The Problems of Foreign Students with Non-Native Turkish Language in School Environment

Abstract

The aim of this study is to reveal the problems experienced by foreign students, whose mother tongue is not Turkish and who continue their education at the official public school in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, from the perspective of the class teachers and develop solution suggestions. The working group consists of 13 classroom teachers working in an official public primary school in TRNC in the 2019-2020 academic year. The study is designed as a case study from qualitative research methods. The data in the study were collected through a semi-structured interview form consisting of open-ended questions developed by the researchers. Content analysis was used to perform data analysis. As a result of the study, it was found that the students mostly experienced problems about academic failure, communication problems and cultural differences. The most emphasized suggestions by the class teachers are to open the literacy courses and support Turkish good friends for to resolve those problems. In schools where foreign students are concentrated, additional language hours can be taught in the native language of that country, and the native language of that country can be educated, and then the student can continue at the grade level. Considering that the students spend most of their time in school, great responsibilities fall to the Ministry of National Education and the schools. © 2020 The Author(s).