Foreign Language TeachingCurriculum in Primary Education

The teaching programme for English

has been prepared in accordance

with the general goals of Turkish

National Education as defined in the

Basic Law of the National Education

No. 1739, along with the Main

Principles of Turkish National

Education.

The recent changes to the TurkishEducational System, which entail a transition from the 8+4 educationalmodel to the new 4+4+4 system, have led to an immediate need forthe redesign of the current teachingprogrammes.

With respect to English language

education ,in particular, this new

system mandates that English

instruction be implemented from

the 2nd grade onward, rather than

the 4th grade ; therefore, a new

curriculum which accomodates the

2nd & 3rd grades is necessary.

The key to economic, political and

social progress in today’s society

depends on the ability of Turkish

citizens to communicate effectively

on an international level, and

competence in English is a key

factor in this process.

The curriculum aims to make

learning English interesting,

engaging and fun, taking into

account the diverse needs of the

students at different developmental

levels.

LANGUAGE LEARNING PROCESS

ASSESSMENT

The final element of the curriculum

to be considered involves evaluation

and assessment of learner progress.

Self-assessment is emphasized, as

learner are encouraged to monitor

their own progress and achievement

in development of communicative

competence.

ASSESSMENT

Each unit will include a list of

achievements to be met by the

students; this will be converted to

self-assessment checklists which

ask learners to assess their own

learning from an action-based

perspective.

ASSESSMENT

Students will also keep a dossier of

their language learning

achivement which is modeled on

the European Language Portfolio;

in this manner, they will be able to

track their progress independently

of quantitative scoring and grades.

In addition to self-assessment,

formal evaluation will be carried

out through tha application of

written and oral exams, quizzes,

homework assignments and

projects in order to provide an

objective record of students’

success.

It is often the case that, inspite of careful planning, a curricular model differs in many respects from theone that is put into practice; numerous external factors mayaffect its application, includingschool administrators, facilities, classroom resources and materials, teachers, class size, parents, andthe students themselves.

Therefore, the ultimate success of

this programme requires the

external support, careful planning

and committed partnership of all

involved.