Abstract:

The subject of this study is the course books of teaching Turkish as a foreign language. The aim of the study is to describe and compare the contents of these books in terms of grammar and to evaluate the teachers’ and learners’ opinions in order to see how these contents affect learning and teaching processes. Karababa (2009; 276), emphasize that the course books and equipments in teaching Turkish as a foreign language are not adequate with regard to the needs and the levels of learners. She states that the insufficiency of the works on Turkish grammar and the descriptions cause inefficiency in course books as well. Success in language policies depend on the efficiency of the course books, used in educational environments and it will also facilitate the job of the teachers and learners, affecting the learning positively. Although Turkish course books, which are analyzed with document analysis method in the present study, are classified according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Council of Europe, 2001), it is observed that there is not a standardization between the language levels and the grammar subjects. That is to say, there is not a common usage of grammatical terms, which leads to problems for students. There is an urgent need of some common criteria to be determined with a leading institution. There are also differences in the amount and the way of the grammar books, as well as the mistakes within them. Teachers mostly believe that B1 level grammar teaching should be given more importance and 50% of them think that course books they use are not enough. Almost all of the teachers indicate that they (91,3%) use some supplementary materials. Other statements of teachers and students about grammar topics are also classified and presented in the findings section.

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