Study of Anxiety Levels for Listening Skills of Syrian Students Who Learn Turkish As A Foreign Language

The aim of this study is to identify the anxiety situations that arise during the process of developing the listening skills of Syrian students who learn Turkish as a foreign language. The “Listening Anxiety Scale” developed by Polat and Erişti (2018) has been used as a quantitative data collection tool in order to determine the levels of anxiety about listening ability of Syrian students who learn Turkish as a foreign language. Descriptive and predictive statistical techniques were used in the analysis of the quantitative data of this survey carried out in the screening model and the data were analyzed in SPSS 21 (Statistics Program for Social Sciences). In the qualitative dimension of the study, the semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher provided the students ' opinions on listening concerns and the data obtained after the interview were subject to content analysis. Kilis 7 Aralik University participated in the study in TÖMER (Turkish and foreign languages research and Application Center) the learning level B2 118 Turkish Syrian students. In obtaining qualitative data, 10 students were selected on a voluntary basis. The study found that gender characteristics of Syrian students who learned Turkish as a foreign language were a factor affecting listening anxiety; age, residential area of residence, etc. it concluded that variables are not a factor affecting listening anxiety. The lack of monitoring of listening, insufficient number of listening texts, the fast and poor sound quality of listening texts are among the reasons for listening concerns and some suggestions are listed based on these results.

Keywords

language skills, listening anxiety, teaching Turkish to foreigners, Syrian students