Abstract:

The aim of this research is to study the teaching of Turkish as a foreign language during the distance education process. In the study, which has been done using a qualitative research method, structured interview forms were delivered to the participants via e-mail. The views of 43 lecturers who teach Turkish to foreigners in Turkish teaching centers of 21 universities in Turkey were analyzed using the content analysis method in the Maxqda program. According to the results, it was determined that the instructors thought that the teacher-student and student-student interactions have changed negatively during the pandemic that emerged as a result of COVID-19 virus. Participants stated that in order to increase interaction, they mostly use social media channels, and they resort to peer counseling, language partnership, and speaking club applications. It has been determined that some changes have been made in the program, such as shortening the classes, changing the type of activities, using digital books, and increasing the time allocated to the subjects. It was stated that the number of people enrolled in Turkish language courses has decreased compared to the previous year, and the number of students who were absent and or who suspended their registration has increased. During the process of teaching Turkish to foreigners through distance education, students' participation in the lessons has changed negatively because of not turning the camera and audio devices on, technical problems, and a lack of self-discipline. It has also been determined that students have the most difficulty in activities related to writing and speaking skills. It was concluded that during this process the teachers had the most difficulty with the students with a basic language level for testing and evaluation they most frequently used multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank test items, and the question-answer method. The trainers stated that they were not as productive as in in-person education and experienced an intense and tiring work phase. On the other hand, they stated that they had the opportunity to see and work on their incompetencies. The instructors stated that the motivation of the students to learn Turkish has decreased during this process and they mostly had the students listen to movies/videos/songs in the target language to increase student motivation. During the process of teaching Turkish as a foreign language during the distance education process, students most frequently experienced problems arising from issues with the internet connection, technical equipment, and ones related to digital literacy. On the other hand, it has been determined that the instructors have most frequently experienced ethical problems and internet connection problems during the tests given to the students to move on to the courses with a higher language level. Finally, the instructors stated that the biggest advantage of teaching Turkish to foreigners using distance education is that it makes it easy to access information and that it is economical in terms of space, money, time, and distance.

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