The Problems Encountered In Learning Turkish By Foreign Students Of Turkic Origin Coming From Turkic States And Communities To Turkish Universities

The difficulties experienced by the students of Turkic origin in learning Turkish can be listed as follows: The language teachers are not professional enough, the language textbooks teaching Turkish to foreigners are not adequately designed, changes and developments in the language teaching methods are not followed adequately. Actually, this problem arises from the fact there is no language Academy in Turkey. As mentioned by Metin Şahin in his study, the fact that the teachers teaching Turkish to foreigners have usually not undergone training and additionally, that the latter are performing the task only temporarily is another reason why the endeavor is not undertaken with the necessary skill. In his study, Metin Şahin cites many examples of grammatical mistakes that foreign students make while learning Turkish Turkish caused by the confusion between their mother tongue and Turkish Turkish. Based on the results, obtained either through written exercises or surveys, the general conclusion about the problems that foreign students encounter while learning Turkish Turkish is as follows: Foreign students usually do not have any difficulties in the daily use of Turkish. The students have improved 3 of their 4 basic proficiencies in speaking, listening and reading in everyday life use of Turkish, the exception is written proficiency. Their written proficiency has not improved because they practice less. In addition, the most difficult issue for the students is the use of words in connotational meaning. Moreover, beside the connotative or metaphorical meaning and terminology the idioms and proverbs pose another important problem for the students.

Keywords

Turkish teaching, foreign students, Turkish language, grammar.