T.C. GAZİ UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES EDUCATION ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING PROGRAM EFL STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPEAKING SKILLS VIA PROJECT-BASED LEARNING: AN OMNIPRESENT LEARNING PERSPECTIVE İSMAİL YAMAN DOCTORAL DISSERTATION ANKARA March, 2014 T.C. GAZİ UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES EDUCATION ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING PROGRAM EFL STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPEAKING SKILLS VIA PROJECT-BASED LEARNING: AN OMNIPRESENT LEARNING PERSPECTIVE İSMAİL YAMAN Supervisor: Asst. Prof. Dr. İskender Hakkı SARIGÖZ DOCTORAL DISSERTATION ANKARA March, 2014 To my whole family i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Throughout the virtually one-year process I dedicated to writing this dissertation, I have received invaluable help from people surrounding me and it is a great honor and pleasure for me to extend my sincere thanks and appreciations to these people here. First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor, Assist. Prof. Dr. İskender Hakkı Sarıgöz, for his excellent guidance and contributions to this study. But for his opinions and support, this process would have turned into a more complicated and tough period of time. I hereby extend my deepest gratitude to him. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Arif Sarıçoban from Hacettepe University and Assos. Prof. Dr. Bena Gül Peker from Gazi University deserve my appreciations and thanks for their priceless contributions to my dissertation. I feel grateful to them who did not even hesitate to tell me their highly constructive ideas and insights at each dissertation progress meeting. I also owe my thanks to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Paşa Tevfik Cephe for providing me with his priceless help and support at the very beginning of this intensive process. I also wish to extend my thanks to the distinguished instructors of the School of Foreign Languages at Ondokuz Mayıs University for their contributions. Besides, I would like to express my thanks to my distinguished colleague, Emrah Ekmekçi for helping me ease the process with his invaluable supports and contributions in almost every stage of this study. As the participants of this study, my dear students deserve a great appreciation for their precious contributions to the treatment and data collection process. My special thanks and appreciations go to each member of my family, my wife, my father, mother and sister, who have provided me with every kind of support throughout my life, and of course, while studying for and writing my dissertation during this intensive and stressful process. Thank you all… İSMAİL YAMAN ii EFL STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPEAKING SKILLS VIA PROJECT-BASED LEARNING: AN OMNIPRESENT LEARNING PERSPECTIVE ABSTRACT YAMAN, İsmail Ph.D, English Language Teaching Program Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. İskender Hakkı SARIGÖZ March, 2014 - 315 pages Developing speaking skills constitutes the key stage for language learners. Considering the remarkable differences between ESL and EFL students, the likelihood for language learners in many EFL settings to face the barbed wires placed on the road to speaking proficiency is far greater compared with ESL learners. The primary reason behind this disadvantage is the lack of opportunities for authentic practice. Added the restriction of speaking lessons to the classroom walls and hours, this problem turns into an inextricable issue for language learners. Focusing on one of the thorniest dimensions in EFL context, this study concentrates on the development of speaking skills through Project-based Learning. This experimental study aims to investigate the efficacy of Project-based Learning in terms of students’ attitudes towards and achievements in speaking lessons. In order to attain findings about this specific aim, the study employs both quantitative and qualitative data gathered from the participants through data collection tools. This study was conducted in the Prep School at Ondokuz Mayıs University with the participation of two groups, one experimental and one control group, attending the preparatory education in 2013-14 academic year. These groups were formed randomly at the very beginning of the semester. They were included in the study throughout one semester (fall) under the framework of speaking lessons offered by the researcher. At the outset of the semester, both groups were administered a pre-treatment attitude inventory to explore their present attitudes towards speaking lessons. Then they were given a pre-test to find out their proficiency levels in terms of speaking skills. iii With the start given to the application phase of the study, the two groups were exposed to two different approaches to develop speaking skills. Throughout the semester, the experimental group received project-based speaking lessons while the control group received coursebook-based ones. The model adopted in the experimental group reflected an omnipresent learning perspective through projects; however, the lessons in the control group possessed a traditional understanding characterized by the existence and restriction of a coursebook. At the end of the treatment, both groups were administered the attitude inventory again to explore their post-treatment attitudes towards speaking lessons. In addition, they attended a speaking post-test that was expected to yield findings as to the progress achieved by the students in terms of speaking proficiency. As a supporting dimension for these quantitative data sources, post-treatment interviews were conducted with each student in both groups. The quantitative data gathered through pre/post-treatment attitude inventories and pre/post-tests were statistically analyzed via SPSS using t-tests. As for the interviews, the students’ answers to the questions were first transcribed and then categorized and coded for frequency analysis. The results of the study were shaped in accordance with the findings gathered through the analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data. The results of the study demonstrate that Project-based Learning is an effective means to help learners develop speaking skills. The statistical analyses concerning both attitude and speaking proficiency dimensions reveal a statistically significant difference between the experimental group and control group. Furthermore, the analysis of the answers given during the post-treatment interviews yields supporting results in favor of Project-based Learning. In the light of these findings, it can be concluded that Project- based Learning is a potentially effective way of developing speaking skills in EFL context. Keywords: English language teaching, speaking skills, project-based learning, omnipresent learning perspective iv EFL ÖĞRENCİLERİNİN KONUŞMA BECERİLERİNİN PROJE TABANLI ÖĞRENME YOLUYLA GELİŞTİRİLMESİNE YÖNELİK TUTUMLARI: SINIRSIZ ÖĞRENME PERSPEKTİFİ ÖZ YAMAN, İsmail Doktora, İngiliz Dili Eğitimi Bilim Dalı Tez Danışmanı: Yrd. Doç. Dr. İskender Hakkı SARIGÖZ Mart, 2014 - 315 sayfa Konuşma becerilerinin geliştirilmesi dil öğrenme sürecinin en kilit aşamasını oluşturmaktadır. İngilizceyi ikinci dil olarak ve yabancı dil olarak öğrenen öğrencilerin karşılaştıkları farklılıklar dikkate alındığında, yabancı dil olarak öğrenen öğrencilerin konuşma becerilerini geliştirme noktasında daha fazla sorunla karşılaşmaları kuvvetle muhtemeldir. Bu dezavantajın en önemli nedeni ise öğrencilerin yabancı dili doğal ortamlarda kullanma olanaklarının neredeyse hiç olmamasıdır. Buna bir de okullardaki konuşma derslerinin sınıf duvarları ve saatleriyle sınırlandırılması eklenince, sorun daha da içinden çıkılmaz bir hâl almaktadır. Yabancı dil öğrenimi bağlamında en çetin boyutlardan birini ele alan bu çalışma konuşma becerilerinin Proje Tabanlı Öğrenme modeliyle geliştirilmesi üzerine odaklanmaktadır. Bu deneysel çalışma Proje Tabanlı Öğrenme’nin öğrencilerin konuşma dersine karşı tutumlarına ve konuşma becerilerine etkilerini ortaya koymayı amaçlamaktadır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda elde edilen bulgular katılımcılardan elde edilen nicel ve nitel verilerden yararlanılarak şekillendirilmiştir. Bu çalışma 2013-14 akademik yılı güz döneminde Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi hazırlık sınıfında eğitim alan bir deney ve bir kontrol grubunun katılımıyla gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bu gruplar dönem başında rastgele oluşturulmuştur ve güz yarıyılı boyunca araştırmacının verdiği konuşma dersleri kapsamında bu çalışmaya dâhil olmuşlardır. Dönemin başında konuşma derslerine karşı mevcut tutumlarını değerlendirmek için her iki gruba da tutum ölçeği dağıtılmış ve sonrasında konuşma becerilerini ölçen v bir ön test uygulanmıştır. Çalışmanın uygulama aşamasının başlamasıyla birlikte, iki grup konuşma derslerini farklı iki yaklaşımla almaya başlamışlardır. Dönem boyunca deney grubunun dersleri proje tabanlı bir sistemle ilerlerken kontrol grubunun konuşma dersleri seçilen ders kitabına dayalı olarak işlenmiştir. Deney grubunun dersleri yapılan projeler vasıtasıyla zaman ve mekândan bağımsız olarak sınırsız öğrenme ilkesini yansıtırken, kontrol grubunun dersleri seçilen ders kitabıyla sınırlı kalan geleneksel bir anlayışı barındırmaktadır. Uygulamanın sonunda her iki grup da tutumsal değişiklikleri ortaya koyması açısından tutum ölçeğini tekrar yanıtlamıştır. Aynı zamanda yapılan uygulamanın konuşma becerileri üzerindeki etkisini görebilmek için öğrencilere son test uygulanmıştır. Ayrıca, bu bahsedilen nicel veri kaynaklarına nitel destek olarak, öğrencilerle uygulama sonrası tek tek röportajlar gerçekleştirilmiştir. Veri toplama