Investigation of the curiosity and exploration characteristics of undergraduate students in terms of some variables

The main objective of this thesis, which is a descriptive study, is to investigate the curiosity and exploration perceptions of university students studying a second foreign language. Examining the correspondencebetween students' activities and learning situations in the second foreign language and their perception of curiosity and exploration is important for the development of education programs in this field. The study group of the research consists of students (N = 228) studying at a private university in the province of Istanbul. "Demographic Information Form" and "Curiosity and Exploration Scale" were used to collect data in the study. The Data Collection Form consists of questions about demographic features, features for learning a second foreign language, and the Curiosity and Exploration Scale. "The Data Collection Form consists of questions about demographic features, features for learning a second foreign language, and the Curiosity and Exploration Scale. In the data analysis, descriptive statistics involving mean, percentage, standard deviation, frequency, t-test, and ANOVA test are employed. According to the findings of the research, the correspondence between the students' total scores of Curiosity and Exploration and the sub-scales of Stretching and Embracing Uncertainty was examined in terms of gender, age, faculty, the high school program of graduation, the category of the school from which they graduated, housing, socio-economic status, and an elective second foreign language. Accordingly, students' perceptions of curiosity and exploration and Stretching and Embracing Uncertainty did not differ according to the variables listed above. However, the correspondence between the curiosity and exploration total scores of the students who have a second foreign language at the B1.2 level and the sub-scales of Stretching and Embracing Uncertainty were examined in terms of two or three foreign languages, and these students' total scores of Curiosity and Exploration and their Embracing Uncertainty scores were compared to the others. It was found to be higher. Students who take a second foreign language have a higher perception of Stretching towards curiosity and exploration. Students who take a second foreign language are more curious and more open to exploration than students who do not have a second foreign language. According to this result, we can state that the correspondencebetween the second foreign language and the first foreign language is very strong, and the correspondencebetween the mother tongue and the first foreign language is not very strong. The reason for this can be seen that the first foreign language originated from the native language. While learning the second foreign language, it can be said that the experiences gained in the learning process of the first foreign language make it easier for individuals who have learned two foreign languages to learn the second foreign language. In this context, it can be said that while learning grammar, the first and second foreign languages lay the groundwork for each other and the fact that the first and second foreign languages belong to the same language family also has an effect.