Minister Selçuk attended the online "Foreign Language Education in Turkey and Practice in Europe: Developments and Suggestions Conference" organized by the Board of Education.

 

Stating that foreign language knowledge makes important contributions at the personal and international level, Selçuk said it is important to increase language diversity in order to be integrated to developments in education, economic development, science, technology, culture and arts.

 

Minister Selçuk noted that it is the special duty of his Ministry to make necessary investments to foreign language skills in every level of education and develop required strategy within this framework adding that they have founded Foreign Language Education Research and Development Center affiliated to the Board of Education in the beginning of 2020.

 

Minister Selçuk stressed that his Ministry has observed foreign language teaching practices in Turkey and in Europe as well as policy and approach of the Council of Europe about foreign language education in order to raise mutual awareness about the subject.

 

"2023 Education Vision Document is a roadmap of our education paradigm and foreign language education is among the prior targets of this document," said Selçuk, "We wanted to adopt an inclusive policy about foreign language education. We have set our goals about new techniques and practices in foreign language education as adaptation of foreign language education according to the different levels and school types, allowing students to experience English-speaking world with new sources and increasing the quality and efficiency of teachers teaching foreign language. There are sub-goals of these goals. When we consider the discussions about foreign language education in Turkey, we see that it is necessary to prioritize the quality of education rather than its duration, assessment, teacher proficiencies and teaching materials." 

 

Noting that the "Foreign Language Education Development Project" is important for the solution of existing problems, Selçuk went on to say that, "We want to end the foreign language education problem in our country.  First of all, we detected our weaknesses and now we are working in an effort to improve the teaching environment and digital platforms."

 

Selçuk stated that the Ministry has prepared alternative sources and materials for supporting students for self-teaching and increased on the job training programs for the improvement of teacher proficiencies.

 

Meanwhile, Selçuk stressed that the Ministry considered the concerns and criticisms about foreign language education and they value the importance of social awareness about this topic. He added that the Ministry has been implementing projects in order to eliminate biases and develop self-confidence among students in the light of scientific research.