Teaching English in Turkey

Hello. My name is John.

I've been teaching English for nearly twenty years now, most of that time in Istanbul, and you might think "Hey - he really must love this job." In some ways that's true, but I still have a few problems with this profession, this culture and with the nature of the people I'm teaching...

Oh my God - I've said it! I know it is strange or even shameful to admit these things, but it has been bugging me for a long time now and I feel I have to get some issues out into the open...

I invite anyone who knows anything about teaching, about Turkish people, or about human nature, to comment; make useful suggestions or just give constructive criticism. If you agree with what I'm about to say, please add a comment. make your voice heard - don't just sit there with that smug look on your face!

To get back to the point...

Have you ever noticed that when Turkish students are challenged, they just clam up? This tends to make it very difficult to get a good debate or interesting discussion going. I think it may be partly my fault....perrhaps I come across as too aggressive or domineering sometimes. But even taking that into account, I still find it strange that my students freak out so easily.

Perhaps I should mention that I'm not so scary looking. I don't smile much when I'm dealing with a serious academic matter, but I'm not the Green goblin either.

Occasionally I've seen students who are really hard working and motivated. They try to speak English as much as they can. They (almost) always do their homework and I generally give them plenty of extra points for trying.

But to be honest, they are the exception. I'm sorry to say this - I really am - but eighty percent of every class I've ever had (especially since 1997) is seriously unable to perform even the most basic tasks for their level. This seems to be true even for the students in the "higher" levels.

Almost every teacher I talk to about this agrees with me. There is a problem. And it's getting worse. Maybe this is true even outside Turkey, but I don't want to comment on that right now...

The main point is that most teachers think there is a problem with the intellectual capacity of their students, with the materials they are often obliged to use, with the educational system of the country and probably with the teacher training methodology too. After all that, shouldn't it be all the more shocking that it is ALWAYS the teacher who gets the blame for all of the shortcomings of the various people who are involved in what is supposed to be an EDUCATIONAL service?

You can pick my argument apart all you want, but it won't change the facts. You can bury your head in the sand, but denying it won't make the problem go away. Why don't we work together on the solution instead of criticizing, bitching and backstabbing? That will only make everything worse.

I'm sorry to sound so negative all the time, but I'm really an optimist. I still believe there IS a solution. And I want to believe that others can recognize and implement that solution. I'm appealing to all teachers to help improve the situation. If we don't, who will?

Think about what you CAN do. Think about what you can get other people to do....

Let me know what you think.