Research Article

Students with Special Needs in Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language: Affective and Instructional Challenges

Volume: 38 Number: 2 August 26, 2025
TR EN

Students with Special Needs in Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language: Affective and Instructional Challenges

Abstract

Individuals with special needs, despite being active participants in social life, are often marginalized in the second or foreign language learning process. This study addresses this gap by examining teachers' experiences instructing learners with special needs in Turkish as a foreign language. These experiences are essential for developing an inclusive foreign language teaching process and serve as an effective roadmap for identifying the educational needs of individuals with special needs and the necessary interventions. This qualitative study employs a phenomenological research design and involves ten teachers selected through criterion sampling. These teachers share the common characteristics of working with students with special needs learning Turkish as a foreign language. In the study, teacher experiences were analyzed across six themes: diagnosis of students with special needs, emotional states of students with special needs, obstacles encountered by instructors during the teaching process, classroom environment and peer relations, obstacles faced by students with special needs during instruction, and instructor suggestions. The findings reveal that the teachers were eager to develop professionally, highly motivated to teach, sensitive to differences, and possessed diverse skill sets. However, they faced significant challenges, including difficulties in diagnosing students with invisible disabilities, managing classrooms, sourcing or creating appropriate materials, planning specialized instruction for various disabilities, and conducting effective assessments and evaluations. Besides, these teachers reported insufficient academic and administrative support to help them to address these challenges.

Keywords

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Turkish Education

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

August 26, 2025

Submission Date

December 26, 2024

Acceptance Date

March 10, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 38 Number: 2

APA
Boylu, E., & Süğümlü, Ü. (2025). Students with Special Needs in Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language: Affective and Instructional Challenges. Journal of Uludag University Faculty of Education, 38(2), 503-531. https://doi.org/10.19171/uefad.1607761
AMA
1.Boylu E, Süğümlü Ü. Students with Special Needs in Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language: Affective and Instructional Challenges. Journal of Uludag University Faculty of Education. 2025;38(2):503-531. doi:10.19171/uefad.1607761
Chicago
Boylu, Emrah, and Üzeyir Süğümlü. 2025. “Students With Special Needs in Teaching Turkish As a Foreign Language: Affective and Instructional Challenges”. Journal of Uludag University Faculty of Education 38 (2): 503-31. https://doi.org/10.19171/uefad.1607761.
EndNote
Boylu E, Süğümlü Ü (August 1, 2025) Students with Special Needs in Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language: Affective and Instructional Challenges. Journal of Uludag University Faculty of Education 38 2 503–531.
IEEE
[1]E. Boylu and Ü. Süğümlü, “Students with Special Needs in Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language: Affective and Instructional Challenges”, Journal of Uludag University Faculty of Education, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 503–531, Aug. 2025, doi: 10.19171/uefad.1607761.
ISNAD
Boylu, Emrah - Süğümlü, Üzeyir. “Students With Special Needs in Teaching Turkish As a Foreign Language: Affective and Instructional Challenges”. Journal of Uludag University Faculty of Education 38/2 (August 1, 2025): 503-531. https://doi.org/10.19171/uefad.1607761.
JAMA
1.Boylu E, Süğümlü Ü. Students with Special Needs in Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language: Affective and Instructional Challenges. Journal of Uludag University Faculty of Education. 2025;38:503–531.
MLA
Boylu, Emrah, and Üzeyir Süğümlü. “Students With Special Needs in Teaching Turkish As a Foreign Language: Affective and Instructional Challenges”. Journal of Uludag University Faculty of Education, vol. 38, no. 2, Aug. 2025, pp. 503-31, doi:10.19171/uefad.1607761.
Vancouver
1.Emrah Boylu, Üzeyir Süğümlü. Students with Special Needs in Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language: Affective and Instructional Challenges. Journal of Uludag University Faculty of Education. 2025 Aug. 1;38(2):503-31. doi:10.19171/uefad.1607761

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