Examination of the students and lecturers' views and course books on the transference of Turkish cultural elements in Turkish language teaching

Today, teaching Turkish as a foreign language is carried out in many different institutions as a result of people coming to Turkey due to different needs or reasons and it is known that the number of these foreign students increases day by day. This situation makes Turkish a language that foreigners learn and also shows the importance of teaching Turkish as a foreign language. In order to realize correct and effective language teaching in teaching Turkish as a foreign language, reflecting the culture of the society is also necessary. Therefore, the realization of cultural teaching becomes easier if the individual is in the country where the foreign language is spoken. In this context, the research was designed according to the case study, one of the qualitative research methods. Data were obtained through document analysis, focus group interview and individual interviews in accordance with qualitative research methodology. Considering the importance of transfer of cultural elements in teaching Turkish as a foreign language, the elements of Turkish culture in the Turkish textbook for foreigners used in Akdeniz University Turkish Teaching Application and Research Center were examined and evaluated according to certain criteria of the research. Based on the Turkish cultural elements identified in the textbooks, the opinions of foreign students studying at the Turkish Language Teaching Application and Research Center of Akdeniz University about Turkish culture were collected. As another data collection tool of the study, the individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with the lecturers who are working at Turkish Language Teaching Application and Research Center of Akdeniz University. In this context, focus group interviews with 32 foreign students, individual interviews with 11 foreign students and 10 lecturers were conducted through semi-structured interview forms. The collected data analyzed through content analysis. As a result of the research, foreign students stated that they learned Turkish cultural elements mostly from "social life, Turkish friends and soap operas". Besides these, they could also benefit from "textbooks and lecturers". In addition, it is concluded that there are Turkish cultural elements in the textbooks, but cultural elements should be included for students' interests and needs and they should be more up to date elements. In line with the opinions of the lecturers in TÖMER, the lecturers; stated that they did not find the textbooks fully sufficient in terms of Turkish cultural elements, although they considered cultural transfer as one of the most fundamental elements that should be in foreign language teaching. Keywords: Foreign language teaching, Turkish teaching as a foreign language, language and culture relationship, cultural interaction, culture transfer.