Issue Information

The past few decades have seen a growing recognition of the importance of assuming responsibility for one’s learning. Indeed, there is an emerging consensus that the university model needs to equip learners with the necessary skills that will set them up for taking control over their learning and therefore compete in this world of dynamism. However, in the local context, scant attention has been given to how autonomy is perceived and how ready students are to assume it. The present paper seeks to fill this gap by investigating university students’ perceived level of readiness for autonomy in their learning. Accordingly, 107 students majoring in English completed questionnaires at a university. The items of the questionnaire were arranged on a five-point Likert-scale continuum. Students were non-randomly selected and voluntarily completed all the items of the questionnaire. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS software. Findings of the study indicated that the majority of EFL students appear to be ready to be autonomous in their learning. The highest percentage pertaining to the levels of agreement responses was manifested in the students’ tendency to set their own learning goals. Moreover, the Independent-samples t-test showed that there were no statistically significant differences between males and females. Some recommendations for EFL teachers were also discussed.

The role of L1 in teaching has been always a controversial issue for the researchers. The main purpose for the research was to investigate teachers' attitudes towards using code-switching in teaching English grammar in public secondary schools in Jerusalem district. The researcher used Macaro’s (1997) way of classifying the positions for or against the use of the L1 in the L2 classroom as theoretical framework. The results of the study which were collected through distribution a questionnaire to EFL teachers who teach English as a second language. The results of this study indicated that code-switching was sometimes used in the primary English classrooms by both teachers and students. Moreover, the findings indicated that the use of code-switching was commonly used in the EFL classroom, for a range of purposes and with varying degrees of frequency. In other words, teachers use the mother tongue in teaching English grammar for explaining difficult idea or concept. On the other hand, the study revealed that relying heavily on the mother tongue in the EFL classroom will deprive the students of being exposed to English.

Reading comprehension skill is very important for students as it is what individual needs throughout his/her whole life and must meet certain standards socially and academically. In the literature, there are studies investigating the relationships between reading comprehension and metacognitive strategies. With this study, it is aimed to reveal whether students use different metacognitive strategies in their reading comprehension skills at different cognitive levels (focusing on and retrieving explicitly stated information, making straightforward inferences and evaluating and criticizing the content and textual elements). The study group consists of 69 seventh grade students. Reading comprehension test, rubric and Metacognitive Reading Strategies Scale were used to collect data. In data analysis, cross tables were created. According to the cross tables, the metacognitive reading strategy most used by the students while answering the items at all cognitive levels is the reading strategy based on problem solving. According to internal interpretations, students’ strategy use according to cognitive level may be related to students' inexperience in using strategies, their low performance in reading comprehension success or their unawareness of metacognitive strategies. External interpretations are discussed with studies using the same measurement tool in the literature and studies investigating metacognitive reading strategies and reading comprehension.

Scientific research is an activity in which scientific procedures are used to test and evaluate theories in a systematic manner for specified aims. In this regard, it is critical to ascertain secondary school students' thoughts, attitudes, and scientific research levels regarding scientific research activities. The goal of this study is to determine the scientific research levels of secondary school pupils. Structured interview technique was used in this research, which was conducted with qualitative research method. The study group for this phenomenology-based research consisted of two secondary schools in Diyarbakr during the 2021-2022 academic year. The study group determined by the convenient sampling method is 65 people. In this study, the scientific research level determination form developed by the researchers was used as a data collection tool. The descriptive content analysis was used to examine the data in the research form. According to the study's findings, 5-7th grade students' scientific research levels were pretty near and high. The class with the highest level of scientific research is the seventh grade, while the lowest is the fifth grade. It is advised that secondary school students develop their skills in generating a references, drafting a research report, displaying in-text references, establishing the importance of the research, and testing research hypotheses.

The aim of this research is to reveal the effect of foreign language learning on the use of mother tongue. Case study, one of the qualitative research methods, was used. In order to keep the sample wide, 70 individuals were selected from among the 4th year undergraduate students studying in three different foreign language departments in the 2016-2017 period, using the simple random sampling method. Research data was analyzed using content analysis method. As a result of the research, it has been determined that foreign language teaching has negative effects on Turkish thought system and Turkish language without gaining mother tongue consciousness and love.