A case study on the A1 level writing skill in massive open online courses for teaching Turkish as a foreign language

The advent of technology and the proliferation of the internet have facilitated greater accessibility to the language learning process. People can benefit from online resources, participate in online language courses, and improve their language skills by practicing on interactive platforms, without being dependent on traditional methods for language learning purposes. In this new era, language learning has become a hobby that meets people's desire to explore the world and interact with different cultures. Now people have the opportunity to acquire linguistic competence and experience cultural diversity by crossing borders. Technological innovations have facilitated the access, enjoyment, and engagement of language learners in varies contexts. The aim of this study is to explore the potential strategies for enhancing the writing proficiency of learners at the A1 level in Massive Open Online Language Courses (MOOLC). The characteristics of this system are the absence of teachers or guides, and the use of pre-recorded videos and activities based on a specific curriculum. This study is a qualitative research and is designed in the form of a case study. The document review technique was used to determine the errors made by the students in the A1 level writing process. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with teachers to determine the most common errors made by A1 level learners in their writing skills and with students learning Turkish in MOOLC to determine the opinions of learners about writing skills and system in MOOLC. The data collected in the research were analysed by transferring them to the NVivo 12 qualitative data analysis program and examined with descriptive analysis. According to the research findings, the errors made by the learners in writing skills have been classified as grammatical, vocabulary, syntactic, spelling and punctuational errors, and it was determined that students are in need of sentence construction and free writing exercises, in MOOLC systems to improve their writing skills. The students also reported that learning a language in MOOLC systems was challenging due to the lack of body language and immediate feedback by the teacher. While the advantages stated as no marking of attendance, the ability to work according to the subject you want at any time and place and at your own pace in language learning in MOOLC systems. As a result of the study, in accordance with the findings, activities aimed at writing skills at A1 level have been prepared and presented as suggestions for use in MOOLC in the teaching of Turkish as a foreign language.