Yabancı bir dil öğrenmek sadece sözcük ve dilbilgisi öğretimi ile sınırlandırılamaz; çünkü yabancı bir dil öğrenmek, nesnelere yeni etiketler koymak biçiminde değerlendirilemez. Her dil dünyayı farklı biçimde yorumlar ve farklı değer sistemleri, algılama ve düşünme biçimleri geliştirir. Bunun sonucu olarak diller arasında sanatsal, toplumbilimsel, anlamsal ve edimsel açıdan kültür farklılıkları oluşur. Bu farklılıklar dile yansır ve dille yansıtılır. Yabancı dil öğrenen kişi kendini yabancı bir kültürün içinde bulur. Küreselleşme bağlamında çok kültürlülük kavramlarının vurgulandığı günümüzde, yabancı dil öğretiminde amaç, sadece dil yetisi değil iletişimsel yetiyi de geliştiren kültürel yetiyi kazandırmaktır. Bu düşünce de, yabancı dil öğretimine temel öğrenme ortamı sunan ders kitaplarında dilin kültürel boyutunun ağırlık kazandığı yazınsal metinlere yer verilmesini gerekli kılmaktadır. Ancak, bu görüş bağlamında amaca ulaşmak için bu metinler biçimsel ve içerikse yapılarının yeterli ve etkin biçimde irdelenebilmesini sağlayan çalışmalarla birlikte sunulmalıdır. Şiirler toplumların duygularını, düşüncelerini, dünyaya bakış açılarını az sözcükle, sözcüklere yükledikleri farklı anlamlarla, sanatsal bağdaştırmalarla ve imgeler yoluyla estetik dil kullanımını yansıtan nitelikleriyle yazınsal metinler içinde ayrı bir yere sahiptirler. Bu da dil öğretiminde şiir etkinliklerinin farklı çalışmalar yoluyla yapılmasını gerekli kılmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı da; yabancı dil olarak Türkçe öğretiminde kültür aktarımı bağlamında yazınsal metin türü olarak şiir çalışmalarını değerlendirmek ve kültür aktarımı bağlamında şiir odaklı öneri etkinlikler sunarak alana katkı sağlamaktır

Learning a foreign language is not limited to teaching only the knowledge of vocabulary and grammar since studying a foreign language cannot be considered as only naming objects. Each and every language interprets the world in distinctive ways and develops a variety of value systems, and different perception and thinking skills. As a consequence of this fact, considerable cultural differences appear among languages especially in terms of art, sociology, semantics, and pragmatics. All these differences both reflect and are reflected on the language itself. An individual who learns a foreign language finds himself in a foreign culture. In the context of globalism, today when concepts such as multiculturalism have a greater importance, the aim of teaching a foreign language is not only to develop linguistic competence but also to impart cultural competence which further facilitates communicative competence. Therefore, in the textbooks which are basically used to teach a foreign language, it is necessary to give a place to literary texts in which the cultural aspect of language is focused more. Nonetheless, to achieve instructional goals in the light of this idea, these literary texts should be presented with activities and exercises which can enable their stylistic and contextual forms to be examined thoroughly. Of all literary texts, poetry has a unique place thanks to its characteristics to reflect the feelings, thoughts, and viewpoints of societies in a few words and to express the aesthetic use of language through various meanings loaded on the words themselves, artistic harmonization, and finally through images. It further necessitates the need to prepare poetry activities and exercises through various practices. The aim of the study is to analyze how and why poetry is used to transfer culture in Turkish as a foreign language (TFL). The subthemes of the study are as follows: o Which cultural elements do poems include in terms of structure and content? o What types of activities could be prepared to reveal cultural elements in poetry? o Based on cultural properties of poems, what are the strategies to prepare creative activities? o What are the affordances of poetry activities containing cultural elements for TFL learners? In this qualitative study, the activities and materials in TFL textbooks are categorized by using document analysis, and evaluated in terms of developing cultural awareness. The scope of the study is limited to the textbooks written for TFL learners in Turkey. Poetry activities in TFL textbooks are investigated through random sampling method. The researchers have analyzed all poetry exercises in the textbooks with a specific focus on culture transfer via poetry activities. Yabancı Dil Olarak Türkçe Öğretiminde Şiir Etkinliklerinin Kültürel İşlevi 817 Turkish Studies International Periodical For the Languages, Literature and History of Turkish or Turkic Volume 10/7 Spring 2015 As part of action research, several activities based on using poetry to develop intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in TFL. These proposed activities are tested for their effectiveness and efficiency at the department of Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Arizona in US. A group of foreign students studying Turkish for various purposes were selected as participants of the study based on simple random sampling and the activities were implemented for a total of three class hours. Afterwards, ten participants were interviewed in focus groups regarding the activities implemented. In these structured focus group interviews, participants were asked to respond to open-ended questions. Each participant was given approximately 10-15 minutes and the sessions were recorded by a moderator. The findings of the study suggest that poetry is mostly ignored and underestimated in TFL textbooks. While some textbooks give no space for poetry and poetry activities, some other books use poems, but those poems are used for solely reading purposes and no follow-up exercises are planned based on them. The fact that there is not any comprehension exercises based on poems makes comprehension check impossible. Furthermore, exercises prepared based on poems in the textbooks investigated are not about the content of poems and fail to transfer cultural elements, the only aim being grammar and such linguistic elements. Although few in number, there seems to be an effort to successfully transfer culture through rhetoric, comparison of different poem types, specific focus on vocabulary and etymology with regard to intercultural communication and the display of the viewpoint of a target culture. The study also presents a sample activity prepared with the aim of culture transfer based on communicative competence in TFL. The sample exercise is prepared for C1 level language learners in mind based on CEFR language level standards since learners at this level can comprehend long and challenging texts and deal with implied meaning (CEF, 2000:30). The findings suggest that the activities prepared as part of the study based on poetry and culture transfer are thought to be effective both in the transfer of cultural elements, and developing an awareness of properties of poetry and various uses of linguistic elements. Based on the findings of the study, below are several useful and helpful suggestions in TFL: 1. Culture transfer is a significant component of TFL classes and course content should be organized accordingly, 2. The use of literary texts should be increased and poetry should not be neglected, 3. In order to most effectively benefit from the affordances of using poetry in foreign language education, TFL instructors should be trained so that they are equipped with the necessary skills both in selecting appropriate poems and in preparing in-class activities.