Perceptions of students towards English medium instruction at tertiary level: The case of a Turkish private university


Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2010

Öğrenci: EVRİM ATİK

Danışman: HÜSNÜ ENGİNARLAR

Özet:

This study aimed to examine and describe the perceptions of English-medium instruction of tertiary –level students in a private university in Turkey. The scale which consists of a demographic inventory, a questionnaire, and a semi-structured interview were used by the researcher. The results of the questionnaire were analyzed through SPSS 15.0. This data gathering instrument was implemented on 233 students studying at three different faculties at Atılım University which offer English-medium instruction. In analyzing the data, descriptive statistics as frequency, percent, and standard deviation and inferential statistics such as one sample t-test and Pearson Product Moment Correlations were used. As the second scale of the present study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 students studying at three different faculties at Atılım University which offer English-medium instruction (EMI). The results of the interviews were analyzed through content analysis. The results of the study revealed that students support EMI at tertiary level and they hold positive attitudes towards EMI in terms of the improvement of language skills in English; nevertheless, they experience some difficulties in the learning of the content delivered in English. Results also showed that there is a positive relationship between students’ proficiency levels and perceptions towards EMI regarding the learning of the subject matters. Moreover, it was found that there is also a positive relationship between students’ attitudes towards EMI regarding the learning of the subject matters and their academic success.