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Foreign language learning has always been a process carried out with the help of dictionaries which are both in target language and from native language to target language/from target language to native language. Dictionary use is an especially delicate issue for students in foreign language departments because students in those departments are expected to master the target language to a degree to enable themselves to listen, speak, read and write in the target language. In this process, the effects of new developments in technology have also exerted their influence on the way students use dictionaries mentioned above. Based on the results of classroom observations and interviews, this study is intended to shed light on the way undergraduate students in foreign language departments in Turkey use print/online dictionaries and to highlight opinions on the advantages and disadvantages of dictionary use by students in those departments at present.

The aim of this study is to investigate the construct of English as a foreign language (EFL) pre-service teachers' feelings of anxiety before, while, and after experiencing teaching English within a Turkish elementary classroom setting. Specifically, this intrinsic qualitative study investigates the anxiety sources for pre-service teachers in their practicum experiences and the ways they adapted to cope with these anxiety-provoking sources. The data were triangulated by consulting three sources of data (e.g., open-ended questions in the self-report forms, open-ended questions in the peer-reflection forms, and diaries) relating the 32 participants' teaching experiences. The findings indicated that prior to teaching experience, classroom management is the major teaching anxiety source and the frequently employed coping strategy is to consult their mentors and cooperating teachers. However, during the actual teaching experience, being observed by a mentor was the most common concern and to cope with it, each participant developed different coping mechanisms. Finally, receiving negative feedback from mentors decreased self-confidence and to compensate, pre-service teachers frequently asked mentors to provide further advice. It is implicated that teacher education programs raise the awareness of pre-service teachers of the potential challenges awaiting them in the practicum experience and equip them with coping strategies.

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As a popular social media application, WhatsApp has become an integral part of daily lives of many people on earth. Researchers have investigated the individual, social and pedagogical benefits of the tool. However, the possible contributions of WhatsApp as a platform for cultural interaction in the glocal sense has not been examined yet. To call attention to this dimension of the tool, this case study aims to investigate the role of WhatsApp in maintaining glocal linguistic, social and cultural interaction among a group of foreign learners of Turkish. The participants had a three-week summer school experience in Turkey where they formed a WhatsApp group for communication. After returning back to their home countries, these participants continued their interaction with their friends through the WhatsApp group. The data for this study were collected through open-ended questions. The results of the content analysis revealed that WhatsApp was an effective application to promote the maintenance of glocal cultural interaction among the participants with its personal, social and linguistic contributions. The participants could have the chance to exchange ideas and increase their perspectives and knowledge as global citizens while preserving their cultural and national identities as local citizens. Their interactional experiences through WhatsApp can be said to have helped the participants increase their awareness and expand their intercultural knowledge from the glocal stance.

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Summary With the globalization of the world and the ease to travel to different parts of the globe, the popularity of exchange programs for students has increased. Many students around the world apply such programs in order to have international learning experiences in which they can, besides educational purposes, meet new social and cultural values while introducing their native cultures. As study-abroad experiences have attracted attention regarding their various effects on the participants, research focusing on students participating in such programs may provide useful insight on their contributions to pre-service teachers’ teaching philosophies. Therefore, this study is intended to investigate the effects of a study-abroad experience on the way three pre-service teachers perceived the teaching profession and whether it modified their teaching philosophy. The data were collected through reflection reports and semi-structured interviews with three Turkish pre-service teachers who spent a semester in Hungary on a study-abroad experience. Content analysis was adopted for data analysis. The results revealed that the participants developed in terms of their linguistic, personal, social, cultural and educational understanding, which in turn contributed to their perceptions and conceptions of the teaching profession and caused them to adjust their teaching philosophies. In the light of these results, some suggestions are provided.