International Journal of Language Academy ISSN:2342-0251 DOI Number: http://dx.doi.org/10.18033/ijla.4148 Research Article Volume 7/2 June 2019 p. 1/18 International Journal of Language Academy Volume 7/2 June 2019 p. 1/18 OPINIONS OF RUSSIAN SPEAKING RESIDENT PARENTS ON THEIR AND THEIR CHILDREN’S USE OF TURKISH: ANTALYA CASE Antalya’da Yerleşik Rusça Konuşan Ebeveynlerin Kendilerinin ve Çocuklarının Türkçe Kullanımına İlişkin Görüşleri 1 Ümit YILDIZ 2 Gülsüm SERTOĞLU 3 Abstract In recent years, it has been observed that the citizens of the Eastern European countries where Russian is spoken as native/second language, have settled permenantly and/or have started to reside temporarily in the province of Antalya. The number of foreign citizens in question has reached a considerable level in the city center of Antalya. Many of the school children and/or school-age children of these people have started to study/are already studying in public and private schools in Antalya. The aim of this study is to determine the parents’ and their children’s current Turkish level and their level of Turkish usage. Besides, parents’ and children’s language preferences in daily life and at home was investigated. The study also tried to find out the parents’ and their children’s expectations from Turkish learning processes and their opinions about these processes. The sample of this qualitative study is composed of 15 parents and 15 children who are randomly selected. The data were collected through interviews and a 22-question interview was used as a data collection tool to outline the views of parents about themselves and their children. It is assumed that the obtained data may contribute to the needs analysis dimension of a curriculum which is likely to be designed for the target audience. In other words, it is considered that the results of the study may contribute to the existing program and/or a program that can be designed for foreigners whose native/second language is Russian. The results of the study showed that; Parents whose native/second language is Russian evaluate their and their children's Turkish level as medium. On the other hand, in the context of Turkish language in use, parents perceive their language level as beginner, while they state their children’s language level as medium. Parents and their children prefer to use their native/second language at home and Turkish in daily life more frequently. On the other hand, the parents stated that they need to improve themselves on “speaking” and “grammar”. Besides, they mentioned that it is difficult to find individually/seperately designed Turkish language courses for adults and children. Key Words: Learning/teaching Turkish as a foreign languge, Russian as a native/second language, foreigners residing in Antalya. 1 Bu çalışma, 23-25 Mart 2019 tarihleri arasında Antalya’da “5. Uluslararası İnsan, Toplum ve Spor Bilimleri Sempozyumu”nda sunulan bildiriden genişletilerek üretilmiştir. 2 Doçent Doktor, Akdeniz Üniversitesi, umityildiz@akdeniz.edu.tr 3 Yüksek Lisans Öğrencisi, Akdeniz Üniversitesi, gulsumsertogluu@gmail.com ArticleHistory: Received 11/05/2019 Received in revised form 11/05/2019 Accepted 25/06/2019 Available online 30/06/2019