High School Students’ Attitudes and Experiences in EFL Classrooms Equipped with Interactive Whiteboards

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine ninth grade EFL students’ experiences and attitudes towards classrooms equipped with interactive whiteboards (IWB). The data were collected with a questionnaire about attitudes towards IWB use in EFL classes, and observations from three different classrooms in three different high schools. The study indicated that the EFL students were not fully aware of how to use IWBs in learning English although they had a background of IWB use. In addition, there was no statistically significant difference in the attitudes of the male and female students towards using IWBs. Overall, the results revealed that EFL students’ attitudes towards IWBs were positive although there were some technical challenges in IWB classrooms.

Evaluation of Ninth Grade English Instruction Programme Oualitatively Through Hammond’s Cube Model* **

“…In our study, limited number of weekly English lessons' reducing the use of various methods and techniques in the lessons and in this regard, teachers' not concentrating enough on providing learning opportunities appropriate for the individual characteristics are among the other results. There are also studies (Acar, 2013;Dağ Gülcan, 2013;Abdalı, 2016;Han and Okatan, 2016;Ocak, 2016;Elgün Gündüz, 2017;Faraj, 2017;Polanco Zamora and Velazquez, 2017;Bektaş Bedir, 2018;Rajabboyevna, 2020) that emphasize the importance of increasing the quality by adding methodological /technical diversity to the courses and enriching them. In our study, it was determined that activities (role playing, play, drama, etc.)…”

“…This may cause the activities to become routine and may prevent students from maintaining their learning motivation. In the study conducted by Han and Okatan (2016), it was stated that the use of smart board in English foreign language classes would be effective and beneficial as long as the smart board users focused on student-centered activities and learning objectives. Karataş and Fer (2009), in their studies, also recommended that the auditory and visual aids should be diversified and used effectively in English classes.…”

“…In our research, it was found that teachers think that their students' interaction with their peers in pairs or group works in classroom increases their interest towards the lesson, but they also think that, in order to eliminate the disadvantage of crowded classrooms' limiting collaborative work, it is necessary to compensate the deficiencies of the willing students by organizing courses. There are different researchers reaching the finding that the crowded classrooms reduce the effectiveness of instruction (İnam, 2009;Dönmez, 2010;Seçkin, 2011;Kim, 2015;Han and Okatan, 2016;Özüdoğru, 2016;Liman, 2017;Özmat, 2017;Altın, 2018;Ahmad, Farid, & Hussain, 2021). In our research, teachers also stated that even though students thought that they should learn English well, they purposely retard their studies for learning English accurately until to the future years.…”