Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
ISSN 1309-6591
Editor-in-Chief
Abdullah Kuzu,
Anadolu University, Turkey
Associate Editors
Cindy G. Jardine
University of Alberta, Canada
Işıl Kabakçı
Anadolu University, Turkey
Franz Breuer
Westfälische Wilhems-Universität Münster, Germany
Jean McNiff
York St John University, United Kingdom
Ken Zeichner
University of Washington, USA
Wolff-Michael Roth
University of Victoria, Canada
Yavuz Akbulut
Anadolu University, Turkey
Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
Advisory Board
Abdullah Kuzu, Anadolu University, Turkey
Ahmet Saban, Selçuk University, Turkey
Ali Rıza Akdeniz, Rize University, Turkey
Ali Yıldırım, Middle East Technical University, Turkey
Angela Creese, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
Angela K. Salmon, Florida International University, USA
Antoinette McCallin, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
Arif Altun, Hacettepe University, Turkey
Asker Kartarı, Hacettepe University, Turkey
Aytekin İşman, Sakarya University, Turkey
Benedicte Brøgger, The Norwegian School of Management BI, Norway
Bronwyn Davies, University of Melbourne, Australia
Buket Akkoyunlu, Hacettepe University, Turkey
Cem Çuhadar, Trakya University, Turkey
Cemalettin İpek, Rize University, Turkey
Cesar Antonio Cisneros Puebla, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana Iztapalapa, Mexico
Cindy G. Jardine, University of Alberta, Canada
Claudia Figueiredo, Institute for Learning Innovation, USA
Durmuş Ekiz, Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey
Elif Kuş Saillard, Ankara University, Turkey
Fawn Winterwood, The Ohio State University, USA
Ferhan Odabaşı, Anadolu University, Turkey
Franz Breuer, Westfälische Wilhems-Universität Münster, Germany
Gina Higginbottom, University of Alberta, Canada
Gönül Kırcaali İftar, Professor Emerita, Turkey
Hafize Keser, Ankara University, Turkey
Halil İbrahim Yalın, Gazi University, Turkey
Hasan Şimşek, Middle East Technical University, Turkey
Işıl Kabakçı, Anadolu University, Turkey
İlknur Kelçeoğlu, Indiana University & Purdue University, USA
Jean McNiff, York St John University, United Kingdom
José Fernando Galindo, Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Bolivia
Ken Zeichner, University of Washington, USA
Mustafa Yunus Eryaman, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Turkey
Nedim Alev, Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey
Nigel Fielding, University of Surrey, United Kingdom
Nihat Gürel Kahveci, Istanbul University, Turkey
Petek Aşkar, Hacettepe University, Turkey
Pranee Liamputtong, La Trobe University, Australia
Richard Kretschmer, University of Cincinnati, USA
Roberta Truax, Professor Emerita, USA
Selma Vonderwell, Cleveland State University, USA
Servet Bayram, Marmara University, Turkey
Sevgi Küçüker, Pamukkale University, Turkey
Shalva Weil, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Soner Yıldırım, Middle East Technical University, Turkey
Udo Kelle, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany
Ümit Girgin, Anadolu University, Turkey
Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
Wolff-Michael Roth, University of Victoria, Canada
Yang Changyong, Sauthwest China Normal University, China
Yavuz Akbulut, Anadolu University, Turkey
Yavuz Akpınar, Boğaziçi University, Turkey
Review Board
Abdullah Adıgüzel, Harran University, Turkey
Abdullah Kuzu, Anadolu University, Turkey
Adeviye Tuba Tuncer, Gazi University, Turkey
Ahmet Naci Çoklar, Selçuk University, Turkey
Bahadır Erişti, Anadolu University, Turkey
Cem Çuhadar, Trakya University, Turkey
Eren Kesim, Anadolu University, Turkey
Işıl Kabakçı, Anadolu University, Turkey
İlknur Kelçeoğlu, Indiana University & Purdue University, USA
Mehmet Can Şahin, Çukurova University, Turkey
Meral Ören Çevikalp, Anadolu University, Turkey
Mustafa Caner, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Turkey
Osman Dülger, Batman University, Turkey
Pelin Yalçınoğlu, Anadolu University, Turkey
S. Işıl Açıkalın, Anadolu University, Turkey
Yavuz Akbulut, Anadolu University, Turkey
Language Reviewers
Mehmet Duranlıoğlu, Anadolu University, Turkey
Mustafa Caner, Anadolu University, Turkey
Administrative & Technical Staff
Elif Buğra Kuzu, Anadolu University, Turkey
Serkan Çankaya, Anadolu University, Turkey
The Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry (TOJQI) (ISSN 1309-6591) is published quarterly
(January, April, July and October) a year at the www.tojqi.net.
For all enquiries regarding the TOJQI, please contact Assoc.Prof. Abdullah KUZU, Editor-In-Chief,
TOJQI, Anadolu University, Faculty of Education, Department of Computer Education and Instructional
Technology, Yunus Emre Campus, 26470, Eskisehir, TURKEY,
Phone #:+90-222-3350580/3519, Fax # :+90-222-3350573,
E-mail : [email protected]; [email protected].
Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
Table of Contents
Supporting A Micro-Ethnographic Study of the Communication/Language
Development in a Japanese Child with Profound Hearing Loss Before and After
Cochlear Implantation Environments
1
Richard R. Kretschmer Laura Kretschmer Katsura Kuwahara Roberta Truax
Informal Online Learning Practices: Implications for Distance Education
18
Fawn Winterwood
What Are The Main Sources Of Turkish Efl Students’ Anxiety In Oral Practice?
29
Gonca Subaşı
Tutor Computer Formative Teachers’ Opinions on the Effective Use of Information
Technologies at Schools: Trabzon Province Sample
50
Alper Şimşek Ömer Faruk Ursavaş
Defining the Effects of Television on the Body Image on the Basis of Adolescents’
Opinions
65
Berrin Dinç Fatma Alisinanoğlu
How to Conduct a Qualitative Program Evaluation in the Light of Eisner’s
Educational Connoisseurship and Criticism Model
İsmail Yüksel
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
A Micro-Ethnographic Study of the Communication/Language
Development in a Japanese Child with Profound Hearing Loss
Before and After Cochlear Implantation
Richard R. Kretschmer
Laura Kretschmer
University of Cincinnati, USA
[email protected]
University of Cincinnati, USA
[email protected]
Katsura Kuwahara
Roberta Truax
Japan Oral School for the Deaf and
Reischnauer-Kramer Nursery
Machida City, JAPAN
[email protected]
University of Cincinnati, USA
[email protected]
Abstract
This study described the communication and spoken language development of a Japanese girl with
profound hearing loss who used a cochlear implant from 19 months of age. The girl, Akiko, was
born in Belgium where her family was living at that time. After she was identified as deaf at birth,
she and her parents were provided with support services. The family relocated to Japan when
Akiko was 1 year 5 months of age. When she was 1 year 6 months of age Akiko underwent
cochlear implantation. The cochlear implant device was activated when Akiko was 1 year 7 months
of age. The parents routinely made video recordings of Akiko interacting with family members and
teachers at home and at school. The video recordings taken by the parents used as the data for
this study contained scenes of Akiko from the time she was 3 months of age until she was 4 years
11 months of age. Micro-ethnographic methods were used to analyze the dynamics and
development of selected communicative interactions over this age span of fifty-six months. The
original pool of video recordings contained 213 scenes.
As a result of video viewing and editing, Akiko’s communication development was found to follow
expected patterns of development as described by other child language researchers of children
with normal hearing. There were seven demarcations that represent Akiko’s communication and
spoken language development: 1) perlocutionary, 2) transition of perlocutionary to illocutionary, 3)
illocutionary, 4) transition of illocutionary to locutionary, 5) locutionary, 6) dialogue, and 7)
narrative.
Keywords: Cochlear implant; child development; communication/language development
Introduction
It is well understood that the acquisition of intelligible spoken language in young deaf children is a
challenge, even with early intervention (Kretschmer & Kretschmer, in press; Nittrouer, 2010).
Problems are evident in all area of language, including literacy, discourse, semantics, syntax, and
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phonology. If the choice of the family is to develop spoken language, hearing aids as well as
intervention have assisted some, but not all children. Cochlear implants are being increasingly used
with young children with congenital or early onset of deafness and are thought to be of substantial
benefit in the development of more typical phonological, grammatical, semantic and discourse abilities
as well as literacy (Dowell, 2005; Ertmer, Strong, & Sadagopan, 2003; Papsin & Gordon, 2007;
Tomblin, Barker, Spencer, Zhang, Gantz , 2005; Waltzman & Roland, 2005).
Early implantation,
before the age of three, is described as having the most beneficial effects on communication
development. Increasingly, implantation before 2 years or even by 1 year of age is advocated
(Dowell, 2005; Ertmer & Mellon, 2001; Houston, Ying, Pisoni, & Kirk, 2003; Lesinksi et al., 2006;
Nicholas & Geers, 2000) as well as bilateral implantation as well (Gordon, Valero, & Pepsin, 2007;
Ruggirello & Mayer, 2010). Taken as a whole, the reports on the benefits of early implantation share
two important characteristics: a) they tend to be cross sectional studies rather than single subject
longitudinal studies, and b) they tend to focus on test results rather than on descriptions of patterns
of language/communication growth over time. There are virtually no studies that focus on patterns of
language growth in young deaf children with cochlear implants. This study attempts to address that
issue.
To track and analyze longitudinal language acquisition, we decided to utilize a model of typical
language acquisition from the literature to frame the qualitative analysis, namely identification of the
following stages observed in typical infants, toddlers and young children. These included: a) the
perlocutionary stage, b) illocutionary stage, c) the locutionary stage, d) the dialogue stage, and e) the
extended dialogue stage (Bates, 1976; Bates, Camaioni, & Volterra, 1975; Clark, 2009; Halliday, 1975;
Tomasello, 1995). The perlocutionary stage involves the primary caregiver contextualizing the infant’s
s vocal/non-vocal behaviors into a conversational exchange. In other words, the infant produces a
vocal or non-vocal behavior and the mother responds to it as if it were communicative in nature. In
the illocutionary stage, the infant or toddler begins to become a more equal partner with the mother
in that he or she begins to signal their communicative intentions to the parents. During this stage,
the child’s vocalizations come closer and closer in their syllabic structure (canonical syllables) and
intonation patterns to the language to which they are being exposed. In this stage, the parent
recognizes the intention and then responds in an appropriate fashion either verbally or non-verbally.
In the locutionary stage, the child signals his intentions using words or syllables from his or her
mother tongue. The mother responds to these productions with speech and gestures as a way of
extending the conversational exchange. In the dialogue stage, the child generates multiple spoken
turns and the mother extends these efforts to maintain multiple exchanges on the same topic. As the
child matures linguistically, these exchanges become more and more extended, so that the child can
begin to engage in longer discourse such as personal or literary narration. This model was developed
on English speaking children but has been applied with success to the study of other languages such
as Finnish (Paavola, Kunnari, & Molanen, 2005), French (Blake, 2000; Marcos, Ryckenbusch, &
Robain-Jamien, 2003; Ryckebusch & Marcos, 2004); Hebrew (Zaidman-Zait & Dromi, 2007), Italian
(Bates et al., 1975), Japanese (Blake, Osborne, Cabral, & Gluck, 2003). Because of this ability to
generalize to other languages including Japanese, this model was used as a framework to study the
language growth of a single child with early onset deafness who was acquiring Japanese and due to
the parents decision to video tape her from the moment of diagnosis through cochlear implantation
and to entry in to a formal educational program.
Description of the Deaf Child and her Family
Akiko is a Japanese child of Japanese speaking parents. She was born in Belgium and lived there until
she was 1 year 5 months of age. The family then relocated to Japan to live in the home of the
paternal grandparents. Both parents are college graduates and the father is employed as manager of
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a textile manufacturing subsidiary with a large Japanese car company. At her paternal grandparents’
home she interacted not only with her parents but with the grandparents as well. When Akiko was 3
years 10 months of age, her sister, Mari, was born and became a member of her community.
Akiko was diagnosed with a probable hearing loss at 3 days old due to Wardenburg Syndrome. At 30
days, she demonstrated responses to ABR at 90dB in the left ear and 45dB in the right. At seven
months of age she was fitted binaurally with Phonak behind the ear hearing-aids. At this time she
was enrolled in an early childhood program for the hearing impaired where an educator of the deaf
came to the home to work with the child and family two or three times a week. All of these sessions
were conducted in French. Both of Akiko’s parents could speak French while the mother was also
fluent in English. The language of the home was Japanese. At 11 months, she had an unaided speech
awareness threshold of 98dB in the right ear and no responses in the left ear In addition to the
home visitor, while in Belgium, they visited a nearby clinic so that she and her parents could
participate in group activities related to having a child with profound hearing loss.
When Akiko was 1 year 3 months of age, the family relocated to Japan. One month later she received
a cochlear implant in the left ear. Audiological testing indicated that she had responses at 25 dB from
250 Hz to 8000 Hz with her cochlear implant. She continued to use a hearing aid in the right ear,
although not on a consistent basis. In Japan, she was enrolled in an early intervention program at a
local public school and continued to attend this program until she was four years of age when she was
enrolled in a regular kindergarten. At six years, she transitioned to a regular local elementary school
first grade.
Method
Data Collection
Akiko’s parents decided early on to videotape her communicative and linguistic progress. They began
their home movies when she was 3 months old and made their last recording when she was 4 years
11 months. They made a composite VHS cassette which included 30 scenes over this age span and
donated this cassette to the early intervention program in which Akiko had been enrolled. The director
of this program contacted the primary author who was a doctoral student in an US university and
asked her opinion on the child’s language growth. After watching this tape, the first author asked the
director if she could contact the parents to see if this tape could be released to her for research
purposes. A meeting was arranged with the parents at which time it was determined that the
videotape was a composite of 9 DVD’s compiled by the parents. The parents agreed to release the
videotape and the 9 DVD’s to the researcher. Table 1 provides a summary of the number of scenes
represented by these recordings. This data set yielded 213 scenes which ranged in length from 3
seconds to approximately 30 minutes in length of video taken of Akiko and various communication
partners as noted beginning when she was 3 months of age and continuing to 4 years 11 months.
Clearly the task was going to be to reduce these tapes to some representative samples of her
communication interactions.
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Table 1. The Total 213 Scenes from the Source Video Recordings
Recording media
Nr. of scenes
The length of video recordings
VHS
30 scenes
9 months through 4 years 5 months
DVD 1
38 scenes
3 months through 6 months
DVD 2
23 scenes
7 months through 10 months
DVD 3
36 scenes
10 months through 1 year 7 months
DVD 4
43 scenes
2 years through 2 years 6 months
DVD 5
40 scenes
2 years 6 months through 3 years 11 months
DVD 6
3 scenes
4 years 5 through 4 years 11 months
Total
213 scenes
Data Analysis
Data analysis began with the first author viewing each of these scenes and making initial field notes to
describe the basic parameters, namely, indicating the communication partners and the “topic” around
which the interaction occurred. Once this was accomplished, the scenes were broken into those that
occurred prior to implantation and those that occurred after. The next step was to refocus this
analysis on those interactions where the other communication partner was the mother. This resulted
in 115 scenes that meet that criterion.
Next, the 115 segments were reviewed for common elements which resulted in separating the
segments into three categories, namely, game activities (14 scenes), activities centering on books (18
scenes) and early communication and language development interactions (83 scenes). After careful
review of the latter scenes, forty-five were selected as the best examples of the early communication
and language development interactions. Those that were eliminated included ones where the sound
was not clear, or those where it was not possible to code the complete interaction because one or the
other communication partner could not be seen on the video and their reactions could not be
determined. It was decided to separate these 45 interactions on the basis of developmental stages.
Thus, they were separated into scenes that occurred in infancy (19 scenes), those that occurred as a
toddler (16 scenes), and those representing preschool (10 scenes). In talking with the parents, it
became clear that they prized literacy development in their child, so it was decided to include the 18
book interactions scenes in the final analysis. The 14 scenes revolving around games were not
considered further in this analysis.
The 63 interactions were then shared with the parents on a visit by the primary researcher back to
Japan. Based on parental feedback, it became apparent that even this data base was too extensive for
adequate analysis. The data were reduced even further by selecting those interactions that the
parents felt were best representative of Akiko’s communication at various ages. This resulted in a
reduction of 45 scenes to 10, four for infancy, 3 for toddler, and 3 for preschool. These 10 interactions
plus the 18 interactions under literacy development were analyzed further. There was one scene that
occurred at age 2 years when the mother and child were interacting and had a bag of plastic toys and
then the interaction segued into a book conversation. This segment was therefore divided into two
scenes which increased the interactions around books from 18 to 19, while the interactions
demonstrating early communication stayed at 10. These interactions were deemed by the mother as
typical of her interactions with Akiko.
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The next step was to transcribe each of these 29 interactions. These transcriptions attempted to
capture all verbal and nonverbal behaviors of both the child and the mother as they interacted. In
addition, each interaction was labeled with a time code so that it was possible to determine the length
of each turn. All utterances were recorded first in Japanese and then translated into English. In order
to establish the validity of these translations, both the first author, and a Japanese graduate student
in the Literacy Program at the university independently translated two randomly selected scenes to
determine the accuracy of the initial transcription. There was 76 percent agreement on the first scene
and 100 percent agreement on the second. The disagreements centered on dialectical differences
between the mother’s Japanese and the raters’ Japanese. The differences in translation did not seem
to affect the basic content of the scene, as determined by both the researcher and the graduate
student. Based on these results, it was decided to proceed with the original transcripts made by the
researcher.
For the next step of the analysis, a model of typical language development was accepted as fitting the
interactions in the data set, namely, a) the perlocutionary stage; b) a transitional stage between
perlocution and illocution, c) the illocutionary stage, d) a transition stage between illocution and
locutionary, e) the locutionary stage, f) a dialogue stage, and g) a discourse example of a literary
narrative. Examples of each of these stages were then examined to provide the results for this
project.
Results
The results consist of a series of Tables, each of which presents an example of an interaction that
illustrates a particular stage in Akiko’s communication/language development, Each of these examples
are drawn from larger segments which explains why some Tables begin with numbers other than 1,
Perlocutionary Stage
Table 2 presents an example from the first stage, the perlocutionary stage as observed when Akiko
was 3 months of age. As can be seen, Akiko is producing verbal and nonverbal actions which her
mother appears to be contextualizing into a communicative exchange. Mother builds on what Akiko
has produced, but Akiko only generates what seems relevant to her. It is clear that mother attended
to both vocal and non-verbal behaviors and treated each of them as if they were actual conversational
turns. Interestingly, she waited until Akiko completed her turn before initiating any vocalization.
Table 2. 3 Months of Age
Time
Turn
Akiko
Turn
Mother
00:00;00
1
Laying down on her back on
the mat and tilting her face
toward her right side to gaze
at M.
1
Videotaping the right side of
A from the above. She is
running camera and
interacting with A. She can
view what is being taped
on a small screen on
camera.
00:00; 17
2
Moving her right arm
rhythmically to her
vocalization as if clear her
2
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Time
Turn
Akiko
Turn
Mother
ふうん。Phmmmmmmm.
throat. ワ、オ、オオン。
Whaa,wo,won.
00:03;14
3
Open her mouth. 3
3
00:04;27
4
4 ウワ、オ。Wo, wha, wo.
4
00:06;02
5
5
LAPSE (2 minutes)
00:08;02
6
Louder voice.
うん。Hmm.
LAPSE
6
ウワ、ア、オオン、
Wua, Whaa, won. As if she was
hiccupping. Her both feet rise
along with the hiccup sounds.
00:10;06
7
Then bent both feet and kick
in the air right foot first
7
00:12;00
8
Then left foot along with
8
ん、なんだいそりゃ。 Mm,
what is
that?
voice ア、オオン、Aghh,
ughhhn.
00:13;01
9
00:14;01
10
9
Smacking her lips. チョ、チョ、
ううん。Hmmm.
10
チョ、ウク、ウウン。Tuk, tuk,
tuk,
mk, mhmmmm. her right hand
touched her chin.
00:17;10
11
11
Zooming in on the A’s face. ふ
うん。 Hmmmmmm.
00:17;27
12
00:18;19
13
ウウ、ワアア. Woo, whaah.
12
13
ウウ、ワア、Woo, whaahh.
mimicking A’s tone
00:19;14
14
Pursing her lips in making
sucking sounds.
14
チョッ、チョッ。
Tuk, Tuk.
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Time
Turn
Akiko
00:22;22
15
Then turning her eyes away
from camera
00:24;21
16
Turn
Mother
16
Turning off the camera.
And further, she waited until Akiko produced a behavior before taking her turn, as witnessed by the
time lapse between turns 5 and 6. The limited vocalizations observed were consistent with Oller’
Gooing stage of typical vocalizations for 3 month olds with normal hearing. At this time Akiko likely
had only a moderate hearing loss in her better hearing ear so she would have been aware of her own
voice as well as her mother’s voice produced at close range.
Transition from the Perlocutionary to the Illocutionary Stage
Table 3 shows a sample of interaction when Akiko was 9 months, summarizes an interaction that is
beginning to approach the illocutionary stage of communication/language development. In this
interaction, Akiko produces a variety of both verbal and non-verbal actions which the mother
consistently interprets as communicative in nature. Akiko’s actions and vocalizations are more under
her control and appear to be less reflexive in nature. She is wearing hearing aids by this time which
could have altered her vocalizations, but in this segment no canonical syllables were observed, as
predicted by Oller’s Grand Synthetic model of typical vocal development (Kretschmer & Kretschmer, in
press). It is difficult to know exactly what Akiko’s hearing levels were at this age, or what effects the
hearing aids were having if any. By 11 months, her hearing loss had progressed to a profound level
in both ears. What is still missing from this sample interaction is any attempt by Akiko to direct her
communications toward the mother in order to control the interaction for her own purposes.
Table 3. 9 Months of Age
Time
Turn
Akiko
Turn
00:48;14
43
Grabs a paper cup and picks
it up.
43
00:50;07
44
Holds the cup with both
hands.
44
00:50;25
45
Turns her head toward the
45
Mother
Puts her right hand in the
shoebox and smiles at A.
camera and throws the cup
towards the lid of a nearby
box.
00:51;26
46
00:52;08
47
47
んんん、かあ。"Hmmmmm."
huh? Said while picking a
paper tube from the lid of the
box, shaking it a little bit and
then putting it down on the
lid.
00:54;08
48
48
Glances at the camera.
オオオオ。Wohhh. Puts
both her hands on the floor
and crawls forward.
46
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Time
Turn
Akiko
Turn
00:55;00
49
Gazes at a block on the floor.
Crawls toward the block.
49
00:56;09
50
Grabs the block with her right
hand.
50
Mother
Says: パパ、Papa,
見つけちゃったねえ。
(She already) found (you =
her father).
00:57;23
51
Stops crawling. Holds the
block with both hands and
pulls her head up, and gazes
at the camera.
51
00:59;00
52
Turns with her back facing
the camera.
52
01:00;18
53
01:01;12
54
01:02;00
Says: はあやいわあ。(She is)
soooo quick.
53
ここよ。Me, Here.
Gazes at the block and puts
the block into her left hand.
54
Crawls behind her.
55
Turns back to M.
55
01:02;19
56
Gazes at M.
56
Waves to A.ここよ。and says
Me, Here. Continues to wave
to A.
01:04;23
57
57
Crouches down and crawls
toward A.
01:05;18
58
58
一緒に行く? Go together?
while bringing her face near to
A's face.
01:05;23
59
59
Crawls toward A's right side.
01:05;27
60
60
Arrives at A's right side. And
says, 緒に行く。Go Together.
Averts M's gaze while holding
the block in her left hand.
Pushes the block to the right
side of the floor with her left
hand.
はいこ。
Hurry.
01:07;18
61
Starts crawling.
61
Says はいこ、Hurry,
はい、Hey. while touching the
block with her right hand.
01:08;07
62
Still crawling beside the
mother
62
Crawls forward, then grabs the
block and throws it behind
them while saying はい、Hey.
01:08;28
63
Still crawling beside the
mother
63
Still crawling and says
はいはいはいはいはい。
Heyheyheyheyhey.
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Time
Turn
Akiko
Turn
Mother
01:10;21
64
Says:
ウググウウ。Ughughuuu.
While crawling.
64
Still crawling
01:11;13
65
Still crawling
65
Still crawling and then says:
あああやああ, ahhh, yeahh,
ママの が早いやっ。Mama
won (the race).
01:12;28
66
Stops crawling
66
01:14;00
67
Grabs her feet.
67
While looking at A, pretends to
pant はあはあはあは あ。
Hah, hah, hah, hah.
Illocutionary Stage
Table 4 shows an event from age 14 months, that presents an example of an illocutionary act. In Turn
21, she clearly is signaling to the mother that she is planning to do something with an object in front
of her, namely, a box. The entire interaction revolves around various actions on the box and the
mother makes comments about each of these actions. This clearly is an attempt by Akiko to direct the
interaction and it appears to be successful in that the mother attends to her actions on the box. It
should be recognized, however, that this attempt is solely nonverbal in nature as are her actions on
the box itself. This interaction occurred while Akiko was still wearing hearing aids, three months
before receiving her cochlear implant.
Table 4. 14 Months of Age
Time
Turn
Akiko
Turn
Mother
00:32;12
16
Grabs the edge of the table
with her right hand and
reaches with both hands
inside of the table to find a
position in order to
standup.
16
00:37;13
17
Stands up
17
00:38;24
18
Puts the left foot down on
the floor, raises the right
foot and puts her knee on
the table.
18
00:39;26
19
Raises her left foot and
puts it on the table turning
around her entire body.
19
00:42;29
20
Puts her bottom on the
table
20
Saysしぃぃぃぃぃぃ。Shhhhhh.
00:44;01
21
Gazes at mother, glances
at the floor, then raises her
right arm and points to the
front where there is a box.
21
Says
へえ、へえい、やったああ。Hey,
Says よいしょ。Oof!
hehhhhey! Yahoo!
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
Time
Turn
Akiko
Turn
Mother
00:47;08
22
Puts her right hand on the
22
Says ううん？Hmm?
edge of the table again.
00:47;24
23
Puts her left hand on her
lap, then turns her eyes
away while touching the
edge of a paper box sitting
at the left side of the table
while simultaneously
putting her right hand on
the edge of the table.
23
00:49;02
24
Grabs the edge of the box,
24
Says:
いつもやるね。それ。(You)
always do that.
25
Says 気持ちいい。Feeling good.
gazes at the edge, and
pulls it with her left hand.
00:50;24
25
Pushes away the box while
releasing the right hand
from the edge of the table
and tilting her entire body
toward the box, and then
puts her right hand in the
box.
Transition from the Illocutionary to the Locutionary Stage
Table 5 is a sample taken when Akiko was 2 years of age with an auditory age of 7 months post
implant. Akiko appears to be transitioning from the illocutionary to the locutionary stage. The turn of
interest is 29. Here Akiko is signaling an interest in looking at the book by holding it up but unlike the
previous example, here she makes a vocalization along with the gesture. The vocalization is not a
“real” word but a nonsense syllable, but the mother clearly recognizes the intent as she begins to read
the book. Her behavior at turn 33 signals that she is not attending to the book, so the mother talks
about opening the mouth. In Turn 36, Akiko indicates an interest in the book again, but this time she
only uses a nonverbal gesture with no vocalizations. Again, this is successful as the mother begins to
read the book for a second time.
Akiko produces a bilabial sound in turn 29 and her actions in turns 31, 33 and 35 although not
involving her own vocalizations suggest that she is well aware of the crocodile’s mouth as well as her
own.
Table 5: 2 years of age (7 months of use of a cochlear implant)
Time
Turn
Akiko
Turn
00:55;21
27
Raises her left arm
upward and tilts her
upper body toward her
right side.
27
00:56;27
28
Opens her mouth and sits
up.
28
00:58;21
29
Looks down, holds up the
29
Mother
Says
があああああ。Gaaaahhhh.
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
Time
Turn
Akiko
Turn
Mother
30
Says ふううん、Phmm.
book up to her face, and
says んんん。Mmm.
01:02;14
30
01:02;29
31
01:04;18
32
01:05;25
33
01:08;14
34
01:09;29
35
Takes her right hand
from her mouth, while
leaning toward the book
on the floor.
35
01:11;02
36
Moving her left arm back
and forth over the book.
36
Puts the book down,
then, opens her mouth
while grabbing her lips
with her right hand.
31
32
Opens her mouth little bit
more and grabs the lips
again.
Looks at the book, and says
わにさんが、Mr. Crocodile is .
33
34
Says がああああだね。Opening
his mouth, Gaaahhh.
Says なんか食べてるね。Eating
something.
Locutionary Stage
At 2 years 8 months we observe progress made with 15 months of cochlear implant use by review of
Table 6. Akiko has moved from the use of vocalizations as indicators of communication to the use of
actual words in locutionary acts. With a full year of listening, and consistent input from her caregivers,
it is reasonable to expect that she would be in the single or even 2 word stage as seen in typically
developing toddlers. In this example, Akiko is trying to negotiate the return of a pen that was taken
by her mother. In turn 5, she makes a request using the nonsense syllable euu. In turns 8, 10, and
11, she makes various requests for the pen using real words, namely, don’t, mama is, and please. In
turn 13, mother recognizes this attempt by repeating back to Akiko the word please. As the exchange
progresses (not included in the table), mother relinquishes the pen back to Akiko, so we can see that
her efforts were successful.
Table 6. 2 Years 8 months of Age (15 Months of Use of a Cochlear Implant)
Time
Turn
Akiko
Turn
00:00;00
1
Picks up a pen with her
left hand, then strokes
the pen with her right
hand’s fingers in order to
pass he pen to her right
hand.
1
00:01;06
2
Holds the pen in her right
2
Mother
Puts the different pen on
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
Time
Turn
Akiko
Turn
hand, while gazing the
pen that M just put on
the workbook.
Mother
the workbook. Says
じゃ、これで塗っ
て、これで。Use this one.
This one.
00:02;07
3
Reaches toward the pen
placed on the workbook
by the mother with her
left hand.
3
Reaches toward the pen that A is
holding in her right hand.
00:02;22
4
Picks up the pen on the
workbook in her left
hand, then gazes at M's
right hand which now has
A’s pen.
4
Takes A’s pen with her right
hand and says
ママこっちもっとる。Mama
have this one. (The pen that
A picked up.)
00:03;20
5
Shifts the pen from left
hand to right hand while
gazing at M’s right hand.
Says ウウ。Euu.
5
Approaches workbook with her
both hands as if to pick it up.
00:04;12
6
Holds the pen in her right
hand, and reaches with
her left hand toward the
pen M took from her.
6
Puts her left hand on the
workbook while holding the pen
she took from A in her right hand
in the position of writing.
Says いくよ。Let’s draw.
00:04;26
7
Grabs her former pen
with her left hand pulling
it from M's right hand.
7
00:05;26 8
8
Says だあめ。Don’t!
releasing the pen from
her right hand into M’s
right hand.
8
00:06;13
9
00:07;01
10
Gazes at M's face and
then says マアマアは、
Opens her fingers and lets go of
the pen.
9
Grabs and takes the pen from
the A's hand and holds it.
10
Gazes down on A.
Mama is.
00:07;29
11
Averts M’s gaze by
shutting her
11
Eyes. Opens eyes and
then gazing on the pen in
M's right hand. Says
どうぞ。 Please.
00:09;01
12
Puts her left hand on her
12
chest, then moves her
left hand from her chest
with the palm up and
then puts her left index
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
Time
Turn
Akiko
Turn
Mother
13
Says どうぞ？ Please?
finger on the point of the
pen M is holding in her
right hand.
00:09;24
13
Extended Dialogue Stage
Table 7 presents an example of extended dialogue between the mother and child when Akiko is 3
years 11 months with an auditory age of 2 years 6 months. Akiko has discovered a nail file in a case.
She shows the file case to her mother and requests her mother to show her how to use it. The
remainder of the exchange is an attempt to show Akiko how to use the file. It should be noted that
Akiko has begun to learn certain Japanese linguistic conventions. Her younger sister has been born, so
she now is the big sister and she refers to herself in this manner (Liu, 2007).
Table 7. 3 Years 11 Months (2 Years 6 Months Use of a Cochlear Implant)
Time
Turn
Akiko
Turn
00:31;16
16
Says ツメキリノ
16
Mother
カバ？ Nail clipper's
cover? while showing it
to M.
00:33;11
17
00:34;00
18
00:35;26
19
00:36;04
20
17
Says ママ、やってみて。
Mama, do it (show me
how you use it).
Says
お姉ちゃん、お姉ちゃん
Says うん。Yes
18
19
Moves the camera.
20
Still adjusts the camera so it is
facing toward A.
、やらないから、ONEIC
HAN, ONEICHAN, Big
sister, big sister,
because (she) doesn't
do it. Glances at the
camera.
00:39;25
21
Says お姉ちゃん、Big
sister. while handing the
nail clipper cover to M.
21
Makes the camera stable.
00:41;18
22
Says 見てて。MITETE.
Look at (me).
お姉ちゃん、Big sister,
22
Takes the cover from A. (The
cover has a file on it.)
見てて。MITETE. Look
at (me). while looking at
M’s hand.
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
Time
Turn
00:44;05
23
Akiko
Turn
Mother
23
Putting the file on her finger nail.
見せて、MISETE, Show me,
こう、 This is how. Striking the
cover back-and-forth. こうやっ
て使うん。This is the way
(you) use.
00:46;04
24
00:47;15
25
Gazes at M's hands. And
says
こうにゃって、使うの？
Is this the way (you)
use?
24
25
Says うん。Yeah.
Discourse Function of Literary Narration
From this point onward, Akiko’s language growth expanded dramatically. For instance, at 4 years 5
(auditory age of 3 years) she began to retell stories based on books that she had been exposed to.
She would either pretend to read the book herself, or enact the story using puppets to represent the
various characters. In one enactment using puppets with her mother as the audience, she used
sentences such as イッチョニサガソウヨ。Let's find it!; あ、見つけたよおお。Oh, I found it.;
これね、かき
の種ダンダア。This.
ヲウメルところを、探そうよ。Let’s
find
It's
a
persimmon
place
to
bury
seed.;
it
in
どこか、ツチ
the
ground.;
早く、芽を出せ、カキノタネ、出さぬとはさみで Hurry sprout persimmon seed. If you don't
sprout now, with my scissors, and ちょん切るぞお。Chop you off.
Examination of these
sentences clearly demonstrates that she has moved from single propositional sentences to more
complex ones using relativization (persimmon seed), complementation (find a place to bury it in the
ground), and conjunction (if you don’t sprout now …). In addition, her effort was a narrative effort
that mirrored the folk tale on which this enactment was based. It is now clear that she can now not
only engage in extended dialogue, but also has the ability to take the floor and engage in discourse
such as a literary narration.
Summary and Conclusions
Examination of Akiko’s growth of language demonstrated that she had progressed in the same
developmental pattern as children with normal hearing. She went from the Perlocutionary to the
illocutionary stage, from the illocutionary stage to the locutionary stage, and eventually demonstrated
the ability carry on extended dialogue and discourse. The initial stages of development, namely, the
perlocutionary and illocutionary stages, tended to be fairly non-verbal in nature. These stages
occurred prior to the cochlear implantation. With her cochlear implant, she began to add vocal
behaviors which moved into single words and eventually connected language. The addition of this
component allowed for the development of the locutionary and extended dialogue stages. During the
extended dialogue stage, she became aware of linguistic conventions peculiar to her native language
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
of Japanese, such as identifying herself as the older sister and in another sample she was observed
engaging in a welcoming home routine with her father which is common in some Japanese
households. After 15 months of listening to others and to herself, Akiko was able to use spoken
language as a communication tool. After she engaged in extended dialogue, her linguistic capacities
increased to include more complex linguistic structures which allowed her to engage not only in
dialogue, but also to produce a discourse task of literary narration.
Table 8 summarizes these stages for Akiko. As can be seen, there is a difference in the appearance of
the illocutionary stage and the locutionary stages for Akiko and the research reported on normally
hearing children. The most obvious reason for the difference is Akiko’s lack of reliable auditory input
for the first 17 months of her life. Further, since the data used in this study was dependent upon
home movies taken by the parents, who did not video tape on a regular schedule. It is possible that
some behaviors exhibited by Akiko actually occurred earlier than was observed in this study. There are
two arguments, however, that support the reality of these data. First, unlike most hearing children,
Akiko demonstrated a transition stage between the perlocutionary and the illocutionary stage.
Previous research has repeatedly found that hearing mother-deaf child interactions are often replete
with many missed communication opportunities (Kretschmer & Kretschmer, in press). This transition
phase for Akiko may have been a reflection of this struggle in communication. For instance, in Table
3, although the interaction revolves around a central topic, a block, there really is no dialogic
interaction between Akiko and her mother, even though the mother struggles to establish and
maintain such an interaction. This might explain the delay in acquisition of a clear illocutionary stage.
Second, prior to the cochlear implant, the child was using amplification in the form of personal hearing
aids but due to the profound nature of her hearing loss they may have been providing little benefit.
The literature has reported that much of the early interactions between mothers and typical children
are highly non-verbal in nature as seen in Table 4 (Kretschmer & Kretschmer, in press.) Once cochlear
implantation occurred, there was a constant and steady stream of auditory experiences available to
Akiko which resulted in the transition between the illocutionary and locutionary stages reported for
This could explain the delay in the locutionary stage, but once she began developing oral
communication, the remaining stages of dialogue and narrative discourse are parallel to those of
normally hearing children.
Table 8. Developmental Stages and Ages of Language/Communication Growth
in Hearing Children and in Akiko
Research on hearing children
Akiko’s development
Infant
Perlocutionary (3-5 months)
Perlocutionary (3-5 months)
3 to 18 months
Illocutionary (6-11 months)
Transition from Perlocutionary
to Illocutionary (6-11 months)
Transition from Illocutionary to
Locutionary (12-18 months)
Toddler
Locutionary (19-30 months)
19 to 35 months
Dialogue (31-35 months)
Illocutionary (12-17 months)
Transition from Illocutionary
to Locutionary (19-26 months)
Locutionary (30-31 months)
Dialogue (32-36 months)
Preschool
Narrative (37-60 months)
Narrative 37-59 months)
37 to 60 months
This is a study of a single subject where the cochlear implant was obtained fairly early in her life (17
months). The effects of the implant along with an interactive and communicative mother can clearly
be seen in the more normalized language development that was observed as she approached 3 years
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
of age. One question that remains is whether these findings can be replicated in children acquiring a
variety of languages. In addition, the question also remains about what constitutes “early”
implantation. Is 17 months too late to have positive spoken language outcomes? The answer for this
child and family is definitely not. The findings of Ruggierello and Mayer (2010) would seem to suggest
that even earlier is “better” but to fully understand the issues, detailed longitudinal studies of the
processes of language acquisition in children with early cochlear implantation seems warranted as a
companion to studies that report formal language test results. We need a variety of qualitative as
well as quantitative data to explore this important question.
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
Informal Online Learning Practices: Implications for
Distance Education
Fawn Winterwood
The Ohio State University, USA
[email protected]
Abstract
This qualitative ethnographic study examines five American teenagers’ historical and current
digitally-mediated multiliteracy practices within digital popular culture. The participants included
three male and two female students of a private high school in the Midwestern United States. The
study is framed by the notion that literacy is a socially, culturally, and historically situated discursive
construct rather than a purely individualized cognitive endeavor. This social constructivist theory of
literacy emphasizes the social conditions necessary to navigate the economic, social, and political
worlds of the 21st century. The purpose of the study was to explore the students’ multiliteracy
practices that they enact through their activities within digital popular culture. Data collection
methods included synchronous interviews facilitated by video conferencing tools as well as
observation of the participants’ online activities and member checks conducted via email and
instant messaging. The analytic strategy employed during this study was informed by Clarke’s
(2005) situational analysis method. The study’s findings indicate that literacy practices in which the
study participants have engaged through informal learning activities within digital youth culture
have had a much greater impact on enabling them to cultivate the multimodal literacies necessary
within a postmodern digital era than have their formal educational experiences.
Keywords: Literacy; multiliteracy; digital popular culture; online, digital media; youth
Introduction
The experiences of students in today’s U.S. schools as they gain the literacies necessary to participate
in contemporary culture differ vastly from the childhood literacy acquisition experiences of the adults
who crafted the policy and curriculum in today’s schools. As many of today’s students have realized,
the multimodal and digitally-mediated literacies they need to navigate many aspects of life in a digital
age have not been integrated into their formal educational experiences. This study defines literacy
from a socio-cultural perspective, rather than the purely cognitive and positivist terms with which it
has been traditionally understood. A socio-cultural theory of literacy enables an understanding that
reading and writing only make sense when they are studied in the context of the social and cultural
(and historical, political and economic) milieu of which they are situated (Gee, 2000). From this
perspective, cultivating literacy involves gaining competencies in particular practices that are socially
constructed within various institutional discourses and are governed by social rules and conventions
(Kellner & Share, 2005) as well as cognitive rules and conventions. Since literacy is situated
historically within any given society, any situated definition of literacy necessarily evolves and shifts in
tandem with social, cultural, and technological change.
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
The thought that many, if not most, American students today have come of age in an era where
digital media and technologies have become increasing ubiquitous is often taken for granted by most
people working with digital media and technologies in U.S. education. In this historical moment, much
of popular culture, youth culture in particular, is mediated, produced, and reproduced through globally
networked computer-mediated communication technologies. In order to become fully literate in the
21st century, many students have sought out digitally mediated learning experiences on their own.
This study explored the interrelation of youth’s daily life practices within digital youth culture and
multiliteracy practices they developed in order to gain the literacies necessary to navigate today’s
digitally and globally-networked world. Youths’ interaction with the various aspects and entities
facilitated by digital media and technology-mediated practices as well as discourses within popular
youth culture form the underpinnings of digital youth culture. To better understand ways in which the
study participants cultivated contemporary literacies within digital youth culture, this qualitative study
employed several types of data collection methods including: multiple interviews, prolonged
observations, and post-interview member checks.
As contemporary literacy is shifting from page to screen, many classrooms are shifting instruction
from physical space to cyberspace. At present, the literacy practices in which students engage outside
school and the discourses surrounding the technologies and media with which they engage are often
ignored, devalued, or even prohibited within U.S. schools. However, rather than missing opportunities
for educators to engage students, it may be quite possible for faculty to leverage the skills and
knowledge that students themselves have developed through their activities within digital youth
culture in order to create more effective learning experiences for their students. This might best be
achieved by educators tapping into the literacies many of their students and other youth who are
active online have been cultivating through their self-directed online activities within digital popular
culture. As faculty and institutions begin to create online instructional environments, they may benefit
from integrating strategies students have been developing to navigate digital popular culture into
educators’ more formal online curricula.
Literacy in the Digital Age
New literacy theorists such as the New London Group (NLG) (1996) conceptualize and study literacy
as a discursive construction. In contrast with the traditional purely cognitive definition of literacy and
in concert with poststructural and feminist thought, a socio-cultural perspective frames literacy as a
culturally, historically, and socially situated practice within which the cognitive aspect of literacy is only
one facet. Literacy then is constructed and situated historically within a given society and developed
within the values and priorities of a culture (Gee, 1996). Theories of literacy that are situated socially,
culturally, and historically link between reading and writing with the social structures in which they are
embedded (Barton & Hamilton, 2000). From this perspective, meaning-making is situated and filtered
through our participation in various social practices (Lave & Wenger, 1991) Contemporary reading and
writing are often digitally mediated and involve multiple modes of communication including text,
image, video, and audio. The multimodal nature of these contemporary communication technologies
necessitates that today’s youth become literate within multimodal environments in which some aspect
is digitally mediated, and that they become multiliterate, as our society is transitioning from print to
screen-based vehicles of mass communication. When educational experiences are created from such a
perspective, curricula become dynamic and relevant to contemporary life.
A situated theory of literacy recognizes the importance of “everyday” literacy practices such as
locating information and communicating with others, and calls into question the dominance of
traditional classroom-centered conceptions of literacy. However, many of the multimodal literacy
practices in which young people engage as they participate in digital youth culture are the stepping19
Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
stones to the multiliteracy practices necessary for them to become literate adults within a globally and
digitally networked society and economy. Counter to the literacy needs of students in the 21 st century,
schools often continue to provide literacy education based on a conception of literacy embedded in
the discourses of the Industrial Age where communication was grounded in the logic of traditionally
printed texts rather than a historically situated conception that considers the current shift in the media
and technologies of communication. The students’ activities within the digital popular culture that the
participants in this study engaged, such as computer gaming, social networking, instant messaging,
and other pleasurable digitally mediated activities prevalent within our rapidly changing culture, may
serve as effective avenues for young people to cultivate the more multimodal types of literacies
necessary to be prepared for life in the postmodern digital era of the 21st century.
Many theorists including Van Dijk (1999) and Castells (1996) assert that contemporary society has
entered a new historical epoch, the information age, where digital media and social networks form the
foundational communication structures. As part of daily contemporary life, the current transition in
information and communication technology from printed page to digitally networked devices continues
and with it our ability to produce, access, and interpret texts is changing swiftly. With this transition,
rethinking literacy and learning is particularly significant in this historical moment since the meaningmaking within the symbolic texts of a digital age increasingly relies on audio, visual, and computer
technologies (Livingstone, 2004). The multimodality of meaning-making is increasingly mediated by
digital media and technologies. In tandem with shifts in communication technologies, the ways we
teach and the conception of classroom is (though not quite so swiftly) expanding within the discourses
of Academia. The shift is slowly moving beyond traditional grounding in printed texts and solid walls
to include digital media and cyberspace. During this period of re-conceiving teaching and learning to
fit within an information age, societies are likely to question the conventions of the older media and
begin to define the normative epistemologies and semiotic systems of digital media and networks as
well as defining pedagogies suited for teaching and learning online.
When literacy was previously conceived within the context of print, educational pedagogies were
grounded in paper text and its logic, (for example the slow pace of publishing, the strong division
between roles of author and reader – producer and consumer, etc). However, within the current shift
in the speed of computerized media and technologies of communication, and therefore literacy, from
print to screen, educational pedagogies must shift from the logic of print to the logic of the screen and
networked digital media and technologies.
Any educational endeavor, whether specifically focused as “literacy education” or not, has as its goal
enabling students to become increasingly literate within the discourses of a given society. Hall (1997)
notes that Foucault articulates a theory of discourse which frames discourse as the structure that
constructs the topic, the language that allows us to talk about a particular topic in a particular
historical moment individuals considered to be literate have increased access to discourses inherent
within the dominant discourses of a society. Any given discourse privileges certain values,
perspectives, and concepts while minimizing or discounting others, hence, marginalizing those values,
perspectives, and concepts integral within other discourses (Lankshear, Knobel & Searle, 1997).
Within any given discourse, literacy affords access to cultural capital as well as social, political, and
economic structures associated with that discourse. Literacy, then, can be defined as competency in
those practices through which societies make meaning within their dominant discourses. From this
perspective, then, literacy refers to competency in a community’s privileged social discourses. As we
move into the information or digital age, those individuals who are able to navigate successfully within
a globally-networked digital environment are the ones who will have access to the social, political, and
economic structures of contemporary society.
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Within the dominant traditional conception of literacy conceived during the era of industrial capitalism,
in which print was the dominant mode of communication, literacy has generally been defined as a
stable system of formal rules governing the social practices of reading and writing a particular
language (NLG, 1996; Lankshear & Knobel, 2004; Kress, 2003). Reading, in this context, is the ability
to decode and interpret written information, and writing is the ability to “code language into visual
form” (Gee, Hull & Lankshear, 1996, p. 39). Literacy, as it has traditionally been conceived, involves
acquiring the specific mental skills necessary to “gather, decode, and assimilate internal
representations germane to each symbolic system” (Adams & Hamm, 2001). Within this perspective,
literacy is cognitively based rather than socially constructed.
The imperative of reframing literacy is particularly significant in this historical moment because as we
continue the current transition in information and communication technology from printed page to
computer screen, our ability to produce, access, and interpret texts is changing rapidly. Within this
transition, the meaning-making within symbolic texts increasingly relies on audio, visual, and
computer technologies (Livingstone, 2004). The multimodality of instantiations of meaning-making is
increasingly mediated by digital media and technologies. In tandem with shifts in communication
technologies, the concept of literacy is expanding within discourses of Academia and educational
policy beyond its traditional grounding in printed texts to include New Media. Today’s New Media are
the technologies of representation and communication in use in this digital era. Gitelman and Pingree
(2003) assert that the historical period during which the term ‘New Media’ is used is transitory in
which the new forms of media and more established media are in use simultaneously. During this
transitory period, society is likely to question the conventions of the older media and begin to define
the normative epistemologies and semiotic systems of the New Media. As the definition of texts has
been expanded beyond that of printed materials to include the variety of textual modalities inherent
within New Media, it is possible to form a socio-cultural definition of literacy that may provide a more
useful theoretical base for contemporary literacy education. As our reading and writing activities
move from page to screen, literacy practices are increasingly mediated by New Media. Computers,
digital media, and telecommunications networks are examples of New Media. They are the vehicles
through which contemporary literacy is achieved. Kress (2003) asserts print-based text is no longer
the primary mode of representation and communication and that meaning is often spread across
many modes of communication including textual, graphic, and audio.
Modes of communication are culturally and socially created resources that facilitate representation and
communication (Kress, 2003). To construct knowledge from a message, it is necessary to gather
meaning from all modes present in a text. These instances of communication may be in any mode or
combination of modes. Lemke (1998) asserts that all literacy, not just that which is digitally mediated,
is “multimedia literacy” (p. 284), since we never make meaning solely with language; there is always
another component, often visual or vocal. Therefore, the multimodal, multimedia, multiliteracy that
define contemporary literacy necessarily include digital technologies and media since reading and
writing, even in their broadest sense, are bound to the technologies through which texts are
constructed and disseminated. Literacy in this sense, is composed of interdependent social practices in
which people, media artifacts, and strategies for making meaning are interconnected (Beach &
Lundell, 1998). According to Kress (2003) learning is located not only across multiple modes of
communication, but throughout the process of articulation and interpretation of signs. Messages come
to their recipient in some form or another as an object for interpretation, not for decoding, as has
been commonly assumed. Recipients assign meaning to the form (signifier) based on their
understanding of discourses within which the message is located. Literacy is fundamental to the
imperative of individuals gaining the capacities necessary to participate in discourses of local, national,
and global economies, culture, and politics (Kellner, 2002). Although our society is experiencing rapid
and large-scale change in macro social areas that impact how people conceive the concept of literacy,
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for example the shift from page to screen based communication technologies, the traditional view
continues to be the definition educators and policy makers use to write literacy-related policy and
curriculum (Selfe, 1999; Rowan et al. 2001; Luke, 2002).
Becoming literate
Participants in this study as well as others who engage in digital popular culture activities develop
strategies for learning within digital and globally-networked environments. These strategies are
inherently learner-centered and learner-driven. Within the informal curricula of digital popular culture,
learning activities are “authentic tasks,” they are “real world activities” that are often situated within
the context in which the knowledge constructed through the activity will be used. Learners develop
strategies for constructing knowledge that are meaningful to them; they are driven to learn to answer
questions that matter. In addition, many learning activities are rooted in interaction within
communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991). These pedagogies are often extensions of selfdirected learning strategies students have developed offline. For example, as young gamers,
participants in this study learned quickly that their peers are valuable learning resources. When faced
with the ominous task of conquering the next level of a difficult game, they would often consult their
friends. The young gamers often began seeking answers to their queries by observation of and
conversation with others around a computer or game system. This low-tech strategy logically moved
online as they began using the Internet. Instant messaging their friends and developing learning
strategies on game forums were common early steps for many of the study participants as they
developed self-directed pedagogies. Within digitally-networked environments the study participants
constructed knowledge through interactions including conversations with others who were also using
the site, content producers, content, the interface, and experts. The study participants were coproducers of knowledge as they contributed to the various networked online sites that they visited.
The questions they posed and the answers they generated contributed to general knowledge
construction within the gaming community in which they participated. Within the logic of the screen
and digital networks, learners are producers as well as consumers of digital content; in other words,
Internet users. Whereas, within the logic of print, learners are generally positioned as consumers of
content. This shift in the learner’s role has significant implications for contemporary online course
design.
Participants in this study considered themselves as well as their fellow adolescents to be technological
insiders since they have lived their entire lives within digital media environments and using digital
technologies as an expected, even taken-for-granted, part of their daily life. The adolescents
considered most of the adults surrounding their lives to be technological outsiders; this is true of their
teachers in particular, because digital media and technologies were not a part of those adults’ early
life experiences, nor have they integrated them into their lives currently as the participants in this
study and their peers have done. The multimodal literacy practices of those who participate in digital
popular culture are those of producers and/or consumers of culture. These practices enable youth to
navigate a postmodern digitally and globally-networked world. These sentiments as well as practices
align with anthropologist Margaret Mead’s (1970/1978) description of a pre-figurative society. In
Mead’s words, a pre-figurative society exists “without models and without precedent” (p. 7), and “the
culture that had shaped [young people’s] understanding – their thoughts, their feelings, and their
conceptions of the world − [is] no sure guide to the present. And the elders among them, bound to
the past [can] provide no models for the future” (p. 8). Within this anthropological model, it is the
youth who must rely on the informal curriculum within popular digital youth culture because it is often
more in tune with contemporary literacy than the institutionalized notions of literacy that have been
driving educational policy decisions and still continue to focus on the literacies of previous
generations.
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Methodology
This qualitative study was grounded in ethnography as the research method and explored the online
literacy practices in which a group of teenagers participated throughout their lives. Pink’s (2001),
definition of ethnography situates this study as “an approach to experiencing, interpreting and
representing culture and society that informs and is informed by sets of different disciplinary agendas
and theoretical principles...[It is] a process of creating and representing knowledge (about culture and
individuals) that is based on ethnographers’ own experiences…[It] does not claim to produce an
objective of ‘truthful’ account of reality…[but rather] versions of ethnographers’ experiences of reality
that are as loyal as possible to the context, negotiations and intersubjectivities through which the
knowledge was produced” (p. 18). Ethnography as a methodology enables thick description (Geertz,
1973) of the data provided by the study participants in order to allow analysis of aspects of social life
with the understanding that social practices are constructed within the context of available discourses.
Adolescents often feel unheard and without power or agency within the institution of education
(Dyson, 2003). Rather than creators of knowledge and facilitators of their own educational
experiences, students are often positioned solely as recipients. However, within the context of this
study, students have the opportunity to tell the story of their experiences as both consumers and
producers of digital media, as well as facilitators of their own educational experiences.
Clarke’s (2005) Situational Analysis formed the base of the analytical strategy employed throughout
the study. Clarke describes situational analysis as grounded theory after the postmodern turn.
Traditional Grounded Theory employs a systematic approach in analyzing qualitative research data.
Though many scholars working with grounded theory have embraced constructivism, its roots in
1950/60’s style American positivism often manifest in what Clarke (2005) describes as grounded
theory’s recalcitrancies against postmodernism. These recalcitrancies include lack of reflexitivity
regarding research process as well as product, oversimplification (i.e., emphasis on commonalities, or
viewing single rather than multiple social processes characterizing a social phenomenon), interpreting
variations in data as negative cases, and a belief in objectivity. Situational analysis provided a
structure for synthesizing the data from a broad range of factors within the cultural ecology
encompassing student multiliteracy practices within computer-mediated popular culture activities.
Following Clarke and data analysis invloved both the habits of mind proposed above as well as the
cartographic strategy she advocates to help disrupt usual ways of seeing and inspire fresh thinking by
visualizing the data in different ways. This type of data analysis included looking for multiple
intersecting social discourses, student multiliteracy practices and experiences with digital media and
technologies. Clarke’s cartographic strategies were also helpful in conceptualizing the interrelation
between the various aspects of the study found in the data including student multiliteracy practices
and engagement with computer-mediated popular culture.
The study participants included five teenagers from a small co-educational college preparatory school
in a midwestern section of the United States. The students chose to participate in the study based on
their interest in the research topic. All students were under 18 years of age; therefore, they as well as
their parent or guardian gave written as well as verbal consent for their participation in the study. The
primary sample criterion for involvement in this study was participation in informal extracurricular
digital technology and media based online activities. The primary focus of data collection within this
study was to generate descriptions of students’ multiliteracy practices and activities through their
engagement with the informal curriculum they have encountered through computer mediated popular
culture discourses outside school. Ethnographic methods employed within this study including openended questions and observation of their activities within digital youth culture facilitated a situated
understanding of the discourses surrounding their digitally mediated practices. Conducting this study
as ethnography allowed the participants’ stories to unfold as narrative rather than following more
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prescriptive paths established by other forms of research. Semi-structured interviews with and
observations of the students provided varied opportunities to investigate aspects of digital youth
culture in ways that were as close to their authentic environment as possible. As a data collection
tool, semi-structured interviews with open-ended research questions provided the structure necessary
to ask common sets of questions while allowing contextual follow up questions during the interview
sessions. In addition, the flexibility provided opportunities for student input into the design of
subsequent interviews and observations. Throughout the six-month data collection period there was
prolonged engagement with students. This occurred in the form of multiple interviews and
observations of the students using digital media and technologies as a part of their daily practice as
well as the effects of their interaction with digital media. The research questions, which form the
foundation of this study, were designed to enable descriptions of the multiliteracy practices in which
the participants engaged relative to their participation in digital youth culture. The overarching
question guiding this study asks “How do young people’s informal literacy-based practices within
digitally mediated youth-oriented popular culture (digital youth culture) activities interrelate to enable
them to cultivate contemporary multimodal literacy?” In order to answer my guiding research
question, I explored the following sub-questions as well: “In what digital youth culture activities, such
as social networking and gaming, have the study participants engaged throughout their lives?” and
“In what multimodal literacy practices, such as reading and writing hypertext, within digital youth
culture have participants been participating throughout their lives?” The guiding research question, as
well as sub-questions in this study, are important because they make clear the evolution of
multiliteracy practices in which the participants in my study have engaged throughout their lives.
These questions enabled me better to address the primary research question by looking more deeply
into the central aspects of the question.
The interviews were conducted via audio/visual web conferencing using iChat or SKYPE. By
participating in the interviews via web conferencing tool, the interviews could take place in the space
where the participants generally took part in their informal online learning activities. Being able to see
their study environment, particularly those aspects the participants chose to point out, added to the
richness of data. In addition to the synchronous data-gathering activities, this study draws from
asynchronous activities as well. In addition to the data collection sites, which offered synchronous
interactivity with the participants, this study also included observation of their online asynchronous
interactions within virtual communities (i.e. Myspace.com and Facebook.com). The study participants’
digital media artifacts to which they allowed access during this study included their social networking
site profiles as well as screen shots of their desktops and bookmarks. This prolonged engagement
with students both synchronously and asynchronously allowed for rapport building and data
acquisition related to the research questions. Though there was prolonged engagement with the study
participants both synchronously and asynchronously, one weakness of this study is that the
triangulation points were all grounded in the participants. Interviewing student’s parents and mentors
could potentially have provided additional data to triangulate with student interviews and observation
data. Member checks were included within the research design as an opportunity to gain participant
feedback and interaction in terms of data and interpretations as well as an opportunity for formative
evaluation of the study’s trajectory. These data provided the basis for an exploration of the students’
multiliteracy practices through which they cultivate contemporary literacy. These practices may
provide the context necessary for understanding whether and how educators provide opportunities
within formal curricula for students to enact the multiliteracy practices cultivated through digital
literacy practices outside school. Insight gained through this study may also provide ideas for
conceiving a more effective formal curriculum in schools, in particular in online education, for today’s
youth within the formal educational system.
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Findings
Analysis of the interview transcripts and observations indicates that throughout their lives the study
participants had cultivated new multimodal literacy practices as they encountered new digitally
mediated situations. Each of the study participants began using their computers by interacting with
characters and features in their digital games. When they encountered difficulty in learning some new
section of the game, they quickly began relying on friends within their peer group who played the
same game. This affinity group then became a community of practice as they reinforced and
increased their understanding of the learning strategies embedded in their digital games. As their
online navigation skills matured, the study participants developed strategies for constructing new
knowledge through their participation in online networks and activities in order to learn to play their
digital games. They began with strategies they developed in their gaming communities and built upon
those strategies as they began playing more complex games. This early cultivation of learning
strategies within affinity groups among communities of practice provided the base of skills and
knowledge they used to develop learning strategies as they encountered increasingly complex online
learning situations. When additional methods were necessary to gain proficiency in more unfamiliar
multiliteracy practices, they relied on the foundational skills and knowledge they had gained as a
young child to conduct informed and strategic trial and error strategies and/or look for helpful
strategies from peers in the form of personal interaction, tutorials, or help forums.
The multiliteracy practices and learning strategies that the study participants had developed during
pre-kindergarten and elementary school enabled them to venture into cyberspace with increased
autonomy during middle and high school. As young adolescents, the study participants and their
friends began to shift their focus from digital games to socializing with their peers. Creating
communities online through instant messaging (IM) and social networking through sites including
Facebook, MySpace, and DeviantArt, became an important aspect of these young people’s social
experiences. The teenage years in American culture, are discursively constructed as a developmental
period where youth focus increasingly on peer relationships as a high priority (Hine, 1999). Though
the study participants all mentioned having good family relationships, they increasingly began to seek
interaction and validation with others within their age range as they entered their pre-teen and
teenage years. During that period, digital communication media and technologies became so much a
part of these teens’ lives that they began to blend into the background of their daily routine (Bruce &
Hogan 1998; Hawisher & Selfe, 2004). Increasingly throughout middle and high school the study
participants all engaged in multiliteracy practices within a variety of affinity-grouped communities of
practices. All study participants noted that when they began using instant messaging, they typed very
slowly. Due to the fast paced nature of their conversations with peers, they learned to use the
computer keyboard very early on so that they could type their messages to each other very quickly
and efficiently. They also became adept at multitasking as they socialized in multiple forums often
simultaneously. In order to create interactions through their online social networking profiles, the
study participants all employed online learning strategies and skills they had cultivated, for example,
to edit and upload photos and hyperlink documents. They taught each other and themselves how to
research through search engines to find entertainment media to which they could link or embed in
their social media profile pages.
The multimodal literacy practices and learning strategies the study participants had cultivated enabled
them to move from being strictly consumers of digital media and technologies becoming producers of
communal knowledge within the communities of practice they participated. One of the strengths of
this study lies in framing social life with the understanding that social life as constructed within the
context of power relationships. Rather than creators of knowledge and facilitators of their own
educational experiences, students are often positioned solely as recipients of knowledge. However,
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within the context of this study, students have the opportunity to tell the story of their experiences as
both consumers and producers of digital media, as well as facilitators of their own educational
experiences. Several recent studies and articles have highlighted youth as producers of digital media
and communicating online (i.e., Alvermann & Hagood, 2000a/2000b; Chandler-Olcott & Mahar, 2003;
Kellner, 2002; Knobel & Lankshear, 2002). These studies indicate that the process of producing digital
media and communicating online holds potential for adolescents to see themselves as social agents
while offering 21st century educators some insight into school-based curriculum possibilities. The
students who took part in this study all interacted with and contributed to the growing body of
knowledge and resources located within the global digital communication network. Further, this global
network is shifting the way we are communicating and therefore is creating a need for new literacies
that have an increased capacity to enable individuals to participate in the social, economic, and
political arenas of this digital age. Participants in this study have done this largely outside their formal
classroom experiences. As learners, their self-guided learning experiences within popular culture have
in many ways taken the place of formal education in facilitating the learning activities through which
youth become literate within contemporary American culture. Through their participation in digital
popular culture the study participants have learned to navigate online environments necessary to
participate in contemporary American society.
Discussion
It is only recently that schools have begun to make profound and widespread changes to shift
educational spaces and pedagogical strategies from the logic of print and physical classrooms to the
logic of the screen, digital networks and cyberspace. Many institutions of higher education are now
developing teaching strategies specific to teaching and learning online. Early online courses often
followed the logic of print literacy, they were often teacher-centered structures in which the primary
communication existed exclusively between the student and instructor and the printed texts. In higher
education, these courses were often implemented and conducted through a learning management
system such as WebCT or Blackboard. These systems would use email as the primary medium of
communication during the course and generally occurred between instructors and students. Students
in early online courses generally had very little if any contact with other students. Many early online
classes were developed and implemented very linearly with a cognitive focus on and little attention to
the social and multimodal aspects of learning. However, within the past decade, with the advent of
Web 2.0 and the widespread interactive functionality of the Internet, digital media and technologies
within contemporary communication networks have expanded to facilitate and encourage one-to-one
as well as one-to-many forms of digital communication within online communities. It is becoming
increasingly easy for faculty developing online courses to take advantage of multimodal and multilinearity of the digitally networked environments within which their courses are implemented by
employing the social interaction functionality inherent within Web 2.0. In order to facilitate learning
experiences designed for constructing knowledge within the contemporary learning environment
defined by the Internet, it is important that faculty developing online courses leverage the informal
learning strategies participants in digital popular culture commonly employ. Further studies might
build upon the finding that students construct the bulk of their multiliteracies practices within
communities of practices. Additional studies could explore how identity development within
communities of practice might impact multimodal literacy development.
Learners in this digital age develop strategies for constructing knowledge through and often because
of their desire to participate in the informal curricula of digital popular culture. The learning tasks they
undertake are authentic, they construct knowledge because they have a personal desire to
understand or know something that is meaningful to them. Like their peers, the students who
participated in this study have been cultivating contemporary literacies as well as the strategies for
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learning in digital environments through their daily life literacy practices within digital popular culture,
much more than in school. Contemporary literacy acquisition is part of everyday life for those who
have access to global digitally networked culture and economies. One major implication that may be
inferred from this study is that co-opting the learning strategies these young people have developed
through their participation in the informal curricula within digital youth culture activities may be
beneficial to educators as they integrate digitally-mediated multiliteracy practices into their curricula.
Incorporating learning strategies common within digital popular culture into course design may be a
useful strategy to begin to bridge the gap between the formal curricula of school and the informal
curricula of students’ daily lives in popular digital culture, thus rendering school based learning more
meaningful to students.
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What are the Main Sources of Turkish EFL Students’ Anxiety
in Oral Practice?
Gonca Subaşı
Anadolu University, Turkey
[email protected]
“Why can’t I speak what to think a lot in English? I’m so bitter, trying hard.
I’d like to speak a lot; however, I can’t. Finally, I think my basic abilities of
English ran short. I’m disgusted with myself” (Foss & Reitzel, 1988, p. 437).
Abstract
This study was designed in order to investigate two potential sources of the anxiety of Turkish
learners of English in oral practice:1) an individual student’s fear of negative evaluation, and 2)
his/her self-perceived speaking ability. A total of 55 first year students enrolling in Anadolu
University, Education Faculty, ELT Department participated in the study. A 55-item multiple-choice
survey was administered to the participants in a regular classroom hour. The survey consisted of
five parts: Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE), Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS),
Self-Rating Can-Do Scale (SR-CDS), Self-Rating for the Current Level of Study (SR-CL), Self-Rating
Perception by the English (SR-EPE). The Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple regression
analyses were run for the statistical interpretation of the data. To achieve valid and reliable results,
15 students were also randomly chosen to conduct an interview in order to find out their reasons
for being anxious in using English. The students’ responses given to the survey were probed to
have a better understanding of sources leading to high anxiety. The results of the study indicated a
positive correlation between an individual’s fear of negative evaluation and his/her anxiety level.
Moreover, the findings of the current study revealed that there were significant negative
relationships between anxiety and three of self-ratings; SR-CDS, SR-CL and SR-EPE. In addition, it
was showed that among the FNE and the three self-ratings of English speaking ability, the
combination of the FNE, the SR-CL and SR-CDS was the most appropriate model of predictors of
anxiety level of this sample. Finally, the analysis of interview data provided valuable information
about the main sources of the students’ anxiety in oral practice such as: personal reasons,
teachers’ manners, teaching procedures, and previous experience.
Keywords: Foreign language anxiety; potential sources of anxiety; anxiety in oral production
Introduction
This comment, taken from a student’s journal in an ESL class exemplifies the deep anxiety
experienced by many second language learners in their efforts to master a new language. As it can be
clearly understood from the sample comment, a foreign language class can be more anxietyprovoking than any other course they take, for many students (MacIntyre, 1995; MacIntyre &
Gardner, 1991a; Liu, 2007; Ohata, 2005). Thus, researchers, foreign language teachers and even
foreign language learners themselves have attempted to understand this phenomenon called as
foreign language anxiety due to the possibility that it may inhibit language learning for some time
since the literature has showed that anxious students are less willing to participate in learning
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activities and have lower performance than non-anxious ones (Horwitz, 2001; Tsiplakides & Keramida,
2009). In fact, Campbell and Ortiz (1991, p. 159) considered the levels of FL anxiety among university
students to be “alarming” and stated that one-half of all language learners experience negative effects
of language anxiety. Additionally, Price (1991) pinpointed that language learning settings seem to be
prone to anxiety arousal, in general.
Finding that language anxiety can cause students to postpone language study indefinitely or even to
change majors (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cage, 1986), researchers have attempted to identify and define
the construct of language anxiety, “a key individual difference in language learning”, for many years
(Matsuda & Gobel, 2004). Thus, language anxiety has been the subject of a good deal of research,
based on the assumption that an understanding of its causes and investigation into how to reducing
demands on cognitive processing space (Eysenck, 1979 as cited in Horwitz et al., 1986).
Scovel (1978) provides an early review of anxiety research warning language researchers in a way
that they should be specific about the type of anxiety they are measuring. Keeping the advice given
by Scovel, Horwitz et al. (1986) took the literature a step further by claiming that a situation-specific
anxiety construct which they called “Foreign Language Anxiety” was responsible for students’ negative
emotional reactions to language learning. According to Horwitz et al. (1986) this anxiety stems from
“the inherent inauthenticity associated immature second language communicative abilities (Horwitz,
2001, p. 114). Similarly, Gardner and MacIntyre (1994, p. 284) view language anxiety as “the feeling
of tension and apprehension specifically associated with second language texts, including speaking,
listening, and learning”. As Oxford (1999) highlighted, this anxiety is linked directly to performing in
the target language, it is not a general performance anxiety.
In order to confirm empirically the existence and effects of FL anxiety on language achievement,
many studies have been conducted, Horwitz et al.’s (1986) instrument, the Foreign Language
Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), can be considered as a departure point for many experimental
studies in anxiety research. To name a few, MacIntyre and Gardner (1991a, 1991b, 1994), MacIntyre
(1995), MacIntyre, Noels and Clement (1997), Onwuegbuzie, Bailey and Daley (2000), Speilmann and
Radnosfky (2001),Gregersen and Horwitz (2002), Oya, Manalo and Greenwood (2004), Ohata (2005),
Liu (2007) and Fang-peng and Dong (2010) identified the negative effect of learners’ anxiety on their
oral performance. Since learners’ anxiety seems to come predominantly from speaking situation in
class (Horwitz et al., 1986), there has been a professional interest in developing students’ oral skills
and reducing this specific type of anxiety. It is urgently needed to identify the sources of anxiety, so
that teachers can take the necessary measures to prevent it in order to help their students enjoy
learning a FL.
In a case review of literature on anxiety in language learning, Young (1991) identified six potential
sources of language anxiety. According to the researcher, some of these sources are associated with
the learner, some with the teacher, and some with the instructional practice. Young’s (1991, p. 426)
list consisted of “1) personal and interpersonal anxieties; 2) learner beliefs about language learning;
3) instructor beliefs about language teaching; 4) instructor-learner interactions; 5) classroom
procedures; and 6) language testing”. As she indicated, personal and interpersonal anxieties have
been the most commonly cited and discussed in many anxiety studies, specifically in qualitative ones.
However, quantitative research has not been conducted much with regard to the potential sources
leading to FL anxiety. Hence, the main purpose of this present study was to investigate the potential
sources of anxiety of Turkish EFL students. The two potential sources of anxiety addressed in the
present study were 1) fear of negative evaluation as a personality trait, and 2) self-perception of
speaking ability in the target language.
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Review of Literature
Anxiety and Foreign Language Learning
Anxiety is a complex psychological term covering many variables. In its simplest form, anxiety can be
defined as “a general feeling of apprehension including hyper-vigilance, increased sympathetic
nervous system activity, and difficulty concentrating” (Davu and Palladino cited in Kelly, 2002, p. 54).
Likewise, Horwitz et al. (1986) associated anxiety with the subjective feeling of tension, apprehension,
nervousness, and worry consisted of an arousal of the autonomic nervous system. Anxiety refers to an
emotional state that can have both positive and negative influences, and which fosters and facilitates
or disturbs and impedes learning (MacIntyre, 1995). According to Oxford (1999), the negative type of
anxiety called as ‘debilitating anxiety’ harms learners’ performance in many ways such as not
participating in the activities or not using the language in public front situations. In contrast, anxiety
can be regarded as helpful and ‘facilitating’ in some ways, such as keeping students alert (Oxford,
1999). For instance, it has been observed that anxious students listen to the instructions of the
learning activities more carefully than the others in order to make the necessary preparations
beforehand (Oxford, 1999)
MacIntyre and Gardner (1991b) define three perspectives of anxiety in general: trait anxiety, state
anxiety, and situation specific anxiety. The first perspective considers anxiety as a general possibility
trait that is relevant across several situations. A second perspective is interested in the here-and-now
experience of anxiety as an emotional state. The third approach examines the specific forms of
anxiety that occur consistently over time within a given situation.
As being a specific situation, foreign language anxiety has been isolated and distinguished from other
forms of anxiety by psychologists and educators (Foss & Reitzel, 1988) because it consists of “selfperceptions, beliefs, feelings and behaviors related to classroom language learning arising from the
uniqueness of the language learning process” Horwitz et al. (1986, p. 128). According to Young
(1991), the symptoms of language anxiety in the foreign language classroom could appear in the form
of distortion of sounds, inability to produce the intonation and rhythm of the language, freezing up
when called on to perform, and forgetting words or phrases just learned or simply refusing to speak
and remaining silent.
Horwitz et al. (1986) were the pioneers who treat FL anxiety as a separate distinguishable
phenomenon particular to language learning. In the light of this conceptualization of FL anxiety,
Horwitz et al. (1986) proposed a model of the general FL anxiety construct which consists of three
interrelated performance anxieties: communication apprehension, test anxiety, and fear of negative
evaluation (Rodriguez & Abreu, 2003). Communication apprehension is a type of shyness
characterized by fear of anxiety about communicating with people (Horwitz et al., 1986). Test anxiety
refers to a type performance anxiety stemming from a fear of failure, and fear of negative evaluation
can be defined as apprehension about others’ evaluations, avoidance of evaluative situations, and the
expectation that others would evaluate oneself negatively. These three components then are seen as
having a negative impact on FL learning by Horwitz et al. (1986).
This finding has led the researchers to investigate FL anxiety from various directions. One direction
has been to give theoretical background of the relationship between anxiety and learner achievement
(Bailey, 1983; Campbell & Ortiz, 1991; Horwitz et al., 1986; MacIntyre & Gardner, 1991b; Price, 1991;
Scovel, 1978; Young, 1991). Other studies have been the examination of the effects of specific type
language anxiety oral performance on the learners (Aydın, 1999; Cheng, Horwitz, & Schallert, 1999;
Horwitz et al., 1986; Kitano, 2001; Gregersen & Horwitz, 2002; Rodriguez & Abreu, 2003; Boyce,
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Alber-Logan, & Riley; 2007) and reading (Saito, Horwitz, & Garza, 1999; Sellers, 2000; Matsuda &
Gobel, 2004).
Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety
Apart from general FL anxiety, many learners are highly anxious because of participating in speaking
activities. In fact, it is often suggested that speaking is the most anxiety-provoking language skill in
foreign language learning situation (Keramida, 2009).Since FL speaking anxiety is a commonly faced
problem in the teaching of English as a foreign language, there is abundance of theoretical articles on
the nature of this type of anxiety trying to have a better understanding of this phenomenon.
Cognitive approach forms a strong basis for the research of FL anxiety. The cognitive perspective on
language acquisition sees the student as an autonomous actor, processing language data available in
the environment to restructure their previous hypotheses related to language structure with a limited
attention (Mitchell & Myles, 1998). Cognitivists view the relations among anxiety, cognition and
behavior as recursive or cyclical, where each influences the other (MacIntyre, 1995).
To illustrate, if a student is required to speak in the target language, s/he may become anxious, this
anxiety can lead to worry and rumination (MacIntyre, 1995). Nausea, sweating, weak knees and a dry
mouth are the other symptoms associated with anxiety (Boyce et.al. 2007). Cognitive performance is
diminished because of the divided attention and as a result performance suffers causing negative
evaluations and more self-deprecating cognition, which further impairs performance and so on. For
some students, this event takes place frequently, and anxiety becomes reliably associated with any
situation involving the FL.
There is also possibility that anxiety affects FL activities, such as listening, speaking, and
comprehension. There is potential role for anxiety in these processes because the anticipation of FL
use in receiving information can provoke an anxiety reaction (MacIntyre, 1995). According to Horwitz
et al. (1986), listening and speaking are the main sources of anxiety, since unprepared, free speech is
especially disconcerting, and sound and linguistic structure discrimination present problems over
comprehension difficulties.
According to Young (1992), speaking is probably considered the most stressful one among the four
skills from the perspective of both FL teachers and learners. There has been a huge amount research
conducted in the area of anxiety oral production (Sellers, 2000), but only a few studies have focused
on the sources of it (Kitano, 2001). According to him, a fear of negative evaluation as a personality
trait and self-perception of speaking ability in the target language are the two potential sources
leading to FL speaking anxiety. The following part will discuss the relationship between these two
concepts with regard to FL speaking anxiety.
Interaction between Fear of Negative of Evaluation and Self-perception
Fear of negative evaluation is desired as “an apprehension about others’ evaluations, avoidance of
evaluative situations, and the expectations, avoidance of evaluative situations, and the expectation
that others would evaluate oneself negatively” (Watson & Friend, 1969 as cited in Horwitz et al.,
1986, p. 31). As Horwitz et al., (1986) underlined foreign languages require continual evaluation by
the only fluent speaker in the class, the teacher. Therefore, students may also be “acutely sensitive to
the evaluations-real or imagined-of their peers” (Horwitz et al., 1986, p. 31). In short, students whose
personalities are prone to fear negative evaluation seem to be one of the strong sources crediting to
anxiety in FL classrooms.
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Likewise, learners’ self-perception of their ability has been considered as a strong cause of anxiety
(Kitano, 2001). For instance, Horwitz et al. (1986) claimed that much of the language learners’ anxiety
derives from the threat to the learners’ self-concept of competence since it is difficult to understand
others or to make oneself understood in the target language. Foss and Reitzel (1991) saw selfperception as a critical factor in language learning anxiety due to the fact that language learners may
likely to have low self-esteem, perceive themselves as less worthy than others, perceive their
communication as less effective than that of their peers, and expect continued failure no matter what
feedback they actually receive. According to Kitano (2001), among all the skills taught in the FL class
speaking is usually the first skill that learners compare themselves with peers, teachers and native
speakers. Thus, it is reasonable to consider that low self-perception of speaking ability is likely to be a
source of anxiety.
If both fear of negative evaluation and self-perception of speaking ability can have an impact on FL
anxiety, do these two variables interact to affect learners’ anxiety level? Although there has not been
any research examining the interaction of these two variables, one theory of social anxiety in cognitive
psychology posits a related hypothesis (Kitano, 2001).
According to self-presentational theory, social anxiety arises “whenever people are motivated to make
a desired impression on others, but are not certain that they will do so” (Schlenker & Leary, 1982 as
cited in Kitano, 2001, p. 551). The arousal of anxiety in social situations can have other affective,
cognitive and behavioral consequences. For instance, the affective experience of anxiety covers
feelings of apprehension, uneasiness are increases in distracting self-related cognition, expectations of
failure, and a decrease in cognitive processing ability, and the behavioral dimension consists of
reactions such as increases in sympathetic nervous system arousal, inhibited actions, and attempts to
escape situation (MacIntyre, 1995). In short, social anxiety is a consequence of feelings of tension
and discomfort, negative self-evaluations and a tendency to withdraw in the presence of others.
Self-presentational theory forms a basis for the current study in the sense that it not only suggests the
reasons for which the fear of negative evaluation and the self-perception of ability can affect anxiety
level but also suggests the possibility that these factors may interact to influence anxiety level (Kitano,
2001). Therefore, the present study attempted to search for the possible relationship between fear of
negative evaluation (which may influence a learner’s desire to make a good impression) and selfperceived speaking ability (which may influence the learners’ doubt in his or her successful
performance) in terms of their influence on anxiety level in the Turkish FL classroom.
Empirical Studies on FL Speaking Anxiety
A great deal of FL anxiety research has centered on anxiety with respect to specific classroom
activities such as speaking and listening suggesting that oral classroom activities are most problematic
and anxiety provoking for FL learners (Horwitz et al., 1986; MacIntyre, 1995; Price, 1991; Young,
1991).
Cheng et al. (1999) designed an empirical study to investigate the relationship between FL classroom
anxiety as well as their associations with FL speaking and writing achievement. The participants were
433 Taiwanese English majors. A questionnaire consisted of a modified FLCAS, an adapted SLWAT
(Daly-Miller Writing Apprehension Test), and a background questionnaire. In addition, the participants’
final course grades for their English speaking and writing classes were used as achievement
measurements. The results of the study showed that FL classroom anxiety operationalized by the
FLCAS, and FL writing anxiety measured by the SWLAT are two related but independent constructs.
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The findings suggested that FL classroom anxiety is more general type of anxiety about learning a FL
with a strong speaking anxiety element, whereas, FL writing anxiety is a language-skill-specific
anxiety. Moreover, it was found that low self-confidence seemed to be an important component of
both anxiety constructs. What’s interesting about the results of the study is that it is possible that
reading and listening tasks may provoke different levels of anxiety in FL learners and some of them
may feel particularly anxious about speaking in the target language, and some about writing.
In another empirical study, Aydın (1999) showed an attempt to find out the sources of FL anxiety that
Turkish students learning English as a FL experience in two productive skills, speaking and writing. 36
Turkish first-year EFL students participated in the study. They were instructed to complete two types
of questionnaires: the FLCAS and the BALLI (Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory). On the
basis of their responses to the FLCAS, the participants were divided into three groups: high, medium
and low with regard to their anxiety levels. All of them were then required to keep personal diaries
about their speaking and writing classes for four weeks. 12 students were selected randomly to make
interviews in order to search for the evidence of FL anxiety.
Analysis of the students’ comments both in the diaries and the interviews for each skill yielded three
main sources of FL anxiety: personal reasons; their teachers’ manner towards them and the teaching
procedures. When analyzed specifically for the speaking skill, the study indicated that high anxious
students were frustrated because of not being able to communicate in the FL. This frustration caused
them to experience FL speaking anxiety, which in turn reduced their self-confidence in themselves. In
addition, they were afraid of being evaluated negatively by the others in the classroom; namely, they
suffered from negative social evaluation. Moreover, they thought that they were less competent than
the other students in the classroom. Therefore, Turkish EFL students mostly avoided speaking and
preferred to remain silent.
Kitano (2001) conducted another study to investigate two potential sources of anxiety of college
learners of Japanese in oral practice: 1) an individual student’s fear of negative evaluation, and 2) his
or her self-perceived speaking ability. 212 students in Japanese courses at 2 major universities
participated in the study. They were required to complete a 70-item multiple-choice survey. It
contained a background questionnaire, the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (FNE), three kinds of
self-ratings of Japanese speaking ability: Self-Rating Can-Do Scale (SR-CDS), Self-Rating for the
Current Level of Study (SR-CL) and Self-Rating Expected Perception by the Japanese (SR-EPJ), and
the Japanese Class Anxiety Scale (JCAS).
Data was analyzed through correlation and regression. It was found that an individual student’s
anxiety was higher as his or her fear of negative evaluation was stronger, and the strength of this
tendency depended on the instructional level and the experience of going to Japan. Moreover, the
results indicated that the anxiety of a male student became higher as he perceived himself less
competent. Lastly, it was found that the fear of negative evaluation and self-perceived speaking ability
did not interact to influence the anxiety level of an individual.
In another empirical study, Gregersen and Horwitz (2002) tried to clarify the relationship between FL
anxiety and perfectionism through interviews, 8 students, 4 of them as the most anxious, and the
other 4 were the least anxious took place in the study according to their scores on the FLCAS. The
study covered two phases: In the first phase, the students were videotaped in a one-on-one oral
interviewed designed to elicit a sample of their conversational English ability. In the second phase,
they were asked to watch their videotaped interviews in order to reflect their own performances. By
examining the reactions of the language learners to their actual oral performance and analyzing the
audio tapes for instances of perfectionism, evidence was found that anxious and non-anxious learners
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
differ in their personal performance standards, procrastination, fear of evaluation, and concern over
errors. The reaction of the anxious students to their oral performances demonstrated that they were
never satisfied with what they accomplished. The researchers at the end of the study indicated that
some procedures that have been used to help individuals overcome perfectionism might also be useful
in helping anxious EFL learners.
Liu (2007) examined anxiety in oral English classrooms in a Chinese university in his study. The
researcher specifically focused on the factors contributing to student anxiety in oral production and
the strategies used by the students to cope with this anxiety. 27 college students took place in the
study by responding to a survey (FLCAS) and keeping reflective journals.
The findings of the study revealed that anxiety was experienced by many students while speaking
English in class. Most of the students reported that they became more anxious when making
presentations at the front. There were several factors leading to anxiety such as lack of vocabulary,
low English proficiency and memory disassociation. The researcher ended up his article by underlining
the importance of the awareness of the teachers with regard to the existence of anxiety among EFL
learners and showing empathy to them in class.
Tsiplakides and Keramida (2009) conducted a classroom-based study in Greece aiming at examining
the characteristics of anxious students in order to implement classroom interventions to reduce FL
speaking anxiety. The researchers also aim at providing teachers with strategies to cope with anxiety
stemming from students’ fear of negative evaluation from their peers and perception of low ability.
Fifteen students participated in the study and the researcher used three techniques of qualitative data
collection: semi-structured interviews, group discussion and direct observation. The data analysis
yielded that six of those students were experiencing English language speaking anxiety as a result of
fear of negative evaluation from their peers and perception of low ability in relation to their peers.
Having established the sources for English language speaking anxiety, the researchers implemented
the following classroom interventions to overcome it: project work, establishing a learning community
and a supportive classroom atmosphere by considering teacher-student relations, providing indirect
rather than direct correction, accepting the need for self-worth protection, employing teacher
immediacy and praising. At the end of the article, the researchers pointed out that oral production in a
foreign language is a potentially stressful situation for some students and therefore, the teachers
should help their students to overcome foreign language anxiety.
As a more recent study, Fang-peng and Dong (2010) studied the main factors related to the students’
anxiety to spoken English and put forward some implications to help students to improve their spoken
English level. In order to find out which aspects of anxiety are more effective and whether highly
anxious students have a lower spoken ability or not, the researchers carried out a survey with 82
Chinese college students.
The outcomes of the study confirmed that the students having higher anxiety also have the lower
spoken English ability. Moreover, the more influential factors leading to high anxiety cover: the
attention to intonation and pronunciation, the motivation, and the interference of mother tongue.
Finally, the researchers listed the following countermeasures to overcome the problem of anxiety in
oral production: cultivating the students to b e accustomed to listening to English and thinking in
English, asking students to imitate the imitation of the recordings, correcting their pronunciation, and
forcing students to speak English in class to enhance their motivation.
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
All of these studies provided valuable insights into the area of FL anxiety. Their findings reveal that FL
anxiety, specifically in the oral production, is a phenomenal issue and mainly a negative factor in
language learning. At the end of these studies, the researchers claimed that future research should
replicate some parts of these studies so that these sources of anxiety in the language classroom
would be clarified and handled appropriately. In other words, as Liu (2007) point out that the
differences in foreign language learning situations and variance in underlying causes for foreign
language classroom anxiety require that more research is needed to examine learners’ anxiety levels,
causes for and consequences of anxiety in various foreign language learning contexts. These
suggestions could be considered as a departure point of the present study. It is hoped that the
current study will add more empirical data to the study of anxiety in FL learners, including learners of
English in Turkish contexts.
In the light of the issues stated above, the focus of the study is on two psychological factors; namely,
the fear of negative evaluation and the self-perception of speaking ability in the target language,
which are said to be the potential sources of anxiety in the classroom. In other words, this study will
attempt to answer this basic research question: Is there any relationship between the fear of negative
evaluation and self-perception of speaking ability in English, which affects the anxiety level of
individual English learners? Thus, the following research questions were posed to guide the study:
1) What is the relationship between the anxiety level of a first-year EFL student and his or her
dispositional fear of negative evaluation?
2) What is the relationship between the anxiety level of a first-year EFL student and the selfperception his or her speaking ability in English?
3) Do fear of negative evaluation and self-perception of speaking ability in English interact to relate
to the anxiety level of individual EFL learners?
Methodology
Subjects
The study was conducted at Anadolu University, Education Faculty, ELT Department in the second
term of academic year 2003-2004. 55 subjects participated in the study. All subjects were monolingual
speakers of Turkish between the ages 17 and 19 all of whom were first-year students. 19 of the
participants were male, and the rest 36 participants were female.
The researcher’s two sections, A and B were chosen as the population in order to collect data
appropriately. There were a total of 65 students in two sections, but the students who were coming
from other departments, repeating the course for the second time were not chosen as the study
subjects since they might not have the same language proficiency level compared to others.
Instruments for Data Collection
A 55-item multiple-choice survey was used in the study. It was the adapted version of the
questionnaire used in Kitano’s study (2001). It consisted of five parts created for the search of the
possible sources of FL anxiety:
1) Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (FNE): It measures the degree to which the respondent
experiences apprehension at the prospect of being evaluated negatively. The items were answered on
a 5-point Likert Scale, ranging from 5 points (extremely characteristic of me) to 1 point (not all
characteristic of me). The FNE showed an internal consistency coefficient of .86 (Cronbach Alpha=.
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
86, n=55). The Cronbach Alphas were calculated separately for each part of the scale to assess the
reliability of the utilized instrument.
2) Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS): The FLCAS, designed by Horwitz et al. (1986),
was shortened and modified in Kitano’s study. To assess the degree to which participants feel nervous
during oral practice in class, some of the original FLCAS items were eliminated, such as the ones
asking about concern over grades, discomfort in speaking the language outside the classroom, and
anxiety over tests. For the present study, the 42 nd item “I feel more tense and nervous in my
language class than in my other classes” was eliminated from the scale since the participants of this
study were chosen among FL learners and as all the classes, this item would not be appropriate for
their situation as suggested by Aydın (1999). Each of the 20 items of the FLCAS was scored on a 5point Likert Scale, ranging from 5 points (strongly agree) to 1 point (strongly disagree). The Cronbach
Alpha was computed as .87 on the same sample.
3) Self-Rating Can-Do Scale (SR-CDS): It was developed to measure speaking ability in FL situations.
Each item of this 15-item scale asked the respondent to rate his or her difficulty in performing a
certain task orally in English. The difficulty level of the tasks which were assessed in the scale shifts
from the elementary level to the advanced level. Each item was scored on a 3-point Likert Scale: 3
(quite easily), 2 (with some difficulty) and 1 (with great difficulty or not at all). The Cronbach Alpha
was measured as .85.
4) Self-Rating for the Current Level of Study (SR-CL): Using this 4-item scale, the respondent
assessed his or her English speaking proficiency for his or her current level of study in the areas of
pronunciation, fluency, grammatical accuracy, and overall speaking ability by selecting one answer
from 5 points (very good), 4 (good), 3 (fairly good), 2 (relatively poor), and 1 (poor) by deliberately
asking the respondent to take his or her ability as compared to that of peers. The Cronbach Alpha was
.90 for this part.
5) Self-Rating Expected Perception by the English (SR-EPE): It was used to assess the respondent’s
self-perception of his or her ability as compared to that of native speakers. This measure has also 4
items that assessed pronunciation, fluency, grammatical accuracy, and overall speaking ability. It
required the respondent to predict how a native speaker of English would rate his or her English
speaking proficiency by selecting one answer from 5 (very good), 4 (good), 3 (fairly good), 2
(relatively poor), and 1 (poor). The Cronbach Alpha was calculated as .89.
Interviews: The researcher conducted semi structured interviews with the students who were found to
be high anxious on the basis of their questionnaire outcomes and the poor grades they took from
speaking classes. The main purpose of making an interview was to probe the answers given to the
questionnaire to have a better understanding of the phenomenon termed as ‘anxiety’.
Data Collection
The 55-item multiple-choice survey was administered to the participants by the researcher during the
class hours. The participants were required to complete the questionnaire in 25 minutes. They were
not asked to write their names in order to make sure that the results would not be used to evaluate
their performance. They were only instructed to write their gender. The survey results were analyzed
by the researcher and 15 participants who were classified as high anxious learners and who had poor
grades in their speaking classes were required to answer the questions in an interview. The interview
was conducted in the participants’ native language, Turkish, in order to overcome the incapabilities of
self-expression in the target language and it was recorded. The interview procedure took 10-15
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
minutes and the participants were asked to report their reasons for feeling anxiety in oral practice to
determine the possible sources leading anxiety in the speaking classes.
Data Analysis
In order to assess the internal reliability of each part of the survey, Cronbach Alpha was computed on
the responses of 55 participants. Then, for research questions 1 and 2, scatter plots were created to
examine visually the relationships between each of the independent variables (FNE, SR-CDS, SR-CL
and SR-EPE) and the dependent variable (FLCAS). The Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple
regression analyses were run in order to find out the relationships among them. t-tests were also
performed for their significance. As mentioned before, the three self-ratings (SR-CDS, SR-CL and SREPE) were treated separately in the examination for the 2nd research question since they represented
different types of self-perception about English speaking ability. To evaluate the role of gender on the
FLCAS, FNE, SR-CDS, SR-CL and SR-EPE, multiple regression analyses and t-tests were conducted for
the significance.
For the 3rd research question, multiple regression analyses were used to create a model to predict
anxiety level. More specifically, a backward elimination procedure was employed to identify which
variables among the fear of negative evaluation and the three self-ratings of English speaking ability
were negligible in predicting English class anxiety. Since the fear of negative evaluation and the selfrating for the current level and the self-rating expected perception by the English were found to
predict anxiety level, a two-way ANOVA was then performed to determine whether or not there was
an interaction between these three variables with regard to their relationship to anxiety level.
For the interviews, the data were first transcribed and then analyzed by the researcher. In order to
have reliable results, the data gathered from the interviews were also examined by another instructor.
Results
Research Question 1: What is the relationship between the anxiety level of a first-year EFL student
and his or her dispositional fear of negative evaluation?
The scatter plot (see Figure 1) indicates a positive correlation between an individual’s fear of negative
evaluation and his or her anxiety level. The Pearson correlation coefficient was found to be significant
(r=.488, p=.000, n=55). Thus, the tendency was that the higher an individual’s fear of negative
evaluation, the higher his or her anxiety in the classroom.
Figure 1. The relationship between Anxiety and Fear of Negative Evaluation
Regression Plot
Y = 38.0383 + 0.567478X
R-Sq = 0.238
70
jcas
60
50
38
40
15
25
35
fne
45
55
Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
Research Question 2: What is the relationship between the anxiety level of a first-year EFL student
and the self-perception of his or her speaking ability in English?
The examination of scatter plots and Pearson correlations showed that there were significant negative
relationships between anxiety and three of self-ratings, SR-CDS, SR-CL, and SR-EPE (see Figures 2 to
4 for the scatter plots).
Figure 2. The relationship between Anxiety and Self-Rating Can-Do Scale
Regression Plot
Y = 71.1958 - 0.383915X
R-Sq = 0.030
70
jcas
60
50
40
30
35
40
45
sr.cds
There was a negative correlation between the self-rating can-do scale and the anxiety level of an
individual student. The Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated as r=-.174 and found to be
significant p=.205). Hence, this meant that the higher an individual’s self-rating can-do scale, the
lower his or her anxiety level in the classroom. In other words, if a student trusts his abilities for doing
something, he will not be anxious.
Figure 3. The relationship between Anxiety and Self-Rating for the Current Level of Study
Regression Plot
Y = 68.9357 - 1.00662X
R-Sq = 0.092
70
jcas
60
50
40
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
sr.cl
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
The analysis of the scatter plot and correlation indicated that there was a significant negative
relationship between anxiety and self-rating for the current level of the study (r=-.303, p=.025).
Therefore, when the anxiety level of students increased, the self-rating for the current level of the
study decreased.
Figure 4. The relationship between Anxiety and Self-Rating Expected Perception by the English
Regression Plot
Y = 62.0133 - 0.370315X
R-Sq = 0.029
70
jcas
60
50
40
10
15
20
sr.epj
As it is explicitly seen in the other two self-ratings, there was again a negative correlation between the
anxiety level of the students and self-rating expected perception by the English (r=-. 169, p=. 216).
Thus, this meant that the higher an individual’s self-rating expected perception by the English, the
lower his or her anxiety level.
Tables 1 and 2 below present the descriptive statistics of the parts of the survey and the summary of
the correlations between the foreign language classroom anxiety and the fear of negative evaluation
and the three self-ratings, respectively.
Table 1. Descriptive Statistics for Major Variables
N
Minimum
Maximum
Mean
Std. Deviation
FNEX
55
17,00
54,00
32,7091
6,7073
JCASX
55
41,00
71,00
56,6000
7,7951
SRCDSX
55
30,00
45,00
38,0182
3,5250
SRCD
55
7,00
17,00
12,2545
2,3430
SREPJ
55
8,00
20,00
14,6182
3,5668
Valid N
55
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
Table 2. Correlations between Anxiety and Three Self-Ratings
FNE
FLCAS
SRCDS
SRCL
FNE
1,0000
FLCAS
,4883
1,0000
SRCDS
-,0468
-,1736
1,0000
SRCL
,0449
-,3026
,3111
1,0000
SREPE
,1725
-,1694
,0094
,2179
SREPE
1,0000
Research Question 3: Do fear of negative evaluation and self-perception of speaking ability in English
interact to relate to the anxiety level of individual EFL learners?
A backward elimination procedure of multiple regression analysis found that, among the FNE and the
three self-ratings of English speaking ability, the combination of the FNE, the SR-CL and SR-CDS was
the most appropriate model of predictors of anxiety level of this sample. These predictors accounted
for 33.6% of the variance of the scores on the FLCAS in this study.
After this finding was noted, further analysis was conducted. The participants were divided into two
groups according to the level of their scores on the FNE (scores of 34 and above vs. scores of 33 and
under), their scores on the SR-CL (scores of 12 and above vs. scores of 11 and under), and their
scores on the SR-EPE (scores of 12 and above vs. scores of 11 and under) as suggested in the study
of Kitano (2001). Then, a two-way ANOVA was conducted. The results are shown in Tables 3, 4, 5
and 6.
Table 3. The Effect of FNE on the Anxiety
Sum of Squares
df
Mean square
F
Sig.
001,75
22
90,989
2,276
,017
Within groups
279,45
32
39,983
Total
281,20
54
JCAS*FNE
between groups
As shown in Table 3, the effect of the FNE on the anxiety level was significant and the interaction of
this effect was also significant (p=.017).
Table 4. The Effect of SR-CL on the Anxiety
Sum of Squares
df
Mean square
F
Sig.
70,561
10
77,056
1,350
,235
Within groups
510,64
44
57,060
Total
281,20
54
JCAS*SR-CL
Between groups
As presented in Table 4, the effect of the SR-CL on the anxiety level was significant, but the
interaction of this effect was not statistically significant (p=.235).
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
Table 5. The Effect of SR-EPE on the Anxiety
Sum of Squares
df
Mean square
F
Sig.
007,974
12
75,664
1,339
,234
Within groups
373,23
42
56,505
Total
281,20
54
JCAS*SREPE
Between groups
According to Table 5, the effect of the SR-EPE on the anxiety level was significant, but the interaction
of this effect was not statistically significant (p=.234).
Table 6. Joint Influence of FNE and SR- CL and SR- EPE on Anxiety
Sum of Squares
df
Mean square
F
Sig.
69451,6
3
23150,527
747,018
,000
Within groups
6693,96
216
30,991
Total
76145,5
219
Between groups
As shown in Table 6, the relationship between the FNE and the two self-ratings was statistically
significant (p=.000). There was an interaction between these three variables.
Interviews
The aim of the study was to find out the sources of foreign language anxiety experienced in a
productive skill, speaking from the perspectives of Turkish EFL learners. In order to identify the
factors leading anxiety in the speaking courses, first a survey was given the participants, and
according to the responses they gave to the survey, each of the subjects was assigned to one of the
three anxiety levels: high, medium or low. Among the high anxious learners, the ones (15) who had
poor grades in their speaking courses were selected to conduct interviews. This interview procedure
was conducted to find if there were any further explanation and clarification for the foreign language
anxiety these students felt.
Turkish EFL students, high anxious ones, in this study reported that they were not satisfied with their
performance in their speaking classes. They thought that they were not able to communicate in the
target language in an efficient way, in other words; they had low confidence in their ability. The
following statements illustrate this point:
“I know, I’m not successful in speaking classes .I cannot speak English fluently. This
makes me upset.”
“I wish I could speak English fluently, just like Turkish. But, it seems impossible. I cannot
even combine two or three words together to form a sentence, it takes a long time for
me to choose the right words.”
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
“I feel anxious, especially in the speaking classes because I cannot speak. Even though I
know the answer, I hesitate to speak.”
The participants in this study specifically underlined the simple fact that if self assessment of ability
was negative, this could lead to anxiety. In other words, if they believed that they did not have the
necessary skills to achieve success in the speaking lessons, they could suffer from FL speaking anxiety
to a greater extent. Similarly, having high expectations from their own performance in the speaking
lessons and not being able to fulfill those expectations in a desired way could foster FL speaking
anxiety. The following statements expressed by high anxious students might explain how they felt FL
speaking anxiety as a result of negative self assessment and high expectations from their own
performance;
“I don’t feel myself competent in speaking classes. I know I must study a lot in order to
be successful. I study, but I can’t achieve success.”
“I don’t feel myself secure in speaking lessons. Specifically, if I get low marks from
speaking exams, I blame myself. I know, I’m a bad student. I have to work hard to be
successful in this course.”
“I am a perfectionist. I want everything to be perfect, and I want to do everything
perfectly......Whenever I cannot remember a simple vocabulary item while speaking, I get
sad. I’m a university student, I should have rich vocabulary, I should speak fluently.”
The participants indicated that they did not want to be negatively evaluated by their classmates. They
did not want to create a stupid image for themselves. Therefore, they remain silent and do not
participate in the classroom activities. The statements below highlight this issue:
“I do not want to talk in my speaking classes because others can laugh at me, this
irritates me a lot.”
“I think the answer of a question in Turkish and then translate into Turkish. While I ‘m
doing it, someone else talks and I cannot find another opportunity to express my ideas.”
“I always make pronunciation errors while speaking in the target language and observe a
humiliating manner on my classmates’ faces. This makes me angry.”
High anxious learners also pinpointed that they had a fear of being less competent. They compared
themselves to the good students in the class and this comparison led them to feel a greater amount of
anxiety. The following statements exemplify this situation:
“My friends can speak very well, but I cannot. What’s the reason? I do not know, I just
cannot speak!”
“I am demotivated by realizing that my friends are better than I am.”
“The teacher praises the good students in the class, but she has never praised me, I’m
one of the poor students in the class.”
The subjects believed that their inability in communicating in English stemmed from their lack of
vocabulary knowledge. If they increase their vocabulary size, they can express themselves better.
“I cannot speak because I cannot find out the appropriate words to express my ideas
immediately.”
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
“If I knew enough vocabulary to express myself, I could speak more in the class.”
“I think I can be successful in speaking classes if I memorize lots of words.”
Uninteresting teaching procedures created anxiety for five of the subjects in the present study. They
stated that they could not focus their attention due to boring and uninteresting teaching procedures
which lead to anxiety. As stated in the following examples, dealing with uninteresting materials
created anxiety for high anxious students.
“I think the book and the materials used in speaking courses are very important. But, I
don’t like the book used in our speaking lessons. I don’t like its activities. When I see the
texts and the topics of our speaking book, I talk to myself; how boring it is!”
“The level of the book and activities should match with the level of the students. They
should not be too simple or challenging. For instance, if I find the activity in any speaking
book too difficult, I feel anxiety due to a fear of incapability.”
Finally, the participants focused on the teachers’ manner as an anxiety-provoking factor. They
reported that their teacher’s manner towards the errors they made while speaking and towards them
in general were the other reasons of anxiety they experienced in speaking classes.
“Of course, mistakes should be corrected. But, how? This is very important. Teachers
should not disturb their students while making error correction.”
“If a teacher interrupts to correct a mistake, I get confused and forget what to say next.”
“Some teachers correct their students’ mistakes harshly and this causes students to
remain silent during speaking activities.”
“If she corrects my errors in a harsh manner, I will lose my self-confidence and I cannot
ask a question to her anymore. It can affect my success because I need clarification for
some questions in speaking courses.”
“When I got bored in speaking courses, I didn’t listen to the teacher’s explanations.
Whenever she realizes this, she asks sudden questions, I don’t like this situation, I get
anxious.”
Discussion
The relationship between anxiety and fear of negative evaluation
The present study found that fear of negative evaluation was a source of anxiety in the English FL
classroom, an outcome that is consistent with Kitano’s (2001) findings for the Japanese classrooms.
The results of this study also confirmed the results of Horwitz et al.’s (1986) study for the French and
Spanish classrooms. She proposed that the language student has mature thoughts and ideas but an
immature vocabulary and grammar with which to express them. According to her, because students
are unsure of themselves and what they are saying, they may feel that they are not able to make the
proper social impression. This fear of negative social evaluation may result in frustration and
apprehension.
This finding also lends support to the views of Gregersen and Horwitz (2002). The researchers found
that high anxious students had a fear of negative evaluation since they thought that they seemed
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
foolish when confronting a group, which allowed for negative evaluation by peers or teachers. These
results were confirmed empirically by another study conducted by Aydın (1999). Working with Turkish
EFL students, she found that the learners got frustrated when they were not able to communicate
effectively in the target language. This frustration made them experience FL anxiety, which in turn
reduced their confidence in themselves. In addition, these learners had a very strong fear of being
negatively evaluated by their peers, which resulted in avoiding speaking in order not to seem foolish.
The findings of the present study certainly show that teachers should make an effort to respond
appropriately to their students’ fear of negative evaluation as suggested by Kitano (2001). It would be
a good idea for the teachers to identify the students who have strong fear of negative evaluation and
consider supportive ways of treating them in and outside of the classroom owing to the fact that it is a
personality trait that is difficult to eliminate. For instance, teachers can promote the more positive
speaking experiences rather than the anxiety-provoking ones through positive reinforcement, their
students will feel better (MacIntyre & Gardner, 1991a). Teachers should be encouraged to show this
type of students’ special consideration by making positive comments in class in private conversations
in the teacher’s office, or on the students’ homework sheets or journals whenever possible (Kitano,
2001).
The relationship between anxiety and self-perceived ability in speaking english
The current study showed that students feel more anxious in the FL classroom when they perceive
their own speaking ability as poorer than that of their classmates and native speakers of English. This
finding corroborates Kitano’s opinion stating (2001, p. 558) “a student’s self-perception of his or her
peers should be carefully considered because of its strong relationship to anxiety level”. In other
words, it is inevitable that most FL students will be aware of their own performance in comparison to
other students since FL instruction requires the performance of language learners in front of their
peers and teachers (Young, 1991). In such a setting, teachers should create a friendly and social
classroom environment so that students will not be forced to be competitive but collaborative. For
example, the teacher could include sufficient comprehensive practice and choral work before calling
on individual students or make them write their answers (Millrood, 2004). Pair work or group work
activities could be inserted into the classroom practices (Hirvela, 1999). Teachers should use icebreaking activities which will make the learners know each other very well and support each other
without considering differences in ability. Apart from these general classroom strategies, teachers
should show individual interest to the students who are weak because these students may have a lowperception of ability and feel anxious in the classroom, which inhibits their learning. Aydın (1999)
claimed that anxious students generally perceiving themselves as less worthy than their classmates
and their communication as less efficient than their peers have a tendency to compare themselves
with the others in the classroom and adopt a competitive behavior. What’s more, they may compete
with their personal expectations, which also create language anxiety. Hence, teachers should identify
these students and help them from the early stages of their FL study.
At this point, there appears a question mark in people’s minds: Does a student’s self-perception
accurately reflect his or her actual abilities? (Kitano, 2001). Some learners having low self-esteem, my
rank their abilities lower than they really are. The present study did not include a more objective
measure of evaluating students’ ability, such as an evaluation by their teachers, to compare to the
self-evaluation. In this way, a possible match or mismatch can be found between an objective
measure and their own self-evaluation.
As it is found in the present study, one of the sources of students’ FL anxiety stemmed from
comparing the self-perception of insufficient ability to that of native speakers. It is difficult to tell
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
students not to compare themselves with native speakers since they are always expected to learn
from tapes and videos of native speakers in communication with one another (Kitano, 2001). Some
students may set their goals as high as the level of native speakers with a belief that less than a
perfect performance is a failure (Aydın, 1999) which may make them experience anxiety. Therefore,
language teachers should highlight setting realistic and short-term goals in language learning for their
students. Young (1991) claimed that an approach such as giving a half point for linguistic accuracy
and the other half point for fluency when grading students’ oral performance can help students to
grasp the fact that instructors are equally interested in accuracy and fluency, which may lead to a
reduction in anxiety.
Interaction between fear of negative evaluation and self-perceived ability to speak
english
This study found that there was an interaction between fear of negative evaluation and self-perceived
ability that affects anxiety level. That’s, the students with a strong fear of negative evaluation and the
students with low self-perceived ability showed high anxiety, the effect that fear of negative
evaluation had on anxiety did depend on the effect of self-perceived ability and the effect of selfperceived ability did depend on the level of fear of negative evaluation. These findings supported the
self-presentational theory, which argued for the effect of the interaction between the fear of negative
evaluation and self-perceived ability on anxiety since these two variables influence each of the two
separate constructs of anxiety, such as one’s motivation to make a desired impression on others and
doubt that one will be able to do so (Kitano, 2001). The findings of the present study did not
corroborate with the findings of Kitano’s (2001) study, since the researcher did not find out a
relationship between the fear of negative evaluation and self-perceived speaking ability.
The outcomes of the present study revealed that the fear of negative evaluation and self-perceived
speaking were the important sources of anxiety and what’s more there occurred an interaction
between these two variables, which accelerated the level of anxiety.
Conclusion
The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of two psychological factors, the fear of
negative evaluation and the self-perception of speaking ability in the target language as they were
said to be potential sources of anxiety in the classroom (Kitano, 2001; Ohata, 2005; Young, 1991).
The findings of the study confirmed empirically that they were indeed anxiety-provoking in a FL
classroom. Moreover, the study also questioned the interaction between dispositional fear of negative
evaluation, which may influence a learner’s desire to make a good impression, and self-perceived
speaking ability, which may influence the learner’s doubt in his or her successful performance, in
terms of their influence on anxiety level in the English FL classroom. And this interaction was found,
as well.
It is hoped that these findings will encourage FL language teachers to identify students having high
anxiety and low self-esteem and create a supportive and friendly atmosphere for them to practice the
target language. Otherwise, anxiety may interfere with the student’s ability to demonstrate the
amount that she or he does know. The classic example is the student who knows the material but
“freezes up” on a test (MacIntyre, 1995, p. 96). Anxious students are caught in this double bind; they
have learned less and furthermore they may not be able to demonstrate the knowledge that they
have learned. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that the teachers should take necessary
precautions which reduce the anxiety level of their students (Gregersen & Horwitz, 2002).
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
In summary, it is necessary for both EFL teachers and students to beware that anxiety is a serious
phenomenon for EFL students and that various factors contribute to it in foreign language classrooms.
More importantly, they should seek for the appropriate strategies to help students to reduce or
eliminate anxiety in oral production since anxiety-provoking variables may vary from context to
context.
Suggestions for further Studies
The findings of the present study suggest a number of various studies for future research. First of all,
since this investigation was limited to analyze the sources FL speaking ability through a survey, and
interviews another study can be conducted to examine the potential sources of this type of anxiety
using different data collection procedures, such as diary writing, and think aloud protocols.
This study was conducted with the university students from the ELT department. The scale used in
this study can be applied to different groups of students from different language majors, different
universities in order to find out whether the two variables are indeed language anxiety- provoking or
not. A final suggestion for future research is to investigate the sources of FL anxiety for other skills
such as reading, writing and listening. Research in this area will shed valuable light on the sources
leading to anxiety for specific skills and how they can be diminished.
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Tutor Computer Formative Teachers’ Opinions on the Effective
Use of Information Technologies at Schools:
Trabzon Province Sample
Alper Şimşek
Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey
[email protected]
Ömer Faruk Ursavaş
Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey
[email protected]
Abstract
The aim of this study is to determine the level of the use of information technology at schools in
Trabzon and some evaluations about the problems faced during this process were done considering
the formative teachers’ opinions. The question which is “What are the opinions of formative
teachers about the process of popularizing the effective usage of information technologies in
schools?” was determined as the problem of this research. In the research conducted as a special
occasion study, 9 teachers who work as tutor computer formative teachers in Trabzon, are
determined as the sample group. Face to face interviews were conducted with the sample group on
the problems and sub-problems of the research. First degree coding was applied on the data
obtained by the interviews and themes were determined via this coding and data matrixes were
set. Deductions were made by benefitting from the set data matrixes. The obtained results show
that the use of information technologies at schools in Trabzon has been increasing but it hasn’t
reached the aimed level yet.
Keywords: Information technologies; formative teacher; computer formatter
Introduction
Information technologies are used in different ways in order to generate a rich learning environment
for teachers in the activities that are being carried out in learning environments. The application of
new approaches and solutions related with the integration of technology into the learning
environments shows parallelism with the speed of technology development. Thus, development of
infrastructure and in-service trainings related with the integration of information technologies into the
learning environments and information technologies are given a great deal of importance (Kuzu,
2007).
There are many factors that affect the use of information technologies by including teaching-learning
activities carried out in different learning environments in an effective way. Depending on their
investigation into the science and mathematics teachers, Sim and Theng (2007) reveal that there are
some negative factors in the inclusion of information technologies to classroom activities, such as
time, technical support, teachers’ knowledge and abilities on information technologies. In addition to
this, Cuban (1995) listed the reasons why teachers use the information technologies rarely and
discriminate them under 3 titles.
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1. The difficulty of assessing tools and materials that are becoming out quickly.
2. The inadequate time for the integration of information technology into learning activities done
in classroom.
3. Teachers’ afore learning believes, knowledge about the new technologies and their afore
attitudes towards the technology affect the way of computer use and whether the computers
are used in the lessons or not.
In their research on the use of information technologies in social studies at elementary school,
Gülbahar and Güven (2008) revealed that although the teachers have a positive attitude toward the
use of information technologies, they face with various problems about the access of information
technology sources. Another factor that has a negative effect on the process is the deficiency of
teacher training programs in which teachers in Turkey acquire most of their competence about the
use of information technologies (Göktaş, Yıldırım, & Yıldırım, 2009).
Tools and materials based on the information technologies are very expensive and they become out in
a short time. School administrators need to take necessary precautions by investigating how the
existing information technology sources can be optimized in teaching activities (Flanagan, 2003).
Demiraslan and Usluel (2008), emphasized that school administrators and the courses that will be
given by the information technology formative teachers play an important role in teachers’ integration
of technology into their courses. The qualification of teachers who will use computers in the
educational process are considered as crucial in popularizing computers in the education system and
its defragmentation with the process (Orhan & Akkoyunlu, 2003).
General Directorate of Educational Technologies of Ministry of National Education (MEB-EĞİTEK)
organizes in-service training courses so as to make information technologies be used in an effective
way and tries to enhance teachers’ ability to use computer. Besides, formative teachers have been
charged in order to minimize the problems faced in the process of information technology use by the
Ministry of National Education (Tebliğler Dergisi, 2001). It is known that in increasing the use of
technology in the classroom and in achieving the integration of information technologies in the
present lessons, teacher, administrator, computer formative teacher, tutor computer formative
teacher and educational administrators play important roles. In addition to intensive practices in order
to popularize the use of information technologies at schools, it has a vital importance for these
practices to reach their aims and meet the expectations. At this stage, it will shape the future of these
practices carried out by splurging high costs to determine and overcome the difficulties and problems
experienced during the process of information technologies integration into the schools and lessons.
Aim of the Study
By this study, it was aimed to find out the state of information technology usage in elementary and
secondary institutions and the problems faced in their using process in the direction of tutor computer
formative teachers’ opinions. In this study, it was aimed to find an answer for each of the following
research questions:
1. What are TCFT’s opinions about the information technologies’ areas of usage and their
intended use?
2. What are TCFT’s opinions about the factors influencing the activities and projects that are
being carried out in order to increase the use of information technologies at schools?
3. What are TCFT’s opinions about the necessary things to be done in order to increase the use
of information technologies at schools?
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Method
In this study, a case study was used as a research method in order to investigate the determined
research questions. Qualitative and quantitative approaches can be used together in case study
method. In two approaches, it is aimed to exert specific results relating with specific situations. In this
study, qualitative research method was used. Qualitative research method is an approach in which
data are produced without any statistical processes and numeral tools (Altunışık, Coşkun,
Bayraktaroğlu, & Yıldırım, 2005). Giving opportunity for investigating in depth one or few situation is
most important feature of qualitative research method. Environment, individuals or processes are
investigated with a holistic approach and it can be focused on the role of individuals and their
relationships in this duration. To provide sensitivity to the natural environment, to have a holistic
approach, to be effective for revealing perceptions, researcher’s participating role, to provide a
flexibility in research design, to have an inductive analysis process are important features of
qualitative research techniques (Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2000). In qualitative research variations,
differences and disunities are taken into account to obtain an expected holistic picture.
Participants and Procedure
In this study, the oriented sampling approach was chosen. In qualitative research, the sample group is
kept small in order to be able to investigate the problem in depth. Therefore, instead of using random
sampling, oriented sampling is preferred (Miles & Huberman, 1994). Criterions thought to be
important for selection are determined by this sampling and the sample is chosen according to these
criteria, and they are considered to be capable with all the qualities representing the research
universe (Tavşancıl & Aslan, 2001).
Researcher contacted with participants in order to inform them about the study and sent interview
questions to the participants. By this way, the researcher tried to determine their concerns on study.
With the aim of providing voluntary participation into the study, researcher asked participants whether
they want to participate into the study or not. 9 tutor computer formative teachers charged in city
center and country towns by Trabzon Provincial Directorate for National Education have been included
in the study. In this study, the researcher is on the position of participant in the sample environment
where the data gathered. The researcher lives in the same city with the participants and worked at
the same institution for some time in the past; so the researcher has got the similar regional culture,
environmental and job experiences. As the data obtained by this study is limited to totally 9 tutor
computer formative teachers who are in Trabzon city centre and its country towns in 2009 spring
term, it belongs to this time and this sample.
Data Collection
Primarily researcher itself is data collection tool in qualitative research (Balcı, 2001), because the
researcher enters the field and makes close contact with participants. Thereby, researcher studies in
order to understand and identify them to make sense of unknown situation from their perspective.
In this study, semi-structured interview technique has been used as a data collection method. This
technique has many advantages in views of in-depth questioning in a special issue, giving opportunity
to complete answers for making unknown situation more clearly by new different questioning, if the
answer is missing or unclear (Çepni, 2001). The form that was used in the semi-structured interviews
consisted of 9 main questions.
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Face to face interviews carried out with participants were recorded with audio recorder after their
consents were taking by the researcher. Next, the interview recorded data were converted into written
text. In order to provide reliability for the data, texts were given to participants for verifying recorded
data in terms of accuracy and completeness. The interviews that were done face-to-face with each of
the tutor computer formative teachers, takes 30-40 minutes.
Data Analysis
Researcher living in the same province with participants can be considered as professional in the same
position. Therefore, researcher has similar local culture and some experience on local environment
with participants. Also, the researcher knows about the school environment and status of teachers;
then, they tried to interpret data in the light of this information.
The content analysis method was used to interpret the data obtained by the face-to-face interviews
with tutor computer formative teachers. Content analysis described as a systematic and repeatable
technique in which some words of text which were summarized with smaller content categories by
encodings, based on certain rules (Büyüköztürk, Kılıç Çakmak, Akgün, Karadeniz, & Demirel, 2008).
Transcripts of the sound records obtained by the interviews were written down. Data based on subproblems that were built at the beginning of the study were organized. By this way, inessential data
which were unrelated with any sub-problem were ignored during the data analysis and interpretation
stage. First degree coding was done by reading the transcripts over and over; then, the data were
reduced via the first degree coding. Memos were added in order to form a meaningful whole by
adding explanations to the transcripts. Afterwards, the data were analyzed in the light of signified
problem situations. Themes were formed by classifying the memos and first grade coding, then,
analyzed data were presented to readers in a suitable way for the sub problems. Also, some teachers’
opinions which were relevant about sub-problems were presented as direct quotations to the readers.
Findings
The findings obtained by the data analysis collected by the face-to-face interviews were categorized in
accordance with the research questions and frequency tables were created. The findings presented as
frequency tables were exemplified by direct citing from the participant opinions.
The Profiles Formative Teachers
Four of the tutor computer formative teachers who were included in the study work at the district
National Education Directorates and five of them work at the Trabzon provincial Directorate for
National Education. Four of the participants graduated from the Computer and instructional
technologies Education Program; others graduated from different departments. When the tutor
computer formative teachers’ genders are considered, it is seen that 8 of them are male.
The State of Information Technologies Usage at Schools
Tutor computer formative teachers’ opinions about the usage areas of information technologies at
schools and their usage aims, are collected under 3 themes which are in classroom, projects and out
of classroom. tutor computer formative teachers’ opinions about the state of information technology
usage in classroom at schools are presented in Table 1.
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Table 1. Tutor Computer Formative Teachers’ Opinions about
the Use of Information Technology in Classroom
In classroom use
Frequency (f)
IT is used in computer lessons
3
IT isn’t used enough in other lessons
4
IT is used more in numerical lessons
2
IT usage varies from school to school
3
The sample opinions about the use of in classroom Information Technologies are presented below.
“… teachers who generally use information technologies, teachers of numerical lessons.
As I can, science teachers are more common ….around the districts. Science teachers are
more interested in them; it must be resulted from their branches.” (Tutor formative
teacher-2)
While another participant was expressing that the information technologies were more used in
numerical courses;
“…the percentages of practice at schools, of course, vary at every school. When we look
at the schools in our area of interest, I can say that it is not above the 50 percentage.
While saying 50 percent I don’t mean that in 50 of 100 schools it is practiced but never
be applied in others. In general, for instance, at one school 10% is applied, at one school
60% is applied, the average is for example, 50%. It depends on the school.” (Tutor
formative teacher -8)
Tutor computer formative teachers’ opinions about the state of using the information technology in
projects at schools are presented in Table 2.
Table 2. Tutor Computer Formative Teachers’ Opinions about the State of Using
Information Technology in Projects
The state of usage in projects
Frequency (f)
In the projects of MNE (Ministry of National Education) vitamin, Dynet
and Thinkquest, it is used in a positive way but it is inadequate.
5
Use of IT has got a negative effect on the projects at school which do
not have a formative teacher
1
It is used in intel teacher and student projects but it is inadequate.
2
Sample opinions on the use of information technologies, in projects being carried out at schools,
depending on the MNE.
“… you know, now there is a Project called “Dynet” which is English lesson oriented. I
don’t think that it is used very sufficiently because of the English teachers’ insufficiency
on the information technologies.” (Tutor formative teacher -1)
Tutor computer formative teachers’ opinions on the state of information technology usage in activities
out of classroom are presented below.
“… however, there are individual students due to the contribution of their families, they
come and study again. Students study in their free times. We keep information
technology classes open.” (Tutor formative teacher -6)
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“...I can say that information technologies are actively education purposed and also
enjoyment purposed because there are practices in the same classes such as cinema with
video presentations like cartoons.” (Tutor formative teacher -8)
Th e Fac t o rs t ha t A ff ec t t h e A c ti vi t ie s a n d P ro j ec ts C ar ri e d o u t w i th th e Ai m
of I nc r eas in g th e Us e o f I nf or ma t io n T e ch no l og i es a t S c h oo ls
Tutor computer formative teachers’ opinions about the factors affecting activities and projects carried
out in order to increase the use of information technologies at schools, are collected under 4 themes
which are information technology infrastructure of school, the ability of information technology usage,
interest-motivation and support.
Tutor computer formative teachers’ opinions about the information technology infrastructure at school
are presented in Table 3.
Table 3. Tutor Computer Formative Teachers’ Opinions
about the Information Technology Infrastructure
School information technology infrastructure
Frequency (f)
Technical Inadequacy of computers
2
The number of IT class
4
IT tool and material inadequacy
3
Problems in the internet connectivity
2
Participants’ sample opinions about the information technology infrastructure are presented below.
“… one of our problems is equipment. For instance, we have schools in which machines
called as type 1 installed in 97 are still used. For example, our Merkez Elementary school
is like that and it isn’t gotten efficiency from such schools.” (Tutor formative teacher -1)
“…we have many schools which were burnt because of the electrical installation. Err…we
have problematic schools since the internet connectivity is very weak. ” (Tutor formative
teacher -4)
“…There aren’t things in some schools, there are still 32 megabyte computers and they
cannot activate” (Tutor formative teacher -1)
Tutor computer formative teacher’ opinions about ability of using information technology are
presented in Table 4.
Table 4. Tutor Computer Formative Teacher’ Opinions about
Ability of Using Information Technology
Ability of using information technologies
Frequency (f)
IT usage varies according to the teachers’ age
5
Teachers’ basic computer using abilities
6
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Sample ideas related with tutor computer formative teachers’ opinions about the ability of using
information technologies are presented below.
“…teachers have problems about the basic computer using ability. What is the basic
computer ability? It can vary from opening and closing a computer to creating a new
Word document or creating a file.” (Tutor formative teacher -2)
“…particularly the teachers who are above a certain age and the those who didn’t
graduate school recently, that is, those who weren’t taught by computer training before
graduating, stand aloof from using it.” (Tutor formative teacher -1)
Tutor computer formative teachers’ opinions about the interest and motivation are presented in Table
5.
Table 5. Tutor Computer Formative Teachers’ Opinions about the Interest and Motivation
Interest and motivation
Frequency (f)
Teachers’ indifference
5
School administrators’ indifference
4
Anxiety of SBS (Level Determine Exam)
2
Indifference towards the in-service courses
3
Sample ideas of tutor computer formative teachers’ opinions about the interest and motivation are
presented below.
“…school administrators’ indifference toward these information technology Technologies
and their aloofness this issue.” (Tutor formative teacher -3)
“…there are problems that stem from the administration; that is, in our administrative
staff there are unfortunatelly fossilized, close toward the innovations”
“…teachers are impervious but we do not have exercise power. We aren’t able to make
them take in-service training courses. We can’t take necessary teachers. As a favor, we
tell them to school administrator and we present them with the statements like: you are
the administrator of this school, we are a family, and everybody should improve their
own schools.” (Tutor formative teacher-6)
“…after the contribution of the documents was removed, teachers’ interests in the
courses decreased. We almost give them courses with force.” (Tutor formative teacher 8)
“…administrators’ point is that: what is the contribution of this course to my school and
me They look at the issue from the financial point of view or they might look at it as a
support to school. Otherwise, only their own teachers and a teacher from school A and
an administrator from school B said like that: I don’t want a stranger teacher; you will
give the course to our own teachers.” (Tutor formative teacher -8)
Tutor computer formative teachers’ opinions under the support theme are presented in Table 6.
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Table 6. Tutor Computer Formative Teachers’ Opinions about the Support
Support
Frequency (f)
The number of the formatters at schools
3
School formatter’s contribution to CSE (computer supported education)
2
School administrator’s perception of formatter
4
School administrator’s indifference
4
Inadequacy about the instruction related with the in-service courses.
5
School administrators’ not encouraging the teachers who are using the IT
4
Indifference of MNE
3
Lack of Tutor computer formative teachers
2
Tutor computer formative teachers’ sample opinions about the support are presented below:
“…the ministry doesn’t say that here is a unit will be taught with this in a year so that
teachers are not willing to do it” (Tutor formative teacher -1)
“…school formatives needs to be interested in it, give seminars and do some researches
on it. Their own regulations include it but the school formatter says that he always keeps
the IT class open. Then how can we say that there is confusion about the tasks. School
formative says that the school administrator asked him to do this job and gave him a
writing, make him write down the writings but this is not the formative’s job to do.”
(Tutor formative teacher-2)
“...40 years administrator but knows about the technology, he uses it voluntarily. He also
makes teachers to use it. But the administrator doesn’t react against the teachers who
don’t like it” (Tutor formative teacher -5)
“…that is, except for the material aid they want someone to pat on their backs. I have
done it, some teachers call me. When do they call? For example, if they do it ten times,
once they become regretful and think that “I am an educator, I should do it.”Then, they
do it but when they sometimes don’t get a result they are disappointed. When they are
asked to take part in the project, they do not because either they attend the previous
one or they are bored.” (Tutor formative teacher -9)
Ne ce ssa ry T hi ng s t o do w i th t he A i m of Inc re asi n g t h e U se of In fo r ma ti o n
Tec h n ol o gi es a t S c h o ols
Tutor computer formative teachers’ opinions about the necessary things to do with the aim of
increasing the use of information Technologies at schools are collected under 3 main themes which
are infrastructure of the schools’ information technologies, encouragement and support. Also, support
theme consists of 3 sub themes which are formative support, administrator support and ministry
support.
Tutor computer formative teachers’ opinions about the infrastructure of schools’ information
technologies are presented in Table 7.
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Table 7. Tutor Computer Formative Teachers’ Opinions about the Infrastructure of
Schools’ Information Technologies
Infrastructure of the school’s information technology
Frequency (f)
The number of the IT classes should be increased at school
3
Projection and computer practices in the classes should be more common.
3
Make up the deficiency of equipment
2
Tutor computer formative teachers’ sample opinions about the infrastructure of schools’ information
technologies are presented below.
“…One computer laboratory is not enough in general. Also, the computer usage in the
classroom will contribute.” (Tutor formative teacher-1)
“…What can be done? Computer laboratories should be completed immediately,
particularly the uncompleted ones.” (Tutor formative teacher-3)
“…I request formatives to set a classroom. There will be a performance hall equipped
with projection and computer. That means, it will be a laboratory. The teacher can come
and make preparations and present it with the projection. By this way, computer
laboratory doesn’t become occupied.” (Tutor formative teacher-5)
Tutor computer formative teachers’ opinions about the encouragement are presented in Table 8.
Table 8. Tutor Computer Formative Teachers’ Opinions on the Encouragement
Encouragement
Frequency (f)
Teacher should be encouraged for IST (in-service training) courses.
3
Teachers should be paid for the royalty related with the the products
they do in the projects.
2
School administrators should encourage teachers by rewarding them.
4
The attraction of competitions related with the projects should be
increased.
1
Teachers should be paid according to their performances.
2
Tutor computer formative teachers’ sample opinions on the encouragement are presented below.
“…then, I should be paid for overtime. What’s its profit? Does it relieve the teacher’s
tiredness? No. The person who gives the course might be tighter. He/she will ask to
produce projects.” (Tutor formative teacher-5)
“…let say, when the schools enter with their own passwords and take this object, when
they download it, when they present it. The royalty for this teacher’s account might be
very little” (Tutor formative teacher-8)
“…if teachers’ studies are supported both materially and morally, they can do better
things.” (Tutor formative teacher-9)
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Tutor computer formative teachers’ opinions about the support are presented in Table 9.
Table 9. Tutor Computer Formative Teachers’ Opinions about the Support
Frequency (f)
Formatter Support
Administrator support
(school administrator,
supervisors,
administrators of
provincial and district
NED,)
Ministry support
Seminars should be organized according to the
teachers’ needs of IT usage
5
Teachers should be informed about the needs of
using IT
4
Formatters shouldn’t hinder the tasks included in
the job definition.
3
Formatters shouldn’t be made to do the tasks that
aren’t included in the job definition.
6
School administrators should be pursuers of
teachers about the use of IT
4
School administrators should support formatters
more.
4
School should be chosen among the ambitious
persons.
3
They should be more knowledgeable about the MNE
projects conducted at the school.
4
Teachers should be compelled to I.S.T. about the IT
4
Experienced person should be allowed for EĞİTEK
3
Teachers should be imposed obligation for
application development in the projects carried out
by the MNE.
3
The content of the IST on IT should be refreshed
periodically.
5
The number of the tutor computer formative
teachers should be increased.
1
Tutor computer formative teachers’ sample opinions under the support theme are presented below.
From the participants, while Tutor formative teacher-2 is expressing his/her opinion on the formative
support as:
“…this problem can be solved when the formatives guide the teachers more. That is, they
can inform the teachers who stand aloof the information technologies more easily.”
(Tutor formative teacher-2)”,
He/she expresses his/her opinion about the administrator support as:
“…in the past, a formative in one of our schools kept canteen in every long and short
breaks. Because of such formatives we can’t delete this image. When the formative is
mentioned, a person image who sells chocolate at the canteen comes to mind.” (Tutor
formative teacher-4)
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The other sample opinions are presented below:
“…not only the formatives should be monitored by us but also beneficial things should be
done by the school administrator or concerned administrative.” (Tutor formative teacher8)
“…in-service training and seminars should be obligatory. If the teacher does this job,
he/she will come and do it. The person who is authorized for this job will give the course ”
(Tutor formative teacher-6)
They expressed that MNE should make in-service training courses about the information technologies
obligatory for teachers:
“…after they get their teacher certification, they bring it and submit the project, they can
come and get their document. The ones who don’t bring it, we shall not give a certificate
for the course document. There is a participation document but it is not such a
certificate.” (Tutor formative teacher-8)
He/ she expressed the opinion that instead of a certificate, a participation document should be given
to failed teachers after the courses on IT.
Discussion and Result
Besides the positive effect of information technologies on the conducted teaching activities and the
efforts made on this issue, several limitations experienced in this area lessen the positive effects and
use of information technologies.
Information technologies are used in computer aided teaching activities within the scope of computer
courses for information technology teachers in MNE’s projects which are intended to elementary
schools by the teachers of numerical courses. However, the use of information technology is under
the 50% when the number of the schools is taken as the basis.
Frequency of information technology usage in teaching activities is closely related with the
infrastructure of the school’s information technology, teacher’s competence in the use of information
technologies, school administrators’ expectation and attitude towards the use of information
technologies and information technologies formative teacher’s interest and support. In his
investigation into the integration of information technologies, Akbaba (2006) determined the
inadequacy in the number of the computers, problems in accessing the internet, inadequate software
in native language, inadequate suitable equipment at schools as the prominent problems. In parallel
with the results obtained by Akbaba (2006), as a result of this study, the inadequate information
technology infrastructure at schools, low technical capacity of the computers, problems with the
access to the internet, inadequate number of computers and information technology classrooms and
the classrooms including the presentation equipment (computer, projection) are also determined as
the negative factors.
Although most of the on job working teachers have certificates for the basic level of using the
information technologies, their ability to use information technologies are described as limited.
Teachers’ these limitations cause problems at in-service training courses about the projects being
carried out at schools. Over middle-aged teachers whose ability to use information technologies are
limited, are not interested in the use of information technologies and do not give enough time for the
teaching activities based on the information technologies. Additionally, most of the over middle-aged
teachers do not give the necessary interest and importance to in-service training organized on the use
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of information technologies. However, Zhao and Bryant (2006) stated that the teachers who attended
the in-service training courses were able to use technology more effectively and easily. Also, it was
observed that they can develop alternative ideas in order to apply information technologies to the
teaching environments. In our country the same progress is observed in most of the teachers who
attended such courses.
The use of information technologies is closely related with the school administrators’ point of view
towards the information technologies and the ability to use information technologies (Kennewell,
Parkinson, & Tanner, 2000). The school administrators, who are aware of the positive sides of using
information technologies in education, support and encourage the teachers who give time to use
information technologies in teaching activities. But the school administrators who aren’t aware of the
importance of using information technologies cannot support the information technologies formatters
and the teachers enough to increase the teaching activities based on the information technologies in
the institution. They do not also struggle for it. Similar to this result, Akbaba (2004) proved that
inadequacy of school administrators about the issue of using the information technologies and
providing the support for the use of information technologies do not solve the problems about the use
of information technologies. Besides, he also stated that the roles that school administrators will play
in the use of information technologies is determiner to start the teaching-learning activities based on
the information technologies. An effective interaction between the school administrators and the
teachers about the use of information technologies will have positive effects on the process (Olson,
2000). When the school administrators include the teachers in the process of the development of the
plans that will be done in order to increase the use of information technologies in teaching activities, it
will make teachers to embrace this developmental process. Administrators’ practice will give a chance
for the teachers to reflect their particular information technology experiences to the plans that will be
done (Tondeur, van Braak, & Valcke, 2006).
It will affect the studies done in order to increase the use of information technologies at schools
negatively to charge the teachers who do not have enough experiences in the field of information
technologies as formatter teachers by the school administrators and the information technologies
teachers who are charged as the formatter teachers against their wills.
In many schools the projects in which information technologies are used start quickly but the control
and the assessment of the practice process is inadequate. Experience and knowledge of the school
administrators and the national education inspectors who will do this control and evaluation is limited
so that the contribution of the projects that will increase the use of information technologies at school
is limited.
Teachers do not show enough interest to the in-service training courses organized related to the
conducted projects. Organizing the in-service training courses out of working hours affects the
teachers’ level of readiness negatively. Especially the female teachers’ anxieties about their homes and
children limit their participation to the in-service training courses.
Suggestions
The integration of the information technologies into the learning and teaching activities depends on
the analyzing and solving the issues of infrastructure, staff, curriculum, administrative and control in a
successful way. It is quite difficult to evaluate the mentioned issues apart from the general
educational problems and subjects.
With the aim of increasing the use of information technologies at schools, the limitations of the
schools whose information technology infrastructures are limited should be removed. The classrooms
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of information technologies are generally formed by transforming the existing normal classrooms into
the information technology classrooms. However, information technology classrooms should be wired
relevant to the aims and overcome the reliance problems by increasing the partialness (Akbaba,
2006). Regarding this issue, the number of the classrooms should be increased or the existing
classrooms should be popularized by equipping them with computers and projections in order to make
presentations in these classes.
Teachers should be encouraged to use information technologies by the school administrators and
MNE. Ward (2003), emphasized that teachers’ level of readiness and motivations should be increased
in order to make them take more time for using the information technologies in increasing the quality
of teaching activities. Considering this fact, forming a common WEB environment in which teachers
can present their materials and learning objects that they produced might help to increase their
motivations. Also, paying a royalty to the teachers for the digital materials that they developed can be
a motivator.
Administrators of province and district and school administrators should be informed about the
importance of using information technologies and the conducted projects in details. This notification
that will be done will contribute to the control and the evaluation of the activities and projects
conducted to increase the use of information technologies at schools. Information technology
formatters at the schools should be chosen among the willing persons who are interested in this area.
Obligatory formatter practice should be removed and priority should be given to information
technology teachers.
The content of the in-service training courses on the use of information technologies should be
renewed periodically in an attractive way and teachers should bound to participate. Evaluation method
applied in accordance with the content of the in-service training courses on the information
technologies should be different and failed teachers should be given a participation document instead
of a certificate by developing alternative assessment and evaluation methods.
References
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Defining the Effects of Television on the Body Image on the
Basis of Adolescents’ Opinions
Berrin Dinç
Fatma Alisinanoğlu
Anadolu University, Turkey
[email protected]
Gazi University, Turkey
[email protected]
Abstract
This study aimed to determine the effects of television on the body images of the adolescents at
high school. In the study, mixed method was used. Out of 1222 high school students, who
completed the “Scale of Satisfaction from Body Parts and Features”, 36 students participated in the
study according to their scores from this scale. Qualitative data of the study was collected through
semi-structured interviews and the interview data was analyzed descriptively. The results of the
study revealed that the majority of the adolescents were satisfied with their bodies, yet the males
reported more satisfaction than the females. Furthermore, it was seen that the adolescents
emulated the ideal body types and features on television that they wanted to have or they did not
have and they sometimes tried to resemble these. Moreover, it was determined that most of the
adolescents compared themselves with the ideal body images on TV and they sometimes
experienced disappointment and pessimism.
Keywords: Adolescence; body image; media means; television
Introduction
The body is the first thing perceived in social interaction. The body is always in the limelight and open
to other people’s evaluations. Thus, the body image is crucial for the development of the body selfrespect and general self-respect (Pokrajac-Bulian & Zivcic-Becirevic, 2005). The body image
represents a psychological construct with cognitive, behavioral and perceptional dimensions, including
attitudes regarding people’s own bodies (Thompson, Heinberg, Altabe, & Tantleff-Dunn, 1999).
Furthermore, the body image is a multidimensional structure representing feelings, thoughts and
behaviors related to a person’s own physical features (Muth & Cash, 1997).
The development of body image is a lifelong process (Tantleff-Dunn & Gokee, 2002). The human
body constantly changes from the birth till death. The changes in appearances and physical
competencies are intensive particularly in puberty. The rapid physical changes occurred along with the
maturation in the puberty have important effects on the body image (Cash, 2002). The body image in
adolescents is an interpenetrated multidimensional structure which is integrated with identity
formation. For females and males; all of the issues such as rapid growing and development, sexual
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maturation, identity formation, and strengthening the sexual role in puberty affect the development of
the body image (Levine & Smolak, 2002).
The adolescence is the period in which the anxieties on the body images are most distinct (Stice &
Shaw, 2002). The physical and psychological changes in puberty increase the strength of the focus on
the body (Rumsey, 2002). In this period, the adolescents develop images about what their bodies look
like. During adolescence, the anxiety on the body is strong. However, especially in puberty this
anxiety gets stronger than the end of the adolescence (Wright, 1989).
The body image is influenced by many factors such as family, friends and culture. Nobody is born with
negative body image. The children’s experience is shaped with different messages from the society
(Davis, 1999). It is clear that having either positive or negative early messages at childhood and
adolescence influences the body images at adulthood (Sarwer, Wadden, Pertschuk, & Whitaker,
1998). The socio-cultural factors involving peer and media messages help to shape the body images
(Smolak, 2002). Although the socio-cultural factors include many factors such as ethnicity, social
class, culture, family, school condition, peer norms and pressure (Abrams & Stormer, 2002), the most
important ones are family, peers and media (Smolak, 2002).
The body image is open to change through social effects (Grogan, 1999). In the development of the
body image, social learning and early life experience are quite important, such as family’s role of being
model, the interaction between family and peers, the effects of media and repulsive experience like
bullying and teasing (Neziroğlu, Khemlani-Patel, & Veale, 2008). The expectations and standards on
the appearance, physical features valued and unvalued by the society, deficiency or possession of
these features are transferred by means of social messages (Cash, 2002).
Media is a very effective way to create and communicate social values about appearance. The cultural
messages are not only about the sample opinions about the attractiveness and repulsiveness but also
expectations based on the gender (Cash, 2002). Media means are strong conveyers of socio-cultural
ideals (Tiggeman, 2002). Media contributes to the adaptation of common socio-cultural standards
related to physical appearance and attractiveness. Furthermore, it provides a role model by
emphasizing certain body types than the others (Wykes & Gunter, 2005). Media reflects the valid
social norms. Considering the findings of the studies on the media effects, it can be stated that both
males and females tend to feel bad after watching the idealized images. The media figures provide
important role models for both females and males under the age of 40. When the presentation of the
women on media is analyzed, it was obtained that they were young, attractive and generally white
race. On media, the social pressure about the certain body types and sizes on females are more
intense than on males (Grogan, 2008). As the images of slim women and muscled men are repeated
on media, these forms become the standards of attractiveness. Thus, very negative self-evaluation
occurs as long as an individual compares himself/herself with these ideal images (Carlson Jones,
2002).
Although there are many forms of mass media, the most effective one on a child’s behavior is
television (Santrock, 1997). Television and other mass media forms are important sources for the
presentation of ideal body. The advertisements and programs involve social signs for the development
of personality (Myers & Biocca, 1992). The magazine articles, television shows and advertisements
can contribute to dissatisfaction about the body image and eating disorders by creating a social
environment (Spettigue & Henderson, 2004). Mass media plays a significant role in eating disorders
by supporting unreal slimness and beauty images (Nathanson & Botta, 2003). Popular television
programs are full of attractive celebrities equipped with desirable features. In some cases, children
can make self-evaluation by comparing themselves with these celebrities. The discrepancy between
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children’s self-perception and ideal images can cause them to do unreal comparison (Robinson,
Callister, & Jankoski, 2008). For both females and males, unreal beauty ideals on media are important
source for social comparison and possible reason for body dissatisfaction (Hargreaves & Tiggemann,
2004).
The adolescents are very sensitive about their body images. As a result of the influence of media and
their peers, their interests in clothes and at the same time, their self-consciousness about their
appearance increase (Schor, 1999). Furthermore, the adolescents are very intolerant against the body
images different from the average such as very fat, very thin, early or late matured. The mass media
contributes such intolerance by presenting the models that do not have any visible problems on their
body such as acnes, dental braces and weight problems but who are attractive and extrovert. The
scenes on the media cause the adolescences self doubt and anxiety (Craig & Baucum, 2002).
When the studies on the effects of television on the development of body images at adolescence are
examined, it can be stated that there is a relationship between television images about the ideal body
and individuals’ self-perception, comparison with others, and body dissatisfaction (Barlett, Vowels, &
Saucier, 2008; Blond, 2008; Botta, 1999; Hargreaves & Tiggemann, 2004; Levine & Murnen, 2009;
Lorenzen, Grieve, & Thomas, 2004; Myers & Biocca, 1992; Tiggemann & Slater, 2004; van den Bulck,
2000). In this period, an adolescent’s acceptance of his/her body and the development of body image
depend on many factors. Thus, the question of how television, out of media means, influences directly
or indirectly adolescents’ satisfaction from their bodies, gains importance.
Purpose of the Study
This study aimed to determine the effects of television on the body images of adolescents at high
school. In line with this study, the following research questions are addressed:
1. What are the adolescents’ opinions about the in body images?
2. What are the adolescents’ opinions about the effects of television on the development of body
images?
Methodology
In this study, mixed method was used (Creswell, 2005). The first step of participant selection was a
designed with a quantitative approach. Stratified sampling was used to select the participants.
Sampling was consisted of 1222 high school students (668 girls and 554 boys) in Eskisehir who were
in 1st, 2nd and 3rd years. “Scale of Satisfaction from Body Parts and Features” developed by
Berscheid, Walster and Bohmstedt (1973) and adapted to Turkish by Gökdoğan (1988) administrated
to the participants in order to measure the satisfaction of the body image in adolescents (11-18
years). The second step of participant selection was for the qualitative part of this study. Criterion
sampling method was used to select participants for semi-structured interviews in the sampling of
1222 high school student (Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2005). The main criterion for selecting participants for
the interview was participants’ scores on the “Scale of Satisfaction from Body Parts and Features”.
Grade level and gender were also considered as criteria when selecting the participants for interviews.
Total of 36 students, 18 students (9 girls and 9 boys) with the highest score and 18 students (9 girls
and 9 boys) with the lowest score participated in the qualitative part of the study. Participants were
within the age range of 15-18 and there were 12 students from each grade level.
The qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews. First, an interview form was
developed by the researcher referring to theoretical studies. The interview questions were examined
by 10 field experts and the changes were made according to the suggestions. Second, pilot interviews
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were conducted with three high school students in order to check the intelligibility and
appropriateness of the questions. The main data of the study was collected on 16 April-18 May 2007.
All of the interviews were conducted face to face by the researcher. The interviews were conducted at
the school directors’ offices or school counselors’ offices and lasted for 20-45 minutes.
The interview data was analyzed descriptively. The descriptive analysis composes the stages of writing
the data on the interview form, developing interview coding keys, coding the interview data to the
coding key, comparing codes and reliability, defining the findings and interpretation (Miles &
Huberman, 1994; Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2005). Thus, the audio records were transmitted to the interview
form without any change by the researcher. Then the themes under which the data were presented
were determined by evaluating all of the interviews, considering the sub-goals and research
questions, and a thematic framework was developed.
In the following stage, “Interview Coding Key” was constructed and sub-themes and categories were
developed according to the participants’ answers for each question. The trustworthiness of the study
was carried out by the researcher and an expert, comparing the codes. For the inter-coder reliability;
the formula of Reliability: Agreement/Agreement+Disagreement was used (Miles & Huberman, 1994).
The calculated reliability was between 92-98%, and the mean of the reliability was obtained as 95%.
At the last stage, the adolescents’ opinions were presented within the frameworks of the determined
themes and supported with direct quotations.
Findings
The adolescents’ opinions on the body images
The adolescents’ opinions about the body images were gathered under two sub-themes as their
feelings and thoughts about their own bodies and the defined features of the ideal body appearance.
The adolescents’ feelings and thoughts about their own bodies
Half of the adolescents in the study explained that their feelings and thoughts about their own bodies
were positive and they were satisfied with their bodies. For examples, Berfin stated her satisfaction as
“I am very satisfied with my own body. My weight is appropriate to my height. Since I do sports I
develop my body, thus my body is quite beautiful”. Out of the students who explained their
satisfaction with their bodies, 12 were boys while six of them were girls. This finding indicated that
the boys were more satisfied with their bodies. Moreover, it can be stated that for the adolescents in
the study, who were within 15-18 age range, the satisfaction with own body was not intensified on
any age range but very close at these certain age groups. On the other hand, nine of the adolescents
remarked that they were satisfied with bodies in spite of some undesired parts in their body
appearances. For instance, Zuhal explained this case as “Indeed, I thought my own appearance is
awful. I have some bad parts but nevertheless I find it nice. I have some features that some people
would like to have”.
In addition to these opinions, nine adolescents mentioned that their feelings and thoughts varied.
Sevda explained the changes in her feelings and thoughts about her body as “Now I get taller (…)
Nobody recognized me. Everything was changed and I am not still used to this. As if it were not my
body. It is like borrowed I hope it will fit. It happens suddenly as if it were another person’s body”.
The adolescents stated that immediate and fast changes on the body such as the increase in their
heights, weights, acnes, beard, moustache and hairing on the body, change of voice caused changes
in their feelings. For example; they indicated that sometimes they faced difficulty in accepting these
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Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, October 2010, 1(2)
changes and sometimes they thought they were getting mature and these changes were normal. Two
adolescents expressed their troubles with being overweight while one adolescent complained about
his/her slimness. However, most of the adolescents emphasized that they were sometimes satisfied
with their bodies and sometimes not. Their moods, peers and their family and peers’ negative and
positive reactions were effective on their feeling about their bodies.
When the adolescents’ feelings and thoughts about their own bodies were examined, it was noticed
that most of them had positive feelings and thoughts about their bodies and they were satisfied with
their bodies. Furthermore, it was revealed that some of the adolescents’ feelings and thoughts varied
as negative or positive depending on their experiences, their moods and their peers and family’s
negative and positive reactions.
The adolescents’ definition of the features for the ideal body appearance
Regarding the ideal body, the girls and boys defined different features. Most of the boys (13
adolescents) defined the ideal body as fit body which is tall, well-built, well-proportioned height and
weight. Related to this issue, Tugay identified the ideal body as “He should be tall but not thin. He
would be a bit well-structured, muscled” while Blue stated that “If I were a bit more well-built, I would
be happier. Yes I am well-built but thin. I would be glad if I were a bit fatter”. On the other hand,
more than half of the girls (11 adolescents) mentioned that they want a tall but slim body. In this
sense Burçin told that “well I have some friends who are size zero. I also want to be like them. Very
tall and thin” yet, Aynur explained that “you know it is always emphasized that 90-60-90 is the best.
In fact, my sizes are appropriate except my potbelly. I have problems only on my belly and a little at
height. When I look at my peers, they are taller than me”.
On the other hand, five of the adolescents explained that they did not have any ideal appearance in
their minds. For example, Bengi stated that “A person would be happier if she loves herself. I do not
have any ideal body appearance”. Furthermore, some of the adolescents (4 adolescents) defined
colored eyes as ideal while three adolescents claimed that their bodies were ideal. Regarding this,
Gökhan stated that his body was ideal as “Person should be as he is. We should do the ideal. What we
see cannot be ideal”, besides Berfin expressed that At first I was emulated a lot; I hoped I had a body
like models. However as I got matured I understand that I am what I am”. Furthermore, one
adolescent put forth that s/he wanted an average body that would not attract much attention, yet
another adolescent claimed that long hair is the ideal.
When the adolescents’ opinions about the ideal body appearance were examined, it was observed that
except five adolescents, all of the adolescents defined the ideal body features. Moreover, it was
revealed that the male adolescents defined the ideal body as fit body which is tall, with wellproportioned height and weight while the female adolescents perceived tall and slim body as ideal.
Very few students mentioned about hair and eye color. Additionally, some of the adolescents
perceived their own body features as ideal.
The adolescents’ opinions about the effects of television on the development of body
image
The adolescents’ opinions about the effects of television on the development of body image were
gathered under three sub-themes; these are the body types and features foreground on television
programs, the body types and features that the adolescents see on TV, admire and want to resemble,
the effects of the scenes of the ideal body types and features on TV on the body image.
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The body types and features foreground on television programs
Regarding this, 16 of the adolescents told the women, who are tall, beautiful and with 90-60-90 sizes,
and heavy make-up, come into prominence on TV. In this sense, Fadime stated that “The body type
that I encountered most frequently is tall, thin beautiful women. Generally fat women are not shown
so much. We mostly see the models”. Likewise, Tosun mentioned that “I generally see tall and thin
people. Women are very slim, sometimes the fat people are shown but very less”. Similarly, 14
adolescents also pointed out that beautiful, resembling each other and perfectionist types are selected
on TV and they do not generally reflect the majority of the society. For instance, İlknur stated that
“they imply that only slim people live in this society. However, in fact, when we look at the society, it
can be seen that most of the people do not have bodies like models”. Additionally, Uğur put forth that
average people are not reflected on TV as “When we look at clips, people resemble each other. You
know, all of them are tall. Whenever I watch TV, all types look like each other”. The adolescents
mentioned that the ideal body appearance are often presented primarily on magazine programs,
music clips, and on Turkish and foreign films.
12 of the adolescents stated that, tall, well-built and fit body types are mostly encountered for men.
For example, Baran explained the body type for the men as “The men who are tall, well-built and fit
are generally shown. I like the body types like David Beckham, who are fit, with apparent core and
arm muscles but not too much muscled”. On the contrary to this opinion, six adolescents claimed that
the men on TV generally have normal features and they do not have certain standards. In this issue,
Gökhan mentioned about the lack of standard for the men’s body type as “Men are not so much
mentioned on magazine programs. Women are much on foreground. There is no certain body type for
men. It is not so for women; they are so much slim and thin”.
Five of the adolescents explained that the women come into prominence with their racy clothes, on
the other hand, four adolescents emphasized that there are distinctive clothes, hair styles and
different conversation for more rating. Yet, three adolescents stated that they encountered all kinds of
body types on TV.
Considering the adolescents’ opinions about the body types and features foreground on television, it
could be stated that for women; the body types which are tall and beautiful, with 90-60-90 sizes, and
heavy make-up at the same time with racy clothes come into prominence. Majority of the adolescents
agreed on the features of ideal women type on TV. On the other hand, it was stated that for men, the
body types which are tall, well-built and fit are mostly encountered. On contrary to this opinion, it was
also claimed that the men on TV generally have normal features and there are no certain standards
for them. In this case, for women, an ideal body type which is much more distinctive and emphasized
emerges, yet for the ideal body types of men, there are different opinions. Furthermore, it was also
claimed that the types that are beautiful and perfectionist but resembling each other are selected on
TV and they do not reflect the majority of the society.
The body types and features that the adolescents see on tv, admire and want to resemble
Related to the body types and features that the adolescents see on TV, like and want to resemble,
they made some definitions. 11 of the adolescents explained that they like tall, slim and beautiful
women. In this issue, Arzu stated that “I saw size zero a lot. Well, to be thin at first and taller… it
would be better. Sometimes we talk about whether we should have an operation to get taller or not”.
On the other hand, Sevda explained her fancy and features that she wanted to resemble as “For
instance, I really admire Doğa Bekleriz’s (model) body. Gülşen (singer) had size zero for some time, I
said I wish I were like that. As I said, I am emulated but I cannot do”. Out of the adolescents that
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agreed on this opinion, two of them were boys while nine were girls. The girls exemplified the models
and singers such as Gamze Özçelik, Doğa Bekleriz and Gülşen and they emphasized that they admire
tall, slim and beautiful women and they want to be resemble them. Similarly, the boys stated that
they like the women with these features.
Nine adolescents remarked that they admire tall, fit, strong and athletic body types. For instance,
Kemal defined the body type he liked on TV as “There are some pop singers, you know they show
their muscles. The girls mostly love them. I also admire the ones with tall, strong, athletic built”. Nine
boys who agreed on this opinion explained the body features they admired and wanted to look like by
exemplifying the sportsmen like David Beckham, Ronaldino and actor like Tarık Akan, Mehmet Ali
Bora, Kenan İmirzalıoğlu, Levent Üzümcü.
While seven adolescents stated that they liked the ones who are tall and with normal weight, four
adolescents expressed that they admired the proper people who have fit body and clothes, and
charismatic speech. For instance, Murat emphasized the significance of being tall as “The body height
is very important for men while for women leg height is important. Most perfect types are shown or
after they were made perfect, they were on TV. Weight can be normal”. On the other hand, Usami
highlighted the features like clothes and speech as well as proper body as “I really liked Ahmet on
‘Hatırla Sevgili’. He is very charismatic, he had proper body, good job and he wears suits and his
speech is very proper…I really like”. Furthermore, while three adolescents stated that there are some
actor/actirist they like in terms of body appearance and other features, some of the adolescents
explained that there was nobody they admired in terms of body appearance.
Taking into account the adolescents’ opinions about the body types and features they saw on TV,
admired and wanted to resemble, it drew attention that most of both girls and boys wanted to be tall.
Additionally, it was noticed that while the girls desired to be thin and slim the boys desired to have a
tall, fit and athletic body. In addition to proper appearance, the significance of clothes and speech
were also emphasized.
The effects of the scenes for the ideal body types and features on tv on adolescents’ body
image
More than half of the adolescents (21) expressed that among the ideal body types and features on
TV, they emulated the features that they desire to have or they did not have. Regarding the features
they want to have, Ahmet stated that “I want to be like them. I want to have wide shoulders. I also
want to be tall. Before sleep, I eat honey and egg”, likewise Bahar mentioned her desire for the ideal
body type as “Models have long legs. I have so much difference from them. I think as if I were like
that. Everybody would look at me”. When the adolescents’ answers to this question, it was observed
that both girls and boys compared their body features with the ideal body features on TV and often
mentioned the statements like “I wish I were like that”, “I would try to be like them”. Moreover, it was
noticed that some adolescents felt disappointment and pessimism as a result of such comparison.
Additionally, they considered that they would attract opposite sex’s attention more if they had such
features. Some of the adolescents mentioned this opinion, and expressed that to have these desired
features, they tried to diet, change nutrition order and weight training while the others expressed that
they were just emulated these but did not make any effort.
Eight of the adolescents stated, that they were not influenced much from the scenes of the ideal body
on TV since they were at peace with their bodies. For instance, Gizem emphasized that she was not
so much influenced from such scenes on TV as “I do not take the scenes on TV so much serious (…)
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Because they have so much money that they can have everything done. I do not think they are
natural beauties”.
Four adolescents pointed out that the scenes of ideal body on TV influenced them negatively and they
found these bodies very beautiful while they think their own bodies were average. On the other hand,
three adolescents claimed that they could take the features they liked and adapted to themselves. In
this sense, Elif explained how she felt against TV scenes as “They are very beautiful but considering
them, I am very simple. This influences me negatively. Even if I dressed up so much, I would not be
like them”. It can be stated that comparison with the ideal body features and failure to reach these
ideals, negative feelings and dissatisfaction are striking among participants. On the other hand, Erhan
explained how he could adapt the desired features to himself as “If I like, I try to resemble myself
physically to him and behave like him and try to be like him. Since he attracts attention, I would want
that too”. These statements indicated that they were emulated the ideal body scenes on TV, desire to
resemble them and attract attention in this way.
Two adolescents explained that a standard on the ideal body was constructed since these scenes were
repeatedly presented to them, thus it was necessary to appear like them. Aynur emphasized this as
“The models have long and smooth legs. Since I am short I admire them. Because they are put into
our eyes and even in your nose all the time, so it is required to appear like them. There is a
standard”. Considering these statements, it can be stated that frequent emphasis of the ideal body
scenes on TV causes a pressure on the adolescents.
When the adolescents’ opinions about the effects of ideal body types and features on TV on the body
images were examined, it was seen that the adolescents were emulated the features that they wanted
to have or did not possess and they compared themselves with these images on TV. Additionally, it
was revealed that these scenes influenced them negatively, and against the ideal body scenes they
felt simple, besides they tried to adapt the features they admired to themselves. Only eight
adolescents mentioned that they were at peace with their bodies and they were not so much
influenced from these scenes. In this case, it can be stated that the ideal body scenes on TV
influenced directly and indirectly the body images of both female and male adolescents.
Results and Discussion
In the study, important findings related to the adolescents’ body images and the effects of television
on this were revealed. Firstly, it was observed that the majority of the adolescents were satisfied with
their bodies and they had positive feelings and opinions about their bodies. Regarding this, it was
seen that the male adolescents reported more satisfaction with their bodies than the females.
Similarly, in the studies on the satisfaction with the body image in adolescence, it was obtained that
the girls had more body dissatisfaction (Barker & Galambos, 2003; Bearman, Martinez, Stice, &
Presnell, 2006; Çok, 1990; Gökdoğan, 1988; McCabe & Ricciardelli, 2001). The reason why the girls
had more body dissatisfaction in comparison with the boys can be explained by the idea that the
social ideal body standards for women are more certain and these standards are often reflected by
family, peer and media than those for men. In western societies, many women are exposed to sociocultural pressure related to slimness and beauty (Hensley Choate, 2005). On media, the social
pressure about the certain body types and sizes for women are intensive than for men (Grogan,
2008). It is claimed that for men’ self-description, general appearance and body type are less
important. This case means that there is less pressure on men to reach a certain body type (Levine &
Smolak, 2002).
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The second important finding of the study was related to the features that the adolescents defined for
the ideal body appearance. Thus, it was revealed that the male adolescents perceived a tall, well built
and fit body with well-proportioned weight and height as an ideal body while the female adolescents
defined tall and slim body as an ideal body. Apart from these features, very few participants
mentioned about hair and eye color. Considering these definitions, it can be stated that mostly the
features related to body weight and sizes were accepted as ideal body features. MacCabe and
Riciardelli’s (2001) study pointed out that the female adolescents tend to lose weight while the males
tried to increase the proportion of muscles. Likewise, in Demir’s study (2006), it was determined that
the female adolescents desired to be taller and slimmer. Moreover, as Leit, Pope and Gray’s (2001)
study clarified, in the cultural norm related to male body, there has been an increase in the tendency
to be muscled since 1990. Furthermore, it was found out that there is a relationship between the
body-mass index and body dissatisfaction for both males and females (Grogan, 1999; Holt &
Ricciardelli, 2002). These results also supported the finding of the study that for the ideal body types
mostly body weight and sizes were focused. The reason for this can be the emphasis of slimness for
women and being muscled for men, from different sources, in terms of ideal body features in the
society.
Another important finding of the study is that the body type and features that mostly come into
prominence on TV differ in terms of gender. It was expressed that for women, the body types, which
are tall, beautiful, and with 90-60-90 body sizes and with heavy make-up, are on the foreground with
their racy clothes as well. On the other hand, there were two contrary opinions for men’s body types
as generally tall, well-built and fit body, or conversely without any standard but with normal features.
These findings indicated that more certain ideal body type for women was agreed but there were
different views on the ideal body of men. When literature was reviewed about this issue, it was
realized that although the ideal men body presented on media is not so clear (McCabe & Ricciardelli,
2001), the basic opinion about the body image among the men is to have muscled body. Additionally,
as a result of exaggeration of the slimness ideal, low body weight has become a feature defining the
women’s beauty (Carlson Jones & Crawford, 2006).
The results on the body type and features that adolescents admire and want to resemble indicated
that female adolescents, desire to be tall, and slim and male adolescents desire to have tall, strong, fit
and athletic body were very intensive. It was striking that most of the adolescents desired to be tall.
Moreover, there are big similarities between the body type and features that adolescents admire and
want to resemble, the features they defined for the ideal body appearance and the body types and
features foreground on TV. If these results are compared, it can be stated that the ideal body scenes
on TV are important sources for comparison and taking as a model. The studies on this issue also
reached similar results. It was obtained that the ideal body scenes on TV increases the appearance
comparison (Hargreaves & Tiggemann, 2004; Tiggemann & Slater, 2004) and there is a relationship
with the internalization of slimness ideal (Levine & Murnen, 2009).
The last important finding of the study revealed that the ideal body types and features on television
influenced the adolescents’ body images differently. Primarily, if there were any ideal body type and
features that the adolescents wanted to have or they did not have, they emulated them and they
sometimes made effort to resemble them. Moreover, it was realized that most of the adolescents
compared themselves with the ideal body scenes on TV and they sometimes experienced
disappointment and pessimism. In this sense, some of the adolescents explained that they were
influenced by the ideal body scenes on TV negatively, thus they felt simple, and they even adapted
some desired features to themselves. On the other hand, few of the adolescents mentioned that they
were not influenced much by these scenes. Participants who indicated that they are not affected by
the images on TV stated that they do not believe in the reality of those images. They stated that
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those “prefect” images are created by nice clothes, heavy make-up, and plastics surgeries. In this
case, it can be claimed that the ideal body scenes on TV influence both male and female adolescents’
body images negatively either directly or indirectly. Similar results were drawn in the related studies.
It was revealed that the ideal scenes on television affected the girls’ (Botta, 1999; Myers & Biocca,
1992) and boys’ (Blond, 2008; Lorenzen et al., 2004) body satisfaction negatively. When all results are
evaluated together, it can be stated that the ideal body scenes on television influenced the
adolescents’ feelings and opinions about their bodies negatively and they stimulated the adolescents
to resemble these ideal bodies.
This study reached important results about the effects of ideal body scenes on television on the
adolescents’ body images. However, there is a need for further studies to investigate which ideal body
appearances are presented more in which television program in Turkish culture. Ethnographical
qualitative studies could contribute to deepen such studies. Additionally, in order to observe the
effects of ideal body scenes on TV, the necessity for experimental studies is also clear. In the light of
these results education programs for parents and teachers can be organized. Through these programs
parents and teachers can be informed about how to minimize the negative effects of television on
body image on adolescent. Moreover, education programs for children and adolescent about
preventing negative body image can be organized.
Note: In this study, out of the findings obtained in the doctorate dissertation, titled as “Investigation
of the effects of family, peer and television on the development of body image at adolescence”, the
qualitative findings related to the effects of television on the adolescents’ body images were presented
(Dinç, B. (2010). Investigation of the effects of family, peer and television on the development of
body image at adolescence. Doctoral dissertation, Advisor: Prof. Dr. Fatma Alisinanoğlu. Ankara: Gazi
University Graduate School of Educational Science)
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How to Conduct a Qualitative Program Evaluation in the Light of
Eisner’s Educational Connoisseurship and Criticism Model
İsmail Yüksel
Gaziosmanpaşa University
[email protected]
Abstract
The quantitative methodologies have been traditionally employed in the educational research so
far. However, as long as with the appreciation and widespread use of the qualitative methodologies
in many disciplines, many different educational areas have started to be examined in terms of
qualitative research aspects. Particularly, the qualitative evaluation of the education programs has
received considerable interest and there have been recently some attempts to develop a qualitative
methodology for evaluating educational programs based upon the tenets of program evaluation.
The evaluators have underlined the benefits of qualitative methods to boost the information shared
with decision-makers and policy makers. The most inclusive endeavour has been carried out by
Eisner. Eisner’s program evaluation model presents the role of educational connoisseurship and
criticism in educational evaluation in terms of qualitative evaluation. This study aims at examining
how a qualitative program evaluation is conducted in relation with the Eisner’s evaluation model.
Keywords: Program Evaluation; qualitative Inquiry; educational connoisseurship and criticism
Introduction
The program evaluation can be briefly defined as a process of contribution to the development of
education program, decision on a program, and describing the current situation through the
evaluation of application process (Sağlam & Yüksel, 2007). Throughout the historical development of
the evaluation, the quantitative methods were dominantly used for the evaluation of education
programs while there were very few qualitative studies. The benefits of the quantitative methods used
in the evaluation cannot be denied and in literature it is emphasized that with well-designed
quantitative studies, there are many advantages of the quantitative methods, such as the opportunity
to decide on larger populations using the samplings, the possibility to reanalyze the research findings
by other researchers (meta analysis) (Sandelowski, Docherty, & Emden, 1997). Furthermore, many
researchers depict the advantages of quantitative methods by describing the weaknesses of
qualitative methods. Quantitative methods grasp the guarantee of correcting the weaknesses of
qualitative methods. Unlike traditional qualitative approaches, which tend to be anecdotal,
noncomparative, atheoretical, too legalistic, too descriptive, quantitative methods are generalizable,
comparable, theory-based and explanatory (Bogdan & Biklen, 1998; Eisner, 1991; Howe, 1992).
On the other hand, these strengths of the quantitative studies can be disadvantages in social science
research and can cause some weaknesses in the studies, for instance; the issues such as perceptions,
beliefs cannot be explained with numbers effectively or cannot be understood sufficiently since the
context is not be described exactly (Ambert, Adler, Adler, & Detzler, 1995). However, qualitative
approaches highlight the importance of looking at issues in their usual setting and collecting
comprehensive data through techniques such as case studies, participant observation, descriptive
narratives, focus groups, and in-depth interviews (Ting-Toomey, 1984). The researchers search for an
in depth, overall description of the subject and context in a qualitative study (Denzin & Lincoln, 1998;
Greene, 1994). Yet, many evaluation studies are unfortunately conducted at different platforms
instead of the actual context they should be, the evaluator stands away from the program, thus this
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case damages the quality of the evaluation and decreases its reliability. However, it is quite crucial to
examine the program process in all parts in order to judge about a program. On the basis of the
definitions of the qualitative methods, it can be stated that qualitative methods could address this gap
in the program evaluation.
The use of qualitative method in evaluation studies was based on the emergence alternative program
evaluation models in 1960s and 70s (Mathison, 2005). In this period, the qualitative method was
either alone or together with the quantitative method applied in the studies. In the following years,
Cronbach (1982), who is one of the pioneers of the quantitative method, stated that the qualitative
evaluation is important and emphasized the significance of observations and interviews to determine
the success of the program. Thus, he underlined that as well as the quantitative methods, the
qualitative research methods should be used in the research. However, it should be remarked that for
every program evaluation, the qualitative methods cannot be appropriate. Therefore, it is important
to define that the program would be evaluated on the basis of which program evaluation method. For
instance, for an evaluation study in which expertise-oriented program evaluation approach is based,
applying the quantitative methods can be very difficult (Hoepfl, 1997). In this context, in such a study,
it would be more appropriate to examine the qualitative data collection methods and to probe one of
the qualitative program evaluation models; Educational Connoisseurship and Criticism model
developed by Eisner.
Qualitative Program Evaluation Method
Qualitative research method uses a naturalistic approach to understand phenomena in context-specific
settings, such as real world setting [where] the researcher does not attempt to manipulate the
phenomenon of interest (Patton, 2002). In other words, qualitative research can be broadly defined as
"any kind of research that produces findings not arrived at by means of statistical procedures or other
means of quantification" (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Qualitative evaluations use qualitative and
naturalistic methods, sometimes alone, but often in combination with quantitative data. The data for
qualitative evaluation typically comes from fieldwork. The evaluator spends time in the setting under
study—a program, organization, or community where change efforts can be observed, people
interviewed, and documents analyzed. Qualitative methods include three kinds of data collection: indepth, open-ended interviews; direct observation; and written documents (Denzin & Lincoln, 1998;
Greene, 1994).
Observations: Qualitative observations depend more on evaluator or observer. In the process,
checklists may be used, but typically, they are less structured (Fitzpatrick, Sanders, & Worthen, 2004).
The evaluator makes direct observations of activities and interactions, sometimes engaging personally
in those activities as a "participant observer." For example, an evaluator might participate in all or part
of the program under study, participating as a regular program member, client, or student. Fieldwork
descriptions of activities, behaviours, actions, conversations, interpersonal interactions, organizational
or community processes, or any other aspect of observable human experience is included in
observations. The stages of qualitative observations include;
 preparation through reading, chatting with informants
 articulating the purpose of observation
 looking at what occurs in program
 listening the participants
 synthesizing the information
 checking with hypothesis
 confirming and cross-checking
Documents: the evaluator’s first consideration for sources and data collection methods should be
existing information such as documents or reports. Existing information is cost-effective and not
corrupted by the participants (Fitzpatrick et al., 2004). Written materials and other documents from
organizational, clinical, or program records; official publications and reports; personal diaries, letters,
artistic works, photographs, and memorabilia; and written responses to open-ended surveys are
samples for documents.
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Interviews: Interviews are often a key to qualitative data collection. Although observations are
typically the core elements of qualitative evaluation, there is so much that evaluator cannot observe
(Fitzpatrick et al., 2004). The qualitative evaluator talks with people about their experiences and
perceptions. Thus, the qualitative data for evaluation is collected with the observations, interviews,
and document reviews and analyzed with major themes, categories, and case examples through
content analysis, which requires considerably more than just reading to see what is there. These
themes, patterns, understandings are the products of qualitative evaluation. Findings of the evaluation
may be presented alone or with quantitative data. Generating useful and credible qualitative findings
through observation, interviewing, and content analysis requires discipline, knowledge, training,
practice, creativity, and hard work (Greene, Caracelli, & Graham, 1989). Considering this, the basic
reason why the qualitative methods are used in program evaluation studies can be explained as to
reveal the entire process and to reveal the whole story of program with information collected from the
participants. Only qualitative studies provide in-depth information about what happens at the program
application and evaluation process, with whom and what kind of communication is established, and
under what conditions the program is applied. Through the findings of such studies, it could be
possible to examine the story of the program and the experience of the participation during the
evaluation process. Moreover, such studies could inform the individuals, who would decide on the
future of the program, about the evaluation process and results (Davies & Dodd, 2002).
Educational Connoisseurship and Criticism Model
Educational Connoisseurship and Criticism Model was developed by Eisner, on the basis of expertiseoriented program evaluation approach, which grounds on the professional expertise of the program
evaluators while evaluating an institution, program, product or activity (Eisner, 1976). This approach
can be used in broad context from education to different areas in accordance with the evaluand and
the expertise of the evaluator. In this sense, Eisner (1985) explained that this model addresses to a
form of educational inquiry which is qualitative in character and sources from the work of the critics
done in literature, theatre, visual arts and education.
Considering the examples of evaluation in real life, it can be stated that for the evaluation of an
education program, a program development and evaluation experts are necessary while for the
evaluation of the effectiveness of a hospital services, doctors, staffs, pharmacist etc are required.
Moreover, the steering committee for PhD degree, accreditation units evaluating institutions and firms,
referee committee for article reviews, commissions evaluating the program on-site are some examples
for this evaluation approach. The examples indicate that this approach is applied through formal and
informal investigations, panels and individual examinations, which can be accepted as the tools for
gathering qualitative data.
Specifically, for the context of program evaluation, this approach is represented by Educational
Connoisseurship and Criticism Model. “Educational Connoisseurship” and “Educational Criticism” are
the two basic concepts of the model. In fact, both of these concepts are related to art. According to
Eisner (1976, 1985), the aim of the expertise, which is defined as “the art of appreciation and
evaluation”, is to reveal the awareness of the qualifications composing a process or an object and to
emphasize them. For example, at theatre, the expertise can be focused on the stage, plot,
performances of players, and pace but in education, the quality of program, students’ activities,
quality of education, learning processes and equipment so forth can be focused. On the other hand,
criticism, this was defined by Eisner (1976, 1985) as “the art of disclosing the quality of events or
objects that connoisseurship perceives”. In order to share the connoisseurship, criticism is required.
Contrary to common meaning of criticism, rather than making negative comments, criticism refers to
reproduce the perception of the object. Like an art critic, who attempts to provide different viewpoints
on sculpture or painting and to make them comprehensible, an education critic wants to reveal the
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events in the class such as class rules, the quality of education, changes in students’ behaviours.
According to Eisner (1976), an expert has not got a role of critic but he evaluates the works and
appreciates. On the other hand, a critic requires an expert to do the required works. Briefly, the
awareness related to the program, project, and effect of teaching is duty of expertise while to
announce this awareness to public is the duty of critic. Eisner used these two concepts within the
context of education and proposed Educational Connoisseurship and Criticism Model.
By emphasizing that teaching requires artistic skills, Eisner stated that education is a cultural art and
this is a process differing from an individual to another or from one environment to another (1985). In
this context, he defined the aim of the educational evaluation as not only to review the products or
evaluate the activities within the process but also to increase the skill that a teacher would gain.
Eisner added the concepts of connoisseurship and criticism to the evaluation literature as a result of
general trend in the USA and Europe in 1970s. In those years, it was realized that quasi-experimental
methods and other scientific methods are not so appropriate for educational evaluation. Due to the
growing doubts about inadequacy or inappropraicy of scientific evaluation approaches, many
education experts reconsidered the style and function of the evaluation. These experts got influenced
from different academic disciplines such as anthropology, journalism, philosophy and law etc and
hence they developed many evaluation models like naturalistic-constructivist evaluation, the
evaluation responding to the needs, goal-free evaluation and adversary models (Mathison, 2005).
Eisner got influenced from this trend and proposed a model on the basis of art and aesthetic.
In Eisner’s (1976) model, the program evaluator resembles to the art expert and the evaluation
process to the art criticism. In this context, while an evaluator is doing educational criticism on a
program, class or school, firstly he describes what he sees, then interprets and lastly evaluates
(Eisner, 1976, 1985). This model is developed on three main dimensions reflecting three qualitative
actions. These dimensions are:
Descriptive Dimension: According to Eisner (1976), the descriptive dimension of educational
criticism is related to describing the current state of program, class and school etc. Eisner
(1985) explained that “verbal statement should be sharp” in the descriptive dimension.
Therefore, like in art criticism, language and figure speeches are used as emphasis in
educational criticism while describing the aesthetic dimensions of evaluand. The descriptive
educational criticism informs about the number and type of the questions in class, the
discussion time and the impression of the class on the student.
Interpretative Dimension: Eisner (1985) stated that the interpretative dimension of the
educational criticism is related to the attempt to understand the meaning and significance of
many activities in social environment. This dimension reveals the expert’s knowledge of using
multiple theories, viewpoint and models while interpreting the activities at education
environments (Koetting, 1988). For instance, a critic should answer the interpretive questions
such as how the teacher and students interprets the raising hands in class, what means class
environment for all participants etc. Eisner specified that such activities should be commented
by the evaluator and for this; there should be large theoretical knowledge and series of
criterion.
Evaluative Dimension:
The last dimension of educational criticism is the evaluation. In this
dimension, the educational significance and effect of the interpreted experience/activities are
evaluated. During this process, there should be some educational criteria to judge about the
experience. According to Koetting (1988), this situation addresses to the normative feature of
the educational criticism.
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Combining the expertise/connoisseurship and criticism, Eisner’s perspective on qualitative inquiry
within the framework of Educational Connoisseurship and Criticism model addresses and allows for a
diversity of teaching methodologies, alternative measurement and evaluation methods, participation
of students in the overall education process. Briefly, this qualitative model conceptualizes the whole
picture of education through qualitative analysis and evaluation.
Conclusion
This paper introduced why qualitative methods are important, which qualitative data collection
techniques are applicable in program evaluation process, and made clear the qualitative features of
Eisner’s program evaluation model. The study does not examine which method is more effective
evaluation, but scrutinizes the importance of employing both approaches in collaboration and
highlights the worth of “words” in program evaluation studies. Thus, quantitative data are “the
numbers” collected through surveys or other measurement techniques. Qualitative data are “the
words” collected through interviews; focus groups, participant observation, or related methods.
“The words” lie at the underneath of Eisner’s program evaluation model. Since the evaluations carried
in accordance with this model typically based on evaluators’ criticisms and so on the words, the model
strongly has qualitative evaluative aspects. In the evaluative aspect of model, the critic or evaluator
makes an assessment of the educational importance or significance of the experience he/she has
described or interpreted verbally. However, the educational connoisseur/educational critic understand
the value of his judgments. As is the case with any criticism, disagreement with any aspect
(descriptive, interpretive, and evaluative) of the criticism is open to debate. Eisner sees this as
strength of qualitative evaluation. It can be inferred from the Eisner’s studies that there are two forms
of qualitative evaluation in education. Evaluators as critics use qualitative forms when they become
involved in making statements about reality as in arts. The result is a qualitative program. The second
form is found in the studies of evaluators. The evaluator finds himself with the difficult task of
rendering the indefinable qualities constituting educational program into words that will help intended
users appreciate value, understand and apprehend the program more intensely.
To sum up, through the introduction and application of Eisner’s Educational Connoisseurship and
Criticism Model, the program evaluation can gain a qualitative stance and thus the product and
process of the program can be evaluated and criticised from larger, diverse perspectives, independent
from the number limitations.
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