Research Article

Exploring the Inner Thought Processes of Bilingual Individuals: A Study on Self-Reported Language Use of Syrian Immigrant Children in Türkiye

Volume: 9 Number: 2 December 29, 2025
TR EN

Exploring the Inner Thought Processes of Bilingual Individuals: A Study on Self-Reported Language Use of Syrian Immigrant Children in Türkiye

Abstract

One of the most visible effects of globalization is that people of different languages and cultures begin to live in different countries for a variety of reasons, including education, travel, and migration. To survive in a new nation, individuals who migrate, in particular, must acquire the language of that country. Individuals born in countries to which their families immigrated learn their native language and are frequently raised bilingual. The purpose of this study is to investigate the self-reported inner-thought processes of 96 Syrian bilingual children who have settled in Türkiye as a result of the Syrian civil war and are currently living in temporary shelters under temporary protection in order to gain more insight about the cognitive processes of bilingual individuals. The study data were gathered through open-ended questions and face-to-face interviews. The results of the study show that Turkish is the dominant language in the inner thought processes of bilingual Syrian immigrant children, although Arabic also has a significant influence. As a result of this data, it has been concluded that bilingual individuals growing up in societies where L2 and its culture are dominant also have L2 as the dominant language in their thought processes. It is anticipated that the study's findings will advance knowledge of the sociocultural problems faced by the bilingual population in Türkiye and inform future research projects aimed at creating a curriculum.

Keywords

Ethical Statement

Approval from the Ethics Committee for the current study was obtained by Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University Social Sciences and Humanities Ethical Committee, under decision number 2025-9, on May 9, 2025. This study has been presented as an “abstract paper” on 17th International IDEA Conference: Studies in English held at Fırat University, Elazığ, Türkiye between 7-9 May, 2025.

References

  1. Adserà, A., & Pytliková, M. (2016). Language and migration. In The Palgrave handbook of economics and language (pp. 342-372). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.
  2. Aggun, N. (2021). Bilingualism and the brain. Artuklu İnsan ve Toplum Bilim Dergisi, 6(2), 138-144. https://doi.org/10.46628/itbhssj.1026418
  3. Athanasopoulos, P. (2006). Effects of the grammatical representation of number on cognition in bilinguals. Bilingualism: Language and cognition, 9(1), 89-96. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728905002397
  4. Athanasopoulos, P., & Kasai, C. (2008). Language and thought in bilinguals: The case of grammatical number and nonverbal classification preferences. Applied psycholinguistics, 29(1), 105-123. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716408080053
  5. Baker, C. (2011). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism. Multilingual matters.
  6. Bassetti, B., & Filipović, L. (2022). Researching language and cognition in bilinguals. International Journal of Bilingualism, 26(1), 3-12. https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069211022860
  7. Birjandi, P., & Sabah, S. (2015). A review of the language-thought debate: Multivariant perspectives. BRAIN. Broad Research in Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience, 3(4), 56-68.
  8. Chanyeam, C., & Wongthai, N. (2025). The Influence of Grammatical Number on Cognition of Bilinguals: A Test of the Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis. LEARN Journal: Language Education and Acquisition Research Network, 18(1), 405-432. https://so04.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/LEARN/index

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Linguistic Performance Science

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

December 29, 2025

Submission Date

September 18, 2025

Acceptance Date

December 15, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 9 Number: 2

APA
Yardımcı, A. (2025). Exploring the Inner Thought Processes of Bilingual Individuals: A Study on Self-Reported Language Use of Syrian Immigrant Children in Türkiye. Journal of Language Research, 9(2), 125-136. https://doi.org/10.51726/jlr.1786636
AMA
1.Yardımcı A. Exploring the Inner Thought Processes of Bilingual Individuals: A Study on Self-Reported Language Use of Syrian Immigrant Children in Türkiye. JLR. 2025;9(2):125-136. doi:10.51726/jlr.1786636
Chicago
Yardımcı, Aylin. 2025. “Exploring the Inner Thought Processes of Bilingual Individuals: A Study on Self-Reported Language Use of Syrian Immigrant Children in Türkiye”. Journal of Language Research 9 (2): 125-36. https://doi.org/10.51726/jlr.1786636.
EndNote
Yardımcı A (December 1, 2025) Exploring the Inner Thought Processes of Bilingual Individuals: A Study on Self-Reported Language Use of Syrian Immigrant Children in Türkiye. Journal of Language Research 9 2 125–136.
IEEE
[1]A. Yardımcı, “Exploring the Inner Thought Processes of Bilingual Individuals: A Study on Self-Reported Language Use of Syrian Immigrant Children in Türkiye”, JLR, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 125–136, Dec. 2025, doi: 10.51726/jlr.1786636.
ISNAD
Yardımcı, Aylin. “Exploring the Inner Thought Processes of Bilingual Individuals: A Study on Self-Reported Language Use of Syrian Immigrant Children in Türkiye”. Journal of Language Research 9/2 (December 1, 2025): 125-136. https://doi.org/10.51726/jlr.1786636.
JAMA
1.Yardımcı A. Exploring the Inner Thought Processes of Bilingual Individuals: A Study on Self-Reported Language Use of Syrian Immigrant Children in Türkiye. JLR. 2025;9:125–136.
MLA
Yardımcı, Aylin. “Exploring the Inner Thought Processes of Bilingual Individuals: A Study on Self-Reported Language Use of Syrian Immigrant Children in Türkiye”. Journal of Language Research, vol. 9, no. 2, Dec. 2025, pp. 125-36, doi:10.51726/jlr.1786636.
Vancouver
1.Aylin Yardımcı. Exploring the Inner Thought Processes of Bilingual Individuals: A Study on Self-Reported Language Use of Syrian Immigrant Children in Türkiye. JLR. 2025 Dec. 1;9(2):125-36. doi:10.51726/jlr.1786636