In order to investigate EFL teachers’ individually-guided professional development activities in Turkey and identify any needs for new professional development programs, Dr. Cagri Ozkose-Biyik from Yasar University and Dr. Oner Uslu from Ege University have developed a questionnaire. Then, they collected data from 820 EFL teachers across Turkey as well conducting 28 individual interviews. The forums shared with you here are the forums that the EFL teachers mentioned in these questionnaires and interviews.
Behice Ceyda Cengiz and Nur Gedik Bal, PhD students at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara reviewed the forums for your convenience. Enjoy and please let Dr. Cagri Ozkose-Biyik (cagri.ozkosebiyik@yasar.edu.tr) know if you know other forums for language teachers that are not listed here.
| Forum: My İngilizce Forum website: http://www.myingilizce.net/ Date: 25.09.2016 Reviewer: Nur Gedik Bal My İngilizce forum is an updated one as there are posts released today. Teachers or students need to register to access the materials or shared documents. Different forums are included at this forum website. There are forums for language teachers working at primary school, high school and also language learning students. Forum participants share different concerns regarding language learning and teaching. There are also categories like English vocabulary, English exams, help board, English grammar topics. In addition, four language skills are also highly regarded and discussions and sources on these skills can be seen in the forum. For students, the forums included posts about ELT Students and English Learners’ board. |
| Forum: İngilizce forum net Forum website: http://www.ingilizceforum.net/ Date: 25.09.2016 Reviewer: Nur Gedik Bal İngilizce forum net is organized and the discussions and materials are classified there. The language of the website is in Turkish; therefore, only Turkish language teachers can benefit from the website. There are categories like primary school, middle school, exams, four language skills, and the rules of the forum. Even if you are not registered as a member of the forum, you can reach the discussions and materials shared in the forum, which is very practical for language teachers. Teachers can also reach some sources and suggestions for KPDS UDS exams in the forum. For further questions or concerns regarding the forum, contact information is also provided in the forum. ( ingilizceforum@gmail.com) |
| Forum: İngilizdili Forum Forum website: http://www.ingilizceforum.net/ Date: 25.09.2016 Reviewer: Nur Gedik Bal The language of İngilizdili forum is Turkish and there are many sources for both primary school language teachers and also high school teachers. To be able to access to the documents and other materials shared in the forum, one should register and have an account as a member of the forum. However, it is easy to sign up. The sources and discussions shared in the forum involved many topics such as four language skills, and language contents such as grammar and vocabulary. Moreover, tests, quizzes and sources for other language exams such as YDS, ÜDS, Toefl, IELTS. However, some links and sources are removed from the archive. Besides exams and worksheets, there are also PowerPoint presentations about different grammar topics and also themes. |
| Forum: ELTCafe Forum website: http://www.eltcafe.net/ Date: 26.09.2016 Reviewer: Nur Gedik Bal ELT Café serves for many language teachers. There are many sources for both primary school language teachers and also high school teachers. The website is in Turkish, so Turkish teachers are mainly active in the forum. However, to access the materials, one should sign up first and unfortunately in some forums on the website, one may not get the document shared even though he has signed up. On the other hand, there are many available documents and discussions for language teachers. There are yearly plans for teachers and exams such as KPSS, YDS, TOEFL, IELTS have also a place in the forum. The forums on the website not only include discussions but many attachments regarding those exams, which might also be helpful for the language learners who will take these exams. ELT Café involves forums on language skills and general English specifically. Moreover, there are also forums for other foreign languages like German, French, Russian and Arabic. In these, teachers can also find many documents involving grammar explanations, daily phrases, and language practices in general. The forum is updated. |
| Forum: İngilizceCin.net Forum website: https://www.ingilizcecin.net/ Reviewer: Behice Ceyda Cengiz İngilizceCin.net is a forum that language learners, language teachers, test takers of language exams, college level students majoring in language, etc. can use in order to exchange ideas and access a vast variety of resources for improving their English (for learners) or for integrating into their teaching (for teachers). Although it says in the website that membership is required for having full access to the forums, it is possible to even download many materials without any membership. Membership is free already so it can be preferred. In İngilizceCin.net, there are plenty of different forums, which include grammar lessons, worksheets, tests, exam questions, games, story books and audio files, flashcards, powerpoints and many other documents and resources ready for different grade levels and for downloading. In these forums, teachers or learners ask questions to each other or ask for suggestions in their efforts to learn or teach English. |
| Forum: Paylaşım Kardeşliği Forum website: http://www.demethoca.com/forum/ Reviewer: Behice Ceyda Cengiz Paylaşım Kardeşliği is a great forum in which language teachers can find relevant content, materials and discussions about their profession. For viewing most of the content, one needs to become a VIP member by paying 15 TL for one year membership. In the forum, there is a wide array of subject headings which include interactive whiteboard materials, annual plans, preschool English, 2nd grade English, 9th grade English, TEOG tests, etc. among many others. In these, teachers exchange ideas, share such materials as textbooks, exams, worksheets, those materials created by themselves, vocabulary lists for different units, annual plans, download links for CDs, etc. |
| Forum: ELT Planet Forum website: http://www.eltplanet.net/activity.php Reviewer: Behice Ceyda Cengiz ELT Planet is a forum that can be used by language teachers or language learners for exchanging ideas and accessing a variety of resources. In the forum, teachers can reflect on their teaching, ask questions to each other and share their ideas on different topics. It is possible to download materials such as handouts, thematic units, slideshows,songs, flash materials, listening materials, powerpoint presentations, ELT software and applications, games, etc. among many others. Downloading requires membership, which is free. The forums include grammar, vocabulary and 4 language skills, mastering exams (e.g. TEOG, YDS, TOEFL, etc.), video lessons, websites about learning English, etc. |
| Forum: dilFORUM Forum website: http://www.dilforum.com/forum/forum.php Reviewer: Behice Ceyda Cengizdil FORUM is a very extensive forum which has rich and relevant content for any person interested in language learning, language teaching, studying at a language department at high school/college or taking a language exam. In dilFORUM, there is a wealth of different forums in which a vast variety of topics are included and intense exchange of information is present. Among these forums, for example, one can see TOEFL forum, IELTS forum, LYS-5 forum, KPDS forum, ÜDS forum, TOIC forum, etc. It is possible to view the discussions in forums without any registration or login but for commenting, one needs to register for free in dilFORUM first. In these forums, people (be it students, teachers or test takers) ask questions, ask for material suggestions for exams or answer keys or share some exam questions which they could not answer. The flow of information in dilFORUM is very good, therefore if you have any questions about anything as a language learner or teacher, you can benefit from the forum. |
| Forum: MEBİngilizce Forum website: http://mebingilizce.com |
