Students' Attitudes to the Roles of Teachers in Task Based Learning Method Through Web Assisted Practices


Thesis Type: Postgraduate

Institution Of The Thesis: Gazi University, Turkey

Approval Date: 2018

Thesis Language: English

Student: Ulaş Koçak

Supervisor: SEMRA SARAÇOĞLU

Abstract:

Technology alone does not improve education but it provides new tools for learning and teaching. Its integration into teaching is evolving the nature of education; so, the roles of schools, teachers and learners are changing. Schools are not places where both teachers and learners go into a classroom and use a single textbook to follow a syllabus strictly anymore; instead, they are now places where learners and teachers come together for cooperation to achieve their goals. Likewise, teachers are not the leader of the classroom anymore but they are the guides and facilitators. Students taking their own responsibility for their learning outcomes become more independent and active and are not just consumers. Concurrently, active engagement, group participations and continual interaction between learners and teachers are the key qualities of teaching. These qualities call collaborative learning into mind; concordantly, Task Based Language Teaching as an expansion of communicative learning offers opportunities to fulfill these requirements and needs. In recent years, effects of task based practices on student motivation or their impacts on different language skills have been investigated generally in limited settings; mostly in prep schools of universities. However, what students think of roles of teachers integrating task based language teaching (TBLT) and web assisted practices in different settings has been overlooked. Therefore, this study aims to give an insight to how freshman students comprehend the roles of teachers. To be able to do this, a mixed-method design were employed. A questionnaire with two different sections was administered to the participants as a quantitative measure and participants were interviewed in terms of gathering qualitative data on the comprehension of the participants. The results revealed that students require to be heard' by their teachers; they believe that communications should take place whenever possible. Participants expect their teachers to share affective traits as counselors: patience and flexibility, openness to new ideas, and awareness of individual differences. Although they do not think that teachers should be the authority making decisions on their own, they want them to keep their eyes open to identify participation problems in group works and to take concrete steps to chivvy unwilling individuals into taking responsibility.