Problems faced by middle-school students as non-native speakers of Turkish in Turkish language lessons based on teachers' views and solution proposals

The study aims to identify the problems faced by the students who are not native Turkish speakers in Turkish Language Lessons based on teachers' opinions and to propose solutions to these problems. The sample of the study consists of 85 Turkish language teachers who worked, in the 2017-2018 school-year, in the schools providing education to the students who are not native Turkish speakers in Artvin, Ağrı, Hakkâri, İzmir, Trabzon, Şanlıurfa and Van provinces. The "Questionnaire for Problems Faced by the Middle School Students Who Are Not Native Turkish Speakers in Turkish Language Lessons" which was developed by the researcher after analysing relevant studies and receiving expert opinions was used as the data collection tool. A mixed model in which both quantitative and qualitative data were evaluated together was used as the research model. The study applied general survey model for quantitative data and descriptive analysis for qualitative. The quantitative data of the study was analysed using the SPSS 23.0 programme and interpreted using ANOVA and t-test. The qualitative data was analysed using content analysis method. The study found that the teachers generally stated their opinions as "I agree" regarding the problems about schedule, textbooks, family, communication, etc. Differences in teachers' opinions on these subtopics based on their gender, professional seniority and place of duty were evaluated and it was found that there are significant differences in terms of place (province) of duty, textbooks and communication. Furthermore, the study identified teachers' opinions on the problems faced by the middle school students who are not native Turkish speakers in terms of reading, writing and verbal communication skills and presented solutions proposed by the teachers.