Arapça Konuşurlarının Erken ve Geç Dil Öğrenim Süreçlerinde Türkçe Sesletim Becerileri
Özet
In this study, it is aimed to identify the pronunciation errors made by basic level Arabic
speakers learning Turkish as a foreign language during oral reading and speaking
activities and to examine these errors on the axis of mother tongue influence, gender
and age variables. The participants of the research consist of 91 students who learned
Turkish in basic level courses at Azez and Afrin Yunus Emre Turkish Cultural Centers,
selected by homogeneous sampling method. Since the study aimed to determine the
effect of age and gender variables, as well as native language, on pronunciation skills,
58 adults (32 males-26 females) and 33 children (18 males-15 females) participated in
the study. In order to detect pronunciation errors in segmental-suprasegmental units, the
reading texts were also pronounced by native speakers (6 adults-6 children).
The way for foreign language learners to communicate with target language speakers is
through the ability to speak clearly, fluently and accurately. For this reason, in the
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), the achievements
for gaining pronunciation skills are presented under the title of qualitative features of
spoken language and phonological control scale. Accordingly, the learner can only
pronounce the sounds of the target language clearly at the C2 level. However,
achievements that indicate that individuals can use the segmental and suprasegmental
features of the target language from the basic level, even in a limited area, are also
included. The way to understand whether the pronunciation gains in question have been
achieved by the learner or not; is possible with valid and reliable research. For this
reason, 12 reading texts and 4 independent speaking questions selected from the basic
level Turkish teaching sets were presented to the learners, and the learners' oral reading
and speaking performances were recorded. Praat (Boersma and Weenink, 2024) audio
analysis program was used to analyze the data. The data obtained from the voice
recordings of the learners and native speakers were graphed with the Python
programming language and analyzed and interpreted using descriptive analysis and
content analysis methods, which are qualitative research designs.
As a result of the research, it was determined that the learners' pronunciation errors in
segmented units supported the critical period hypothesis. It was found that children
were more successful than adults in pronouncing syllable units formed with vowels and
consonants of different qualities, but when examined in terms of gender variable, it was
found that boys in adults and girls in children had less difficulty in producing Turkish
phonemes. When analyzed in terms of native language disability, it was seen that the
learners had difficulty in producing syllable units formed with /ü/, then /ö/, then /ı/ and
finally /o/, among the sounds that are not in the phonetic inventory of their native
language. In addition, the learners made negative transfers from their native language
when emphasizing Turkish words and sentences. Recommendations are presented to
instructors, program designers and researchers so that learners can achieve the goal of a
socially understandable accent and overcome communication barriers.
