Descriptive study of learner's level of autonomy: voices from the Turkish language classes

Abstract

The notion of learner autonomy that is thought to bring some benefits in the context of teaching Turkish as a foreign language and the effects of European Language Portfolio applications, developed as a language teaching Project by the Council of Europe, on language learning and teaching are the basis of this study. The importance of Learner Autonomy has been introduced to the literature; however, it has not been applied enough in the context of teaching Turkish as a foreign language. Recognition of this notion by the institutions and teachers that teach Turkish will provide a lot of benefits in the field of Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language. The questionnaire included 43 items about the necessities of learner autonomy and learning strategies. This study group consisted of students attending Turkish courses at the Ankara University Turkish and Foreign Languages Research and Application Centre. This work has been implemented in multicultural classes for 159 adult students. This questionnaire has been analyzed to detect learners’ cognitive, affective and psychomotor strategies on learning. The indicators of the study for autonomy in the Turkish classes have determined that students have autonomy in certain domains of learning, but not all.