A case study of Turkish pre-service teachers of English in an international exchange program: ELF and WE perspectives

Study/Teach abroad experiences, are shown to impact prospective teachers’ beliefs and values, offering exposure to diverse educational systems and teaching philosophies. This qualitative exploratory case study aimed to investigate the impact of the Comenius language assistantship program on the sociolinguistic perspectives and meaning schemes of Turkish pre-service teachers of English, in different intercultural educational contexts in Europe between 2011 and 2014. It incorporated both English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) and World Englishes (WE) perspectives. The theoretical framework in the study is Mezirow’s (1991) transformative learning theory. The data, collected via semi-structured interviews and reflective journals, were analyzed via content analysis. The findings indicated that although their social and educational backgrounds affected their interpretations of international teaching experiences, participants seemed to share an overarching sociolinguistic perspective. Changes emerged in four meaning schemes: inclusive pedagogical practices, teaching and learning English from the ELF- and WE-aware perspectives, creative and critical thinking activities, as well as intercultural awareness. The study underscored the necessity of integrating the following issues into pre-service language teacher education programs: intercultural awareness, competence, and communication, as well as linguistic and cultural diversity. The findings also emphasized the teacher educators’ role as facilitators in terms of enhancing the transformative potential of the international teaching experiences.

___

  • Aydın, S. (2012). “I am not the same after my ERASMUS”: A qualitative research. The Qualitative Report, 17(28), 1-23.
  • Baker, W. (2011). Intercultural awareness: Modelling and understanding of cultures in intercultural communication through English as a lingua franca. Language and Intercultural Communication, 11(3), 197-214.
  • Bardovi-Harlig, K. & Bastos, M. T. (2011). Proficiency, length of stay, and intensity of interaction and the acquisition of conventional expressions in L2 pragmatics. Intercultural Pragmatics, 8, 347–384.
  • Barkhuizen, G., & Feryok, A. (2006). Pre-service teachers' perceptions of a short-term international experience program. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 34(1), 115-134.
  • Bayyurt, Y. & Dewey, M. (2020). Locating ELF in ELT. ELT Journal, 74(4), 369–376.
  • Bayyurt, Y., Kurt, Y., Öztekin, E., Guerra, L., Cavalheiro, L., & Pereira, R. (2019). English language teachers’ awareness of English as a lingua franca in multilingual and multicultural contexts. Eurasian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 5(2), 185-202.
  • Bayyurt, Y., & Sifakis, N. C. (2015a). Developing an ELF-aware pedagogy: Insights from a self-education programme. New frontiers in teaching and learning English, 55-76.
  • Bayyurt, Y., & Sifakis, N. C. (2015b). ELF-aware in-service teacher education: A transformative perspective. In H. Bowles, & A. Cogo (Eds.), International perspectives on English as a lingua franca (pp. 117-135). Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Berns, M. (1995). English in Europe: Whose language, which culture. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 5(1), 21-32.
  • Biricik-Deniz, E., Özkan, Y., & Bayyurt, Y. (2016). English as a lingua franca: Reflections on ELF-related issues by pre-service English language teachers in Turkey. The Reading Matrix, 16(2), 144-161.
  • British Council (2010). 2010 Activity report: Comenius and Erasmus. Retrieved from https://www.erasmusplus.org.uk/file/425/download.
  • Canagarajah, A. S. (2007). Lingua franca English, multilingual communities, and language acquisition. The Modern Language Journal, 91(5), 923-939.
  • Caraker, R. (2016). Spain and the context of English language education. Research Bulletin, 92, 23-35.
  • Coyle, D., Hood, D., & Marsh, D. (2010). Content and language integrated learning. Cambridge University Press.
  • Creese, A., & Blackledge, A. (2010). Translanguaging in the bilingual classroom: A pedagogy for learning and teaching? The Modern Language Journal, 94(1), 103–115.
  • Creswell. J. W., & Miller, D. L. (2000). Determining validity in qualitative inquiry. Theory into Practice, 39, 124-130.
  • Cushner, K. (2007). The role of experience in the making of internationally-minded teachers. Teacher Education Quarterly, 34(1), 27-39.
  • Çiftçi, E., & Karaman, A. (2019). Short-term international experiences in language teacher education: A qualitative meta-synthesis. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 44(1), 93-119.
  • Deveci, T. (2014). The transformative learning experiences of learners of English as a foreign language at a university preparatory program: Transformative dialogues: Teaching and Learning Journal, 7(39), 1-19.
  • Dewey, M. (2012). ‘Towards a post-normative approach: Learning the pedagogy of ELF. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca 1, 147–70.
  • Dolasir, S., & Tuncel, F. (2004, May). Evaluating the Turkish higher education law and proposals in the light of Erasmus goals. Paper presented at the First International Congress on University Education, Istanbul, Turkey.
  • Dooley, K. E., Dooley, L. M., & Carranza, G. (2008). Beliefs, barriers, and benefits of a faculty abroad experience in Mexico. Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education, 15(3), 29-38.
  • European Commission (2012). Rethinking education: Investing in skills for better socio-economic outcomes. Strasbourg: Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education.
  • European Commission /EACEA/Eurydice. (2016). Entrepreneurship education at schools in Europe. Eurydice report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
  • Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory. Chicago: Aldine.
  • Grazzi, E., & Lopliore, L. (2020). ELF awareness for teacher education in Italy: Attitudes and actions. Estudos, 65, 69-89.
  • Hamid, M. O., & Baldauf, R. B. (2013). Second language errors and features of world Englishes. World Englishes, 32(4), 476-494.
  • Helm, F., & van der Velden, B. (2020). Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange Impact Report 2019. https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/a6996e63-a9d2-11e9- 9d01-01aa75ed71a1.
  • Hovland, K. (2009). Global learning: What is it? Who is responsible for it? Peer Review, Fall, 4-7.
  • Hult, F.M. (2017). More than a lingua franca: Functions of English in a globalised educational language policy, Language, Culture and Curriculum, 30(3), 265-282.
  • Hüttner, J. (2018). ELF and content and language integrated learning. In J. Jenkins, W. Baker, & M. Dewey (Eds.). The Routledge Handbook of English as a Lingua Franca (pp. 481–493). New York: Routledge.
  • Illes, E., & Akcan, S. (2017). Bringing real-life language use into EFL classrooms. ELT Journal, 71(1), 3-12, 2017.
  • Isabelli-García, C., Bown, J., Plews, J. L., & Dewey, D. P. (2018). Language learning and study abroad. Language Teaching, 51(4), 439–484.
  • Jenkins, J. (2009). English as a lingua franca: Interpretations and attitudes. World Englishes, 28(2), 200–207.
  • Kachru, B. (1985) Standards, codification, and sociolinguistic realism: The English language in the Outer Circle. In R. Quirk & H. G. Widdowson (Eds.), English in the world: Teaching and learning the language and literatures (pp. 11–30). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Karaman, A. C., & Tochon, F. V. (2007). International student teaching in world language education: Critical criteria for global teacherhood. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 4(2-3), 237-264.
  • Kaypak, E., & Ortaçtepe, D. (2014). Language learner beliefs and study abroad: A study on English as a lingua franca (ELF). System, 42, 355–367.
  • King, K. P. (2005). Bringing transformative learning to life. Krieger.
  • Klein, J. & Wikan, G. (2019). Teacher education and international practice programmes: Reflections on transformative learning and global citizenship. Teaching and Teacher Education, 79, 93-10.
  • Kordia, S. (2018). ELF-aware teaching in practice: a teacher’s perspective. In N. C. Sifakis & N. Tsantila (Eds.). English as a Lingua Franca for EFL Contexts (pp. 53–71). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
  • Kural, F. (2020). Long term effects of intercultural competence development training for study abroad adjustment and global communication. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 16(2), 948-95.
  • Larsen-Freeman, D. (2016). Classroom-oriented research from a complex systems perspective. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching Department of English Studies, 6(3), 377-393.
  • Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice. New York: Cambridge University Press.
  • Li, D., & Edwards, V. (2013). The impact of overseas training on curriculum innovation and change in English language education in Western China. Language Teaching Research, 17, 390-408.
  • Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
  • Maciejewska, M. (2018). Opportunities of transformative student learning – The case of the Erasmus+ programme. Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference: Society. Integration. Education (pp. 350-360). Rēzekne, Latvija: Rēzeknes Tehnoloģiju akadēmija.
  • Mauranen, A. (2010). Discourse reflexivity- discourse universal?: The case of ELF. Nordic Journal of English Studies, 9(2), 13-40.
  • McKay, S. L. (2010). English as an international language. In N. H. Hornberger & S. L. McKay (Eds.), Sociolinguistics and language education (pp. 89–115). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
  • Mezirow J. (1991). Transformative dimensions of adult learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
  • Mezirow, J. (1997). Transformative learning: Theory to practice. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 74, 5-12.
  • Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning to think like an adult: Core concepts of transformation theory. In J. Mezirow & Associates (Eds.), Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress (pp. 3–34). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
  • Mezirow, J. (2009). An overview on transformative learning. In K. Illeri (Ed.), Contemporary theories of learning: Learning theorists in their own words (pp. 7-20). London and New York: Routledge.
  • Modiano, M. (2009). Language learning in the multicultural classroom: English in a European and global perspective. Lund: Studentlitteratur.
  • Ostinelli, G. (2009). Teacher education in Italy, Germany, England, Sweden and Finland. European Journal of Education, 44(2), 291-308.
  • Öztürk, G., & Aydın, B. (2019). English language teacher education in Turkey: Why do we fail and what policy reforms are needed? Anadolu Journal of Educational Sciences International, 9(1), 181-213.
  • Pineda, P., Moreno, V., & Belvis, E. (2008). The mobility of university students in Europe and Spain. European Educational Research Journal, 7(3), 273-288.
  • Plews, J. L., Breckenridge, Y., & Cambre, M.C. (2010). Mexican English teachers’ experiences of international professional development in Canada: A narrative analysis. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 7(1), 5– 20.
  • Sifakis, N. C. (2004). Teaching EIL-Teaching intercultural or international English: What teachers should know. System, 32(3), 237-250.
  • Sifakis, N. C. (2007). The education of teachers of English as a lingua franca: A transformative perspective. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 17(3), 355-374.
  • Sifakis, N. C. (2009). Challenges in teaching ELF in the periphery: The Greek context. ELT Journal, 63(3), 230-237.
  • Sifakis, N. C. (2019). ELF awareness in English Language Teaching: principles and processes. Applied Linguistics, 40(2), 288–306.
  • Sifakis, N. C. & Bayyurt, Y. (2015). Insights from ELF and WE in teacher training in Greece and Turkey. World Englishes, 10, 471-484.
  • Sifakis, N., & Bayyurt, Y. (2018). ELF-aware teaching, learning and teacher development. In J. Jenkins, W. Baker, & M. Dewey (Eds.), Handbook of English as a lingua franca (pp. 456- 467). London and New York: Routledge.
  • Strauss A. & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
  • Thaler, E. (2017). English and foreign language teaching in German gymnasium. Training Language and Culture, 1(3), 72-85.
  • Trent, J. (2011). Learning, teaching, and constructing identities: ESL pre-service teacher experiences during a short-term international experience program. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 31(2), 177-194.
  • Van Lier, L. (2007) Action-based teaching, autonomy and identity. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 1(1), 46-65.
  • Vande Berg, M., Paige, R.M., & Lou, K.H. (2012). Student learning abroad: What our students are learning what they’re not, and what we can do about it. Sterling, VA: Stylus.
  • Vettorel, P. (2015). World Englishes and English as a lingua franca: Implications for teacher education and ELT. Iperstoria-Testi Letterature Linguaggi Rivista Semestrale, 6, 229-244.
  • Yalçın, Ş., Bayyurt, Y., & Alahdab, B.R. (2020). Triggering effect of CLIL practice on English as a lingua franca awareness. ELT Journal, 74(4), 387–397.
  • Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research design and methods (4th ed.). Sage Publications.