Development of biliteracy skills in Turkish and Armenian: bilingual development of Armenians in Turkey

Abstract

This article explores the development of biliteracy skills in Turkish and Armenian by Armenians in Turkey. Armenians speak Turkish as the home language (L1) and learn Armenian as a second language (L2) in school. The framework of the study is formulated based on the Developmental Interdependence Hypothesis proposed by Cummins in which he claims that competencies across languages are interdependent. This study lends further insight in that Armenian and Turkish belong to two different language families, Indo-European vs. Altaic. In the study twenty-five subjects at three different grade levels read aloud and silently in Turkish and Armenian. Their rate of reading was measured. They were asked textually explicit and inferential questions to measure comprehension. Cummins' hypothesis was supported in part because the subjects show a steady development in both languages in Grades 3 and 5, but in Grade 8 they show greater growth in Turkish. It is hypothesized that this growth is due to motivational factors. Armenians need to develop Turkish language skills in order to be successful on the university entrance examination and, therefore, be eligible for higher education, and to get jobs in the larger society. The subjects' Armenian skills in Grade 8, however, keep improving in a steady way following the same pattern of development.