Comparison of Turkic and non-Turkic content short stories in English learning: Secondary school students' perceptions

Teaching culture is an inevitable part of language education. However, the utilization of texts with inner circle content in English language teaching and learning has recently been a hotly debated issue among scholars due to the possible intercultural conflict faced by the learners and inducing the learners' confusion during class. This study aimed to investigate the learners' perceptions of English in Turkey regarding using short stories with inner circle content, outer circle content (excluding Turkic origin), and Turkic content. The current study was conducted with the participation of secondary school students. The study employed mixed methods sequential explanatory design. The quantitative data were collected through a Likert-type questionnaire, and descriptive statistics were analyzed through SPSS 25. The qualitative data were collected through classroom observation form and semi-structured interviews conducted with five participants and analyzed via Quirkos 2.4. The findings revealed that a great majority of the participants had a positive perception regarding using short stories with Turkic content in English language teaching and learning. The learners stated that the short stories with Turkic content provided a much easier learning process since they were embedded with more relevant schemata, thus making it simple for the learners to understand local short stories compared to short stories with more exposure to target culture. In addition, the participants also agreed that the short stories with outer circle content provided them to compare their local culture with international cultures, create intercultural awareness and enhance their intercultural competence.