The place of common cultural elements in teaching Turkish as a foreign language to Bosnians

The aim of this research is to reveal the effect of a language teaching with common cultural elements on the learner's comprehension and achievement levels in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the case of a certain level of commonality between the cultures of the target language and the source language in monolingual and monocultural classrooms. In the study, within the scope of the role of common cultural elements in teaching Turkish to Bosnians, texts prepared using Turkish and Bosnian common cultural elements in Turkish as a second foreign language courses in secondary and high schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in Turkish language courses in Sarajevo and Mostar Cultural Centers of Yunus Emre Institute. The effect of learners on reading comprehension levels was discussed. The study group of the research consisted of A2 level learners who attended Turkish as a second foreign language classes in "Hasan Kikić" Tetovo Zenica Secondary School, "Skender Kulenović" Radakovo Zenica Secondary School, "Dubravica" Vitez Secondary School, "Vitez" Vitez Secondary School, "Druga Gimnazija" Zenica High School. Emre Institute Sarajevo Turkish Cultural Center and Yunus Emre Institute Mostar Turkish Cultural Center consist of learners in Turkish language courses. In this research, in terms of being a monolingual and monocultural learning-teaching environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the partnerships between the learner's culture (source culture) and the culture of the target language, as well as the learning and teaching success of the teaching process to be carried out by utilizing the cultural background of the learners, it is argued that it has a significant effect. This study consists of texts prepared in accordance with the purpose of the thesis and activities based on these texts. Within the scope of the study, voluntary participation form and semi-structured interview forms were prepared. During the implementation process, in-class observations were made in order to create records regarding the instructor and learner performance. The textbooks used in the lessons were examined through scanning in order to better implement the application in the classroom. The study group of the research consists of 4 middle school, 1 high school and 2 Turkish course participants, a total of 111 language users at A2 level, and 4 instructors teaching in these institutions. In the study, a mixed method consisting of qualitative and quantitative data was used. The descriptive analysis methods of the qualitative data collected within the scope of the study were used, and the quantitative data were supported by the opinions of the learners and instructors in the language teaching process. According to the data obtained in the research, it was seen that the texts in which the common cultural elements between the target language Turkish and the source language Bosnian were used positively affect the reading comprehension levels of the learners. Keywords: Turkish Teaching in Bosnia and Herzegovina, common culture, common words, culture in foreign language teaching