1
Teache s' Opinions on he Tu kish and Tu kish Cul u e Compe encies o
S uden s Pa icipa ing in Tu kish and Tu kish Cul u e (TTC) Classes (The Case
o Belgium)
Ramazan Ka ahüseyinoğlu, Saka ya Uni e si y, amazan.ka ahuseyinoglu@og .saka ya.edu.
0009-0006-3070-7543
Keywo ds
Abs ac
Tu kish
Cul u e
Tu kish Cul u e
Mo he ongue
This s udy aims o examine he language and cul u al compe encies o
s uden s en olled in Tu kish and Tu kish Cul u e cou ses in Belgium and o
ga he he iews o Tu kish and Tu kish Cul u e eache s on hese
compe encies. In his s udy, a case s udy om quali a i e esea ch me hods
was used. The s udy g oup o he esea ch was de e mined by a ini y
sampling me hod, one o he pu pose ul sampling me hods. The sample o
he s udy consis ed o 11 Tu kish and Tu kish Cul u e eache s wi h di e en
le els o age and p o essional expe ience (in yea s) wo king in Belgium. A
semi-s uc u ed in e iew o m was used as he p ima y da a collec ion ool.
The o m consis ed o open-ended ques ions o analyse how e ec i e he
eaching p ocess is in de eloping he language and cul u al compe encies o
he s uden s. The con en analysis me hod was p e e ed o da a analysis.
As a esul , i is seen ha Tu kish and Tu kish Cul u e cou ses a e an
essen ial ca ie o cul u al he i age o he Tu kish communi y in Belgium,
in s eng hening cul u al ies as well as language p o iciency. Teache s
s a ed ha s uden s we e success ul in using Tu kish in daily spoken
language bu had di icul ies in w i en exp ession and eading
comp ehension skills. Howe e , some eache s epo ed ha s uden s'
in e es in he p og am was some imes low, ha he du a ion o he lessons
was insu icien , and ha s uden s needed mo e guidance in some subjec s
A icle In o:
Recei ed: 13-06-2025
Accep ed: 01-10-2025
Published: 08-10-2025
DOI:10.5281/zenodo.17297086
5(2), 2025
www.j ade.com
ISSN: 2791-9951
2
INTRODUCTION
Today, wi h he inc ease in mig a ion mo emen s, he educa ional needs o diaspo as li ing in di e en
coun ies ha e also di e si ied. In his con ex , Tu kish and Tu kish Cul u e (TTK) classes, o ganised o
he Tu kish communi y li ing in Belgium, assume an essen ial ole in bo h de eloping child en's mo he
ongue skills and p ese ing hei cul u al iden i y (Aydın, 2020). The p o ision o Tu kish lessons o
Belgian Tu kish child en in schools is ca ied ou wi hin he amewo k o ag eemen s be ween he
go e nmen s o Tu key and Belgium. O icial Tu kish educa ion in Belgium s a ed wi h he Science and
Cul u e Exchange P og ams signed wi h he F ench Communi y Minis y o Educa ion in 1991. La e , he
Minis y o Na ional Educa ion o he Republic o Tu key and he Minis y o Educa ion o he F ench
Communi y o Belgium signed he "Pa ne ship Ag eemen on he O ganiza ion o he Cu iculum o he
Mo he Language and Cul u e Cou se and he Cu iculum o he Cou se o Recogni ion o he Cul u e o
O igin" (O ganisa ion des Cou s D'acquisi ion de la Langue e de la Cul u e D'o igine e des Cou s
D'ou e u e a la Cul u e D'o igine, LCO) in 2001. In 2012, a new ag eemen was signed, conside ed a
con inua ion o he ag eemen ha had been in o ce since 2001. This con en ion/ag eemen is called
he "P og am o Opening o Languages and Cul u es: Cha e o Pa ne ship be ween he F ench
Communi y o Belgium and he Republic o Tu key" (OLC), which is a o mal ag eemen . I aims o
p omo e mul ilingualism and in e cul u al dialogue o all, as well as encou age lea ning Tu kish and
explo ing Tu kish cul u e. The ea y en e ed in o o ce wi h he signa u es o Öme Dinçe , Minis e o
Na ional Educa ion o he Republic o Tu key, and Ma ie-Dominique Simone , Minis e o Compulso y
Educa ion o he F ench Communi y o Belgium (Bay akçı & Ka uncu, 2021). Conduc ed by he Minis y
o Na ional Educa ion o he Republic o Tu key, hese cou ses aim o s eng hen he cul u al ies o
Tu kish child en ab oad and help hem gain p o iciency in hei mo he ongue (MoNE, 2023).
Resea ch in he con ex o bilingualism e eals ha indi iduals who a e p o icien in hei mo he
ongue a e mo e success ul in lea ning a second language and ha e an ad an age in e ms o cogni i e
de elopmen (Bake , 2011). On he o he hand, in e na ional s udies also emphasize he impo ance o
mo he - ongue educa ion. Acco ding o he UNESCO (2003) epo , mo he ongue educa ion has a
posi i e impac on child en's men al, emo ional, and social de elopmen , and s uden s who ecei e
mo he ongue suppo in mul ilingual en i onmen s end o exhibi highe academic success.
Acco ding o he Council o Eu ope's "Mul ilingualism and Cul u al Di e si y" epo (Council o Eu ope,
2020), he educa ion o immig an child en li ing in Eu ope in hei mo he ongue should be suppo ed
o p omo e democ a ic pa icipa ion and social cohesion. The e o e, Tu kish child en in Belgium who
lea n bo h Tu kish and he coun y's o icial languages o a easonable le el con ibu e o hei
becoming mo e e ec i e indi iduals in bo h academic and social li e.
Bay akçı and Ka uncu (2021) s a ed ha , acco ding o da a sha ed by he Consula e Gene al o he
Republic o Tu key in B ussels, he numbe o Tu ks in Belgium oday is app oxima ely 250,000.
Addi ionally, a signi ican po ion o his popula ion consis s o child en (S a bel, 2023). Many o hese
child en a e educa ed in Flemish o F ench in he Belgian educa ion sys em, bu need addi ional
suppo o s ay connec ed o hei amilies' cul u al he i age. Language is no only a means o
communica ion bu also a co ne s one o cul u al iden i y. In his con ex , main aining mo he ongue
educa ion is c i ical o child en in he diaspo a (Cummins, 2001).
In di e en egions o Belgium (Flande s, Wallonia and B ussels), TCC classes a e augh by eache s
appoin ed by he Tu kish Minis y o Na ional Educa ion o a pe iod o i e yea s. In he Flemish egion,
TCC cou ses we e abolished in 2016 due o he e mina ion o he bila e al ag eemen , while Tu kish
and Tu kish Cul u e cou ses con inue o be o e ed ee o cha ge in schools in he B ussels and
Walloon egions wi hin he amewo k o he OLC (P og amme d'Ou e u e aux Langues e aux
Cul u es) ag eemen wi h he Walloon-B ussels Minis y o Educa ion. I has been obse ed ha he
demand o TCC cou ses is highe in mul icul u al egions, such as B ussels (Vandecandelae e e al.,
2018). This is due o he di e ences in egional educa ion policies and app oaches o mul icul u alism.
3
Ano he ac o a ec ing he quali y o TCC lessons is he a i ude o amilies. Resea ch shows ha
amilies' a i udes owa ds p ese ing hei child en's mo he ongue di ec ly a ec pa icipa ion in
lessons and child en's mo i a ion le els. A signi ican numbe o Tu kish amilies in Belgium s i e o
ensu e ha hei child en do no o ge hei Tu kish he i age; howe e , hei child en's a endance a
mo he - ongue classes may be in e up ed om ime o ime due o academic p essu es (Şahin, 2020).
In educa ional p ocesses aimed a inc easing awa eness o Tu kish and Tu kish cul u e, de eloping
s uden s' language skills and enabling hem o in e nalize cul u al alues a e key goals. Howe e , he e
a e a ious challenges and obs acles in achie ing hese goals. De iciencies in s uden s' eading and
w i ing skills, inadequacies in g amma , and limi ed eaching o cul u al alues can nega i ely impac
he e iciency o he educa ional p ocess when de eloping Tu kish language skills. S uden s' eluc ance
o de elop hei language skills and he aliena ion hey expe ience in he cul u al con ex highligh he
need o a mo e comp ehensi e app oach in educa ion. This si ua ion necessi a es ha eache s
econside class oom in e ac ion and he me hods used, and ansi ion o a s uden -cen ed and
cul u ally en iched eaching model, aking in o accoun ac o s such as amily pa icipa ion in he
educa ional p ocess.
This s udy aims o e alua e eache s' iews on he basic compe encies gained by s uden s a ending
Tu kish and Tu kish Cul u e cou ses in Belgium. In his esea ch, answe s o he ollowing ques ions
we e sough :
S uden s a ending Tu kish and Tu kish Cul u e cou ses;
Can hey speak hei mo he ongue a an adequa e le el?
Can hey exp ess hemsel es o ally and in w i ing?
How in e es ed a e hey in lea ning abou ou cul u al alues?
METHOD
In his sec ion, he esea ch model, s udy g oup, da a collec ion ool, esea ch p ocess and da a analysis
a e explained.
RESEARCH MODEL
In his s udy, he case s udy design was p e e ed among quali a i e esea ch designs, as i was
conside ed he mos app op ia e me hod o analysing he con ibu ion o he eaching p ocess, which
in ol es eache s ac ing as educa o s, o s uden s' language and cul u al p o iciency.
A case s udy is a esea ch me hod used o collec and analyse in-dep h in o ma ion abou a speci ic
phenomenon, e en , o g oup (Yin, 2018).
STUDY GROUP
The s udy g oup consis ed o 11 Tu kish and Tu kish Cul u e eache s wo king a he B ussels Educa ion
Counsello 's O ice who olun a ily pa icipa ed in he s udy. The s udy g oup comp ises eache s wi h
di e se le els o expe ience, ages, and p o essional backg ounds in a ious egions o Belgium. One
eache who pa icipa ed in he s udy had 6-10 yea s o expe ience in his/he p o essional ca ee , 2
eache s had 11-20 yea s o expe ience in hei p o essional ca ee , and 8 eache s had 21-30 yea s o
expe ience in hei p o essional ca ee . Ele en eache s pa icipa ed in he s udy, wi h 7 being male and
4 being emale. The ages o he esponden s anged be ween 31 and 60. The demog aphic in o ma ion
is shown in Table 1.
4
Table 1. Demog aphic Cha ac e is ics o he Teache s Pa icipa ing in he S udy
Va iable
Gende
Age Range
P o essional
Expe ience (yea s)
T1
T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
T7
T8
T9
T10
T11
Woman
Woman
Woman
Woman
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
41-50
31-40
51-60
31-40
51-60
41-50
41-50
41-50
41-50
51-60
51-60
11-20
6-10
21-30
11-20
21-30
21-30
21-30
21-30
21-30
21-30
21-30
DATA COLLECTION TOOL
In his esea ch, a semi-s uc u ed in e iew o m was u ilized as he p ima y ool o da a collec ion.
This in e iew me hod is designed o ob ain consis en in o ma ion om pa icipan s ega ding he
opic unde in es iga ion. P io o he in e iews, a guide con aining p ede e mined ques ions o
discussion poin s is p epa ed o assis he in e iewe h oughou he p ocess (Dik aş, 2021, p. 67).
The esea che wo ked as an educa o in he ield o Tu kish language and cul u e in Belgium. O he
o al 23 educa o s wo king in his ield ac oss Belgium, 11 olun ee ed o pa icipa e in he s udy. Due
o he limi ed numbe o pa icipan s, no in e -code compa ison was made. The esea ch ques ions
we e o mula ed based on he esea che 's own expe iences and he opinions ob ained h ough
communica ion wi h o he educa o s wo king in he ield. In o de o ensu e alidi y and eliabili y, he
ques ions we e sha ed wi h ele an educa o s and e ised based on he eedback ecei ed. An
academic expe in he ield e alua ed he inal e sion o he in e iew o m, and he necessa y
adjus men s we e made based on hei ecommenda ions o inalize he o m.
The in e iew o m, which consis s o open-ended ques ions designed o analyse he ex en o which
he eaching p ocess con ibu es o s uden s' language and cul u al p o iciency, is di ided in o wo
sec ions. The i s sec ion aims o collec demog aphic in o ma ion abou he pa icipa ing eache s,
including hei age, p o essional expe ience, and gende . The second sec ion aims o ga he
pa icipan s' iews on he basic compe encies acqui ed by s uden s en olled in Tu kish language and
cul u e cou ses in Belgium, as assessed h ough ques ions p epa ed by he esea che .
The ques ions in he second pa o he in e iew o m a e gi en below:
How do you hink you s uden s de eloped basic eading skills wi hin he scope o he Tu kish and
Tu kish Cul u e Cu iculum? How did hese skills con ibu e o you s uden s' daily li es?
How do you hink you s uden s de eloped basic w i ing skills wi hin he scope o he Tu kish and
Tu kish Cul u e Cu iculum? How did you obse e ha hese skills con ibu ed o you s uden s' daily
li es?
How did he Tu kish and Tu kish Cul u e Cu iculum imp o e you s uden s' language
awa eness and language use? How would you assess he impac o his de elopmen on s uden s'
communica ion skills?
How do you hink he Tu kish and Tu kish Cul u e Cu iculum con ibu es o you s uden s'
in e naliza ion o na ional, spi i ual and his o ical alues? Wha a e you obse a ions abou how you
s uden s adop and in eg a e hese alues in o hei li es?
5
Wha kind o awa eness has been c ea ed in you s uden s abou Tu kish cul u e and ci iliza ion
h ough he Tu kish and Tu kish Cul u e Cu iculum? How do you hink his awa eness shapes
s uden s' cul u al iden i ies and hei ela ions wi h socie y?
Do you ha e any o he obse a ions o sugges ions you would like o add abou he Tu kish and
Tu kish Cul u e compe encies o he s uden s pa icipa ing in Tu kish and Tu kish Cul u e (TTK)
cou ses?
RESEARCH PROCESS
The esea ch was conduc ed om Ma ch 17 o 31, 2025. In his p ocess, a semi-s uc u ed in e iew
o m was deli e ed o pa icipan s online ia Google Fo ms. P io o da a collec ion, pa icipan s we e
in o med in de ail abou he pu pose, scope and condi ions o pa icipa ion, and pa icipa ion was
en i ely olun a y. The in e iew o m was designed in a lexible s uc u e o allow pa icipan s o
espond a hei con enience. E hical ules we e me iculously obse ed h oughou he esea ch
p ocess; he p i acy o he pa icipan s was espec ed, and pe sonal da a we e kep con iden ial. The
quali a i e da a collec ed we e subjec ed o a sys ema ic analysis p ocess, and a ious hemes and
codes we e de e mined based on he eache s' iews.
DATA ANALYSIS
In he s udy, he da a we e analysed using he con en analysis me hod. Con en analysis in ol es
coding he da a, iden i ying hemes, o ganising he codes and hemes, and de ining and in e p e ing
he indings. Du ing he analysis, he da a a e i s di ided in o uni s o analysis and each uni is gi en a
code. Then, ca ego ies a e c ea ed om he codes acco ding o he simila i ies and di e ences
be ween hem (Yıldı ım & Şimşek, 2018).
In o de o ensu e he in e nal alidi y o he s udy, he in e iew o m was p epa ed in acco dance
wi h he scien i ic p ocess. To ensu e in e nal eliabili y, he codes ela ed o he eache s' opinions on
each in e iew ques ion we e suppo ed wi h di ec quo a ions. Du ing he quo a ions, he iden i ies
o he eache s whose opinions we e s a ed we e indica ed as T1 and T2. The o ms we e e alua ed
using a con en analysis me hod. In he analysis o he eache s' opinions, codes we e c ea ed based
on he simila i y o he s a emen s, and hemes we e o med acco dingly.
While analysing he codes, he pa icipan s' sen ences we e included, he eby inc easing he eliabili y
and alidi y o he s udy.
FINDINGS
In he s udy, he iews o Tu kish and Tu kish Cul u e eache s on he basic compe encies o Tu kish and Tu kish
cul u e s uden s a ending Tu kish and Tu kish Cul u e cou ses we e examined.
S anda d
codes we e
de e mined om he answe s gi en by he TCC eache s, and he ollowing able in Table 2,
wi h he
codes acco ding o he esea ch ques ions, was c ea ed:
6
Language
Mo he ongue awa eness
9
"S uden s s a ed o ake Tu kish language mo e
se iously." (T1)
Abili y o communica e
effec i ely
7
"Now hey can communica e wi h clea e , p ope
sen ences." (T2)
Awa eness
and Use
Con olled use o language
5
"They a e mo e selec i e and ca e ul when hey
speak." (T3)
Vocabula y De elopmen
4
"They exp ess hemsel es mo e easily hanks o hei
ocabula y knowledge." (T4)
Basic
W i ing
Skills
De elopmen o w i en
exp ession skills
10
"Being able o exp ess hemsel es in w i ing makes
hem mo e sel -confiden " (T3)
Rein o cemen o g amma
h ough w i ing
6
"They can use he g amma ules hey ha e lea ned
while w i ing." (T7)
Daily w i ing (dia y, le e ,
e c.)
5
"S uden s de elop hei basic w i ing skills h ough
jou naling, sho ex s and c ea i e w i ing ac i i ies."
(T2)
Table 2: Teache s' Opinions on he Ques ion "Does he/she speak his/he mo he ongue adequa ely?"
Theme Code Quo es
The s anda d iew o he eache s is ha s uden s' awa eness o hei mo he ongue, Tu kish,
has inc eased. This inc eased awa eness has posi i ely a ec ed hei speaking skills; s uden s
ha e de eloped he abili y o communica e mo e selec i ely, accu a ely, and e ec i ely.
Main aining a sense o belonging o Tu kish in a bilingual en i onmen is an impo an ac o in
his de elopmen . The opinions o he eache s a e shown in Table 3.
Table 3: Teache s' Opinions on he Ques ion "Can he/she exp ess himsel /he sel e bally and in
w i ing?" Theme Code Quo es
Upon e iewing he answe s p o ided, i was no ed ha hei w i en exp ession skills had imp o ed
no iceably.
I was epo ed ha he habi o w i ing inc eased wi h dia ies, le e s and dic a ion
exe cises, and ha
w i en exp essions imp o ed in e ms o o de and compliance wi h g amma
ules. I was also no ed
ha some s uden s we e eluc an o w i e. Fo his eason, he abili y o
exp ess onesel in w i ing
de elops mo e slowly han he abili y o exp ess onesel o ally. Some
eache s s a ed ha he w i ing
skill was he a ea whe e he leas p og ess was made, as ollows:
T5: I obse ed ha w i ing skills a e he a ea whe e we ha e made he leas p og ess in Tu kish
and Tu kish Cul u e lessons.
T6: We obse e ha ou s uden s a e sligh ly behind in w i ing skills compa ed o hei eading
skills. This
is because ou s uden s ha e ewe a eas o use o needs in w i ing Tu kish.
7
Cul u al
Values Educa ion
11
"The cou se helps s uden s ecognize and unde s and
na ional, spi i ual and his o ical alues. They emb ace
hese alues h ough adi ional s o ies, impo an
his o ical e en s and cul u al ac i i ies." (T2)
"I is obse ed ha hei eelings o belonging and
Iden i y and
Values
Emo ional connec ion wi h
he mo he land
5
espec o na ional, spi i ual and his o ical alues such
as lo e o homeland, lo e o he flag, Çanakkale,
ma y dom, Ramadan ha e inc eased." (T6)
Consolida ion o cul u al
iden i y
9
"The cou se c ea es a deep awa eness o Tu kish
cul u e and ci iliza ion in s uden s and s eng hens
hei na ional iden i y." (T3)
Acco ding o he esponses, Tu kish and Tu kish Cul u e lessons s eng hen s uden s' lo e o hei
homeland, na ional alues and eelings o social belonging. Emo ional ies wi h he mo he land a e
es ablished h ough na ional day ac i i ies, and amily ies a e suppo ed h ough alues educa ion.
The eache s’ opinions a e shown in Table 4 below:
Table 4: Teache s' Opinions on he Ques ion "How in e es ed a e hey in lea ning abou ou cul u al
alues?" Theme Code Quo es
Teache s' opinions show ha s uden s' awa eness o Tu kish cul u e inc eased signi ican ly. Especially
wi h he mos emphasized code, " ein o cemen o cul u al iden i y", i was s a ed ha s uden s'
iden i y awa eness de eloped. S uden s ha e a mo e conscious unde s anding o hei o igins,
adi ions and iden i ies, no only linguis ically. This enables hem o main ain hei cul u al ies and
eel p oud o hei iden i y in he socie y hey li e in.
DISCUSSION
The indings o his s udy e eal ha Tu kish and Tu kish Cul u e (TTK) cou ses in Belgium make
subs an ial and mul i ace ed con ibu ions o s uden s' linguis ic, cul u al and iden i y de elopmen .
Analyses based on eache s' opinions indica e ha s uden s ha e made signi ican gains in bo h basic
language skills ( eading, w i ing, speaking) and cul u al awa eness and na ional alues. S uden s’ mo e
conscious adop ion o hei cul u al iden i y, hei acquain ance wi h adi ional alues and hei
e ec i e use o hei mo he ongue a e among he p ima y ou comes o his educa ion. Addi ionally,
he de elopmen o sel -con idence and a sense o social belonging among s uden s pa icipa ing in
TCC lessons is ano he impo an ou come. The majo i y o eache s belie e ha TCC classes play a
c i ical ole in ensu ing cul u al con inui y and p ese ing language awa eness in he long e m.
In e ms o language skills, i was ound ha Tu kish child en in Belgium we e mo e success ul in
lis ening and speaking, bu had signi ican di icul ies in w i en exp ession. This si ua ion was
associa ed wi h he ac ha s uden s use Tu kish mos ly o ally in hei daily li es. Speaking Tu kish in
he amily plays a c ucial ole, especially in he de elopmen o lis ening skills. Howe e , equen
language e o s in w i en exp ession sugges ha s uden s equi e addi ional suppo in his a ea.
This inding aligns wi h P ensky's (2001) and Cummins' (2001) s udies on language acquisi ion. These
s udies e eal ha en i onmen al in e ac ions a e decisi e in language de elopmen and ha
inadequacies in academic language can nega i ely a ec s uden s' success in he class oom. In his
con ex , he e is a need o mo e sys ema ic and academically o ien ed p ac ices o imp o e Tu kish
s uden s' w i en exp ession skills.
Ano he inding o he s udy is ha s uden s gene ally exhibi a posi i e a achmen o Tu kish
cul u e. I is e iden ha TCC cou ses make a signi ican con ibu ion o he de elopmen o cul u al
8
iden i y and inc ease s uden s' in e es in cul u al alues. In pa icula , he in e es o amilies in
eaching Tu kish cul u e has a posi i e impac on s uden s' pa icipa ion in he lessons. Howe e , i is
no ewo hy ha hei knowledge o Tu key's his o ical and geog aphical ea u es is supe icial. This
shows ha s uden s' cul u al knowledge epe oi e is no de eloped in dep h. K amsch (2000) s a es
ha cul u al iden i y is shaped no only h ough language bu also h ough social, cul u al and
poli ical in e ac ions o he indi idual. In his amewo k, i is concluded ha s uden s in Belgium
should be included in a mo e comp ehensi e and s uc u ed cul u al educa ion p ocess.
In line wi h he eache s' iews, i is gene ally accep ed ha TCC lessons make aluable con ibu ions
o s uden s bo h linguis ically and cul u ally. Howe e , some s uc u al p oblems need o be
o e come o his con ibu ion o be sus ainable. The inadequacy o he cou se hou s, which a e
limi ed o one o wo hou s a week, limi s he p ocess o s uden s lea ning Tu kish and Tu kish
cul u e. The e o e, he du a ion o lessons should be inc eased and he con en should be en iched.
Addi ionally, i is emphasized ha eaching ma e ials should be upda ed and supplemen ed wi h
con empo a y con en ha is sui able o he s uden p o ile. Akın (2015) s a es ha he design o
eaching ma e ials in acco dance wi h he age and cul u al cha ac e is ics o s uden s di ec ly a ec s
he success o language eaching.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
CONCLUSION
The esea ch indings also show ha s uden s a e mo e en husias ic abou TCC lessons a a young
age; howe e , hei in e es and pa icipa ion in he cou se dec ease as hey ge olde . I has been
obse ed ha s uden s' social en i onmen and pee g oups in luence hem as hey en e
adolescence, and as a esul , hey o en lose in e es in Tu kish lessons. This si ua ion poses a
signi ican isk o he con inui y o cul u al iden i y. Gü soy and Yılmaz's (2018) esea ch also e eals
ha social en i onmen , media and cul u al in e ac ions shape young people's mo i a ion o
language lea ning. Acco dingly, i is essen ial o implemen mo e in e ac i e, up- o-da e, and
s uden -cen e ed eaching me hods o e i alize s uden s' in e es .
O e all, Tu kish and Tu kish Cul u e cou ses play an indispensable ole o s uden s li ing ab oad,
helping hem main ain hei mo he ongue and p ese e hei cul u al iden i y. Analyses based on
eache s' opinions highligh a eas ha need imp o emen , as well as he p og am's s eng hs. The
p og am has signi ican ad an ages in e ms o suppo ing he de elopmen o language skills, aising
cul u al awa eness and ein o cing a sense o social belonging. Howe e , o sus ain hese ad an ages
e ec i ely, elemen s such as lesson du a ion, ma e ial quali y, cu iculum con en , echnology use,
and amily in ol emen need o be s eng hened. In his espec , es uc u ing he cu en p og am
in e ms o bo h con en and implemen a ion will make s uden s' commi men o he Tu kish
language and cul u e mo e pe manen .
RECOMMENDATIONS
In ligh o he s udy’s conclusions, he ollowing ac ions a e ecommended:
Some s uc u al and pedagogical sugges ions ha e been de eloped o enhance he linguis ic and
cul u al compe ence o s uden s en olled in Tu kish and Tu kish Cul u e classes in Belgium. Fi s o all,
i has been obse ed ha he cu en cou se hou s a e insu icien , and ha one o wo hou s o
lessons pe week a e no e ec i e enough in de eloping s uden s' w i en exp ession skills. The e o e,
he weekly hou s o TCC cou ses should be inc eased o a leas h ee hou s (Demi , 2020).
Addi ionally, p esen ing language eaching and cul u al con en in an in eg a ed manne will suppo
s uden s' language awa eness and de elopmen o hei cul u al iden i y (Ko kmaz & Yıldız, 2019).
Mo e s uden -cen e ed and in e ac i e me hods should be applied in he eaching p ocess. Me hods
9
such as isual ma e ials, game-based lea ning, d ama and g oup wo k can inc ease s uden s' ac i e
pa icipa ion in lessons and make lea ning mo e pe manen (Gü soy & Yılmaz, 2018). In addi ion,
u ilizing digi al echnologies (e.g., mul imedia ools such as ideos, anima ions, and i ual excu sions)
will con ibu e o s uden s lea ning bo h Tu kish language and cul u al elemen s in a mo e e ec i e
and mul idimensional way (Akbulu & A slan, 2021).
The con ibu ion o amilies o TCC lessons is also a no ewo hy a ea o in luence. The suppo
s uden s ecei e om hei amilies in hei Tu kish lea ning p ocess can inc ease hei mo i a ion and
success le els. The e o e, i is essen ial o in ol e amilies mo e ac i ely in he p ocess and suppo
hem h ough ac i i ies such as in o ma i e mee ings, cul u al e en s, and book eading campaigns
(Yıldı ım, 2022).
This s udy was conduc ed based on he opinions o a limi ed numbe o eache s. The e o e, in o de
o inc ease he gene alizabili y o he indings, i is ecommended ha u u e s udies be conduc ed
wi h la ge and mo e di e se g oups o pa icipan s. In pa icula , mul idimensional quali a i e and
quan i a i e s udies ha include he iews o s uden s, pa en s and o he s akeholde s can p o ide a
mo e comp ehensi e pe spec i e on he e ec i eness o TCC lessons.
In addi ion, i is impo an o conduc de ailed s udies examining he ela ionships be ween s uden s'
a i udes owa ds Tu kish and Tu kish Cul u e cou ses, academic achie emen le els and language
skills. Such esea ch will p o ide a scien i ic basis o he es uc u ing o cou se con en and eaching
s a egies. In addi ion, compa a i e analyses o Tu kish language eaching p og ams implemen ed in
a ious Eu opean coun ies should be conduc ed, and policy ecommenda ions should be de eloped
by le e aging success ul implemen a ion examples (Özkan & Taş, 2023).
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