It is widely acknowledged that globalization has made a considerable impact on multidimensional aspects of human life including the language policies of many countries. This article examines the adjustment of Turkey’s language policy in response to the global influence of English at different levels of Turkish national education, including its role in Turkish academia, as an indication of the status that English holds in the country by investigating the macro policy changes in connection with micro level implementations based on available research, official documents, and curriculum documents. The findings indicate that although there is much evidence pointing to the prominent role that English occupies in Turkish education system largely through the government’s planned language policy, there also exist problems at the instructional level largely due to the way in which English is propagated. Finally, implications for future direction of language policy, practice, and research are presented.

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Since the introduction of English in Turkish education English language teaching has undergone various changes in response to economic and political developments in the country. This article provides an overview of the development of English by outlining the policy changes in English language teaching in the Turkish education system in three phases. The first part of the article presents a historical overview of the policies implemented up to the 1997 education reform while the second part introduces the 1997 education reform, which has had a great impact on English Language Teaching at all levels of education, along with other policy changes. The effect of the 1997 macro policy is evaluated based on local research findings. The third part of the article offers the government's most recent education reforms which reflect the rising importance of English as Turkey attempts to become a member of the European Union. The article concludes with further issues and challenges facing the English language system in Turkish education.

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