The objective of this study is to determine the role of public education centers in teaching Turkish to foreign learners. To this end, an examination of the courses offered by 17 public education centers operating within 17 districts of Samsun was conducted. A qualitative research method—document analysis—was employed, as the study is based on official documents obtained from the Lifelong Learning Branch Directorate of Samsun Provincial Directorate of National Education. The raw data were analyzed through document analysis techniques. The findings revealed that Turkish language courses for foreigners are being conducted in public education centers across nine districts in Samsun: 19 Mayıs, Atakum, Bafra, Canik, İlkadım, Kavak, and Tekkeköy. The courses offered include: Turkish for Foreigners Level A1, Turkish for Foreigners Level A2, Turkish for Foreigners Level B1, Turkish Teaching to Foreigners (Ages 6–12) Level 1, Teaching Turkish to Foreigners (Ages 6–12) Level 2, Teaching Turkish to Foreigners (Ages 6–12) Level 3, Teaching Turkish to Foreigners (Ages 13-17) Level 1 and Teaching Turkish to Foreigners (Ages 13-17) Level 2. A total of 16,460 trainees from 66 different nationalities attended these courses. 6.623 of the trainees were male and 9.840 were female. At the end of the courses, 3.201 men and 4.749 women were awarded certificates, indicating a success rate of nearly 50% among participants. In subsequent studies, courses offered by public education centers in other provinces for foreigners may be examined.
Lifelong learning, public education center, Samsun, teaching Turkish to foreigners, Turkish courses