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Presenter
Asst.Prof.Dr. Bahar Gün
Assistant Director
İzmir University of Economics School of Foreign Languages
Balçova / İZMİR

 Title
Are Teachers Fully Prepared to Teach Different Varieties of English?

Abstract
Although there are many different forms of English, British and American English are the two varieties that are taught in most ESL/EFL programs. Although it is generally agreed that no one version is “correct”, the question of consistency between the dialects becomes an important issue, particularly in a country like Turkey, an EFL setting, and where both varieties of English are chosen, and taught at the university level without any consideration given to the students’ prior exposure to language variety. In this study, it was hypothesized that Turkish students’ past learning experience greatly affects their vocabulary knowledgebase, thus hampering their chances to perform at the best of their abilities. Turkish students attend both/either American and/or British material based schools, and this prior difference of language exposure should be a consideration at the university level.

This presentation aims to explore the advantages and/or disadvantages of teaching students vocabulary in the two main dialects of English. Conclusions were drawn after the subsequent steps were followed to collect data:

1. A questionnaire was given to university students on vocabulary differences between British and American English.
2. The same questionnaire was also completed by university instructors in order to determine their level of knowledge in both dialects
3. Sample course materials at all levels were examined to find out any preferred choice of materials being taught.

The main implication of the study is that one of the best ways to give students every opportunity to perform at their highest level is to ensure that all teachers, regardless of nationality, are fully aware of the differences between the two dialects.