Department of Foreign Language Education English Language Teaching Program ASSUMING LEARNER BEHAVIOR AS AN INTERACTIONAL RESOURCE IN L2 TESTING AND EVALUATION CLASSROOM INTERACTION IN A TEACHER EDUCATION CONTEXT Reyyan Zülal YÖNEY Master’s Thesis Ankara, (2021) With leadership, research, innovation, high quality education and change, Department of Foreign Language Education English Language Teaching Program ASSUMING LEARNER BEHAVIOR AS AN INTERACTIONAL RESOURCE IN L2 TESTING AND EVALUATION CLASSROOM INTERACTION IN A TEACHER EDUCATION CONTEXT ÖĞRETMEN EĞİTİMİ BAĞLAMINDA YABANCI DİLDE ÖLÇME VE DEĞERLENDİRME SINIF-İÇİ ETKİLEŞİMİNDE BİR ETKİLEŞİMSEL KAYNAK OLARAK ÖĞRENCİ DAVRANIŞI VARSAYIMI Reyyan Zülal YÖNEY Master’s Thesis Ankara, (2021) Acceptance and Approval To the Graduate School of Educational Sciences, This thesis / dissertation, prepared by REYYAN ZÜLAL YÖNEY and entitled “Title of the Thesis” has been approved as a thesis for the Degree of Master in the Program of English Language Teaching in the Department of Foreign Language Education by the members of the Examining Committee. Chair Prof. Dr. Çiler HATİPOĞLU Signature Assist. Prof. Dr. Nilüfer CAN Member (Supervisor) DAŞKIN Signature Member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ufuk BALAMAN Signature This is to certify that this thesis/dissertation has been approved by the aforementioned examining committee members on 23/06/2021 in accordance with the relevant articles of the Rules and Regulations of Hacettepe University Graduate School of Educational Sciences, and was accepted as a Master’s Thesis in the Program of English Language Teaching by the Board of Directors of the Graduate School of Educational Sciences from ...../...../........ Prof. Dr. Selahattin GELBAL Director of Graduate School of Educational Sciences i Abstract This study uncovers an unexplored phenomenon of “Assuming Learner Behavior” (ALB) emerging within the context of testing and evaluation course in an English Language Teaching (ELT) program by using Conversation Analysis (CA). It involves the analysis of video-recorded classroom interaction (12 hours) of fourth year ELT students and an ELT professor in a university in Ankara, Turkey. Using CA, this study has investigated how the phenomenon of ALB emerges in the classroom interaction of pre-service teachers during feedback and presentation sessions in the testing and evaluation course. Moreover, this study has explored the interactional functions of ALB in different sequential positions and how pre-service teachers’ orient to the different aspects of test items by means of ALBs. In addition, the analysis has indicated that ALB creates learning opportunities for pre-service teachers in developing their testing and evaluation knowledge and skills. In light of these findings, this study provides insights into classroom interaction in a higher education context in general and has implications for L2 teacher education, classroom learning of pre-service teachers, and the development of testing and evaluation knowledge and skills. Keywords: classroom interaction, assuming learner behavior, English language teaching, testing and evaluation, L2 teacher education, conversation analysis ii Öz Bu çalışma, İngilizce Öğretmenliği programı ölçme ve değerlendirme dersi bağlamında, daha önce araştırılmamış olan “Öğrenci Davranışı Varsayımı” (ÖDV) olgusunu Konuşma Analizi (KÇ) kullanarak ortaya çıkarmaktadır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda Türkiye’nin Ankara ilinde bulunan bir devlet üniversitesinin İngilizce Öğretmenliği ölçme ve değerlendirme dersini almakta olan son sınıf öğrencileri ile dersi vermekte olan profesörün sınıf etkileşiminin (12 saat) video kayıtlarının analizi yapılmıştır. KÇ yöntemi ile bu çalışmada ÖDV olgusunun, ölçme ve değerlendirme dersinde geri dönüt ve sunum oturumları sırasında öğretmen adaylarının sınıf etkileşiminde nasıl ortaya çıktığı araştırılmıştır. Buna ek olarak, bu çalışma, ÖDV’nin farklı dizisel pozisyonlardaki etkileşimsel işlevlerini ve öğretmen adaylarının ÖDV'ler aracılığıyla test ögelerinin farklı boyutlarına nasıl yöneldiklerini ortaya çıkarmıştır. Ayrıca, analizler sonucunda ÖDV'nin öğretmen adayları için ölçme ve değerlendirme bilgi ve becerilerini geliştirmeleri açısından öğrenme fırsatları oluşturduğu gözlenmiştir. Bu bulguların ışığında, bu çalışma, bir yükseköğretim kurumu bağlamında sınıf etkileşiminin anlaşılmasına katkı sağlamakta ve öğretmen eğitimi, öğretmen adaylarının sınıfiçi öğrenmesi ile ölçme ve değerlendirme bilgi ve becerilerinin geliştirilmesi için uygulamalar sunmaktadır. Anahtar sözcükler: sınıf söylemi, öğrenci davranışını varsayma, İngilizce öğretmenliği, ölçme ve değerlendirme, öğretmen eğitimi, konuşma çözümlemesi iii Acknowledgements Completing this thesis has been a surprising and yet informative journey for me as I have never thought we would go through such a hard and tiring process as this pandemic. Still, I could manage to go through this process and complete this work with the help and support of many precious people. First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Assist. Prof. Dr. Nilüfer Can Daşkın for her invaluable support, feedback and guidance throughout this study. This work would not have been completed without her efforts. I would like to express my thanks for Prof. Dr. Çiler Hatipoğlu and Assist. Prof. Dr. Nilüfer Can Daşkın for sharing their data with me for this study. Their generosity made this research possible. I would like offer my thanks to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ufuk Balaman for his support and feedback for my work. I have learned a lot from him. I offer my special thanks to all members of HUMAN (Hacettepe University Micro Analysis Network) Research Center for their valuable guidance and comments. I need to extend my thanks to my dear friends who encouraged and cheered me along this journey. I especially appreciate Asude Erva Yıldırım and Aleyna Boysal. They have put up with my grumpiness throughout this process (and my life) and showed their love and support as always. Finally, my deepest gratitude and appreciation go to my family. Neither this work nor anything I have achieved would have been possible without their endless support, love and kindness. I am grateful that they have always been there for me unconditionally. I love you dearly. To my family. iv Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................. ii Öz ......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................... iv List of Tables........................................................................................................ vii Symbols and Abbreviations ................................................................................. viii Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 Statement of the Problem ................................................................................... 1 Aim and Significance of the Study....................................................................... 3 Research Questions ........................................................................................... 7 Assumptions ....................................................................................................... 7 Limitations .......................................................................................................... 7 Definitions ........................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 2 Literature Review ................................................................................. 10 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 10 Interaction in Teacher Education ...................................................................... 10 L2 Testing and Evaluation in Teacher Education .............................................. 14 Summary .......................................................................................................... 20 Chapter 3 Methodology ........................................................................................ 22 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 22 Conversation Analysis ...................................................................................... 22 Setting, Participants and Data Collection .......................................................... 25 Transcription, Building a Collection and Data Analysis...................................... 28 Validity and Reliability ....................................................................................... 29 Ethical Considerations ...................................................................................... 30 Chapter 4 Data Analysis ...................................................................................... 31 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 31 v Use of ALB in order to Initiate the Problem ....................................................... 31 Use of ALB in response to the Problem Already Indicated ................................ 53 Use of ALB in order to Oppose the Feedback Provided ...................................