In-service Teachers’ Voices on the Quality of English Language Teaching in Turkey

This study, part of a larger project conducted with in-service English teachers’ in Turkey, reportsteachers’ views about the quality of English language teaching (ELT) in Turkey and majorinstructional problems they experience while teaching English. The study also revealed teachers’suggestions for coping with these problems. Data were collected through an online questionnairethat contained quantitative and qualitative items. 2,476 teachers working at primary, secondary,high schools in fifty cities across Turkey participated in the study. Basic descriptive statistics wereperformed on the quantitative data and qualitative data were analysed using content analysis.According to the participants, ELT in Turkey is not effective (N = 2,476; M = 2.27; SD = .91).Students’ negative affective states, large classes, poor textbooks, lack of materials, limited classhours, examination-driven teaching, and overloaded and structure-based curriculum werereported to be the main reasons for ineffective ELT. Participants agreed that shifting the focus ofteaching to listening and speaking, improving textbooks, offering preparatory classes andincreasing class hours, improving teacher development and recruitment, providing opportunitiesto go abroad, changing the focus of examinations, and changing the curriculum could help improvethe effectiveness of ELT in Turkey.