Evaluation of the materials used to teach academic writing in Turkish to international students

Research as to the needs and problems of international students in the field of teaching Turkish as a foreign/second language show that international students have problems using Turkish academic language skills especially in academic writing. As a result of these studies, compulsory academic Turkish courses were included in the program of these students at Turkish Language Teaching, Application and Research Centers at universities after completing the C1 level in general language skills. In this respect, quite recently, several textbooks have been written on teaching academic Turkish to international students. An indispensable part of the success of a foreign language teaching program is the course material evaluation process. Therefore, it is thought that examining whether the teaching materials and practices used to improve the academic skills of international students meet the needs of students and teachers will contribute to the literature. In this study, which was planned as a case study for this purpose, the course materials and teaching practices used for teaching academic writing to international students at four state universities were evaluated by investigating students' and teachers' views. In the research, textbook evaluation criteria, a materials evaluation questionnaire and semi-structured interview forms were used as data collection tools. Based on the literature, a questionnaire was adapted and the quantitative data were collected through this questionnaire. As for the qualitative data collection, Turkish academic writing books were examined by document analysis method in line with certain criteria, focus group interviews were conducted with teachers and students, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts. Analysing the data received, the suitability of the materials and applications used in the education environment was examined and suggestions have been put forward to design more effective materials and curriculum.