The Contribution of Tourist Interactions to Foreigners' Learning of Turkish

Authors : Muhammet Nimet Çavuş
Pages : 322-349
Doi:10.21666/muefd.1747067
View : 85 | Download : 186
Publication Date : 2025-11-30
Article Type : Research Paper
Abstract :This study aims to examine the awareness levels and opinions of tourism students regarding language and cultural interaction in foreigners’ learning of Turkish through touristic experiences. Conducted with the participation of 330 students studying at Aydın Adnan Menderes University Didim Vocational School, the research was designed based on a descriptive survey model and a mixed-methods approach. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire developed by the researcher; quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS 28.0, while qualitative data were analyzed with MAXQDA 2020 software. Quantitative analyses revealed that demographic variables such as gender, age, class level, touristic experience, and foreign language proficiency created significant differences in students’ awareness levels, whereas the department variable did not have a significant effect. In the code cloud analysis, students emphasized the main difficulties tourists face while learning Turkish, such as “local dialects,” “word pronunciation,” and “grammatical complexity.” A sequential logistic regression analysis was employed to identify the factors affecting the contribution level of touristic interactions to the Turkish learning process. According to the regression results, factors such as the student’s department, class level, the tourist’s interaction environment, the form of interaction, the student’s perception of contribution, and the tourist’s basic Turkish knowledge and perceived contribution to service quality were found to be significant predictors. The findings underline the importance of an interdisciplinary perspective on the relationship between teaching Turkish to foreigners and tourism education and offer various recommendations for practitioners, educators, and policymakers.
Keywords : Turistik etkileşim, Türkçe öğrenme süreci, Turizm eğitimi, Karma araştırma

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