Proficiency exams in teaching Turkish as a foreign language in TÖMER (Turkish and foreign languages research and application centers)

Abstract

Turkish and Foreign Languages Research and Application Center (TOMER) is one of the important institutions for learning Turkish as a foreign language. In these institutions, proficiency tests are applied at the end of each level. However, test applications in TOMERs vary between each center as there is no shared program in teaching Turkish as a foreign language in Turkey. The purpose of this study is to examine the tests offered in TOMER in teaching Turkish as a foreign language. The study engages a qualitative design. As the data sources include documents related to exams offered in TOMERs, a document analysis was completed. The data consist of proficiency tests offered in 13 different TOMERs that agreed to provide sample proficiency tests. In analyzing the data, a deductive approach used to look for themes and then codes. The main finding of the study is that the proficiency tests for each level are not compatible with each other. This incompatibility results from the types of questions on skills, the number of reading texts and the number of words in texts, the limit on word count in writing skills and the diversity of questions, the presence or absence of grammar questions and their placement in the exam, and not meeting the phases of skill development according to CEFR. In order to reduce these incompatibilities, there is a need for a program for teaching Turkish as a foreign language that would be followed by all TOMERs.