The Effects of Teaching Toponyms and Folk Geography Terms with Information Technologies in Literature Courses

Abstract

Kazakh and Nogai peoples have shared many similar experiences throughout history. In the theoretical dimension of this study, the common features of Kazakh and Nogai communities in the fields of language, culture and geography are analyzed in a comparative perspective. In the research dimension, the common history of Kazakh and Nogai peoples, language kinship and similarities in the formation of place names were discussed in detail, and the cultural and linguistic ties of these two communities were taught with the support of information technologies. In this context, a pre-test post-test design with control group was applied in the study. Experimental applications were applied in Kazakh Language and Literature course. Toponyms and folk geography terms in Kazakh and Nogai languages were taught with the support of information technologies in the experimental group and traditional teaching in the control group (6 weeks). Kazakh and Nogai Language Achievement Tests and Attitude towards the Course Scale were used as measurement tools in the research. Mann Whitney U test, one of the Non-Parametric statistics, was used to analyze the research data. According to the research findings, a significant difference was found in favor of the experimental group in terms of Kazakh Toponyms and Folk Geography Terms. However, no significant difference was found between the achievements of the experimental and control groups in teaching Nogai Toponyms and Folk Geography Terms. Finally, it was found that the information-supported teaching activities applied in the study positively affected the students' attitudes towards the course.