Investigation of historical texts in material development inTurkish teaching for foreigners (Dede Korkut example)

This study is a qualitative research that reveals how to benefit from historical-literary texts in the process of teaching Turkish as a foreign language through Dede Korkut Stories. The aim of the research is to show how historical-literary texts can be used as course material in teaching Turkish as a foreign language. In this direction, Dede Korkut Stories, Dirse Han Oglu Bogac Han Epic B1 was simplified according to language proficiency and turned into a teaching material that can be used in teaching Turkish to foreigners. In this research, document analysis technique was used as a data collection tool. Yunus Emre Institute and European Language Portfolio B1 Level language proficiencies were determined as the criteria to be used in the simplification process by taking expert opinion. The simplification process was carried out in the dimension of word, syntax and meaning considering the gains of language learners. The simplified text is supported by reading-comprehension activities. As a result of the research, a concrete example has been put forward that historical-literary texts can be used in the process of teaching Turkish to foreigners. Keywords: Dede Korkut Stories, Historical-Literary Text, Turkish Teaching, Text Simplification.