On 4th December, in Ankara, the anticipated opening conference of the "Project on Enhancing Foreign Language Education Quality in Türkiye" took place, hosted by the Board of Education of the Ministry of National Education of Türkiye. Co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, this five-year project is implemented by the Council of Europe in cooperation with the Ministry of National Education.
Over 600 people attended today's event including representatives from various public institutions, foreign language teachers, academicians, civil society organisations as well as publishing houses involved in the education sector.
The event started with the opening remarks of Mr Yusuf Tekin, Minister of National Education; Mr Mehmet Kemal Bozay, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director for EU Affairs; Mr Thomas Hans Ossoswski, Ambassador to European Delegation to Türkiye; Mr Lutfihak Alpkan, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Security and Mr Matjaž Gruden, Director for Democracy, Council of Europe.
Following the project presentation, the opening conference continued with a Panel titled “Through the Lens of CEFR and CEFR Companion Volume (2020)”. The panellists consisting of Ms Danielle Hunter, Merve Selçuk, PhD and Seçil Alaca, PhD had a lively discussion with the Moderation of Nazlınur Göktürk, PhD focusing on the Development of Language Assessments for k-12 Students, Digital Learning Materials, and the Action Oriented approach as well as on Supporting Teachers to use the CEFR Effectively.
The joint project aims to enhance the quality of foreign language education across Türkiye, aligning with international standards such as the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and the CEFR Companion Volume (2020), developed by the Council of Europe.
This initiative reflects a long-term commitment to improving foreign language education in the country, fostering the competencies of both teachers and learners, while promoting social cohesion and democratic participation.
During the afternoon, the first meeting of the Steering Committee of the project was also held.
