İrem Çolak is an undergraduate student in the ELT Department at Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University, Turkey. Even though she is only a sophomore, she takes her first step into writing for publication by dealing with a topic that is of particular relevance to her as an ongoing English language teacher. Email: colakirem2000@gmail.com   

 

Introduction

No one can deny the fact that language is the communication provider for all people. We acquire our mother tongue in the environment we grow up in, and many people take it for granted that it is essential to learn another language. An illustration of this idea is the Turkish proverb “bir lisan, bir insan, iki lisan, iki insan” (literally “one language, one human, two languages, two humans") that shows us the power of languages to enrich our personality. The proverb expresses the link between language, culture, and human identity. Its theme is that individuals create culture, and culture is passed down through the generations through language, and when they learn another language, the gate to a new culture is opened. The proverb above all means that someone who learns a new language becomes a new person.

Turkish culture came up with this concept centuries ago. Now, however, when people type “countries with poor English proficiency” in the Google search engine, Turkey appears in the forefront. Unfortunately, Turkey ranked 69th place among the top 100 English-speaking nations in 2020 (Booe, n.d.). It can be said that there is the syndrome of "I can understand English, but I cannot speak English" in Turkey (Kırkıç & Boray, 2017). When you ask Turkish people about their proficiency in English, you are likely to hear this answer. When asked what the source of this problem is, a large number of the answers point to the inadequacies of the English language education delivered in Turkey. According to the state curriculum, students in Turkey obtain 1296 hours of English courses over their 12-year primary, secondary, and high school education. They receive 720 hours of classes in elementary and secondary school, and 576 hours in high school. English lessons have been incorporated into the weekly class calendar beginning in the second grade, with the deployment of the 4+4+4 application (four years of primary school, four years of middle school, and four years of high school). Nevertheless, in Turkey, young people still struggle to express themselves properly in English. This is a disturbing situation.

As a pre-service teacher at an ELT department at a public university in Turkey, this situation worries and enrages me. However, anger is not a good guide to address unsatisfying situations. Instead, I examine reasons for what may be labelled ‘failure’ of teaching and learning in formal instruction in Turkey. Based on my rather fresh own experiences as a pupil as well as observations and research, I identified the following issues that I consider the main challenges for the learning and teaching of English at Turkish schools: the learning environment, poor institutional planning, lack of equipment and support, and inadequate speaking practices. The account of these areas will help me reflect on the situation and formulate recommendations to address the issues I identify.

 

Unfavourable learning environments

To begin with, one of the eight fundamental rights and freedoms of an individual is the right to education. Despite the notion that everyone should have the right to good education, this concept does not apply evenly in Turkey. For instance, when it comes to studying English (or any other subject), the learning environment is crucial. On the one hand, overcrowded classes are seen to be one of the primary drivers of this disparity. Most Turkish elementary schools are overcrowded, particularly after the 1997 introduction of an eight-year compulsory primary education statute. Currently, courses have an average of 40 students; however, this number may reach 60 in certain school districts (Kızıldağ, 2009). Overcrowding is said to be a serious constraint in educating young learners who require individual attention (İnceçay, 2012). It puts constraints on the teachers’ ability to trace their individual students' development. Instead, teachers are more or less concerned with finishing their lessons.

What is more, the heavy workload of English instructors in Turkey is a substantial element influencing English learning. The majority of English language instructors work in schools for 20 or more hours each week. Moreover, some of them are their school's sole English teachers. As a result, they are exhausted and unable to devote their whole attention to their teaching (Kızıldağ, 2009). Everyone understands that, like with any course, the learning environment is crucial when studying English. For example, when there are just a few students in the class, the teacher is able to maintain a close relationship with them. Neither the teacher wants to teach in a crowded classroom nor do the students want to learn there. As a result, the class sizes should be lowered until each student is able to learn from their teacher more effectively. Students will be able to obtain a more effective education if the instructor is available to all students equally and teachers can simply provide feedback to their students. This circumstance must also not be overlooked because it presents an opportunity for English teachers to lessen their burden.

 

Unsuitable curricula and materials

Poor institutional planning has a profound impact on English language learning in Turkey. Many issues are brought to light when school curricula are examined closely. As an example, most instructors say the intensive curriculum is full of unreasonable learning goals and lacks flexibility in terms of implementation (Kızıldağ, 2009). In this situation, learners are not given sufficient opportunities to gain knowledge by discovering but have to engage in rote learning to cover mainly grammar content. In addition, several English instructors in Turkey have claimed that the pressures of curricular expectations prevent them from teaching in a creative and unique manner (Valizadeh, 2021). This is a pity because language, by nature, is an enjoyable subject and can be learned when activities are created that enable students to actively participate in class.

Textbooks that are incompatible with the realities of English learning and teaching are another source of instructional challenges. It is uncommon for a teacher to touch every portion of a textbook in only 4 hours each week by thoroughly checking. Because the curriculum is dense, it is also a stressful situation for the student. The teacher faces a major challenge in involving the students in the lesson due to the restricted and difficult nature of engaging exercises in the textbooks. Instead, textbooks should be easy to read and understand, including a variety of pictorial assets to appeal to students (Şahin et al., 2018). Moreover, it is obvious that entertaining activities encourage English learners. Furthermore, rather than relying on a single source, teachers should use a variety of sources to help students better understand the subject.

 

Insufficient speaking practice

Poor speaking practice is the most common complaint of students studying English in Turkey. Inadequate teaching procedures in Turkey's primary and high schools have made students feel inept when speaking English (Dinçer & Yeşilyurt, 2013).  The major reason why students who study English education for a particular number of hours are deprived of this is that language instruction is delivered in grammar-focused classes rather than in speech-oriented ones. Despite the fact that young people studying at the university are expected to speak English, many students feel inadequate at speaking English due to unfavorable teaching practices in primary, secondary, and high school in Turkey (Dinçer & Yeşilyurt, 2013). Students are aware of this problem since, no matter how hard they try, they cannot get enough practice at school. They even avoid communicating because they are afraid of making mistakes in English. However, if they persist in their efforts, they will have the opportunity to close their gaps via continued practice. Furthermore, they understand that improving speaking correctness and automaticity takes time and effort; therefore, they are optimistic about improving their speaking ability and obtaining competency (Dinçer & Yeşilyurt, 2013).

Teachers bear a noteworthy amount of responsibility in resolving this issue. For example, they must employ a variety of ways and speaking activities in the classroom, reduce their own speaking time, and boost student speaking time. When students are given the opportunity to talk in this way, their confidence in their ability to communicate in English develops. They should also teach language functions in conversation to assist students to improve their speaking language competence. Aside from this instructional guidance, instructors should recognize the positive aspects of students and strive to establish an environment that promotes autonomy by creating an anxiety-free classroom atmosphere (Dinçer & Yeşilyurt, 2013). Another example is that ELT students at universities, gone over years through insufficient English instruction, are terrified of making mistakes when speaking English, although they believe that speaking English in the classroom is vital for them to progress (Dağtan & Cabaroğlu, 2021).

 

Lack of support

Last but not least, the lack of financial and moral support puts both students and teachers in serious trouble. For starters, obtaining a decent English education is hampered by a lack of vital materials when studying a language. To illustrate this point, if there is no projector in the classroom, the learner will not be exposed to pictures and will have major difficulties in thinking, dreaming, or comprehending something in English. Another example is when the audio player device is not available in the classroom; students are unable to listen to the sound of English, which has a direct impact on their speaking abilities. So, a lack of technical infrastructure negatively affects English learning. Moreover, internet access in classrooms via computers is problematic. Being in the technological era and running into this type of difficulty is a terrifying prospect for both students and teachers. Furthermore, students may face the following issues throughout the language learning process: program-based issues such as a shortage of course time and a lack of language laboratories to study a language outside class time (Şahin et al., 2018). There are some effective solutions to such problems in teaching English. For example, in schools, separate classrooms and facilities for foreign language instruction should be provided, as well as the required audio-visual resources for language teaching, and instructors should be trained in how to use these materials (Şahin et al., 2018).  Motivation is indeed vital to English if a lack of spirituality is addressed. If students are encouraged by their teachers and parents, it is inevitable that they will become better at English. Unfortunately, the majority of today's parents do not speak English well, if at all, which creates some difficulties. Also, teachers working with students from poor socioeconomic backgrounds are confronted with parents' lack of awareness of the necessity of English education. Unreturned homework assignments demonstrate a lack of such help, slowing student progress (Kızıldağ, 2009). As a result, it is unrealistic to expect children to retain knowledge if they are unable to reinforce it through assignments. Raising the awareness of parents about English education will make the work of teachers easier. In addition, it is a tremendous impetus for students to receive support from their families while learning English. A student who is provided sufficient motivation by both his teachers and his family easily overcomes the language barrier.

 

Conclusion

For a long time, there has been the recognition of both the necessity to learn the English language and of various challenges experienced in Turkey. Four notable of these problems are the learning environment, poor institutional planning and materials, insufficient speaking practice, and lack of support. Creating class environments that respect learners and teachers as humans, developing curricula with realistic outcomes, providing engaging materials, and a variety of opportunities to use the language are crucial to overcome current problems. Because learning a language necessitates ongoing practice, this problem can be resolved when teachers are given opportunities to creatively work on it, and when they are given the chance to develop themselves professionally and personally. Lastly, cognitively and emotionally engaging materials and tasks are crucial to overcome inadequacies in the teaching and learning of English in Turkey (Kızıldağ, 2009). When English education in Turkey is given more consideration, it will take on a whole new dimension and enrich learners’ personalities true to the motto “bir lisan, bir insan, iki lisan, iki insan”.

 

Acknowledgment

This article is a revised version of an essay that I wrote as a term paper in the undergraduate course “Writing Skills II” in the spring term of 2022. I would like to thank my academic teacher Assistant Professor Stefan Rathert (Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University, Turkey) for encouraging me to work on the essay and to submit it to Humanising Language Teaching.

 

References

Booe, J. (n.d.). How common is spoken English in Turkey? Doublespeak Dojo. Retrieved January 15, 2023, from https://doublespeakdojo.com/how-common-is-spoken-english-in-turkey/   

Dağtan, E., & Cabaroğlu, N. (2021). Status of English speaking skills in Turkish ELT departments: A nationwide survey. Eurasian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 7(1), 359–382. http://dx.doi.org/10.32601/ejal.911454

Dinçer, A., & Yeşilyurt, S. (2013). Pre-service English teachers’ beliefs on speaking skill based on motivational orientations. English Language Teaching, 6(7), 88-95. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/elt.v6n7p88

İnceçay, G. (2012). Turkey’s foreign language policy at primary level: Challenges in practice. ELT Research Journal, 1(1), 53-62. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/63595 

Kırkıç, K. A. & Boray, T. (2017). An innovative technique in teaching and learning English for Turkey: Boray Technique (BT). Journal of Education Theory and Practical Research, 3(3), 13-29. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/ekuad/issue/31101/337392

Kızıldağ, A. (2009). Teaching English in Turkey: Dialogues with teachers about the challenges in public primary schools. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 1(3), 188–201. https://www.iejee.com/index.php/IEJEE/article/view/274

Şahin, H., Çelik, F., & Gök Çatal, Ö. (2018). An examination of problems encountered in the process of learning English in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Journal of Education Faculty, 47, 123-136. https://doi.org/10.21764/maeuefd.361675

Valizadeh, M. (2021). The challenges facing English language teachers in Turkey. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 12(4), 61. http://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.12n.4.p.61