Comparative analysis of cultural elements in textbooks prepared for teaching Turkish and Serbian as a foreign language

The aim of this study is to determine and comparatively analyse the prevalence of cultural elements in reading and listening exercises in the two books Yedi İklim Türkçe and Učimo Srpski 1 used in teaching Turkish and Serbian as a foreign language at the basic level. The goal of the comparison is to determine which cultural elements are included and to what extent, as well as to show how the cultural transfer occurs. In the study, where qualitative data were obtained through document analysis, a draft text was comprised by using different sources. This draft was used for an attempt to identify and determine the main categories: Daily Life, Interpersonal Relations, Values and Education, Literature, Art, Music and Sports, Traditions and Folklore, Geography and Places and their associated Sociocultural subcategories. Throughout the study, the identified cultural elements are supported by quotations from the textbooks, and there are cases where the explanations of the elements of the cultures of both languages are included. Ultimately, the study shows the total number of socio-cultural elements in the Yedi İklim Türkçe basic level textbooks and the Učimo Srpski 1 textbook differ greatly. In conclusion, considering the reflection of the socio-cultural elements of both languages in the textbooks, it is evident that the cultural transfer is less common in the teaching of Serbian as a foreign language.