CONSTANTIN BRANCOVEANU UNIVERSITY BRAILA
The project was co-financed by the European Commission Lifelong Learning Programme, Comenius Regio
ROMANIA
COMPARISON BETWEEN THE QUESTIONNAIRES IN ROMANIA AND TURKEY AUTHORES CIORĂȘTEANU GIANINA BUNEA BONTAȘ CRISTINA MOROZAN CRISTIAN
�New Approaches to Foreign Language Teaching in Turkey and Romania�
COMPARISON BETWEEN THE QUESTIONNAIRES IN ROMANIA AND TURKEY
An overview on the interpretation of the results of the questionnaires in educational institutions in Romania and Turkey indicates the following conclusions: 1. Most of the students are familiar with English as a foreign language they speak (98.1% in Turkey, 71.43% in Romania); however, the fact that more than a quarter of the Romanian students said they know another language (French, Italian, Spanish) demonstrates the interest that they have in foreign languages. 2. Regarding the knowledge of foreign languages, the students who have advanced and intermediate knowledge are over 70% in both countries. In detail, we notice some differences in the responses. The surveys in Turkey reveal that approx. 32% of the students have an advanced level, approx. 45% have an average level and 23% are beginners. In Romania, 45% of the students are at an advanced level, 27% on an average level and only 9% are beginners. 3. Almost 90% of the students in Romania and Turkey use their computer in their activities. However, in Turkey, the computer is more occasionally used in a proportion of 35% and daily in the amount of approx. 22%. There is a proportion of approx. 30% of the students using the computer weekly and very rarely. The students in Romania use intensively the computer: 72% use it daily, between 8% 10% use it occasionally, and 8% rarely or weekly.
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use, which may be made of the information contained therein.
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�New Approaches to Foreign Language Teaching in Turkey and Romania�
4. The students have different views on the knowledge they accumulate over the years of study. Thus, almost half of the Turkish students surveyed believe that their country's education system is based on both theoretical and practical knowledge, 27% believe that the prevailing is the theoretical knowledge and 26% believe that the predominant is the practical knowledge. Two thirds of Romanian students responded that the educational system in Romania is based on theoretical and practical knowledge and almost a third are based on theoretical knowledge. The responses confirm that students perceive the Romanian education as being centered on information and too little on developing skills and abilities, being too theorized at the expense of practical applicability. 5. As ways of conducting school activities, both the Turkish and Romanian students, prefer, at a rate of approx. 50%, group activities. The other types of activities (front, in pairs and individual) are valued differently in the two partner countries. In Turkey, 23% of students particularly appreciate the front activities, 18% work in pairs and only 11% individual work. In Romania, 21% have favorable views for individual activity, 19% appreciate the activities in pairs and only 13% the front ones. 6. When it comes to assessing the role of language teachers, about 50% of the students surveyed in both countries look to the teacher as to a motivating person. 33% of Turkish students and only 21% of the Romanian people perceive the teacher as a resource. About 17% of students and 26% of Romanians, see the teacher as an evaluator and a controller.
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use, which may be made of the information contained therein.
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�New Approaches to Foreign Language Teaching in Turkey and Romania�
7. The students in the two countries who were questioned differently appreciate auxiliary materials that foreign language teacher uses in teaching. Thus, the Turkish students particularly appreciate the SMART Board (approx. 62%) and Power Point presentations (about 18%), less the other material such as graphics, audio CDs and worksheets; most of the Romanian students appreciate PowerPoint presentations (approx. 50%), audio CDs (22%) and images (16%), less appreciated are the classic board and worksheets. 8. Some differences were noted in the importance of language skills that the students must acquire (speaking, listening, reading, writing). 42% of the Turkish students felt that these skills are important in order to know a foreign language, 31% gave more importance to the skills of speaking 17%. to the and listening ones. The Romanian students consider on an average of 76%, that all four skills are important, while 16% were in favor of acquiring language skills. 9. There are a variety of methods for learning a foreign language. The students from both countries appreciated the different methods proposed in the questionnaire applied: the Turkish students appreciated more the Task-Based Language Learning methods (41%) and Grammar-Translation (24%), while 50% of the Romanian students dotted the Grammar-Translation Method and 36% the Communicative Approach. 10. Regarding the favorite activities for acquiring language skills in a foreign language, the Turkish and Romanian students' opinions are similar: all activities proposed in the questionnaire (information-gap activities, role-play, group discussion, prepared monologues) are given special attention by the majority of students (45% in the surveys in Turkey, 36% in the surveys in Romania). This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use, which may be made of the information contained therein.
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�New Approaches to Foreign Language Teaching in Turkey and Romania�
However, from all the proposed activities, group discussions are those that are preferred by students (27% in the surveys in Turkey, namely 34% in the surveys in Romania). 11. Regarding the favorite activities to acquire writing skills in a foreign language, the Turkish and Romanian students' opinions are similar, but the percentages are somewhat differentiated. All the writing activities (controlled writing, paragraph-pattern writing, free writing, grammar-organization writing) are given special attention by the majority of the students (35% in the surveys in Turkey and 44% in the surveys in Romania). However, from the proposed activities, free writing is preferred by 29% of the students surveyed in Turkey, i.e. 26% of the students surveyed in Romania, and grammar-organization writing is preferred by 20% of the students surveyed in Turkey, respectively 14% of the students surveyed in Romania. 12. Regarding the favourite activities to acquire listening skills, Turkish and Romanian students' opinions are again quite similar. All the activities of listening (listening for specific information, listening for gist, intensive listening, and extensive listening) are given special attention by the majority of the students (43% in the surveys in Turkey and 44% in the surveys in Romania). Among the proposed activities, listening for specific information is preferred by 24% of the students surveyed in Turkey, respectively 21% of students surveyed in Romania. Also 24% of the Turkish students prefer intensive / extensive listening and only 8% listening for gist. The Romanian students prefer in order, listening for gist (19%) and intensive / extensive listening (16%). This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use, which may be made of the information contained therein.
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�New Approaches to Foreign Language Teaching in Turkey and Romania�
13. The suggested assessment questionnaire forms are important for most of the students: 37% of the students surveyed in Turkey, respectively 48% of the ones surveyed in Romania. Some students trust the teacher's assessment: 24% of the students in Turkey and 20% of those in Romania. Examinations are assessed positively as a way of evaluating the 17% of the Turkish students and only 13% of the Romanian ones. Self-assessment is punctuated by 14% of the Romanian students and only 9% of the Turkish students. Comparing the results of the questionnaires applied to the parents of the students in the schools in Turkey and Romania, we conclude the following: 1. In more than 95%, parents think that now, knowledge of English is a must. The parents’ responses mention, especially the following reasons: realizing the opportunities of employment, the ability to communicate and interrelate, enriching the cultural experience. The advantages of learning English can be recovered, therefore, following the major directions: finding a job or increasing professional experience, communicating in various situations, the use of information technology. 2. Regarding the age at which you should start learning a foreign language, the parents of the students in Turkey have stated a rate of approx. 33% over the age of 8 years old, while 27% considered the age of 6-7 years to be suitable and 27% the age of 5-6 years. The parents of the students in Romania mentioned the age of 4-5 years old at a rate of over 45%, while 33% considered the age of 6-7 years to be suitable. 3. Most parents agree that currently, English became almost a native language as: it is an international language that is used in many areas, and most of This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use, which may be made of the information contained therein.
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�New Approaches to Foreign Language Teaching in Turkey and Romania�
the information is transmitted in this language. However, the responses are differentiated: 75% of the parents in Turkey agree with this statement and 20% disagree with it; 54% of the parents in Romania agree with this statement while 23% disagree with it. 4. In a very large proportion, the parents in both countries (more exactly, 88.5% in Turkey and 79.5% in Romania) consider that an integrated English course combining an active component and a subject with practical applications for children would be appropriate for their children.
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use, which may be made of the information contained therein.
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