Students’ metaphoric perceptions regarding online education process including English language, English instructors and future life

Year 2023, Volume: 9 Issue: 3, 49 - 84, 31.12.2023

Kübra Aksak Feryal Cubukcu

https://doi.org/10.47216/literacytrek.1299075

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to investigate the perceptions of prep-class students regarding online education along with English instructors, English language and their future life. Hermeneutic phenomenology method was employed and metaphors were used as a data collection tool to gather information from 80 prep-class students selected through convenience sampling method. The findings indicated that more than half of the participants (52.5%) have a negative attitude towards online education. A considerable number of students (73.7%) have a quite positive perception of English instructors. “Universal language, new world, new people” are among the most preferred metaphors for the participants’ perceptions of English language. Moreover, 66.3% of the students are pessimistic about their future life. Hence, students are not in favor of online education although it is flexible and comfortable, which implies that online education should be a secondary option only when face-to-face education is impossible to implement.

Keywords

Future life; English instructors; English language; metaphors;, online education;, perceptions;, prep-class students.

References

• Ahkemoğlu, H., & Mutlu, A. K. (2016). A study on metaphorical perceptions of EFL learners regarding foreign language teacher. International Journal of Language Academy, 4(2), 10-28. https://doi.org/10.18033/ijla.404
• Allan, C. (2007). Exploring natural resource management with metaphor analysis. Society & Natural Resources, 20(4), 351-362. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920601161361
• Allen, M., Bourhis, J., Burrell, N., & Mabry, E. (2002). Comparing student satisfaction with distance education to traditional classrooms in higher education: A meta-analysis. The American Journal of Distance Education, 16(2), 83-97. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15389286AJDE1602_3
• André S., Maulana R., Helms-Lorenz M., Telli S., Chun S., Fernández-García C-M., de Jager T., Irnidayanti Y., Inda-Caro M., Lee O., Safrina R., Coetzee T., & Jeon M. (2020). Student perceptions in measuring teaching behavior across six countries: A multi-group confirmatory factor analysis approach to measurement invariance. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00273
• Ansow, D. F., Olii, S. T., & Kumayas, T. (2022). A study on students’ perception toward English learning at Smp Katolik St. Theresia Tanawangko. Journal of Teaching English, Linguistics, and Literature, 1(3), 375-385.
• Ardito, C., Costabile, M. F., De Marsico, M., Lanzilotti, R., Levialdi, S., Roselli, T., & Rossano, V. (2006). An approach to usability evaluation of e-learning applications. Universal Access in the Information Society, 4(3), 270-283. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-005-0008-6
• Badia, A., Garcia, C., & Meneses, J. (2017). Approaches to teaching online: Exploring factors influencing teachers in a fully online university. British Journal of Educational Technology, 48(6), 1193-1207. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12475
• Baran, E., Correia, A.P., & Thompson, A., (2011). Transforming online teaching practice: Critical analysis of the literature on the roles and competencies of online teachers. Distance Education, 32(3), 421-439. https://doi.org/101080/01587919.2011.610293
• Beausaert, S., Segers, M. R., Van der Rijt, J., & Gijselaers, W. H. (2011). The use of personal development plans (PDPs) in the workplace: A literature review. Building Learning Experiences in a Changing World: Advances in Business. Education and Training, 3, 234–265.
• Botha, E. (2009). Why metaphors matter in education. South African Journal of Education, 29, 431-444. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v29n4a287
• Cerit, Y. (2008). Students, teachers and administrators’ views on metaphors with respect to the concept of teacher. Turk Egitim Bilimleri Dergisi, 6(4), 710-712.
• Darling-Aduana, J. (2021). Authenticity, engagement, and performance in online high school courses: Insights from micro-interactional data. Computers & Education, 167, 1-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104175
• Deal, W. F. (2002). Distance learning: Teaching technology online. The Technology Teacher, 61, 21-26.
• Demirtaş, H., & Çoban, D. (2014). Metaphors of the college students about instructors. Kastamonu Education Journal, 3, 1279–1300.
• Donald, W.E., Ashleigh, M.J., & Baruch, Y. (2018). "Students’ perceptions of education and employability: Facilitating career transition from higher education into the labor market", Career Development International, 23(5), 513-540. https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-09-2017-0171
• Dörnyei, Z. (2001). Teaching and researching motivation. Pearson Education.
• Dreamson, N. (2020). Online design education: Meta-connective pedagogy. International Journal of Art and Design Education, 39(3), 483–497. https://doi.org/10.1111/jade.12314
• Erarslan, A., & Asmalı, M. (2017). From students' perspectives: EFL learners' metaphors about English instructors in Turkey. Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 30(2), 419-442.
• Erdem, C. (2018). Identifying university students’ perceptions of ‘English’ through metaphors. International Online Journal of Education and Teaching, 5(3), 565-577.
• Farah, R. R., & Sholikhah, N. M. (2021). English learning and teaching are like a rollercoaster: Metaphor of online learning amid COVID-19 outbreak in Indonesia. Eralingua: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Asing dan Sastra, 5(2), 388- 401. https://doi.org/10.26858/eralingua.v5i2.17378
• Fedynich, L., Bradley, K. S., & Bradley, J. (2015). Graduate students’ perceptions of online learning. Research in Higher Education Journal, 27, 1-13.
• Finch, D., & Jacobs, K. (2012). Online education: Best practices to promote learning. Paper presented at the 56th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics, Boston, America.
• Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. Edward Arnold Publishers.
• Garrison, D. R. (2017). E-learning in the 21st century: A framework for research and practice. Routledge. Gillies, D. (2008). Student perspectives on video-conferencing in teacher education at a distance. Distance Education, 29(1), 107-118. https://doi.org/10.1080/0158791080200
• Gömleksiz, M. N. (2013). Metaphorical perceptions of prospective teachers regarding foreign language. Turkish Studies, 8(8), 649-664. https://doi.org/10.7827/TurkishStudies.5217
• Guerrero, M. C. M. D., & Villamil, O. (2002). Metaphorical conceptualizations of ESL teaching and learning. Language Teaching Research, 6(2), 95- 120. https://doi.org/10.1191/1362168802lr101oa
• Gündüzalp S., & Demirtaş Z. (2020). Eğitim fakültesi öğrencileri gözüyle öğretim elemanları. Yükseköğretim ve Bilim Dergisi/Journal of Higher Education and Science, 10(2), 224-233. https://doi.org/10.5961/jhes.2020.384
• Harasim, L. (2000). Shift happens online education as a new paradigm in learning. Internet and Higher Education, 3, 41-61. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1096-7516(00)00032-4
• Hasim, Z., Mohani, T., Mohtar, T., Barnard, R., Zakaria, A. R., & Bernard, R. (2013). Metaphors used by Malaysian teachers-in-training : Implications for language teacher education. Creative Education-Scientific Research, 4(9), 74–77. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2013.49B015
• Henriksson, C., & Friesen, N. (2012). Hermeneutic phenomenology. In N. Friesen, C. Henriksson, & T. Saevi (Eds.), Hermeneutic phenomenology (pp. 1–14). Sense Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091- 834-67
• Iqbal, S.A., Ashiq, M., Rehman, S.U., Rashid, S., & Tayyab, N. (2022). Students’ perceptions and experiences of online education in Pakistani universities and higher education institutes during COVID-19. Education Sciences, 12(166), 1-25. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12030166
• Jasia, M., Nurul M. Z., & Sariful I. (2018). Students’ perception towards their teachers’ behaviour: A case study on the undergraduate students of Daffodil International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. International Journal of Development Research, 8(10), 23387-23392.
• Jiménez, P. K. (2018). Exploring students’ perceptions about English learning in a public university. HOW, 25(1), 69-91. https://doi.org/10.19183/how.25.1.385
• Jin, L., Liang, X., Jiang, C., Zhang, J., Yuan, Y., & Xie, Q. (2014). Studying the motivations of Chinese young EFL learners through metaphor analysis. ELT Journal, 68(3), 286-298. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccu011
• Joo, Y.J., Joung, S., & Sim, W. J. (2011). Structural relationship among internal locus of control, institutional support, flow, and learner persistence in cyber universities. Computers in Human Behavior, 27, 714-722. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2010.09.007
• Kaban, A. (2021). Determining teachers’, students’, and parents’ perceptions of distance education through metaphors. International Journal of Research in Education and Science, 7(1), 245-264. https://doi.org/10.46328/ijres.1316
• Karakaş, Y., Yesilyurt, Y. A., & Candan, E. (2022). Pre-service English teachers’ emergency remote microteaching experiences and adjustments: Growing gains and lessening pains. In A. Onal & K. Buyukkarci (Eds.), Essentials of Foreign Language Teacher Education, (pp. 173–198). Isres Publishing
• Kauffman, H. (2015). A review of predictive factors of student success in and satisfaction with online learning. Research in Learning Technology, 23, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v23.26507
• Kesen, A. (2010). Foreign language teacher on the spot: A study on metaphorical images of EFL teachers and learners. Çukurova Journal of Social Sciences Institute, 19(2), 185–191.
• Koruyan, K., Meri-Yilan, S., & Karakaş, A. (2022). English teachers’ beliefs and practices: A mixed-methods study of 25 countries in the covid-19 pandemic. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 17(1), 182-205. http://asianjde.com/ojs/index.php/AsianJDE/article/view/629
• Lamy, M. N., & Regine H. (2007). Online communication in language learning and teaching. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Lincoln S. Y., & Guba E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Sage.
• Mahyoob, M. (2020). Challenges of e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced by EFL learners. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ), 11 (4), 351-362. https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol11no4.23
• Martín-Rodríguez, Ó., Fernández-Molina, J. C., Montero-Alonso, M. Á., & González-Gómez, F. (2015). The main components of satisfaction with e-learning. Technology, Pedagogyand Education, 24(2), 267–277. https://doi.org/10.1080/1475939X.2014.888370
• Mclsaac, M. S., & Gunawardena, C. N. (1996). Distance education. In D. H. Jonassen (Ed.), Handbook of research for educational communication and technology: A project of the association for educational communication and technology (pp. 403-437). Simon & Schuster Macmillan.
• Moore, M., & Kearsley, G. (2012). Distance education: A systems view of online learning. Wadsworth.
• Moosavi, Z., & Dewitt, D. (2023). Online distance learners’ perceptions and needs for personalized learning in English as a foreign language courses. Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 11(2), 37-50.
• Morris, N.P., Ivancheva, M., & Coop, T. (2020). Negotiating growth of online education in higher education. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 17(48), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-020-00227-w
• Morrison, D. C. (2014). From ‘sage on the stage’ to ‘guide on the side’: A good start. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 8(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.20429/ijsotl.2014.080104
• Nikitina, L., & Furuoka, F. (2008). “A language teacher is like…”examining Malaysian students’ perceptions of language teachers through metaphor analysis. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 5(2), 192–205.
• Okyar, H. (2023). University-level EFL students’ views on learning English online: A qualitative study. Education and Information Technologies, 28, 81–107. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-11155-9
• Oldfather, P., & West, J. (1994). Qualitative research as jazz. Educational Researcher, 23(8), 22-26. https://doi.org/10.2307/1176859
• Osgerby, J., Marriott, P., & Gee, M. (2018). Accounting students perceptions of using visual metaphor as part of personal development planning: An exploratory case study. Accounting Education, 27(6), 570-589. https://doi.org/10.1080/09639284.2018.1523735
• Paulsen, M. F. (2002). Online education systems: Discussion and definition of terms. Available at https://porto.ucp.pt/open/curso/modulos/doc/Definition%20of%20Terms.pdf
• Pishghadam, R. (2011). Qualitative metaphor analysis and language learning opportunities. Iranian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 14(1), 77-108.
• Pope, M., & Denicolo, P. (2001). Transformative education: Personal construct approaches to education and research. Whurr Publishers.
• Rashid, N. F. W. A., Karim, B. A., & Othman, A. S. (2022). Students’ emotions towards online learning during the covid-19 pandemic: A preliminary study. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(8), 418 – 430.
• Raufelder, D., Nitsche L., Breitmeyer S., Keßler S., Herrmann E. & Regner N. (2016). Students’ perception of “good” and “bad” teachers—Results of a qualitative thematic analysis with German adolescents. International Journal of Educational Research, 75, 31-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2015.11.004
• Robson, C. (2002). Real world research: a resource for social scientists and practitioner-researchers. Blackwell Publishers.
• Rovai, A. P., Ponton, M. K., & Baker, J. D. (2008). Distance learning in higher education. Teachers College Press.
• Saltürk, A. (2021). A qualitative analysis on students’ perception on the concept of academic achievement and the barriers. Manisa Celal Bayar University Journal of the Faculty of Education, 9(1), 49-67. https://doi.org/10.52826/mcbuefd.881820
• Sayar, E. (2014). Investigating EFL teachers’ and their students’ conceptions of Professional teacher identity through metaphor analysis. (Unpublished Master’s Thesis). Abant İzzet Baysal University, Turkiye.
• Savenye, W.C. (2005). Improving online courses: What is interaction and why use it? Distance Learning, 2(6), 22-28.
• Schmitt, R. (2005). Systematic metaphor analysis as a method of qualitative research. The Qualitative Report, 10(2), 358-394.
• Starcic, A. I. & Lebeničnik, M. (2020). Investigation of university students’ perceptions of their educators as role models and designers of digitalized curricula. Human Technology, 16(1), 55-91. https://doi.org/10.17011/ht/urn.202002242163
• Su, F. (2015). College EFL learners’ metaphorical perceptions of English learning. The Journal of Asia TEFL, 12(3), 61-79. https://doi.org/10.18823/asiatefl.2015.12.3.3.61
• Sun, A., & Chen, X. (2016). Online education and its effective practice: A research review. Journal of Information Technology Education Research, 15, 157-190. https://doi.org/10.28945/3502
• Tamim, S.R. (2020). Analyzing the complexities of online education systems: A systems thinking perspective. TechTrends, 64, 740–750. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-020-00538-9
• Tao, Y.-H., & Yeh, C.-C. (2008). Typology of teacher perception toward distance education issues-A study of college information department teachers in Taiwan. Computers & Education, 50(1), 23-36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2006.03.005
• Tuncay, N., Stanescu, I. A., & Tuncay, M. (2011). A different vision in e-learning: Metaphors. The Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 9(1), 105-114.
• Vayreda, A., & Núñez, F. (2010). The role of metaphors in the interpersonal discourse of online forums. In J.R. Park & E. G. Abels (Eds.), Interpersonal relations and social patterns in communication technologies: Discourse norms, language structures and cultural variables (pp. 142-161). IGI Global.
• Vezne, R., Yildiz Durak, H., & Atman Uslu, N. (2023). Online learning in higher education: Examining the predictors of students’ online engagement. Education and Information Technologies, 28, 1865–1889. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-11171-9
• Wan, W., Low, G., & Li, M. (2011). From students’ and teachers’ perspectives: Metaphor analysis of beliefs about EFL teachers’ roles. System, 39(3), 403-415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2011.07.012
• Yang, Y., Gao, Z., & Han, Y. (2021). Exploring Chinese EFL learners’ achievement emotions and their antecedents in an online English learning environment. Frontiers in Psychology, 12(722622), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.722622
• Yılmaz, A. B. (2018). Distance and face-to-face students’perceptions towards distance education: A comparative metaphorical study. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 20(1), 191-207. https://doi.org/10.17718/tojde.522705
• Zhang, J. (2022). The impact of positive mood and future outlook on English as a foreign language students’ academic self-concept. Frontiers in Psychology, 13(846422), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.846422