The World Is Your Oyster: An Emotional Literacy Improvement Programme For EFL Teachers

by Seden Tuyan and Ali Avar, ukurova University, Turkey

Mrs. Seden Tuyan is a graduate of ELT Department, Dokuz Eyll University, Izmir, Turkey(B.A.), ukurova University(M.A. ELT) and is presently doing her Ph.D. on the use of Emotional Intelligence in ELT, at ukurova University.In 2000 she attended Emotional Intelligence and Character Development Institute given by Kagan Courses in Anaheim, CA, USA. Currently, she is working as a member of Staff Development Unit at YADIM, ukurova University and preparing Emotional Literacy Improvement courses for EFL teachers. Her areas of interests other than Emotional Intelligence includes Social Psychology and NLP.

Mr. Ali Avar is a graduate of ELT Department, ukurova University, Adana, Turkey (B.A.), ukurova University (M.A. ELT).He is currently an instructor of English and a member of Staff Development Unit at YADIM, ukurova University. His area of interests includes teacher development, mainly teacher's perceptions of their professional roles, and the applications of the concepts of social psychology in teacher development.

Abstract
Emotions are the realm in which we as EFL teachers and learners, dwell, and they can lead us to self-defeat and destruction, or a life of mediocricity, or a life shining like a pearl! Our life is like that of an oyster, with a grain of sand in it to be turned into a beautiful pearl, perhaps possible only with awareness through an Emotional Literacy Development Programme for EFL teachers. This presentation aims at giving the results of a pilot study from the trainers and the trainees perspectives.

4 -Bolero starts to play.... The Oyster Drama There once was an oyster Whose story I tell Who found that some sand Had got into his shell (the fate throws some sand to the oyster, the oyster looks very unhappy) It was only a grain, but it gave him great pain. For oysters have feelings Although they are so plain. (the oyster looks extremely unhappy, suffering with pain, trying to clear out the sand in his shell) (fate doesn't stop; she shows different signs to the oyster ( Signs; BAD MEMORIES, PREJUDICES, UNCLEAR GOALS, PROCRASTINATIONS, RISKS, MISTAKES, CONFLICTS, then she attaches a note on the oyster "CLUMSY OYSTER" (music goes on as he desperately cries for his situation) Now did he scold the harsh workings of fate That had brought him To such an unacceptable state??? (oyster looks lost in thought, depressed, discouraged...) Did he curse at the government, Cry for election, And claim that the sea should Have given him protection??? "NO" he said to himself

5 As he lay on a shell, Since I can not remove it, I shall try to improve it. ( the oyster moving around in the room, looks very determined to struggle, showing a NO sign to himself, the fate, and the audience) Now the years have rolled around As the years always do, And he came to his ultimate Destiny turning point (the oyster stands near the turning point sign) And the small grain of sand That had bothered him so Was a beautiful pearl All richly aglow ( the oyster takes out a pearl and shows it happily to the audience) Now the tale had a moral, for isn't it grand What an oyster can do With a morsel of sand?

What couldn't we do If we'd only begin With some of the things That get under our skin. (now it's time for the oyster to show his own signs; AWARENESS, FLEXIBILITY, FORGIVENESS, INTEGRITY, SELF CONTROL, MOTIVATION, INTERDEPENDANCE) (the oyster and the fate shake hands... end of the drama... THE END sign )

6 AL: As you have just seen, the oyster after suffering from the harsh workings of fate, clearly understood that it was pointless to sit around and wait for something or someone to hand him a happier life. Remember his words? He said, Since I cannot remove it, I shall try to improve it. SEDEN: What he did was that, first, he thought about his needs and wants, second, he decided how he wanted to feel, following, he determined how he want others to treat him, then, he developed a value system and finally the result was there A BEAUTIFUL, GLORIOUS, SHINING PEARL... By deciding to improve his life conditions, the oyster showed many characteristics of "emotional literacy." This is where we get to our point of "EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE." Of course we will learn more about emotional intelligence theory but before that we want you to walk around it a bit and think more. Activity In your envelopes you have five question cards. Ok now everybody, stand in the middle and place your question cards around you in this way, when I ring the bell everyone will step towards one of the five question cards and think about the answer, you will have 1 minute thinking time for each question(5 minutes). Feelings and Emotional Intelligence Questions: 1) How do you feel today? Why do you feel the way you do right now? 2) Have you ever completely lost control of your self because your emotions were so strong? If so, what was the emotion and what happened? 3) When you feel unmotivated what are some ways you can motivate yourself? 4) Do you pay attention to the emotions of others? What are some benefits of tuning into other people's emotions? 5) Do you find it easy to make and keep friends? Why or why not?

THE STUDY In opposition to the emphasis given on the cognitive aspect in education, the affective domain is de-emphasized or not emphasised at all (Hargreaves 2000) despite the fact that emotions, accompany all cognitive processes, including teaching and learning(Fogarty 1998; Gordon 2000; Hargreaves 2000). According to Kelly and Moon (1998), emotional and social intelligence are important in success in certain occupations and they may provide a means for the mature expression of talent in work and in life, and for them, teaching is one occupation that requires emotional information for effective decision making, which is basic for self-regulation and goal attainment. With the advent of Emotional Intelligence, there has been an increasing interest in emotions in education (Cherniss 2000; Cobb and Mayer 2000; Kelly and Moon 1998; Mayer and Cobb 2000; Pfeiffer 2001;Gibbs 1995), both the emotions of teachers at work and students in and outside the classroom, which led to many scholars to discuss how to benefit from affective domain to raise the quality of education. In ELT, affective domain, especially under the broad category of personality factors, has mostly dealt with emotions under the titles of self-esteem, motivation, inhibition, risk-taking, empathy, extraversion, etc. (Brown 1994), stressing their importance in language learning. However, Emotional Intelligence further brought emotions into the educational agenda by asserting that awareness and regulation of emotions are important factors in predicting success in all aspects of life, and skills for a high level of emotional understanding can be learned. Emotional Literacy, is a term which comes from Emotional Intelligence Theory. In 1990, Mayers and Salovey coined the term emotional intelligence (EQ) after exploring the relationships between cognitive brain functions and affect (including emotions, moods) and attracted considerable attention again on affective domain in learning. They describe EQ as the ability to recognize how you and those around you are feeling, as well as the ability to generate, understand, and regulate emotions. In 1995, Daniel Goleman expanded on the Mayors-Salovey theory in a way that helped educators make use of EQ in educational settings. Accordingly, he described five general areas of

8 emotional intelligence: self-awareness, managing moods, motivation, empathy, and social skills, which have a close bearing to all aspects of life , namely, teachers and students lives, in our context. Understanding those 5 areas of EQ mentioned above seems essential, because changes that present society undergoes, such as changing family structures (increasing divorce rate, working mothers, etc.), media (television, radio, internet, etc.), uncertain future prospects due to economic and employment instabilities, may influence educational settings negatively (Goleman 1995; Kagan 2000; Pfeiffer 2001). This negative effect can be observed mostly as misbehaviors that cause classroom disruption, drop-outs, violence, self-destruction, anxiety, low academic achievement, even smoking and drug abuse among teenagers. This is also true when we remember Denzin(1984) that the new generation needs to be professionally supervised by their teachers both inside and outside the classroom. As to the emotions in teacher education, Collinson (1999), in his study on the knowledge conceptions of excellent teachers, state that practitioners conceive of their work as having three parts of knowledge base: 1-professional knowledge: knowledge of subject matter, curriculum, and pedagogy, 2-interpersonal knowledge: reltaionships with students, the educational community, and the local community, 3-intrapersonal knowledge: teachers ethics and dispositions. Collinson (1999) state that good teachers make use of their knowledge of interpersonal knowledge to establish successful relationships with students and colleagues, which requires such characteristics as empathy to understand others, honesty and trust, respect, tolerance of different perspectives, good communication skills, political awareness, etc. It also includes the processes and conceptions that influence how we perceive ourselves, which in turn influence teachers decision making, and therefore, the success and wellbeing of students (Collinson 1999), and she agrees with and mentions his idea on what people with low emotional intelligence do, behaving with impulses and self-centredness, which prevents them using empathy, caring, compassion, and tolerance.

9 Importance of emotions and Emotional Intelligence in teacher education may become more obvious when we consider the nature of the interaction between the teacher and students in the classroom, the administration and teachers in a school. Hargreaves (2000) state that all the people involved in education at various times, worry, hope, enthuse, become bored, doubt, envy, brood, love, feel proud, get anxious, are despondent, become frustrated. Obviously, teachers not understanding their students emotions, or misunderstanding them, will lead to problems in the classroom, preventing the teacher from responding effectively to the immediate context of the classroom, which, as a result, will cause a drop in the level of the quality of teaching. To avoid this, it is necessary for the teacher be in close relationship with the students in order for them to probe into the emotions of their students. Research on the influence of emotional learning has yet many questions waiting to be answered (Cobb and Mayer 2000; Mayer and Cobb 2000; Pfeiffer 2001). It is stated that there is still not a firm grounded research base for the Emotional Intelligence in education and this study was done to add into the research pool on the place of emotional intelligence in teacher development in the ELT field. Research Questions 1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of teachers at YADIM, the Centre for Foreign Languages at ukurova University, regarding their emotional intelligence? 2. Does involvement in an Emotional Literacy Development Programme help teachers at YADIM improve their weaknesses and reinforce their strengths as EFL teachers regarding their emotional intelligence? 3. What other factors could be implemented apart from Kagan's Model, when establishing an Emotional Literacy Development Programme for EFL teachers? Subjects The subjects of this action research study were teachers of English who were teaching at YADIM, The Foreign Languages Centre, at ukurova University. All the teachers at YADIM were given a seminar on "Emotional Intelligence and its Implementation in ELT" at the beginning of the year. Following that, the researcher asked for volunteer participants among the seminar group to join the sessions which were

10 planned to be given on emotional intelligence. The group was formed on a voluntary basis since teacher development is believed to be self-initiated. The researcher held a meeting to explain the fundamental principles of the course and ensured the volunteer participation of 7 teachers.

Data Collection The data of the study were collected through the following instruments: All about me Participant Profile Checklist; EQ Map-An Integrated EQ Assessment and Individual Profile, Version 4.5; EQ Map Interpretation Guide; The EQ Map Scoring Grid; EQ Map Results Evaluation Checklist; EQ in Action Worksheet; the researcher's footnotes; researcher's diary; participant teachers' learning logs; Course Evaluation Questionnaire. a) All about me Participant Profile Checklist : This checklist was given to the participants before their strengths and weaknesses regarding their EQs were assessed, in order to have some detailed information on their gender, educational, and emotional backgrounds, b) EQ Map-An Integrated EQ Assessment and Individual Profile, Version 4.5: EQ mapping is a process which guides the exploration of Emotional Intelligence by plotting the participants' personal strengths and vulnerabilities to identify individual paths for success. The participants were asked to map their EQ strengths and vulnerabilities twice- first before they started attending the EQ sessions given by the researcher, second after the EQ sessions were over, c) EQ Map Interpretation Guide: gives the interpretations of the performance zones (optimal, proficient, vulnerable, caution) which represent varying levels of skill or competency in the EQ areas that are being mapped, d) The EQ Map Scoring Grid: was used to visually map the participants' personal performance, creating a snapshot of their current EQ strengths and vulnerabilities, e) EQ Map Results Evaluation Checklist: were given to the participants after they first mapped their EQs, to get their perspectives related to their evaluation of the results interpreted regarding their EQ strengths and vulnerabilities,

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11 f) EQ in Action Worksheet: was used to help the participants create a step-by-step plan for enhancing one EQ vulnerability, g) Researcher's Footnotes: These notes, which were taken on the spot during the sessions by the researcher, were used as feedback for the ongoing sessions and to support the findings obtained, h) Researcher's Diary: A diary was kept by the researcher as a consciousness raising activity for self analysis, self evaluation and self-awareness. i) Participant Teachers' Learning Logs: were used to help the participant teachers monitor their own learning, i.e., the learning points from the sessions, the implications for their department and the things they learnt that had an impact on their current role, j) Course Evaluation Questionnaire: This questionnaire was given to the teachers in order to elicit their opinion about the course content and the procedure followed and get insider's perspective as feedback for future EQ courses. The Study The study was conducted during the 2000-2001 academic year/ spring semester. Throughout the study, seven participant teachers were met once a week during three-hour sessions, for ten weeks. The focus of the programme was mainly on Kagan 's model of EQ and supporting articles and activities to help teachers become aware of their strengths and weaknesses regarding EQ. a) The Cycles of the Pilot Study 1st CYCLE: Eliciting teachers' strengths and weaknesses regarding their Emotional Intelligence (EQ) EQ Map All about me Participant Profile Checklist Results Evaluation Checklist The most problematic dimension according to the EQ Map results considering the whole group was identified by means of content analysis and dealt with first. The

2nd CYCLE: Preparation of the input for the Emotional Intelligence Programme;

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12 course continued with the other problematic dimensions considering the density of the weaknesses of the participants. 3rd CYCLE: Task preparation ; Kagan's five dimensioned EQ model was taken as a guide, because of the fact that his model is neatly organised and has been used before for educational purposes. Each scale in EQ Map was categorised under Kagan's EQ dimensions and ensured to match with the course syllabus items. Tasks for each session fronted by the researcher mainly consisted of the related articles for reading (gathered from different sources), experiential activities for practice(mostly produced by the researcher) and ideas for classroom practice (Kagan's activities). 4 CYCLE: Introducing the course content to the participants; Providing Input Teachers read some related articles in their own time, Whole group discussion on the articles, Brainstorming, Peer discussion on definitions, etc.
th

Involvement in Experiential Activities Reflection on the activities by the teachers Learning Logs Peer discussion Whole group discussion

Ideas for classroom practice 5th CYCLE: Finding out to what extend the activities help the teachers improve their emotional intelligence, EQ Map Teachers' learning logs EQ in Action Worksheet Researcher's diary Researcher's footnotes

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13 6th CYCLE: Researcher's reflection on the factors that should be taken into consideration while establishing an Emotional Intelligence Development Programme Researcher's Diary Course Evaluation Questionnaire Teachers' reflections in the learning logs.

Data Analysis The analysis of this study was based on the data obtained from the EQ Map-An Integrated EQ Assessment and Individual Profile, Version 4.5. The EQ Map was firstly used as a pre-test before starting the EQ sessions, to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the participant teachers regarding their emotional intelligence. After the sessions finished, the participant teachers were asked to re-take the EQ Map as a post-test to plot their changes over time. The pre-test and post-test results were subjected to Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test in order to see if the change the participants underwent after the sessions were significant or not. All about me Participant Profile Checklist was used to support the individual profile for the EQ strengths and weaknesses of each participant. EQ Map Results Evaluation Checklist was used as an insider's perspective and feedback on the results of the EQ Map. EQ in Action Worksheet, researcher's diary, footnotes, participant teachers' learning logs and the Course Evaluation Questionnaire were all used to support the findings and helped the researcher to predict the quality of the programme and determine the factors that should be considered when establishing en Emotional Literacy Improvement Programme for EFL teachers. Participant teachers' learning logs, researchers' diary and course evaluation questionnaires were analysed by using content analysis.

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Results and Discussion

This part presents the discussion of the results in the light of the data obtained from: a) EQ Map pre-test- post-test results b) Learning Logs c) Course Evaluation Questionnaires a) EQ Map pre-test- post-test results: The results which were obtained from EQ Map(pre-test- post-test results) were subjected to Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test in order to see if the change the participants underwent after the sessions were significant or not. (see Table 1).

Table 1- Postpuan-prepuan Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test Results: (The change is significant <,05) Scale 1: Life Pressures: Social Skills Scale 2: Life Satisfactions: Social Skills Scale 9: Interpersonal Connections: Social Skills Scale 18: Quality of Life: Social Skills Scale 19: Relationship Quotient: Social Skills Scale 3: Emotional Self-Awareness: Self Awareness Scale 4: Emotional expression: Self Awareness Scale 13: Intuition: Self-Awareness Scale 11: Outlook: Self-Awareness Scale 16: Integrated Self: Self-Awereness Scale 5: Emotional Awareness of Others: Empathy Scale 12: Compassion: Empathy Scale 14: Trust: Empathy Scale 6: Intentionality: Self-Control ,063 ,917* ,553* ,018 ,498* ,018 ,058 ,042 ,017 ,395* ,061 ,017 ,051 ,046

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15 Scale 10: Constructive Discontent: Self-Control Scale 17: General Health: Self-Control Scale 7: Creativity: Self-Motivation Scale 8: Resilience: Self-Motivation Scale 15: Personal Power: Self-Motivation Scale 20: Optimal Performance: Self-Motivation ,018 ,034 ,018 ,018 ,018 ,128*

In order to understand the results shown in Table 1, the performance zones which represent varying levels of skills or competency in the areas being mapped by EQ Map are needed to be clarified. These are; OPTIMAL: You show great strength, effectiveness, creativity, even under pressure, PROFICIENT: You demonstrate steady, balanced EQ effectiveness, VULNERABLE: Unsteady performance and may fluctuate from situation to situation, CAUTION: Your EQ ability needs enhancement Considering these performance zones, if we have a close look at the scales which mark insignificant change; for scale 2 (see Table 2), we can see that the participants already occupied "optimal" category in scales, so they can't be expected to undergo a change. Table 2Scale 2: Life Satisfactions: SOCIAL SKILLS: Wilcoxon Signed Rank Result: ,917
Pre O (63-28) Participant 1 Participant 2 Participant 3 40 40 53 32 42 P (27-21) V (20-12) C (11-0) O (63-28) 44 P (27-21) Post V (20-12) C (11-0)

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Participant 4 Participant 5 Participant 6 Participant 7 54 61 41 55 54 30 42 47

As for Scale 9 ( see Table 3), only Participant 1 had moved from vulnerable to caution, which might be because of some personal temporary setbacks, except that we see many people had undergone a change. Table3Scale 9: Interpersonal Connections: SOCIAL SKILLS: Wilcoxon Signed Rank Result: ,553 Pre O (30-29) Participant 1 Participant 2 Participant 3 Participant 4 Participant 5 Participant 6 Participant 7 29 30 27 29 29 30 29 26 22 25 21 29 P (28-25) V (24-19) 19 C (18-0) O (30-29) P (28-25) Post V (24-19) C (18-0) 15

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17 The same is true for Scale 19(see Table 4). This scale also shows us that, except participant 3, most of the participants had undergone a certain change. Table 4Scale 19: Relationship Quotient: : SOCIAL SKILLS: Wilcoxon Signed Rank Result: ,498 Pre O (21-19) Participant 1 Participant 2 Participant 3 Participant 4 Participant 5 Participant 6 Participant 7 21 21 18 19 21 21 18 20 19 15 18 20 P (18-16) V (15-13) C (12-0) 11 O (21-19) P (18-16) Post V (15-13) 14 C (12-0)

The reason for the scale "Integrated Self" (Scale 16) (see Table 5 below) to pose no significant change is due to the fact that, according to EQ Map Scales Interpretation Guide, this scale is also affected by the scale "Optimal Performance" (Scale 20) (see Table 6 below). That is, when Optimal Performance is concerned, we should keep in mind that the inconsistency may be related to the problems with other scales. So, the insignificant change in scale 20 proves that participants had problems with their optimal performance because they had problems with their integrated self skills and interpersonal connections skills. We may also say that their intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and creative selves don't fit together in a consistent, synchronised whole to support and further their personal values in their interpersonal connections. Simply they

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18 can't be themselves in their relationships and they need to work on these skills to improve.

Table 5Scale 16: Integrated Self: SELF AWARENESS: Wilcoxon Signed Rank Result: ,395 Pre O (27-23) Participant 1 Participant 2 Participant 3 Participant 4 Participant 5 Participant 6 Participant 7 26 27 17 23 22 21 22 21 14 18 22 24 P (22-20) 20 V (19-16) C (15-0) O (27-23) P (22-20) Post V (19-16) 17 C (15-0)

Table 6Scale 20: Optimal Performance: SELF MOTIVATION: Wilcoxon Signed Rank Result: ,128 Pre O (21-20) Participant 1 Participant 2 Participant 14 9 16 19 P (19-18) V (17-15) C (14-0) 12 O (21-20) 20 P (19-18) Post V (17-15) C (14-0)

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3 Participant 4 Participant 5 Participant 6 Participant 7 19 21 17 21 15 18 14 21

b) Learning Logs: Teachers review of their own experience, their learning points as they noted in their learning logs(see Appendix 1), can be listed under three main headings;

A) Awareness and Change the Participants Went through

SESSION 1 : GENERAL AWARENESS RAISING ABOUT EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE I especially liked the part about EQ based listening, I realised that sometimes I don't let people speak / / / Darvin's saying, "beliefs divide us, emotions unite us" was effective and shocking on my behalf I liked the idea that EI skills can be learnt and developed.

SESSION2: SOCIAL(INTERPERSONAL) SKILLS It's difficult for me to count on people; after this session on while I am doing something at home and outside I will avoid taking all the responsibilities and I will try to count on people and give them responsibility. I always cherish the interaction with my occasional partner and the whole group. I love it.

SESSION 3: SELF CONTROL I can see that we can control our strong habits like smoking, overeating, etc. The stories were really interesting for me. Discussing the morals of the stories about selfcontrol was the significant part of the session. / / / /

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SESSION 4: SELF AWARENESS From what I read and discussed, I understand that I should accept my feelings positive or negative, because they are my own feelings and refusing them doesn't help me gain control over them. Self awareness is an important point in our life for any situation. It helps us to understand ourselves and use our ability to be successful, happy and self-confident. If we know ourselves we can improve ourselves easily.

SESSION 5: SELF MOTIVATION Thinking and writing about my five priorities in life, and ordering them from more to the least important and sharing them with my partner was very useful for me. This helped me to think about my goals and made those goals more reachable for me. I've learnt some skills to improve my and my students' motivation. / / / SESSION 6: EMPATHY I'd love to share my feelings about this topic with you because I do believe that it is very important to learn about the guidelines of face recognition as a teacher. I am sorry that I won't be able to reflect on this session but during the session I became very emotional and I was about to burst into tears, but I didn't let it happen. What I especially find interesting was the fact that empathy is for both sides that is it enriches not only the receiver but also the giver. This nice to reconsider, because sometimes it is hard to be the giver or TIRING should say.

B) Conclusions and learning points of the participants

SESSION 1 : GENERAL AWARENESS RAISING ABOUT EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE I make the decisions about my life and what my life will be like is up to me, I think my friend was more open to her own feelings or should I say she had a position that she accepted her feelings even if they were inconsistent. I was surprised to know that. But me! Oh, me! I have always blamed myself for my inconsistent feelings. I have always valued

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my beliefs. I've always suppressed my own feelings and was not able to get to know them. Now I am crying for my feelings. They are my feelings, they are mine, SESSION2: SOCIAL(INTERPERSONAL) SKILLS I am not happy with my responsibilities but still I am taking more on me, maybe I should do something that will change all of my life and get rid of some of my responsibilities I will keep the morals of the stories in my mind and try to implement them in my life.

SESSION 3: SELF CONTROL Being more tolerant and patient may help us feel happier and relaxed, it is very easy to lose temper and hurt someone, but it is extremely difficult to make up for it. Stress is in me, doesn't come from other things around. Now I can see stress and conflict are hand in hand. SESSION 4: SELF AWARENESS I didn't learn much from these three activities. They are the things which I already know. They only made me think more about these subjects. If I want a change I should dare some unsuccessful tries, but it is worth another try before I give up. SESSION 5: SELF MOTIVATION I need to work on my goals, priorities and ways of achieving them. Because now I know they need revision, reshaping, etc. to be more reasonable in all aspects of my life. The same is true for our students at YADIM; because they don't like studying, they are not motivated enough. They waste their time mostly. My first goal in life is being happy- a balance between private and professional life.

SESSION 6: EMPATHY I think I had one more step in expressing our emotions; not only using words but also with body language and facial expressions when necessary especially in classroom. Empathy skills enables us to feel others' feelings, fears, needs and interests. It gives a great point of view, it helps us to solve problems and feeling of sharing.

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22 C) Teachers' Action Plans for Personal and Professional Development

SESSION 1 : GENERAL AWARENESS RAISING ABOUT EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE I am going to let my feelings go from now on...I will not suppress them anymore, I will keep a log of my feelings too, I will write when I feel it, where I feel it, perhaps only after that I can find out why feel that way. I am going to spend more time with me and be more patient and non-judgemental while listening to others. / /

SESSION2: SOCIAL(INTERPERSONAL) SKILLS I used "I can/can't count on ...to... " activity in my class and it worked very well. My students liked it a lot. They wanted me to bring those kind of activities again. We discussed about trust, honesty and why people can't count on each other easily. This activity helped me to learn more about my students, I will try the other ones in my class. SESSION 3: SELF CONTROL I am going to try not to say things in anger and hurt people because even if I say "I am sorry", the wound is still there. I may give these stories to my students because whenever I hear them outside the classroom, they speak to each other in an impolite way and they hurt each other very easily. These stories can help them think twice before yelling at each other. I am going to use the information and try to understand my students better than before. I've already started doing it SESSION 4: SELF AWARENESS When people or students get angry or unhappy and cry, I will not try to stop them and soothe them in order to let them experience their feelings. I will use these activities in my class and I am sure that these will help them improve their self awareness. / /

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SESSION 5: SELF MOTIVATION I am trying to motivate myself. I won't get lost in small details, become a pessimist and I don't want any pessimists around me. Pessimist people(Ts) affect their students' and their colleagues way of thinking as well. I should allocate some time, at least half an hour, working on goals and prioritising them. Probably at the end of the day, perhaps at the beginning of the day. Anyway I'll see to do it, starting from this weekend... I am going to be aware of myself and environment on the way to achieving my goals. WHEN? Today ! SESSION 6: EMPATHY

Before getting angry, or giving the final judgement about a person, I will stop and try to see the other person's point of view. ///

c) Course Evaluation Questionnaires: Apart from the learning logs, another data collection tool for this study was the Course Evaluation Questionnaire(see Appendix 2). Table 7 shows the content analysis results of Part A of this questionnaire ; Table 7EVALUATION OF THE EMOTIONAL LITERACY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME BY THE PARTICIPANTS COURSE EVALUATION QUESTIONNAIRES PART A Readings Offered in the Useful, concise, informative, Sessions Experiential Activities for Practising EQ interesting Useful, enjoyable, striking, effective Try to keep them short (1) Positive Comments Negative Comments

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24 Dimensions( stories, cartoons, etc.) Activities for Practising Enjoyable, applicable EQ Dimensions in Class *The language level of my students may not be sufficient enough, I will try all of these activities in class in the second term. (3) *Students love these kind of activities; they are especially good for speaking and writing courses. (2) *The fun part of the session

PART B What are the strengths of the course? Generally it was strong enough. The friendly atmosphere, the smiling face of the teacher, The materials given in the sessions were informative. The stories were especially related to the topics discussed in the session. In my opinion, the most important strength of the course is that you made it possible for us to see the change in our EQ levels (by giving the test at the beginning and end of the course. I think, it is a motivation to learn more about EQ and try to implement what we've learnt in our future life. Because, I've noticed that the more I learn about EQ, the happier I become. What areas of the course need improvement? Only a chance for the teachers to give the students material regularly. More activities on self-awareness. They contribute to the understanding of EQ.

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25 I believe that people like to talk about their experiences and want to share their ideas/ feelings with others of the same/similar background. I think more time should be devoted to such experience exchanges. OTHER COMMENTS My general comment for each material is the same; they are interesting, enjoyable and teach a lot. Experiential activities were very important to me because they made me think about myself and I spent time to focus on myself as a whole. Activities for students are nice but because of the syllabus, I couldn't devote my time in the classroom to do all of them. Also, to raise an awareness in students, the activities should be given regularly, not only when we have extra time. The EQ concept should be introduced to the students also, because their failure in studying is a part of the lack of EQ.

IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY FOR THE PROCEDURES TO BE EMPLOYED AND THE ENVIRONMENT TO BE CREATED WHEN ESTABLISHING AN EMOTIONAL LITERACY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME FOR EFL TEACHERS Teacher development is self-initiated(Mathur, 1987, Fullan 1991), so as much as possible, the teachers need to volunteer to participate in the development process. Voluntary participation is required for these kind of teacher development programmes, however the teachers may not know the contents of the programme SO, an Introductory Session about the content of the programme to all the teachers in that school helps to increase the number of volunteers for that programme. Assessment of the participant teachers' EQ levels at the start and the end of the programme helps them to become aware of their weaknesses and thus focus more on their weaknesses and improve during the sessions. For this reason, the delivery of the individual assessments( both the pre-test and the post test results) should be handled with care.

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26 A positive relationship between the trainer and participants creates a powerful learning environment. So the trainer needs to be warm, genuine, and empathic in the sessions. When the learning goals of the participants are linked to their personal values and hopes, they feel more motivated to change. So the trainer needs to help people realise if what they learn in the programme fits with their personal and professional values or not. Experiential methods works very well for teaching emotional intelligence skills. Stories, cartoons and different elaboration activities that employ all the senses are very powerful and effective for practising EQ skills. Sharing personal experience, problem solving, discussion in a friendly atmosphere helps teachers learn better, rather than being told what to do and how to do it. Learning log is a very good learning device for the participant teachers for monitoring their own learning during the EQ Improvement Programme since it includes statements both about the things experienced and about action plans arising from them. Pair work, team work activities decreases the teachers' anxiety levels and helps them emphasise more on sharing and exchanging ideas. The change in teachers may be more permanent if the school's culture and manner supports the change, and offer a sheltered atmosphere for practising EQ skills with students.

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REFERENCES
Cherniss, C.(2000).Emotional intelligence: what is it and why it matters. (Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology.) New Orleans,LA. Cobb,C.D., Mayer, J.D.(2000).Emotional intelligence: what the research says. Educational Leadership, 58(3), 14-18. Collinson, V. Redefining teacher excellence: theory into practice. ProQuest (Winter,1999): 38-1 [ Available on Line ]. Fogarty, R.(1998).The intelligence friendly classroom: it just makes sense. Phi Delta Kappan,79(9),655-657. Fullan, G.M.(1991). The new meanings of educational change. London: Cassell. Goleman, D. (1995).Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam Books. Hargreaves, A. "Mixed Emotions: teachers' perceptions of their interactions with students." Science Direct 16-8 (2000): 811-826 [ Available on Line ]. Kagan, S. (2000). Emotional Intelligence & Character Development Course Workbook. San Clemente, CA: Kagan Publishing. Kelly,K.R., Moon, S.M. (1998).Personal and social talents. Phi Delta Cappan, 79(10), 743. Mayer, J.D.,Cobb,C.D.(2000).Educational policy on emotional intelligence:Does it make sense? Educational Psychology Review, 12(2),164-182 Pfeiffer, S.I.(2001).Emotional intelligence: popular but elusive construct. Roeper Review, 23(3), 138-142.

APPENDICES APPENDIX 1- LEARNING LOG

Each time you use your Learning Log, PLEASE follow this procedure: Start by thinking back over the experience and selecting a part of it (a 15 minute period or so) that was significant or important for you.

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Write a detailed account of what happened during that period of the activity. Don't at this stage put any effort into deciding what you learned - just concentrate on describing what actually happened. Then list the conclusions you have reached as a result of the experience. These are, in effect, your learning points. Don't limit the number and don't worry about the practicality or quality of the points. Finally, decide which learning points you want to implement in the future and work out an action plan which covers: - What you are going to do? - When you are going to do it ? Spell out your action plan as precisely as possible so that you are clear about what you have to do and that it is realistic. Write a detailed account of what happened you have chosen as significant and important during the session.

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List your conclusions/learning points.

Write out your action plan. - What you are going to do? - When you are going to do it ?

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Now refer to your Learning Log What are your key learning points from these sessions? What implications are there for your department and organisation? What have you learned that impacts on your current role?

Note down your answers to these questions in your Learning Log, together with other questions and observations the sessions have generated that are relevant to you, your role and your organisation. This resource was designed and developed by the International Management Centres

APPENDIX 2-

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EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EQ)

COURSE EVALUATION QUESTIONNAIRE Please answer the following questions as sincerely as possible to give me a hand to make the necessary changes for future EQ courses. A- Rate the following course components and the procedures employed considering the extent you think they have been useful to improve your own weaknesses and reinforce your strengths as EFL teachers regarding your emotional intelligence? 1) Readings offered for the introduction to Emotional Intelligence. 5 Very useful 4 3 2 1 Not very useful

................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ............................ 2) Activities offered for the introduction to Emotional Intelligence. 5 Very useful 4 3 2 1 Not very useful

................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ............................ 3) Readings offered to provide input to Self- control. 5 Very useful 4 3 2 1 Not very useful

................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ 31

32 ................................................................................................................................................ ............................ 4) Experiential activities(stories,etc.) offered for practising Self-control. 5 Very useful ...... 5) Activities offered for practising Self-control in classroom. 5 Very useful 4 3 2 1 Not very useful 4 3 2 1 Not very useful

................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ............................ 6) Readings offered to provide input to Self-motivation. 5 Very useful 4 3 2 1 Not very useful

................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ............................ 7) Experiential activities(stories,etc.) offered for practising Self-motivation. 5 Very useful 4 3 2 1 Not very useful

................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ............................

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33 8) Activities offered for practising Self-motivation in classroom. 5 Very useful 4 3 2 1 Not very useful

................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ............................ 9) Readings offered to provide input to Social skills. 5 Very useful 4 3 2 1 Not very useful

................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ .............. 10) Experiential activities(stories,etc.) offered for practising Social skills. 5 Very useful 4 3 2 1 Not very useful

................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ............................ 11) Activities offered for practising Social skills in classroom. 5 Very useful 4 3 2 1 Not very useful

................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ............................

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34 12) Readings offered to provide input to Self-awareness. 5 Very useful 4 3 2 1 Not very useful

................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ............................ 13) Experiential activities(stories,etc.) offered for practising Self-awareness. 5 Very useful 4 3 2 1 Not very useful

................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ............................ 14) Activities offered for practising Self-awareness in classroom. 5 Very useful 4 3 2 1 Not very useful

................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ .............. 15) Readings offered to provide input to Empathy. 5 Very useful 4 3 2 1 Not very useful

................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ...........................

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35 16) Experiential activities(stories,etc.) offered for practising Empathy. 5 Very useful 4 3 2 1 Not very useful

................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ............................ 17) Activities offered for practising Empathy in classroom. 5 Very useful 4 3 2 1 Not very useful

................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ............................ B) Please answer the following questions: 1) What are the strengths of the course? ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ............................ 2) What areas of the course need improvement? ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................ ..................... Thank you for your collaboration

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Please cite this article as follows: Tuyan, S. & Avar, A. (2001). The world is your oyster: an emotional litetarcy improvement programme for EFLl teachers, in Proceedings of IATEFL Teachers Develop Teachers Research Conference, METU, Ankara, TURKEY.

Please cite this article as follows: Tuyan, S. & Avar, A. (2001). The world is your oyster: an emotional litetarcy improvement programme for EFL teachers, in Proceedings of IATEFL Teachers Develop Teachers Research Conference, METU, Ankara, TURKEY.