Yabancılara Türkçe Öğretiminde Sosyal Medya Kullanımının Yazma Becerisine Etkisi

Abstract

Technology has a direct impact on human life, and with the developments in Web 2.0 tools, individuals' habits of using internet tools change day by day. Today, people spend a significant part of the day on the internet, especially on social media platforms. It is thought that when individuals' tendencies to use existing internet technologies and social media tools are transformed into language learning opportunities by using compatible tools, the efficiency of teaching and learner success will increase and learning will be more permanent. In this study, the effect of using social media for educational purposes in extracurricular processes on the writing skills and self-efficacy of the foreigners learning Turkish was investigated. Within the scope of the study, informed consent form, personal information form, semi-structured interview forms and focus group interview questions were prepared, and the forms were finalized after the expert opinions were taken. The data from the instructors and the learners were collected thanks to these forms before the application. The filled forms were examined with descriptive analysis, and the social media usage habits and the most used social media tools of the participants were determined. Then, the activities were created to support extracurricular teaching for these tools. Prepared YouTube and WhatsApp activities were shared with the experts teaching Turkish to foreigners, and the activities were finalized in accordance with the expert opinions. The study group of the research consists of 79 – B2 level - learners who learn Turkish as a second language at Gazi, Gaziantep and Istanbul Aydın Universities and as a foreign language at Yunus Emre Institute, and 5 instructors who teach in these institutions. Before the study, the language teaching sets used in the field of teaching Turkish to foreigners were examined and the writing topics were determined to be used in the pre-test and post-test stages. The “Written Expression Rubric”, prepared by Büyükikiz (2011), was used to evaluate the learners’ essays in the pre-test and post-test stages, and the “Self-Efficacy Scale for Writing Skill”, developed by Büyükikiz (2011), was used to determine their self-efficacy in writing. Before the application, the learners were divided into two groups as experimental and control based on unbiased assignment for each application center. As a pre-test measure of the dependent variable, both groups was asked to write an essay by choosing one of the topics of written expression determined in accordance with the expert opinions and then to fill in the self-efficacy scales. The lectures of the experimental group were supported by the social media contents determined as independent variables for 6 weeks while no work was done in the lectures of the control group. At the end of 6 weeks, both groups was asked to write an essay as a post-test measure and to fill in the self-efficacy scales. The quantitative data collected from the learners in the pre-test and post-test stages were analyzed using the SPSS 25.0 program. Descriptive analysis methods were used in the analysis of the qualitative data collected within the scope of the study, and thus the quantitative data was supported by the opinions of the teachers and learners about using social media in language teaching processes. At the end of the study, it was understood that using social media tools for education has a positive effect on the writing success and the self-efficacy in writing of those who learn Turkish as a foreign and second language. In the scope of the study, the qualitative data collected was consistent with the quantitative data collected by the writing success test and the self-efficacy scale in writing. It was also found out that thanks to social media tools learners' self-confidence rises, that learners reach the natural use of the target language on the platforms, that they reach information without time and space constraints, that they feel more comfortable, that they aren’t scared of being wrong, that they are exposed to target language outside classroom, that they can communicate with their friends and teachers easily, and that teachers can give instant feedback to learners through social media applications. However, it was also found out that there are some negative aspects of using social media tools. When using social media tools, there may be connection problems; not having equal conditions to access the internet causes inequality of opportunity for learners; the attention of learners may be distracted during the activity; learners spend too much time on social media platforms without even realizing it; this situation causes health problems such as eye problems for learners, and learners can learn undesirable things too when there is no control over them.