The roles and competencies of instructors of teaching Turkish as a foreign language

Abstract

Teaching Turkish as a foreign language has become an international phenomenon. Like many other languages, Turkish is also started to be taught in universities and language centres as a foreign language. However, it is a well known fact that instructors have a vital role in teaching Turkish as a foreign language. As there is lack of undergraduate degree programmes offering teaching Turkish to foreigners, the instructors with diverse educational backgrounds are generally employed for the profession in question. Therefore, within the context of this research article, it is aimed to identify the opinions of instructors who have been teaching Turkish as a foreign language for several years on the roles and competencies of instructors teaching Turkish as a foreign language. In this research, qualitative research techniques are employed in order to collect the data. The participants are composed of instructors of Turkish as a foreign language and are experienced in performing this profession. One of the most striking findings reached through the results of the research is that there is an immediate need for opening an undergraduate degree programme which will be specifically designed to raise students in the field of teaching Turkish as a foreign language.