Includes bibliography (119-123 p.)

'Title: Reasons for Poor Oral Performance in English: A Study of Students in the State Secondary Schools of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Author: Nevres Baddal Supervisor: Asst. Prof. Dr. Sonuç Dimililer Thesis Committee Members: Prof. Dr. Neil Bratton Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdul Ghafoor This study is designed to examine the reasons behind the poor English oral performance of students studying at state secondary schools in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). It aims firstly to achieve this by observing what teaching strategies and methods are used in the classroom; secondly, by observing the activities provided during lessons; and thirdly, by observing to what extent teacher-student and student-student interaction takes place. Lastly, the study aims to gauge the extent to which English and Turkish are used in the classroom. The present study adopts a naturalistic enquiry approach. It is a descriptive study and is concerned with a comprehensive strategy of methodology triangulation that covers teacher interview, a student questionnaire, and focused classroom observation; and a participant triangulation that covers English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers, EFL students and the researcher. The findings suggest that, in the EFL classes of the state secondary schools in TRNC, English is not used much as a means of communication. Language teachers do not insist on encouraging their learners to engage in interaction in English. Both teachers and learners insist on using Turkish rather than English in class. Additionally, not testing the oral skills switches the students' attention to grammatical structures on which they are tested. The tentative conclusion is that, in order to maximize students' oral skills, learner initiative and learner interaction in English should be actively encouraged. This has implications for classroom practice as well as teacher and learner training, as encouraging learner participation and interaction requires the introduction of new patterns of communication in the classroom and a questioning of the traditional roles of teachers and learmers.'

1 INTRODUCTION

3 Background of the Problem

7 Statements of the Problem

8 Purpose of the Study

9 Research Questions

9 Importance of the Study

11 Assumptions of the Study

12 Limitations

12 Delimitation

13 Definition of Terms

17 LITERATURE REVIEW

17 Methods and Approaches

17 The Grammar Translation Method

19 The Direct Method

21 The Audio - Lingual Method

23 The Silent Way

24 Suggestopedia

24 Community Language Teaching Method

25 Total Physical Response

26 The Natural Approach

27 The Communicative Approach

28 Theories of Second Language Acquisition

29 Krashen's Theory of Second Language Acquisition

29 The Acquisition/Learning Hypothesis

30 The Monitor Hypothesis

31 The Natural Order Hypothesis

33 The Input Hypothesis

33 The Affective Filter Hypothesis

34 Language Learning and Input

37 Integrating the Four Skills

37 Receptive Skills

41 Productive Skills

43 The Teacher's Role in Class

46 Implications for the Teaching and Learning Process

49 Classroom Interaction

55 METHODOLOGY

55 Introduction

55 Research Design

57 Context

59 Participants

60 Instrumentation

61 Pilot Testing

61 Interviews

62 Student Questionnaire

62 Observations

62 Sample Student Examination Papers

63 Data Collection Procedure

64 Initiating Contact

65 Holding Interview

66 Administration of Student Questionnaire

68 Observations

70 FINDING AND DISCUSSIONS

70 Introduction

72 Finding from the EFL Teachers

89 Findings from the Student Questionnaire

99 Findings from the Researcher's Observations

103 Discussion

108 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

110 Selected Findings

113 Conclusions

114 Recommendations

119 BIBLIOGRAPHY