Dear Focus on ELT Journal Readers,

Prof. Dr. Gölge Seferoğlu received her B.A. degree in English language teaching from Boğaziçi University in İstanbul, Turkey and did a coursework-based graduate study at the same university in Early Childhood Education. In 1994, she obtained the M.A. degree in TESOL at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York. One year later, she also received her Master of Education degree in the Applied Linguistics Program at the same university. In 1997, she received Ph.D. in the Applied Linguistics Program of the Department of Languages, Literature, and Social Studies in Education at Columbia University, completing her dissertation entitled ‘Perceptions About English Skills Needed for Graduate Study in the US: A Case Study of Students, Instructors, and a Language Program in Turkey’. She worked at the Department of Foreign Language Education at Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey for 20 years between 2000 and 2020. Prof. Dr. Gölge Seferoğlu is now working at the Department of Teacher Education and Foundations at California State University, San Bernardino in the USA.

As the guest editors of this dedicated issue, we believe that we can also express our feelings towards Prof. Dr. Gölge Seferoğlu on behalf of her former and current students, some of whom have contributed to this issue. We must clearly state that we were among those lucky students who had the chance to enroll in Prof. Dr. Gölge Seferoğlu’s courses. She has combined her passion in teaching with learning, while at the same time, she has been always available and resourceful for her students.

She has always encouraged and welcomed us to ask questions at any time during the class or activity. Not only that, but she's been quite responsive and personable.

She has never stopped learning from her colleagues, and even from her students, and never hesitated to express this. “Over the years, I have learned an enormous amount about teaching, learning and research from many wonderful people, all my former and current students and my colleagues. Their influence pervades my research and publications,” says Prof. Dr. Seferoğlu (Wart, 2021, para. 17). We, as the former but lifelong learners of her, cannot agree more on her influence on us and hope to pass her ambition of teaching and learning to our future learners.

We hope that Prof. Dr. Gölge Seferoğlu will enjoy reading this dedicated issue and accept this as ‘a little thanks’ for what she has done and will do for us, for her former, current, and future students. We also would like to wish her a happy birthday on this special day (April 4th). May your smile never fade away!

This dedicated issue includes 9 research articles, which have been listed and reviewed here based on the surnames of the authors, alphabetically.

The first article of the current issue has been co-authored by Akayoğlu, Üzüm, and Yazan (2022). This article presents the outcomes of a six-week virtual exchange initiative called Supporting Teachers' Engagement in Pedagogies of Social Justice (STEPS), which involved pre- service teachers from five institutions and in-service teachers from Turkey and the United States. Through professional development and interactions amongst pre-service and in-service teachers from two nations, the study's major goal was to promote social justice-informed pedagogies in K- 12 classrooms.

The second article written by Aslan (2022)investigates the perceptions of prospective English language instructors as future teachers as a case study. The 56 participants' writings were utilized as a source of data for a more in-depth examination of the context-sensitive character of their future-oriented identities. In the participants' future-oriented identity work, the findings indicated two patterns: highly developed and (under)developed probable selves as L2 instructors. In terms of the nature of their aspirations and concerns, as well as their exercises of agency and responses to tensions and problems in language education, both groups of participants appeared to be rather distinct. In addition, individuals' potential language teacher identities appeared to be divided into three kinds: L2 teacher development, L2 teacher competency and L2 teacher proficiency).

The next study was authored by Erkan (2022)to investigate if teachers' electronic feedback (e-feedback) on their student's work in an English for Academic Purposes program was successful. Students submitted their essays using the Learning Management System (LMS), and professors gave online comments through the system. The findings mostly suggest that students profited from getting various types of feedback via the system, and teachers had more discretion to deliver as much input as they wanted for various goals. The findings of this study suggest that e-feedback practices be infused into language classrooms, and that teachers should be provided with appropriate training and practice to develop their knowledge and abilities.

The study conducted by Ölçü Dinçer (2022)is a longitudinal study which investigates the metaphors that pre-service English instructors use to “grammar” and compare their evolution at the beginning and at the end of their four-year education at the university. The findings imply that the opinions of pre-service teachers evolved, indicating that rule metaphors had declined significantly, when participants used more system and function metaphors. At the end of the study, it was also determined that pre-service English instructors used a more system-oriented approach to grammar. Taner and Balıkçı’s (2022)study investigates the role of experience in language instructors' views about the use of L1 in L2 (translanguaging) classrooms. Pre-service and in- service teachers took part in this study, and the research questions revealed which areas of language education they agreed and disagreed with the use of L1. Teachers' perceptions on specific areas where they use L1 in the findings of both quantitative and qualitative assessments vary significantly between pre-service and in-service teachers, emphasizing the value of experience. While pre- service teachers preferred to use only English, experienced teachers were more hesitant to use L1 in all of their activities. It was determined that experience as well as the L2 teaching and learning context were essential factors in using L1.

The next study, which is a qualitative study, has been conducted by Taşdemir and Gümüşok (2022)to investigate how an EFL instructor's studies and teaching abroad experiences influenced her classroom practices. It also considered learner reactions to her comments on her study and teaching abroad experiences in the classroom. The findings demonstrated these experiences aided the instructor's personal and professional growth, as well as influencing her teaching techniques. Learners also enjoyed the instructor's specific mention of her foreign relationships as a way of offering real input, improving the course topic, boosting class participation, and raising learners' intercultural awareness. As a recommendation, it was stated that language teachers could be supported with teachers’ study or teach abroad programs to improve their intercultural competence.

The study by Tekin (2022)includes the data obtained from his unpublished Ph.D. dissertation entitled “Effect of a culturalist versus an interculturalist approach in ELT on Turkish EFL teacher candidates’ proteophilic competence”, which was supervised by Prof. Dr. Gölge Seferoğlu. It is due to note that as the guest editors of this issue, we have asked the author not to include Prof. Dr. Gölge Seferoğlu as the second author since this issue has been dedicated to her. The viewpoints of three different groups of EFL teacher trainees in their first year on the English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) perspective in ELT are examined in this study. A six-item questionnaire was used as a pre- and post-experiment survey to collect data from the 83 participants in the study. The results revealed that teacher candidates favored native English varieties over non-native English varieties, while simultaneously recognising English's role as an international lingua franca.

The findings of the study corroborate previous research on language learners' impressions of and attitudes toward different varieties of English.

Terzi (2022)aims at investigating how English language instructors' self-efficacy views altered over the course of four years, from pre-service through in-service. With that purpose in mind, the researchers analyzed how real teaching experience affected EFL teachers' self-efficacy views. The data for the study was gathered using the Turkish Version of the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale. The participants' efficacy in classroom management and teaching strategies improved with time, especially after four years of teaching.

The last study published in the current issue is conducted by Tomak (2022), which investigates the learner strategies used by students. This study is also based on Tomak’s doctoral dissertation under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Gölge Seferoğlu. Since the issue has been dedicated to Prof. Dr. Gölge Seferoğlu, we have asked Tomak not to add her as the second author. Ten individuals were chosen based on their diverse learning characteristics. These students were questioned after the first semester, when they were expected to finish their A2 level. They were also asked to carry out think-aloud-protocols immediately following the interviews to evaluate their reading performance, monitor what type of techniques they employed to complete the tasks, and verify whether they were doing what they had said in the interviews. It was discovered that the hard-working group adjusted their techniques from the first term to the second term.

We would like to thank all the authors wholeheartedly for their invaluable contributions to this special issue and cooperation during the review process and the reviewers whose constructive criticisms, suggestions, and comments have been more than welcomed by the authors as well as the guest editors.

We wish you good reading, much health, and happiness in these troubled times!

References

Akayoğlu, S., Üzüm, B., & Yazan, B. (2022). Supporting teachers’ engagement in pedagogies of social justice (STEPS): A collaborative project between five universities in Turkey and the USA. Focus on ELT Journal, 4(1), 7-27. https://doi.org/10.14744/felt.2022.4.1.2

Aslan, R. (2022). ‘What kind of teacher I wish to be’: Exploring prospective English language teachers’ future-oriented identities. Focus on ELT Journal, 4(1), 28-45. https://doi.org/10.14744/felt.2022.4.1.3

Erkan, G. (2022). The impact of teacher e-feedback on students’ writing: A waste of time or a road to success? Focus on ELT Journal, 4(1), 46-59. https://doi.org/10.14744/felt.2022.4.1.4

Ölçü Dinçer, Z. (2022). What is grammar for pre-service English teachers? Entrance and exit level beliefs. Focus on ELT Journal, 4(1), 60-73. https://doi.org/10.14744/felt.2022.4.1.5

Taner, G., & Balıkçı, G. (2022). EFL Teachers’ opinions on the use of L1 in L2 classrooms: Role of experience and context. Focus on ELT Journal, 4(1), 74-90. https://doi.org/10.14744/felt.2022.4.1.6

Taşdemir, H., & Gümüşok, F. (2022). An EFL instructor’s study and teach abroad experiences and complementary views from learners. Focus on ELT Journal, 4(1), 91-104. https://doi.org/10.14744/felt.2022.4.1.7

Tekin, M. (2022). An experimental study on EFL teacher trainees’ opinions about English as a lingua franca. Focus on ELT Journal, 4(1), 105-123. https://doi.org/10.14744/felt.2022.4.1.8

Terzi, C. (2022). From practicum to real classroom: Does experience change perceived self-efficacy beliefs of English language teachers? Focus on ELT Journal, 4(1), 124-141. https://doi.org/10.14744/felt.2022.4.1.9

Tomak, B. (2022). Language learning strategies used by the Turkish EFL learners to improve their reading skill. Focus on ELT Journal, 4(1), 142-160. https://doi.org/10.14744/felt.2022.4.1.10

Wart, M. V. (2021, Dec. 14). Gölge Seferoğlu: A master of many research designs. CSUSB Inside. Article 551024. https://www.csusb.edu/inside/article/551024/golge-seferoglu-master-many-research-designs