How Do Students Studying Turkish in Lithuania Describe Turkish Culture and People?

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to describe ideas that students learning Turkish in Lithuania have about Turkish culture and Turkish people. A descriptive method was used in the research. The data for the research was collected from 15 students who learn Turkish at Vilnius University in Vilnius, Lithuania. For the participating in the research students, “An Emotional Meaning Scale about Turkish Culture and Turkish People” was used. The students were asked to identify positive and negative attributes connected with Turkish culture and Turkish people. The data was grouped according to frequency (f) values and interpreted accordingly. The research revealed that the students evaluate Turkish culture and Turkish people positively and that the positive ideas belong to a high level.

Keywords: Teaching Turkish to foreigners, Lithuania, Turkish culture, Turkish people.