Turkish Primary School EFL Teachers’ Use of Supplementary Materials: A Case Study on Problems and Solutions

Year 2024, Volume: 7 Issue: 1, 24 - 40

Dilek Korkmaz , Nilüfer Aybirdi Tanrıverdi

https://doi.org/10.52134/ueader.1427449

Abstract

Turkish EFL teachers teaching in state primary schools often create or employ supplementary materials to promote more concrete learning. However, in some cases, the use of supplementary materials leads to several problems. The main purpose of this study is to define these problems and to develop strategies for overcoming them while using the supplementary materials. This is a qualitative case study. Two EFL teachers participated in this study. A purposive sampling technique was applied to select the teacher participants. The study took place over six weeks. The data were collected through classroom observation, interviews, and self-evaluation reports and analysed by coding and theming. The findings revealed that teachers encountered problems such as students being distracted, students not understanding the instructions for using the supplementary materials, technological issues, insufficient class time, slowness of young learners, damage to the supplementary materials, and lack of materials for students (e.g., scissors or glue). The study also provides some alternative strategies for overcoming these problems (e.g., adaptation of material, giving instruction one by one etc.).

Keywords

Turkish EFL teachers, Supplemental material use, Problems

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