18.08.2025 15:44
The Minister of National Education, Yusuf Tekin, stated, "What we have been teaching is this: for years, we took a lot of exams. We asked children about grammatical rules that an average British citizen does not know in the test exams. We assumed that we were teaching the language this way. We need to change this mindset."
Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin participated in the 'Turkey Century Education Model English Teaching Program Trainer Training Course' held in the Kızılcahamam district of Ankara as part of the Turkey Century Education Model Educator Training activities. The training, which will last for 4 days with the participation of teachers from 64 provinces, will introduce English teachers to the Turkey Century Education Model English Teaching Program. The program began with a promotional video prepared by the General Directorate of Basic Education.
"WE ARE TRYING TO INCLUDE TEACHERS IN ALL PROCESSES"
Minister Tekin stated that they want to include teachers in the new practices implemented in education, and that they are striving to involve teachers in every process, from technical regulations to legal arrangements and teaching programs. Noting that citizens have criticisms regarding foreign language education, Minister Tekin said, "The problem is not with our teachers, our materials, or the time we allocate. We have a problem regarding what we teach the children. What we have been teaching is this; we have taken many exams for years. We asked children in the test exam about grammatical rules that an average English citizen does not know. We assumed that we were teaching the language this way."
"OUR CHILDREN ARE AFRAID OF LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE"
We need to change this mindset. Secondly, we have a problem related to assessment and evaluation. I am not saying these as my own observations. When I was the undersecretary, we turned the question 'Where are we making mistakes?' into a research topic for scientists. I am sharing the data from there, simplifying it a bit for you. We have a mistake regarding assessment and evaluation. We apply such a detailed and distant assessment and evaluation system in the test exams we conduct for our children that they are reluctant to learn English or any foreign language; they are afraid," he said.
"LET THEM FEEL COMFORTABLE EXPRESSING THEMSELVES IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE"
Minister Tekin conveyed that children who speak their mother tongue with 300-500 words are expected to speak a foreign language with 2,000 words, saying, "When we returned to the Ministry of National Education in 2023, we initiated another practice and said; 'In order for our children to improve their academic skills in both other subjects and foreign language classes, and to grow as individuals who can express themselves better in society, at peace with society and their families, their mother tongue skills, that is, their Turkish skills, also need to develop.' The topic of our meeting today is to ensure that they feel comfortable expressing themselves in a foreign language.
One of the first things we did when we started in the summer of 2023 was to raise the passing grade for our children in Turkish and Turkish Language and Literature classes to 70, and to ensure that the assessment and evaluation mechanisms for those classes were conducted based on the four basic skills. Now we have made so many arrangements. The area where we fell short was English, or rather, the revision of foreign language programs to address these deficiencies we mentioned. We did this with the Turkey Century Education Model," he stated.