The effect of literature circles on language skills in teaching Turkish as a foreign language

In this study the effect of the literature circles method on the development of language skills and self-efficacy perceptions of students who learn Turkish as a foreign language was investigated. The study was designed as a convergent mixed method which is one of the mixed method models. In the study conducted at Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University Turkish Teaching Application and Research Center, the study group consists of students from different nationalities who learn Turkish as a foreign language. The literature circles applications were completed in 24 weeks, following the same application steps in all levels 6 weeks for each level from A2 level to C1 level. For quantitative data; teaching Turkish as a foreign language reading, listening, speaking and writing self-efficacy scales; for qualitative data student and teacher interview forms were used as data collection tools. In the analysis of quantitative data, statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS program and content analysis was performed in the analysis of qualitative data. According to the findings, there is a significant difference in A2 and B1 reading scores and language skills self-efficacy perceptions in favor of the experimental group. According to the findings obtained from the content analysis of the qualitative data, the students who participated in the application stated that literature circles helped them learn Turkish, and they felt more comfortable and confident with this method. Most of the participants stated that they found the literature circles entertaining. It has been determined that there are generally no negative opinions apart from the task of illustrator. The practitioner teacher, on the other hand, stated that examining a text with literary circles from different angles is more detailed, reinforcing and functional than classical text analyzing. As a result, it can be said that literature circles improve the reading comprehension skills and positively affect speaking, listening, reading and writing skills self-efficacy of those who learn Turkish as a foreign language.