Exploring the relatedness of international English language learners at the tertiary level in Türkiye

Authors : Hüsem Korkmaz

Pages : 135-156

Doi:10.33400/kuje.1601848

View : 46 | Download : 63

Publication Date : 2025-05-31

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :As learning a foreign language encompasses a number of challenges, such as requiring strong motivation, determination, collaboration with others, and coping with foreign language learning anxiety, and since international students experience many of the challenges during their first year in the host country, the affective states of the international students play a crucial role in their learning outcomes. Thus, this study is a qualitative investigation into the international English language learners’ feelings of relatedness, which is accepted as one of the basic psychological needs of second language learners. The study was carried out with international EFL learners in the Turkish tertiary context. A total of 12 participants took part in the study, and the data collected through semi-structured interviews were analysed using thematic analysis in order to come up with relevant codes and themes. The findings suggest that positive and non-discriminative attitudes of the instructors and other staff seem to contribute considerably to the participants’ sense of relatedness, while weak friendship ties, homesickness, and financial factors such as tuition fees and living expenses reduce it. Some participants recommended that social activities, extracurricular tasks, and speaking clubs could increase relatedness perceptions, and thus contribute to their motivation to learn English. The pedagogical implications are expected to pave the way for the stakeholders to gain more insight regarding the field of English Language Teaching at the higher education level in Türkiye. In this regard, policies and actions contributing to the feelings of relatedness are expected to increase their retention and achievement in the higher education programs.
Keywords : İngilizce öğrenenler, yükseköğretim, uluslararası öğrenciler, psikolojik ihtiyaçlar, Bağlılık

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