Abstract:

The concept of cultural intelligence refers to the ability of the individual to adjust and adapt when facing different cultural elements. Language teaching also includes cultural elements. Therefore, cultural intelligence awareness is an important subject in the teaching of foreign languages. In the teaching of Turkish as a foreign language, however, it is remarkable that the concept of cultural intelligence has not been sufficiently studied. For this reason, the study aims to identify and evaluate the cultural intelligence levels of foreign citizens who learn and learn Turkish as a foreign language and according to the various variables. Depending on this purpose, the relationship of foreign citizenship students with cultural intelligence levels and variables that can affect their adaptation to Turkish culture and learning Turkish has also been tried to be determined. The research was carried out in accordance with the relational scan model. The sample of the study was randomly determined among foreign nationals studying at a state university in the Black Sea Region. Foreign students are selected according to the essence of easy accessibility and volunteering. The research’s cultural intelligence data, prepared by Ang and his friends (2007) and adapted to Turkish by Ilhan and Çetin (2014) with the Cultural Intelligence Scale, and the student’s characteristics related to the variables were collected with the interview form. The research data is collected in electronic media. The research finds that those who learn Turkish as a foreign language are generally mid-level and uncertain about cultural intelligence awareness. From the variables that may be related to learning Turkish and Turkish culture, the gender, the reading of Turkish books and the sending of e-mails/SMS are not influential on cultural intelligence, while listening to music in a foreign language (Turkish), watching films, watching television channels and reading the internet pages are related to cultural intelligence.

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