To be a foreign student in Turkey: Fieldwork on Azerbaijani students who study in Antalya

In recent years, international student mobility has been gaining momentum across the world and accordingly, the number of foreign students in Turkey has been increasing. However, there are few studies in the literature that examine foreign students as a disadvantaged group. The aim of this study is to examine the linguistic, academic, sociocultural, vital, psycho-social problems of Azerbaijani students studying higher education in Turkey and the factors that cause these problems. In the study, data were collected from 390 Azerbaijani students residing in 31 different provinces of Turkey in the academic year 2021- 2022 with the help of a questionnaire prepared to identify the problems of international students. The research is a quantitative study conducted in the survey model. The data obtained from the questionnarie were interpreted using analysis of variance (ANOVA), tukey and games-howell multiple comparison tests, cross tabulations and independent groups t test. According to the research findings, the majority of the participating students are studying at Istanbul University and Akdeniz University. When we look at the results regarding the most common problems faced by Azerbaijani students in Turkey, it is observed that these students have the problem of misusing linguistically similar words and being misunderstood as a result, being misguided about their university preferences academically, lack of information about universities and departments, nutrition problems in terms of cultural differences, rent problems in terms of economic problems, and anxiety problems in terms of psychological problems. In conclusion, although they are two differentiated societies of the same ethnic origin, Azerbaijanis in Turkey can be defined as 'foreigners' and every 'foreignness' can be considered as a phenomenon that causes disadvantage. By identifying the problems of Azerbaijani students studying higher education in Turkey and the factors that cause these problems, the literature on the problems that foreign students may face has been enriched, and a resource has been created for the competent institutions of Azerbaijan and Turkey to access clearer data on the subject. Keywords: Azerbaijani students, foreign student problems, international education, disadvantaged groups