Turkish language acquisition of refugee students in North Cyprus public schools

Abstract

The current research investigated the difficulties faced by refugee students in the acquisition of the Turkish language as a second language (L2) in North Cyprus. Participants of the study included six refugee students with their parents as well as their teachers. All of the refugee students were originally from Syria who obtained the refugee status in North Cyprus after leaving Syria as a result of the instabilities existing this country. Students were two females and four males whose ages ranged between 8 to 15 years old. The study employed a qualitative approach and data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed that most of the refugee students have difficulties in acquiring the Turkish language within three layers, family, society and school environment.