World Englishes: Attitudes of Male and Female University Students

Abstract

This quantitative study investigated the attitudes of male and female university students in Türkiye toward World Englishes (WE). It aimed to measure participants’ overall perceptions of WE and determine if there is a statistically significant difference between the perceptions of male and female students toward WE. In total, 50 females and 28 males from the Department of Translation and Interpreting participated in the study by filling out a 20-item Likert scale questionnaire adapted from Choi (2007). The questionnaire data were analyzed by SPSS 23 using inferential statistics and the Mann-Whitney-U test to compare the mean scores of male and female participants. The results showed that although there was no statistically significant difference between the general mean scores of two groups, there was a gender-based statistically significant difference between the mean scores of two groups regarding some specific items, which highlighted the fact that participants preferred intelligibility over native-likeness in their speech, and males’ showed greater acceptance of native varieties while females tended to embrace local varieties more positively. Also, it was found that the participants showed a more favorable attitude towards Turkish-mother-tongue language teachers as they felt culturally closer to these teachers, and Turkish-mother-tongue teachers were able to use students’ mother tongue to foster learning. These findings suggested that the role of the mother tongue should not be underscored and there should be a gender-sensitive approach to integrating the concept of WE in classroom practices.

Keywords

• world englishes
• english language
• language varieties
• native speaker

Ethical Statement

Bu çalışma için İstiklal Üniversitesi Bilimsel Araştırma ve Yayın Etiği Komisyonundan izin alınmıştır. (Tarih: 28.01.2025, Sayı: E-23430505-050.04-42699)

Dünya İngilizceleri: Erkek ve Kadın Üniversite Öğrencilerinin Tutumları

Abstract

Bu nicel çalışma, Türkiye'deki erkek ve kadın üniversite öğrencilerinin Dünya İngilizceleri (WE) konusundaki tutumlarını araştırmıştır. Çalışmanın amacı, katılımcıların WE’ye yönelik genel algılarını ölçmek ve erkek ve kadın öğrencilerin WE’ye yönelik algıları arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir fark olup olmadığını belirlemektir. Mütercim ve Tercümanlık Bölümü’nden toplamda 50 kadın ve 28 erkek öğrenci, Choi (2007) tarafından geliştirilen ve uyarlanan 20 maddelik Likert ölçeği anketini doldurarak çalışmaya katılmıştır. Anket verileri, SPSS 23 programı kullanılarak çıkarımsal istatistikler ve erkek ve kadın katılımcıların ortalama puanlarını karşılaştırmak için Mann-Whitney U testi ile analiz edilmiştir. Sonuçlar, iki grubun genel ortalama puanları arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir fark bulunmamakla birlikte, bazı belirli maddeler açısından cinsiyete dayalı istatistiksel olarak anlamlı farklılıklar olduğunu göstermiştir. Bu farklılıklar, katılımcıların konuşmalarında anlaşılırlığı ana dil konuşucusu gibi konuşmaya kıyasla tercih ettiklerini ve erkeklerin ana dili İngilizce olan varyantları daha fazla kabul ederken, kadınların yerel çeşitlere daha olumlu yaklaştıklarını ortaya koymuştur. Ayrıca, katılımcıların Türkçe’yi anadil olarak konuşan öğretmenlere, bu öğretmenlerle kültürel olarak daha yakın hissetmelerinden ve ana dilini kullanarak öğrenmeyi destekleyebilmelerinden ötürü daha olumlu bir tutum sergiledikleri bulunmuştur. Bu bulgular, yabancı dil öğretiminde anadilin rolünün göz ardı edilmemesi gerektiğini ve WE kavramının sınıf içi uygulamalara entegre edilmesinde cinsiyete duyarlı bir yaklaşım benimsenmesi gerektiğini önermektedir.

Keywords

• dünya ingilizceleri
• ana dil
• aksan
• şive

Ethical Statement

Ethics Committee Approval Date: Feb 07, 2025. E-23430505-050.04-42699

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