Ayhan Kahraman is a Professor of Applied Linguistics at Kütahya Dumlupınar University, Kütahya-Türkiye. He received his Ph.D from the ELT department at Hacettepe University, Ankara-Türkiye. He is currently offering courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels at his University. Beside the English language, he is a fluent speaker in German language and a basic user in French. His research interests include teacher training, educational psychology, technology use in ELT, the area of second/foreign language writing, ESP and the role of the mother tongue, individual differences and general issues encountering in ELT.His research interests include Applied linguistics, Educational Psychology, ESP, Teacher Training, Individual Differences in Foreign Language Teaching, and general issues encountering in ELT.

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3410-6351

Turkey's Foreign Language Proficiency in the Scope of the 2023 English Proficiency Index

Abstract

This study examines Turkey's foreign language education policies and practices in the context of the EF 2023 English proficiency index and focuses on the difficulties experienced in language teaching and suggested solutions. In particular, it discusses why our country has found itself in the 'Low Proficiency' cluster in the EF English proficiency index for the last 12 years, and suggests what we should do as a country by putting our hats forward. When we look at the global scale, the study addresses factors such as methodological errors used in language teaching, deficiencies in teacher training, problems regarding teachers' proficiency levels, student motivation and course materials.

In addition, among the suggested solutions, important steps such as adopting a student-centered approach, making the language learning process fun and interactive, ensuring that teachers receive continuous training, using effective assessment tools in language teaching and continuously evaluating language policies stand out.
The purpose of this study is to determine the difficulties Turkey encounters in foreign language education on a global scale and to develop effective strategies to increase the quality of the country's foreign language education. In this direction, it is recommended to give more importance to foreign language education, to adopt student and teacher-oriented approaches and to make the language learning process more effective.
Keywords: Foreign language education, language teaching, language policies, difficulties, solution suggestions.