metehan çelik final draft 252017031

English in Turkey 

Why does the Turkish education system fails to teach English? Although English is one of the easiest languages to learn and the most widely spoken in the world, the Turkish education system has largely failed to teach it effectively. In this essay, I will discuss the main reasons behind this issue and suggest possible solutions.

Firstly, the key to learning any language is communication and this aspect is widely neglected in Turkish schools. Instead of focusing on real interaction, the system prioritizes making students reach a certain threshold and load them with temporary information just so they can pass their exams, without actually learning how to use language. This issue could be addressed by monitoring schools more effectively, preparing proper environments for students to interact and communicate with each other and making the goal actually learning instead of passing some exam.

Secondly, sufficient material for teaching and learning English is not provided to the vast majority of schools and those provided with are not accessible for most students. This is rather a problem of the whole education system, not a problem of English language teaching specifically. There are several ways to work on this, one is investing more into the education system and funding various foundations and associations who bring education to a larger segment of society and provide them with accessible education. Moreover, collaborating with international educators to produce high-quality, up-to-date, and globally valid materials would significantly enhance the learning process.

Lastly, shortage of capable English teachers. This is a rather deep-rotted problem as it would take generations to solve this problem entirely. When students who receive poor English education later become teachers, the problem perpetuates itself through generations, causing a chain reaction through years. To break this cycle, we should work on how we educate our teachers first. After that we should re-educate our teachers and make them avoid teacher based methods, create a relaxing atmosphere and not turn learning into a race. 

In conclusion, Turkish education system struggles with several fundamental issues which are hard but not impossible to solve. The only thing needs to be done is standing up and taking the first step.