A language needs analysis of students learning Turkish as a foreign language: A case for TÖMER

This study aims to reveal the language needs of students who are learning Turkish as a foreign language. In this context, the goal of teaching a language should be to enable the learners to reach the target language they want to learn in the shortest and easiest way. For this purpose, it will be useful to consider the basic needs of the student first. When students' level, their goals, and for what purposes they will use the language are determined, and materials and practices are used in this direction, the process will become easier for both the teacher and the learner, and the language learning process will become more satisfying and meaningful. Namely, when the learning processes of an attempter aiming to learn the language enough to be able to do business in a foreign country and a student who wishes to receive an academic education in a foreign country in the language of the country are based on a single form of teaching, various difficulties are likely to be encountered. The present study becomes more important when it is considered that students of different ages and social statuses come from different countries to Turkey and have different purposes for learning the language, that international trade and cultural activities are plenty in Turkey due to its critical location, that Turkey has become a popular educational center for students all over the world, that the number of the tourists visiting Turkey each year has increased, and therefore Turkish became more popular as a foreign language, and that its conduction will guide the Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language and contribute to the literature. In this context, it is planned primarily to identify the general language needs of the students and to reach concrete data with a comprehensive analysis. In the analyses conducted, it was found that there was no significant difference in the sub-dimensions of "trading, education and job opportunities, individual interests and needs, and in-class communication" in the Turkish learning needs analysis scale according to age and language skills, that there was a significant difference only in the trading sub-dimension according to gender, and when the other dimensions were examined to see if there was a difference according to gender, no significant difference was found in the general total scores of the scale according to gender. It is considered that this study will be useful in analyzing the current situation and preparing more functional education programs according to existing needs. Keywords: Turkish education, Turkish as a foreign language, needs analysis, TÖMER