Attitudes of Turkish EFL Teachers and Native English Tutors towards Posters: The UK and Turkey Contexts

Abstract

Since espousing posters as essential teaching materials to leverage learning is one of the mainstreams in the research paradigm, the great majority of studies on their effectiveness in language education are directly conducted on learners. However, approaching them through the lens of teachers in terms of their consideration as language teaching tools is underrepresented in research. Thus, this qualitative research was conducted in Turkey and the UK using semi-structured interviews, a survey and non-participant classroom observations to explore the attitudes of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers towards using posters as a strategy for reading comprehension of learners. Besides demographic features, syllogistic inference through inductive high-level data coding was employed to ascertain teachers’ attitudes. In addition, some classroom practices were observed to test whether they overlap with teacher attitudes. Particular reading strategies the teachers employed throughout their instructions were also investigated to identify the role of visuals in their teaching. The findings indicate that although teachers in both countries exhibit positive attitudes towards using posters as a strategy, they do not in fact employ them properly in classes. Accordingly, some suggestions for further research considerations are also provided.