It is well known that general Turkish language courses designed to develop social communication skills do not adequately support the needs of students studying language for academic purposes at faculties and higher institutions. It is for this reason that international university students are offered additional instruction in academic Turkish following the completion of their general Turkish language studies to further facilitate communication in academic environments. With the integration of these courses into school curriculum, researchers' interest has turned to the concept of "academic Turkish,” underlying a notable rise in publications related to the field of academic Turkish. In this study, the dimensions and current situation of academic language curriculum for students of Turkish as a foreign language are discussed. Within this framework, academic Turkish has been evaluated within two basic categories: descriptive features of the academic language itself, and competencies related to the skills to be developed in learners of Turkish as a foreign / second language. The descriptive features of academic language are examined in terms of grammar and vocabulary, as well as the four necessary language skills to be developed in all learners, including reading, listening, speaking, and writing. This study is a compilation of the relevant literature review, and the definition and characteristics of academic Turkish are made according to the relevant available literature. The grammatical structures employed in academic Turkish texts and the dynamic characteristics of these structures (i.e., active / passive language use) are also examined. Vocabulary and technical words related to academic Turkish are defined and their frequencies in academic texts revealed according to the literature. Advanced academic language skills such as reading, listening, speaking, and writing, are also interpreted through examples of learning objectives with reference to the Global Scale of English Learning Objectives for Academic English. In the conclusion of this study, suggestions are made to researchers with interest in relevant fields regarding the language components of academic Turkish, including grammar, vocabulary, and the four language skills.
Academic grammar, academic language skills, academic Turkish, academic vocabulary.