A Comparison of Text Authenticity and Focus of Reading Comprehension Questions between an English and Turkish as a Foreign Language Coursebook

Year 2016, Volume: 3 Issue: 2, 1 - 17, 29.12.2016

Stefan Rathert

Abstract

There is general agreement that texts and tasks used in foreign language instruction exhibiting a higher degree of authenticity have the potential to provide better learning opportunities in the classroom and prepare learners more adequately for language use outside the classroom. Acknowledging the significance of text and task authenticity, this study examined two coursebooks - coming from different foreign language teaching contexts drawing on unequal amounts of research and experience - in terms of reading text authenticity and comprehension question focus. The books analyzed were the English as a foreign language (EFL) coursebook English File Elementary Student’s Book (EF) and the Turkish as a foreign language (TFL) coursebook Pratik Türkçe. Practical Turkish. Self-study and Classroom Use with Grammar References (PT). The results of the study revealed that PT nearly exclusively used non-authentic texts, while the proportion of non-authentic, semi-authentic and authentic texts was more balanced in EF. Furthermore, PT relied more strongly upon questions checking literal comprehension, while EF displayed a greater variety of comprehension question foci with an emphasis on questions triggering high-order thinking engaging learners in drawing inference or putting content into a personal perspective. Conclusions for material design in foreign language learning are drawn.

Keywords

Text authenticity, task authenticity, English as a foreign language, Turkish as a foreign language, coursebook

Yabancı Dil Olarak İngilizce Ve Yabancı Dil Olarak Türkçe Ders Kitaplarında Metin Özgünlüğü İle Anlama Soruları Odağının Karşılaştırılması

Abstract

Metin ve görev özgünlüğünün yabancı dil öğretimi araç tasarımında önemli olduğu bilinmektedir. Daha fazla özgünlük içeren okuma metinleri ile bu metinlere bağlı görevlerin sınıfta daha iyi öğrenme fırsatları sağladığı ve sınıf dışı dil kullanımı konusunda öğrencilerin daha iyi hazırlanmasını sağladığı konusunda kısmi görüş birliği söz konusudur. Okuma metni ve görev özgünlüğünün öneminin bilincinde olarak, bu çalışmada iki ders kitabının metin özgünlüğü ve anlama soruları odağı açısından incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Yabancı dil olarak İngilizce ders kitabı English File Elementary Student’s Book (EF) ile Yabancı dil olarak Türkçe ders kitabı Pratik Türkçe. Practical Turkish Self-study and Classroom Use with Grammar References (PT) çözümlenmiştir. Bulgular, özgün olmayan, yarı özgün ve özgün okuma metinlerinin EF’te daha dengeli bir dağılım gösterirken PT’de yer alan okuma metinlerinin tamamına yakınının özgün olmayan metinlerden oluştuğunu ortaya çıkarmıştır. Ayrıca, PT’nin daha çok düz kavrayış sorularına dayalı olduğu, EF’nin ise öğrencilerin çıkarımda bulunması ya da içeriği kişisel bakış açısıyla değerlendirmesini sağlayarak üst düzey düşünmeyi harekete geçiren çok daha çeşitli anlama sorularını içerdiği anlaşılmaktadır. Yabancı dil öğreniminde araç tasarımı konusunda sonuçlara ulaşılmıştır.

Keywords

Metin özgünlüğü, görev özgünlüğü, Yabancı dil olarak İngilizce, Yabancı dil olarak Türkçe, ders kitabı

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