Language learning anxiety among learners of Turkish as a foreign language: A mixed methods study
Abstract
This study aims to reveal the Turkish language learning anxieties of international learners studying Turkish as a foreign language and the underlying reasons for these anxieties, using a mixed research approach. In this context, a mixed-methods explanatory sequential design was adopted. The study was conducted with 167 international students at B1, B2, and C1 levels at two state universities in the 2024 academic year. In the study, quantitative data were collected using the Scale of Anxiety in Learning Turkish for Foreigners. The data were analyzed using the independent samples t-test to examine differences in anxiety scores by gender, and one-way ANOVA to examine differences by native language, number of known foreign languages, and language level. To support and elaborate on the quantitative data, interviews were conducted with 37 international students at the end of the study, providing qualitative data. The research findings indicate that the Turkish language learning anxiety of international students studying Turkish as a foreign language generally remained at a moderate level; anxiety was particularly concentrated in classroom performance situations and everyday usage contexts, and was shaped by contextual and process-based factors rather than demographic variables such as gender, native language, or known foreign languages. These quantitative patterns were comprehensively explained by qualitative findings based on student views.
Keywords
Anxiety About Learning Turkish, International Learners, Turkish as a Foreign Language, Mixed Methods
Ethical Statement
This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Atatürk University Social and Humanities Ethics Committee. Ethics approval was granted on 06.03.2023 under the protocol number 03/29. All procedures involving human participants were conducted in accordance with institutional and national ethical standards, the Helsinki Declaration, and applicable regulations. Informed consent was obtained from all participants.
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