An examination of psycholinguistic variables among learners of Turkish

This article describes a study into the multiple interacting factors which motivate learners of Turkish, the demand for which has been steadily increasing given the geo-political realities of the region at this time. A questionnaire was used which examined motivation, investment, beliefs and autonomy on a rating scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). In addition, a qualitative dimension was added by asking respondents to comment on their reasons for their ratings and to give examples where they could. The participants were 402 students of Turkish at the TÖMER center at a Turkish university. The highest ratings were for motivation and the belief that Turkish is a good language to learn (median rating=5). All of the other items of the questionnaire were given a median rating of 4 (agree). Reasons given for the ratings included personal, educational or economic advancement, conflict avoidance, and a wide range of examples was also provided. The findings are discussed and compared with existing literature, and implications are proposed. Possibilities for further research are also suggested to follow up some of the interesting questions raised by the study.