EFL TEACHER CANDIDATES’ INNER CIRCLE ENGLISH PREFERENCES AND THE FACTORS BEHIND THEM

Abstract

The goal of the present study was to investigate English language teacher candidates’ Inner Circle English variety (i.e., British and American English) preferences through their language use in pronunciation, vocabulary, spelling, and grammar and to examine individuals’ opinions on the factors affecting their English variety adoption preferences in the context of Turkey. Following the adaption of the instrument employed, the data was garnered from 158 pre-service English language teachers enrolled in an English teacher education program at a state university in Turkey. Chi-square goodness-of-fit tests and descriptive statistics were conducted for the quantitative data analysis, while content analysis was used for the analysis of the qualitative data. The results indicated that English language teacher candidates exhibited a strong preference for American English with respect to pronunciation and vocabulary while neither variety had an overall prevalence for spelling and grammar. Furthermore, the factors contributing to the adoption of an English variant consisted of elements such as perceived easiness of a variety, exposure to popular culture and media, attitudes towards a particular variety, and in-class factors including teachers and materials. Following the discussion in relation to the literature, the study is concluded with pedagogical implications and suggestions for future research.

Keywords

• English language teacher candidates
• British English
• American English
• Kachru’s Three Concentric Circles

EFL TEACHER CANDIDATES’ INNER CIRCLE ENGLISH PREFERENCES AND THE FACTORS BEHIND THEM

Abstract

Bu çalışmanın amacı İngilizce öğretmen adaylarının İç Çember (İngiliz ve Amerikan İngilizceleri gibi) İngilizce tercihlerini telaffuz, kelime dağarcığı, yazım ve dilbilgisi yönünden incelemek ve bireylerin İngilizce tercihlerini etkileyen unsurlara dair görüşlerini Türkiye bağlamında araştırmaktır. Veriler, kullanılan ölçme aracının uyarlanmasının ardından Türkiye’de bir devlet üniversitesindeki İngilizce Öğretmenliği programında kayıtlı olan 158 İngilizce öğretmen adayından toplanmıştır. Nicel veriler için ki kare uyum iyiliği testleri ve betimsel istatistikler yapılırken, nitel veriler ise içerik analizi yöntemiyle gerçekleştirilmiştir. Sonuçlar İngilizce öğretmeni adaylarının telaffuz ve kelime dağarcığı açısından Amerikan İngilizcesine yönelik güçlü bir tercih sergilediğine, yazım ve dilbilgisi açısından ise herhangi bir İngilizceye dair net bir tercihte bulunmadıklarına işaret etmiştir. Belli bir tür İngilizce seçimine katkıda bulunan unsurların ise ilgili İngilizcenin kolay oluşuna dair algı, popüler kültür ve medyaya maruz kalma, belli bir tür İngilizceye karşı tutumlar ve öğretmen ile materyallerin de yer aldığı sınıf içi faktörleri içerdiği bulunmuştur. Çalışma, ilgili alanyazınla ilişkili olarak yapılan tartışmanın ardından verilen pedagojik çıkarımlar ve gelecekteki çalışmalar için yapılan önerilerle sonuçlandırılmıştır.

Keywords

• İngilizce öğretmen adayları
• İngiliz İngilizcesi
• Amerikan İngilizcesi
• Kachru’nun Üç Eşmerkezli Çemberleri

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