An examination of learning/using Turkish as a foreign language by foreigners who reside in Turkey

In recent years, Turkey has become a country that has seen significant immigration from Europe, America, Russia, the Middle East and the Turkish Republics. Antalya is one of the most popular provinces for foreigners who have migrated to Turkey. People may have to learn a new language in order to adapt to their new environment and fulfil their needs. It is of great importance for foreigners in Turkey to speak Turkish so that they can adapt to society; integrate and communicate effectively with the people, and participate in social and cultural life. The aim of this research is to reveal the ways in which foreigners living in Turkey learn and use Turkish language. Foreigners living in Gazipaşa, Alanya, Konyaaltı, Kemer and Kaş districts of Antalya were selected as the sample for this study. In order to determine the participants' reasons for learning Turkish, their use of Turkish in daily life and the difficulties they may encounter while learning Turkish, a questionnaire employing quantitative data collection methods was used and the opinions of the participants were sought. The data collected within the scope of the research were analyzed using the SPSS 25.0 package program. As a result of the research, it has been determined that foreigners who have settled in Turkey and want to continue their life here think that they need to learn Turkish in order to integrate with the society, to feel themselves belong to the society and to meet their daily needs. This reveals that the integrative motivation of foreigners living in Turkey is high. Considering the use of Turkish by foreigners who learn Turkish as a foreign language, it has been determined that foreigners living in Turkey try to use Turkish in their daily life, especially in the market, shops, street, and daily life. However, they face various difficulties while learning/using Turkish. These difficulties are the morphological and syntactic features of Turkish, alphabet differences, and differences between standard and colloquial language. In addition to the above, there is also a general perception from people learning Turkish as a foreign language that "Turkish is a difficult language" and this has been identified as another negative factor in the process of learning Turkish by foreigners.