Where Do the Problems in the Turkish Foreign Language Education Stem From?

Abstract

Turkey has invested a lot in foreign language education; however, the expected goals are not likely to be acknowledged yet especially in English as a foreign language (EFL) education. This paper aims at uncovering the factors causing inefficiency in the Turkish foreign language education system and then offering suggestions to overcome stated problems. The paper points out that the problems causing inefficiency in foreign language education mainly stem from adopted foreign language education approach, foreign language education planning policy, teacher education/training system, adopted teaching materials, and measurement and evaluation system. The paper concludes with a discussion about how to overcome these problems. It offers a meaning-based foreign language education method trying to expose students to a massive number of comprehensive samples of a target language. Naturally, such a shift in language education method, calls for materials and measurement evaluation compatible with the method. As the teachers are one of the agents of the foreign language education process and any innovation can only be realized with teachers, teacher training needs to be planned systematically as an ongoing event. Finally, all these changes can only be potentially realized by the authorities who determine the foreign language policy by scientifically exploiting data obtained through context and needs analysis. ÖZETBu çalışma, Türk yabancı dil eğitim sisteminde verimsizliğe neden olan faktörleri ortaya çıkarmayı ve daha sonra belirtilen sorunların üstesinden gelmek için önerilerde bulunmayı amaçlamaktadır. Çalışma, yabancı dil eğitiminde verimsizliğe neden olan sorunların olarak benimsenen yabancı dil eğitimi yaklaşımı (yabancı dil yapılarını öğretmek = yabancı dil öğretimi) yabancı dil eğitimi planlama politikası, öğretmen eğitim sistemi, kullanılan öğretim materyalleri ve ölçme ve değerlendirme sisteminden kaynaklandığına işaret etmektedir. Bu makalede, bu sorunların nasıl aşılacağı hakkındaki önerilerle sona ermektedir. Yöntem olarak, yabancı dilin bir öğrenme ve iletişim aracı olarak kullanılmasını öngören anlam odaklı yöntem önerilmektedir. Bu yöntem, öğrencilerin bol miktarda ilginç ve anlaşılabilir girdi almalarını öngörür. Doğal olarak, dil eğitimi yönteminde böyle bir değişim, yönteme uygun materyal ve ölçme-değerlendirme gerektirmektedir. Öğretmenler yabancı dil eğitim sürecinin temsilcilerinden biri olduğundan ve her türlü yenilik sadece öğretmenlerle gerçekleştirilebildiğinden, öğretmen eğitiminin sistematik olarak devam eden bir etkinlik olarak planlanması gerekmektedir. Son olarak, tüm bu değişikliklerin, ancak bağlam ve ihtiyaç analizi yoluyla elde edilen verilerin bilimsel olarak işlenmesi ile ortaya konulacak yabancı dil politikası ile gerçekleştirilebileceği vurgulanmıştır.

English education in Turkey: Why are we ‘very low level’?

“…In this respect, the current study aimed to compare Turkey with the countries that are successful in teaching English. The purpose of this comparison was to shed light on the deficiencies in teaching English in Turkey and to offer solutions in return as in the studies conducted in Turkey (e.g., Kırkgöz, 2007;Işık, 2008;Sarıçoban, 2012).…”

“…Although the importance of knowing English is understood by many nations, and English is taught as a first FL in many countries even from the beginning of early years of education, these do not mean that every country is good at speaking English. In Turkey, English as a FL has a long history and it has been taught as the first FL for decades, yet, according to the research and reports, people in Turkey are notorious for not learning English well (Doğançay-Aktuna & Kızıltepe, 2005;Egel-Pekkanlı, 2009;Işık, 2008). One of these reports is the report of the company of Education First (EF) which is an international language education company founded in 1960s by a Swedish.…”

Are English Language Teachers Assessment Literate?

“…ELT teachers in Turkey have different pre-service education backgrounds. In addition to the graduates of English Teaching Departments, those of the Western Languages, English Language and Literature, American Literature, Linguistics, American Culture Studies, English Literature and Cultural Studies, American Literature and Cultural Studies, English Translation and Interpretation departments also serve as English teachers (Isik and Isik, 2020). Whereas the ELT majors are required to take an assessment course, the students in other departments are not.…”

Increasing Students’ English Language Learning Levels via Lesson Study

“…Although foreign language is a communicative tool, this aspect of a language is ignored in the practice. It is seen that there are some difficulties especially in teaching foreign language (Acat & Demiral, 2002;Aydın et al, 2017;Coşkun-Demirpolat, 2015;Ege, 2011;Haznedar, 2004;Işık, 2008;Oflaz, 2015). Accordingly, the study aims to develop students' higher cognitive skills e.g.…”