METU International ELT Convention is going to be held on the dates 31 May – 02 June 2012 at Middle East Technical University Convention Center, Ankara, Turkey. The theme of this Convention is Embracing Challenges which aims to focus on identifying and addressing challenges that emerge as a result of the changing needs and growing demands of learners as members of academic, social or business communities in a globalised world.

I will be there present my action research on ‘L2 Reading Motivation’ with Asli. Our presentation will take place on Sunday at 14:15 in Hall G.

If you are interested, you can check out our abstract.

Abstract
Research in L2 reading motivation has gained impetus and provided many insights into understanding the components of motivation and factors that affect L2 learners in terms of reading motivation. Although many studies can be found on L1 reading motivation, studies on L2 reading motivation seem to be relatively meager. Since action research encompasses a sequence of events and an approach to problem solving, the present study addressed to examine whether; (1) this sample of Turkish University students differ in terms of their intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation and (2) a change in methodology has an impact on the L2 reading motivation. Participants responded to a Motivation for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ) and took part in focus group interviews. Results revealed that L2 reading motivation was affected by extrinsic factors mostly and the changes in methodology and the instructional elements had a crucial effect on intrinsic and mostly extrinsic motivation, reading amount and performance. Results foreshadowed insightful methodological changes.

Many thanks to 005-03 and 005-07 students for participating in this research.

What does the word ‘meeting’ connate? How do you feel when you first hear it? Is it something that drone on like a walking-dead zombie robbing institutions of time, productivity and joy? Or, is it the cornerstone of inspiration, collaboration and sharing?

It’s just the beginning of the week and some people are already grousing about the Monday Syndrome and the coming Level Meeting. Can we manipulate those negative connotations and perceive Level Meetings as a symbol for the beginning of nice series of events? Yes, we can!

We were a small group in PIN in the previous module. There were only 8 teachers in total (7 females- 1 male). Since Andrew had his own Level Meetings on Monday afternoons, he could not attend our meetings. Basically, it was all Ladies’ Afternoon. (You can imagine what I mean by ‘Ladies’ Afternoon’.)

Similar to the group dynamics in a class, the dynamics in work groups and the degree to which the group fulfils the emotional, social and psychological needs of an individual and enhances a person’s self identity are considerably important if you want to generate real team work. Oddly enough, in our very first level meeting we realized that we had such great chemistry and a sense of belonging in our group, which then had a substantial impact on decision making, problem solving and communication. We then thought it could be a good idea to cherish this synergy even more by bringing delicious salads, cakes and cookies. For each meeting, one instructor was assigned to prepare something for the group and we noted this as an informal action. The week we started this practice was a marking week and thanks to the food which boosted our energy level, we noticed that we were able to finish marking before the scheduled timed without any huffs and puffs contrary to those days when we were truly flagging and lethargic! Additionally, there were almost no marking errors! Can you believe it?

In short, if you want to beat the Monday Level Meeting blues, think about how you can add onto the energy and motivation level of your group. As long as we care about each other and feed each other, we can foster productivity and efficiency. What do you think?