Creative writing in teaching/learning Turkish as second language/foreign language on the Task-Based Language Teaching Principles

Abstract

Teaching Turkish as a Second or Foreign Language (SL/FL) is a vast research area. This study was conducted on the question if using TBLT (Task-based Language Teaching) principles can be more effective for learners of Turkish as SL/FL for improving creative writing. Specifically, the research question of this study was "Can the TBLT tasks for creative writing facilitate the active use of grammar knowledge in Turkish as SL/FL?". It is essential to clarify what creative writing means. According to Gocer (2016,pp. 120-121) and İpsiroglu (2006, p. 27), creative writing is a product of imagination, it allows individuals to be creative and express meaning about their thoughts and feelings through their words. A review of the research literature shows that only two studies have been conducted mentioning the topic of teaching creative writing in Turkish as SL/FL (Top (2013); Türkben (2019)). This study aimed to discuss the use of task-based language teaching principles, to teach Turkish as SL/ FL. Task-based language teaching (TBLT) is a didactical approach in teaching and learning languages (Ellis 2005). There are few studies investigate this topic of TBLT in teaching Turkish as SL/FL, for example the studies of Dildüzgün (2015), Şişmek & Bakır (2019), and Albayrak & Serin (2022). The main objective of this research was to determine whether the task-based language teaching (TBLT) method is more effective than traditional teaching, for teaching Turkish as SL/FL, focusing on improving creative writing skills. To answer this question I have created lesson plans and tested them to evaluate in which teaching approach (traditional teaching or TBLT approach (Willis, 1996)) Turkish language learners showed better understanding of grammatical phenomena through the use of text production(creative writing). The lessons were taught with both the traditional teaching approach (teacher-oriented) and TBLT approach (teacher-oriented) switched in between each lesson. After all lessons were complete a motivation questionnaire was distributed. According to the findings, TBLT principles (creative writing) can be facilitated the active use of grammar knowledge. A combination of TBLT approach and traditional approach is the best for teaching Turkish as SL/FL.