• professionalism
• tolearnce

Teachers’ Perspectives on Emoji Use and Professionalism in Student-Teacher Emails

Abstract

Despite the widespread normalization of emoji use in technology-mediated communication, limited research has been conducted to examine their inclusion into formal academic discourse. The study investigates university teachers’ perspectives on the use of emojis in student emails. It examines their tolerance and familiarity with these expressive icons and evaluates how they influence the students' degree of formality. To achieve this, a 22-item scale was administered to a random sample of 106 EFL teachers from various universities. This study explores whether emoji presence and perceived professionalism ratings exceed expected levels and investigates the positive relationship between familiarity with emojis and tolerance toward their use. It examines whether tolerance predicts formality and professionalism, considering differences in professionalism perceptions based on gender, age, and teaching experience. The findings reveal that although emojis are frequently used in student-teacher emails, their use diminishes professional tone and reinforces traditional expectations of formality. Familiarity with emojis does not exhibit a significant correlation with their tolerance, suggesting that educators who demonstrate a high level of openness to digital communication have the tendency to rate professionalism more favorably. Furthermore, gender is the only influential predictor, with female teachers consistently rating higher professionalism, while age and teaching experience indicate limited influence. The study stresses the dynamic nature of professional communication, calling for a reassessment of formality boundaries that shape student-teacher expectations in digital discourse.

Keywords

• Emojis
• formal communication
• emails
• familiarity
• professionalism tolerance

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