by iceman » Tue Dec 18, 2007 8:45 pm
Cyprus mail article confirms the reason behind interest towards Turkish language lessons by GC students..
THE STUDY of Turkish in schools is on the rise, with one in every 14 second year lyceum students learning the language, according to one Education Ministry official.
Assistant Director of the Education Programming Unit, Charalambos Hadjithomas, pointed out that the number of children opting for Turkish language studies had shot up since the crossing points opened in 2003.
When the Cabinet decided to introduce Turkish language in lyceums in 2003, only 84 students chose to learn the language, counting for one per cent of second year lyceum students. But interest in the language has since received a boost with 587 students now studying Turkish, representing 7.45 per cent of that year.
Lyceums cover the final three years of study before students graduate from school, while gymnasiums cover the first three years. In the last two years of lyceum education, students must choose two out of seven languages to study from French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, English, Turkish and German.
The latest statistics on language study for 2007 show English to remain the most popular language of choice, while Italian, Spanish, Turkish and Russian have enjoyed a rise in popularity. French and German on the other hand are proving less popular.
Figures for 2007 show 5,255 students chose English as their preferred language of study, counting for 67 per cent of all second year lyceum students. A total of 4,456 chose Italian (57 per cent); 2,757 chose Spanish (22 per cent); 1,277 French (16 per cent); 587 Turkish (over seven per cent); 219 German (three per cent) and 182 Russian (two per cent).
Compared to 2003 figures, English has stayed on top, while French sank from third to fourth place and German dropped by five per cent. Spanish almost doubled from 12 per cent to 22 per cent, Turkish interest increased seven-fold while Russian saw a miniscule rise of 0.5 per cent.
Hadjithomas said the opening of the crossing points had a lot to do with the increase in Turkish language students. “Well, we are supposed to co-exist with the Turkish Cypriots one day, so some students are preparing for that day. They are also motivated by careers as a number of government departments and NGOs seek knowledge in the Turkish language,” said Hadjithomas.
Regarding the fall in interest in French, one of the official languages of the EU, the ministry official explained that many students who were weak in French dropped it in the second year of lyceum, preferring instead to start a new language from scratch.
“The number of soap operas on TV has had a lot to do with the upsurge in students opting for Spanish. Those shows have a big effect on the students. And since we joined the EU, a lot of them are interested in studying abroad so they want to learn Italian too,” said Hadjithomas.
Adults can learn too
SCHOOLS ARE not the only place to learn Turkish. The University of Cyprus offers degrees in Turkish Studies, where students are informed on Turkish language, literature, history and culture, including courses on Islamic studies, modern Turkish studies and Ottoman history.
Turkish language teacher Nese Yasin told the Cyprus Mail that the department currently has 124 undergraduate students and 20 postgraduates.
“We have seen a lot more interest in the course since 2003. It is not a language degree but you have to learn the language to be able to read resource material and text. In the past, I also taught Turkish Cypriot literature as an elective which proved very popular with students from other departments too,” said Yasin.
Most students in the Turkish Studies Department are either Greek or Greek Cypriot as the course is mostly taught in the Greek language. The degree also includes a trip to Istanbul, where students can practice their language skills.
“The majority of students seem to have a left-wing background. We also get a lot of policemen and army officers who choose to study the course for professional reasons,” she added.
“The students are always stressed about finding jobs afterwards, but we tell them to develop their language capacity and go study abroad for a while. We have about five or six students currently in Istanbul on an Erasmus programme. They usually opt to stay for a year,” said Yasin.
Interest in Turkish is not restricted to school or university students either. Constantinos, 27, who works in the media industry, has been taking private Turkish lessons for the last six weeks and plans on continuing to do so for the next year and a half.
Asked why he chose now to learn Turkish, his reply was: “In the next two three years, we will have a new reality in Cyprus. We will have a solution and whatever kind of a solution it is, Turkish will be a very useful language. We will have around 30 per cent of Cyprus speaking in Turkish.”
After a month and a half, Constantinos can already pick up bits of conversations and put pieces of a conversation together.
“My teacher says you need a year and a half of study and then must immerse yourself in speaking the language with others. When I first told my family and friends, they were initially curious but once I explained my reasons they said I was doing the right thing,” he added.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2007
