Academic Turkish needs analysis of the international students: sample course content

International students studying in Turkey start their academic education after learning Turkish for two semesters at TÖMER. However, when they start their academic education, even if they learn Turkish for two semesters, they have difficulties in terms of academic Turkish. The aim of this research is to determine the academic Turkish needs of the international students in Turkey, and to make suggestions to prepare sample course contents of the academic Turkish course to meet the identified needs. This research is a mixed method study which is created in explanatory sequential design. Quantitative and qualitative data were obtained by adopting mixed research method as a research method. In the quantitative part, the proficiency levels of the international students' language skills related to academic Turkish and the sub-skills related to these skills were determined by a questionnaire applied to the international students. The questionnaire of the research was obtained from the questionnaire by Doruk (2016) adopted from Bacha (2003), Hancığolu, Kortan, Sığınan, Somuncuoğlu and Tayanç (2003), and Seferoğlu (2001). The reliability analysis of the questionnaire was conducted and the result was found as .974. Quantitative data were analyzed with SPSS 16.0 program. Factor distributions and dimensions were analyzed by factor analysis; students' level of competence in four language skills and related sub-skills were analyzed by percentage and frequency analysis; students' proficiency level in four skills according to the classroom and education area variables were analyzed by cross-tabulation analysis; and correlation analysis was used to determine whether there is a significant relationship between the competence levels of any two language skills. As a result of factor analysis, a total of 29 items were examined under 3 dimensions. In the face-to-face meeting with the faculty members, qualitative data were collected about the proficiency levels of the international students in terms of academic Turkish, problems observed by the faculty members and various solutions. The qualitative data obtained from interviews, the questions used in the semi-structured interview form were analyzed and discussed by turning them into themes related to the questions. With the data obtained, a 3-week sample course content has been created for the academic Turkish course for international students. The results of the research show that the international students have serious academic Turkish needs. It was revealed that international students had the most difficulty in reading and writing skills, and this was mostly observed in exams and written assignments according to the data obtained from the faculty members. While international students had the most difficulty in the first grade, an increase in their academic Turkish competence was observed in the other grades except for the third-year seniors. In terms of area of education, it was found that students of social sciences were better at all skills than students of science. With the correlation analysis, a positive relationship was found between reading and listening skills. Within the scope of this study, a 3-week sample academic Turkish course content was prepared according to the results obtained from the questionnaires and interviews conducted with international students. It is thought that the units prepared to provide students with academic language skills will be an exemplary resource for teaching Turkish as a foreign language and for the academic Turkish course for international students. Key Words: International students, teaching Turkish as a foreign language, academic Turkish, needs analysis, course content