Aynur Shibliyeva Istillozlu

Communication Strategies Used by Turkic Learners of English: a Cross-cultural Perspective Aynur Shibliyeva Istillozlu

The aim of this study was to examine whether the use of communication strategies can be explained by the native language background of the learner. To be more specific, an attempt was made to find out which communication strategies learners with Turkic languages background use in communicating in English as a foreign language. There were three groups of participants from Eastern Mediterranean University, English Preparatory School (EMUEPS), North Cyprus: Azeri learners of English, Turkish learners of English from Turkey, and Turkish learners of English from Cyprus. Our rationale for this quest can be explained by some considerations. First of all, although there have been attempts to investigate the issue of communications from comparative perspective, it is the first time, as far as we know, an attempt has been made to involve three idioms simultaneously. Moreover, it is the first time that three genealogically related idioms (Turkic) are involved. Finally, even though all the learners belong to the same proto-language, their contexts of previous experience of learning English and cultural surroundings are different.