Almanya´da Entegrasyon Kurslarındaki Türklerin Almanca Öğrenme Süreçlerinde Ana Dil, Yaş ve Eğitim Seviyelerinin Etkisi

Abstract Turks constitute the largest group among immigrant communities living in Germany. Data from the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees show that the number of Turks migrating to Germany has increased in recent years and is likely to increase further. The social and systemic integration of long-term and permanent Turkish immigrants in Germany depends on language acquisition. The study aims to analyze the positive and negative effects of the mother tongue, age and education level of Turkish-speaking participants attending integration courses on the learning process of German as a second language. The data obtained were analyzed through document analysis and the evaluations showed that high mother tongue proficiency had a limited but positive effect on German language learning. This shows that mother tongue proficiency is not the sole determinant but a supporting factor in German language development. The age factor had a decisive effect on language skills, with the youngest groups showing high German language skills and learning capacities, while a significant decrease in German language skills was observed as age advanced. On the other hand, the data showed that the level of education also played an important role in the development of mother tongue and German language skills. The success of individuals with low levels of education in acquiring German remained limited. The findings obtained may contribute to the development of a more efficient language learning and teaching method and the integration process in terms of language learning.