Foreign language

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY

Introduction

This study evaluated EFL teachers‟ participation in reflective practice oriented (RP-oriented) online discussion forums. More specifically, explored the reflection types (reflection-in, on and for-action) the participants engaged in.

Thus, the study sought answers to the following research question:

1. In what types of reflection (reflection-in, on and for-action) do the experienced English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers engage in during their reflective practice oriented online discussions?

The answers to the research question were pursued via a qualitative research design that took place over a five-month period. The students of teaching English as a foreign language master program were assigned to write five reflective papers on various topics directed by the lecturer of the course. Upon writing their papers, participants posted them on a Moodle platform and commented on at least three other students‟ ideas presented throughout their assignment. Furthermore, five semi- structured interviews were conducted with each participant to see whether the discussions helped them reshape the practices about their teaching and learning. As the sixth interview, general interview questions adapted from Bennet-Jackson‟s (2010) study was utilized to see overall contributions of online reflective practice.In order to answer the research questions, the researcher analyzed the participants‟ reflective papers and their posts in discussions, as well as the data gathered from theinterviews to seethe types of reflection they engaged in.This chapter will present in detail the methodology of the study in four sections: setting and participants,

instruments, data collection procedure, and the techniques employed in the data analysis.

Setting and Participants

This research was conducted at a Master‟s Program of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) at a foundation university in Ankara, Turkey. The main reason for conducting this study at this particular program is that it provided a readily available source to the researcher in the scope of utilizing online RP-oriented discussions.

The MA TEFL program is offered to both international teachers and Turkish teachers who work in various universities in Turkey. The applicants of the program are required to have at least two years of teaching experience, and they are selected according to results of a verbal and a written exam which include open-ended questions and a language proficiency exam. Upon being accepted, most participants take part in the program as full-time students who take courses and write their thesis during a heavily loaded academic year. Under certain circumstances, students can also take part as part-time students in the program and complete their degree in four or six academic semesters. During the program, students enroll in various courses, which aim to improve teachers‟ knowledge and expertise in the field of foreign language teaching and academic research.
This study was conducted with nine participants enrolled in the Methodology course during the 2014-2015 academic year. Eight female and one male TEFL students whose ages ranged between twenty-five and thirty-five participated in this study. All of them are native speakers of Turkish and started learning English as a second language either at primary or secondary school. The vast majority of the participants took part in the program as full-time students and worked for public

universities, which situated in various cities of Turkey. Only one of the students attended the program as a part-time student and worked for a private institution. Participants‟ graduation degree, years of teaching experience and education backgrounds yielded various results.(see Table 1 and Table 2 below for more detailed demographic information about the participants).

Table1


Demographic Information about the