First Draft 1 Merve Yüksel

 THE ENGLISH TEACHING IN TURKEY

We all take English lessons for years, but are we really learning English? According to the results of  the EF English Proficiency Index, Turkey ranks 66th among 113 countries and second to last in Europe in English skills. But why do the results show the opposite and classify Turkey as a ‘Low Proficiency’country despite intensive English education?

We start learning English in primary school and most of us face with difficulties caused by a rote-based learning system. While we have been learning the same subjects and writing the same words over and over for years, we are almost completely deprived of the most basic and important skills such as speaking and writing. This is because, from the beginning, we focus only on grammar structures rather than practices to improve language use.

When the colorful pictures in English textbook pages disappear slowly and students start to be exposed this repetitive education for at least 4 hours a week, they get bored easily, lose interest at an early age and develop a dislike for English. This is the most important point because after this stage, some students usually remain completely disinterested in the lessons even though they continue to take English classes. Many students believe they can improve their English more effectively by engaging in activities such as watching TV series with subtitles or listening to the lyrics of English songs instead of studying at school. And this is a big indicator that students find education in schools inadequate and ineffective.

Teachers who do not leave their comfort zones and insist on using the traditional teaching style play a major role in this ineffective system. These educational methods, which have been far removed from the use of the real language not only in training students but also in training future teachers. As a result, many teachers who are products of this system sometimes fall far short in their speaking skills. This paradox persists when effective teachers are not trained, it becomes impossible to raise effective students. For example, as an undergraduate student of English language teaching, I still struggle with speaking and writing because I was taught through methods that focused solely on grammar rather than actual communication.

To achieve effective results in education, some changes are necessary. In addition to grammatical structures, English speaking and practical skills should be taught at least once a week. To allow teachers to better engage with their students, English classes should be divided into smaller groups. Speaking lessons should be supplemented with live dialogue and English conversation exercises. In this way, students can understand the true function of the language and Turkey can rise much higher ranks in the language proficiency index.

Merve YÜKSEL

1st draft