Classroom Activities and Problems in English Lessons in Turkey’s Primary Schools

In the article ¨A Small-Scale Study of Primary School English Language Teachers’ Classroom Activities and Problems¨, Arikan (2011) aims to identify the types of English language activities used in Turkey’s primary school and the problems that English language teachers face while teaching. Not only does Arikan highlight the fact that learners appear to be passive, but also affirms that vocabulary, speaking and pronunciation are considered the most important skills for learners to acquire while knowledge of culture, writing and grammar are of less importance.

                Arikan (2011) sent a link to sixty teachers with a set of questions to be answered. Forty-six teachers returned the link and their answers were used in the final analysis. The questions focused on which activities were frequent in the classrooms, what needs teachers have in order to improve their teaching and what are their views about what their learners’ needs in order to be considered successful learners.

Arikan (2011) analyzed the results and stated that the use of technology in the classroom was low, there were poor physical conditions which reduced the quality of classroom teaching and teachers did not consider the culture of the language being taught or grammar important. Furthermore, learners have a passive role because most of the activities are teacher-centered in spite of the teachers’ desire of making them competent in vocabulary and speaking. The author states ¨Students cannot be competent users of a foreign language by learning vocabulary and speaking as passive learners”(pp.5 and 6).

Arikan (2011) stated that English is growing in Turkey and a better quality of language teaching is needed. Teachers suggested that smaller classrooms, newer technologies and a variety of materials could help them to improve their language teaching.

References

Arikan, A. (2011). A Small-Case Study of Primary School English Language Teachers’ Classroom activities and Problems. International Conference on New Trends in Education and their Implications.