A Study on the Perceived Media Literacy Level of Preparatory Year Students in a University Setting

Contemporary Educational Technology. Faculty of Communication Sciences, Anadolu University, Yunus Emre Campus, Eskisehir 26470, Turkey. e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.cedtech.net

Y

14

Foreign Countries; College Freshmen; Media Literacy; Second Language Learning; English (Second Language); Knowledge Level; Student Attitudes; Mass Media; Television; Internet; Radio; Newspapers; Films; Mass Media Use

1309-517X

Media literacy is defined as the ability to encode and decode the symbols transmitted via media and to synthesize, analyze and produce mediated messages. Media literacy raises questions about the impact of media and technology, which has the potential to increase individuals' awareness about the effects of media on daily life. The aim of media literacy is to help students become competent, critical and literate in media forms because they need to interpret what they see or hear and prevent the interpretation from controlling them. Therefore, perceptions of students about their media literacy is a topic that requires attention at various education levels. The present study aimed to identify preparatory year program students' self-perceptions about media literacy and to explore whether they benefited from mass media in learning a foreign language, English in this context. Data were collected using Media Literacy Level Determination Scale developed by Karatas (2008). Open-ended questions that aimed to reveal students' perceptions of media literacy were asked with a view to supporting the data obtained from the scale. Both data collection tools also aimed to find out the factors associated with media literacy. The findings of the study are believed to open a perspective for the stakeholders in language teaching process by providing insight into the university students' stance towards media literacy.

As Provided

2019

EJ1232052