No abstract

E-portfolios have been used in English language teaching (ELT) to assess and improve writing skills. They can also be used to assess and improve speaking skills. Though the attitudes of students toward the use of e-portfolios in speaking classes are known to be positive, teachers' attitudes toward this method is unknown. Therefore, this study aims to find out the attitudes and perceptions of teachers toward implementing the use of e-portfolios in speaking classes. As it is a small-scale qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were carried out with four listening and speaking teachers who use e-portfolios in their listening and speaking classes. The interviews were content analysed. The results indicated that teachers, like students have positive attitudes toward the implementation of e-portfolios in speaking classes, though there are some challenges to overcome.

The aim of this study is to find the attitudes of language instructors towards blended learning at English Language Program of a foundation university, and to find out the nature of Schoology, a learning management system, for blended learning purposes. The participants were 35 English language instructors working at the foundation university in Turkey. A questionnaire developed by Moukali (2012) was used as a data collection tool in this study. The findings revealed that the English language instructors working for tertiary level English Language Program have a positive attitude towards blended learning. On the other hand, the opinions of the participants to make blended learning more successful in language teaching and learning environments were reflected comprehensively in the study

Improving the quality of English language teacher education (ELTE) programs has become a major point of consideration; however, such programmatic evaluations are markedly rare.This study utilizes both numeric and interpretive qualitative data in a blended research design. The study addresses, vis-à-vis current research in related fields: What is the current situation of the Turkish ELTE programs in terms of curriculum strength and faculty resources? How do the program directors and teacher candidates envision the situation of their programs in terms of curriculum strength and faculty resources? Data included 45 ELTE curricula, interviews with 24 program directors and pre-service teachers, documents, and test scores. Findings revealed several significant associations between school type (public/private) and rank (low/high) and the number of faculty with expertise in critical areas in the field. Qualitative critical evaluations suggest both perceptual matches and mismatches between program directors and teacher candidates regarding programmatic strengths and weaknesses.

In researching the comparison of ESL and EFL programs regarding curriculum mandates and perceptions of program directors and Teacher candidates, this study addresses the following research questions: How different are the competencies that are covered in the curricula of ELTE programs in Turkey from those that are covered in the curricula of ESL teacher education programs in the US? How do the program directors in ELTE and ESL teacher certification programs perceive the situation of their programs in terms of the content of the curriculum? How do the teacher candidates in ELTE and ESL teacher certification programs perceive the situation of their programs in terms of the content of the curriculum? Data include semi-structured interviews of four program directors and eight ELTE and ESL teacher candidates as well as the curricula of eight ESL teacher certification and eight ELTE programs. These programs were selected among private and public institutions in different cities and States (US) to represent a more comprehensive structure of the ELTE and ESL programs in the two countries. Results clearly indicate that program directors and teacher candidates do not see curriculum as a well-written prescribed document; rather, they argued for the learning outcomes resulting from the implemented curriculum. Besides, some critically needed competencies such as culture and assessment, and professional responsibilities are neglected in EFL programs.