Turkish language teaching investigation of the role of Turkish in the school adaptation process of foreign children in preschool period

Türkiye has received immigration from different countries in recent years. Antalya is one of the provinces in Turkey where immigration is one of the most intense. Although citizens of different countries are resident in Antalya, Russian citizens have a clear superiority in the country ranking. Although migration brings many problems with it, and one of them is education. Foreign children who have to start their education in Türkiye face some difficulties in language during the orientation process. In this study, in which research on the role of Turkish language in the face of these difficulties was conducted, preschool students constitute the study group. In order to make age-related evaluations in the selection of students, children of different ages, four, five and six, were selected. Three Russian nationality preschool students were observed throughout the school year and their development was recorded by their teachers on a monthly observation form. In order to reveal the situation from different perspectives, a questionnaire study was also applied to parents and teachers. The results of the research were analysed under three separate headings: students, teachers and parents. From the results of the questionnaire for parents, their contribution and support to their children's language development were investigated. It was observed that the children of parents who did not contribute to language development overcame this problem with the support of teachers and peers during the school process. It was observed that teachers' having sufficient education and experience in the education of foreign childrens in general terms contributed positively to the adaptation process. The evaluations made in terms of students were evaluated in three different stages: general language development, cognitive aspects of language, social and emotional aspects. Although there were monthly differences in the evaluations in all three stages, all three students achieved all the gains at the end of the academic year. This showed that age was not a factor affecting the outcome in language development. It was understood that the teacher's suggestion to the parents that additional course support should be taken if needed in language development was useful in overcoming the adaptation problem. The importance of solidarity between students, teachers and parents in overcoming the adaptation process in terms of language has been revealed again with this study.