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The present study aims to reveal the effects of test type, pronunciation and proficiency levels of the students on speaking test scores. A total of 147 Turkish EFL students consisting of 38 beginner, 36 elementary, 37 pre-intermediate and 36 intermediate levels participated in the study. Presentation as planned, and paired speaking test as unplanned one were used as instruments to figure out the effects of two different test types on the test scores. Being prepared for their performances, the students did their presentations lasting between 5 and 8 minutes in front of two raters. The same participants, at the end of each level, were invited to the paired-speaking tests designed for the students to show their spontaneous performances. The performances in both tests were scored through a scale with five criteria, and the criteria along with overall scores were examined through Paired Samples t-test to reveal the effects of test type, and through bivariate regression to see the proportion of pronunciation aspect on overall scores. The results showed that in beginner level, although no differences were found in the overall scores, the test type induced differences in pronunciation, vocabulary and relevance aspect of their speaking performances. Similar results were found in elementary level besides the difference found in accuracy aspect, which resulted in a significant difference in overall scores. However, in pre-intermediate level, the only significant difference was found in pronunciation. On the other hand, in intermediate level all the aspects along with the overall scores were found to be affected by the test type except for fluency and pronunciation. The bivariate regression revealed that the effect of pronunciation sub-score on overall scores is significant in each level and test type.

This study mainly aims to investigate the perceptions of ELT (English Language Teaching) students related to learner autonomy in language learning. In order to have a deeper understanding of the perceptions of ELT students related to learner autonomy a total of 20 students are interviewed. The findings gathered are analyzed according to the year of study in the ELT program (from 1st year to 4th year) and gender of the participants. Content analysis is done for the qualitative data and the findings of the qualitative data are organized according to the students' study years and their gender. The findings indicate that the participants mainly state similar responsibilities, abilities, and activities in terms of their year of study. In addition, qualitative data reveal that although both female and male participants give importance to similar aspects related to responsibilities, abilities, and activities on learner autonomy, they state different reasons for giving importance to those aspects. Additionally, participants give some definitions related to learner autonomy and they prove how versatile the notion of learner autonomy is.

Following a qualitative research design, this study aims to explore the differences between international and American graduate students in terms of their class participation. The data for the study were collected from a graduate-level class at a university in upstate New York. There were seven participants in the study, three of the participants were American students, and the other four participants were international students, two from China, one from Iran, and one from Sudan. Main source of data was classroom observations. Three classroom sessions were observed and field notes were taken during observations. There were two phases of the data analysis process. During the first phase, field notes were reviewed after observations and five general categories of classroom participation were identified. During the second phase, the data were further analyzed in order to see the differences between American and international students in terms of their class participation according to these five categories. Results of data analysis revealed three main differences between American and international students' class participation in the observed graduate classroom setting. The first main difference involved the short answer/example and explanation categories, the second main difference involved the questions to the instructor/classmates for clarification/repetition and the questions to raise discussion categories, and the last main difference involved the answer/explanation assigned by the instructor category.

The purpose of this study was to investigate English language related difficulties experienced by 30 Turkish dual diploma students studying in an ELT (English Language Teaching) program established between a Turkish and an American university, and to see the effects of those difficulties on the students' adjustment process in the U.S.A. The data of the study were collected through a 60-item questionnaire designed by the researcher and analyzed by using multiple regression analysis, paired-samples t-test, independent-samples t-test, and correlation coefficients. The results of the study indicated that students of this program experience English related difficulties at a moderate level; they experience more English related difficulties in their academic life as compared to their social life; and writing and speaking in academic settings are the most problematic skills for them.

Learner autonomy has been one of the most popular terms in the language learning field lately. Researchers have been conducting studies to see different aspects of learner autonomy and to bring different suggestions to teachers to promote autonomous learning in their classrooms. Students of a particular cultural background would not show the same level of readiness for learner autonomy as the students of another culture. Cultural and educational settings of the instruction affect how the teachers and students perceive the concept of learner autonomy, and these differences in perception obviously affect how the ways to promote learner autonomy work. As the perception and realization of learner autonomy changes depending on the cultural background, it is important to see the autonomy-related perspectives of different learners and teachers around the world. Thus, aiming to contribute the relevant literature from this standpoint, the main aim of this study was to explore four Indian English as a second language (ESL) learners' perceptions related to teacher and learner responsibilities in the language learning process and to get an idea of how ESL students in the Indian educational context perceive the concepts related to learner independence. Three interview sessions were conducted with the participants in order to reach the aim of the study. The data were analyzed according to three main categories: (a) aspects of language learning for which the participants saw the teacher as the most responsible figure in the classroom; (b) aspects of learning for which the participants considered students to be more responsible; (c) aspects that both the teacher and the students share equal responsibility. It was hoped that the results of the study would provide guidance to teachers and researchers, especially the ones working with multicultural student groups, to understand the effects of culture on the interpretation of concepts related to learner autonomy.