Turkish Language is one of the three major language subjects taught at the English School. The Turkish Department has a key role to play within the School providing the means for students to reach an advanced level of proficiency in Turkish, as a support subject for other departments, as well as a to promote a greater sensitivity to the literary and cultural traditions of the language in a global context.
The programme covers all classes from Year 1 to 7 and aims to provide students with the language skills necessary for them to live and work in Cyprus and abroad. Furthermore the curriculum is designed to enable students to gain a broader education in Turkish language and culture through their participation in various activities. The syllabi cover the programme taught at government schools, but also cater for the specific needs and aims of the English School.

In the first form, students are expected to reach a competent level in the four key areas of the curriculum.  These include reading, writing, speaking and listening. The curriculum is divided into Year 1 natives and Year 1 non-natives.  Both the natives and non- natives are allocated 8 periods over the 10 day timetable.

Natives
Literature and language skills are promoted in the native group.  Through the literature we study, we explore the technicalities of the language, as well as the literary methods employed by the writers.  We also focus our attentions on the impact these techniques have on the readers.  The contexts of the texts we study are considered important in our understanding of them, so students will often be set with research tasks focused on the times they were written.  A wide variety of writing styles are used so that students can then adapt their own writing to suit purpose and audience.  All these skills and competencies are developed through a number of methods including drama, group presentations, as well as a variety of writing tasks, in order for students to be able to apply the skills explored during lessons.  
In Year 1, reading skills are promoted through a variety of tasks. Skills include prediction, skimming, scanning, inference, text organization and general comprehension, based on a specific Turkish fiction book “Ölümsüz Ece written by Gülten Dayıoğlu”.
Non-native
It is essential for the non-native students to have as much contact with the language as possible.  Reading skills are promoted through the development of skills in simple comprehension, scanning, skimming, vocabulary development and work building, and readers.  Class readers are also employed in lessons.
A variety of types of writing skills are acquired: Describing people, daily routines, giving instructions, simple descriptions (places, objects, and people), letter writing, giving opinions, and project work.
As a pair or group work, drama is also encouraged together with group presentations and debate.  The intention is to provide as many opportunities as possible for students to be using language in creative, positive and challenging ways.

By the end of Year 2 students will be expected to have reached a good level of fluency in the official Turkish. There are 11 periods allocated to this year. Students acquire new structures and revise the bulk of what they have studied in Year 1 in terms of grammar and usage. They are encouraged to develop further skills through practice. As in Year 1 reading skills are promoted through a variety of tasks. Skills include prediction, skimming, scanning, inference, text organization and general comprehension, based on a range of source material including literary passages, readers, non –fiction and a Turkish Novel “Çalıkuşu written by Reşat Nuri Güntekin”. Literature appreciation and relevant skills are promoted through the study of poetry and of a prose text. Students also begin to learn how to analyse literature through the structure of point, evidence and explanation and continue learning literary techniques. Students are encouraged to use ICT skills through research, power point presentations and projects. Overall students are encouraged to use language in a variety of ways including oral presentations, debate and drama.

The 3rd Form is essentially the IGCSE and GCSE Turkish year. The focus at this stage is for students to be expanding their range of understanding, building their knowledge on bi-lingual translation skills, use of Turkish and English in numerous ways. The intention is to centre much of the work on advanced language skills and literary appreciation. 12 periods are allocated. Structures and communicative competence are developed and form the basis for a broader spectrum of language use.
Similar reading and writing skills to those in the 2nd Form are promoted but to a more advanced degree alongside bi-lingual translation skills are promoted. As a whole class reading selective Turkish novel is read “Çizgili Pijamalı Çocuk written by John Boyne”.
IGCSE level Turkish
 
Edexcel's IGCSE level in Turkish is designed to develop students' ability to communicate effectively in the written language, and to translate to and from English and Turkish. The qualification provides an appropriate foundation for further study or employment.

Aims
The aim of the IGCSE Level syllabus in the suite of languages is to provide a framework for
the development of written and transmission skills combined with the practical application of
grammar of the target language. Transmission skills are defined as transfer of meaning and
translation skills. This syllabus is designed to enable students to:

language into English;

 
TURKISH LANGUAGE FOR NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS (AS AN OPTION SUBJECT)
Non-Native speakers follow a different program in Turkish and their syllabus is based on their level, which is systematically evaluated through assessment. The evaluation of each student’s individual needs, and differentiation in class, are of high priority in teaching Turkish as second or as a foreign language. The aim is for the Non-Native Speakers to be able to sit the GCSE Turkish Exam conducted by the OCR Exam Board. The teaching of Turkish as a second or as a foreign language continues up to Year 6.
The School will regularly review each student’s progress and will decide whether it is appropriate for a student to join the mainstream class.

Those who choose Turkish AS level (held by OCR Exam Board) will follow a two year course (Years 4 and 5), in order to complete the GCE A level Turkish exam.
In Year 4, students will sit the AS level Turkish exam. 9 periods are allocated. Eight periods per 10 day timetable have been allocated, in order to prepare the students for these exams. In addition to these teaching periods, students will be educated in Modern Turkish Literature. They will study selected pieces of Turkish and world literature in order to develop their reading and understanding skills as well as their extended writing skills.
In addition, the teaching of A2 Turkish will start in Year 4 with 2 periods per 10 day timetable, and continue in Year 5 when the students will sit the A2 Turkish exam completing their A level in Turkish. In addition to these teaching periods, students will be educated in Modern Turkish Literature. They will study selected pieces of Turkish and world literature genres in order to develop their reading and understanding skills as well as their extended writing skills.
In Year 5 all teaching periods will be allocated for the A2 level Turkish exam.   The teaching of Modern Turkish will continue up to Year 6. In Year 6 there are 7 periods allocated per 10 day timetable in order to prepare the students for the exam of “The European Language Certificates Turkish C1”. This is offered by telc GmbH which is a subsidiary of the German Adult Education Association (DVV), supporting further education for personal and professional development in the interest of the general public. This certificate has great validity for students who graduate from an English speaking school in Cyprus.
In Germany, telc GmbH is the federal government’s exclusive partner for the language tests taken at the end of the integration courses for migrants.  telc GmbH also enjoys official recognition and acceptance outside of Germany. In Poland, for example, telc certificates are recognised as proof of language competence for civil service applicants. In Hungary, university students must prove foreign language competence at B2 level to obtain their diplomas. telc examinations are state-approved in Hungary. Another example is Switzerland: varying according to canton, telc certificates are accepted as pre-requisites for Swiss citizenship or entry into the civil service.
The Turkish Department wishes to assure all parents and students that maintaining a high standard of Turkish is our primary target. The highly demanding Turkish curriculum in Years 1 to 3 aims to maintain this standard and the excellent IGCSE and A Level results.
 
AS LEVEL TURKISH
 
Aims
 
The aims of these specifications are to encourage students to:

 
Assessment Objectives
 
It is recommended that students beginning to study Turkish at AS and A2 Level should have the knowledge, understanding and skills equivalent to those for GCSE at Higher tier in the language.
 
AS candidates will be required to:
 
• Listen and respond to a variety of spoken sources, including authentic sources;
• Read and respond to a variety of written texts, including authentic sources, covering
  different contexts, registers, styles and genres;
• Adapt their written language appropriately for different situations and purposes;
• Use the language accurately to express facts and ideas, and to present explanations,
   opinions and information in writing;
• Transfer meaning from English into the modern foreign language;
• Understand and apply the grammatical system and a range of structures as detailed in the
  AS specification;
• Study materials that illustrate aspects of the contemporary society, cultural background and
  heritage of  one or more of the countries or communities where the language is spoken.
 
 
A2 LEVEL TURKISH
Aims
The aims of these specifications are to encourage students to:

 
Assessment Objectives
 
It is recommended that students beginning to study Turkish at AS and A2 Level should have the knowledge, understanding and skills equivalent to those for GCSE at Higher tier in the language.
 
A2 candidates will be required to:
 
•Listen and respond to a variety of spoken sources, including authentic sources;
• Read and respond to a variety of written texts, including authentic sources, covering different contexts, registers, styles and genres;
• Adapt their written language appropriately for different situations and purposes;
• Use the language accurately to express facts and ideas, and to present explanations, opinions and information in writing;
• Understand and apply the grammatical system and a range of structures as detailed in the A2 specification;
• Study materials that illustrate aspects of the contemporary society, cultural background and
   heritage of  one or more of the countries or communities where the language is spoken.
• Use the language to present viewpoints, develop arguments, analyze and evaluate in writing;
• Transfer meaning from the modern foreign language into English;
• Study aspects of the contemporary society, cultural background and heritage of one or more of the countries or communities whose language is being studied.

After completing A level Turkish exam in Year 5, the Turkish department offers Telc Turkish C1 exam for those students who want to extend their Turkish language skills. In Year 6 there are 7 periods allocated per 10 day timetable in order to prepare the students for the exam of “The European Language Certificates Turkish C1”. This is offered by telc GmbH which is a subsidiary of the German Adult Education Association (DVV), supporting further education for personal and professional development in the interest of the general public. This certificate has great validity for students who graduate from an English speaking school in Cyprus.
In Germany, telc GmbH is the federal government’s exclusive partner for the language tests taken at the end of the integration courses for migrants.  telc GmbH also enjoys official recognition and acceptance outside of Germany. In Poland, for example, telc certificates are recognised as proof of language competence for civil service applicants. In Hungary, university students must prove foreign language competence at B2 level to obtain their diplomas. telc examinations are state-approved in Hungary. Another example is Switzerland: varying according to canton, telc certificates are accepted as pre-requisites for Swiss citizenship or entry into the civil service.
In Year 7, students will sit the A level Turkish exam. 12 periods are allocated. And, all teaching periods will be used for the A2 level Turkish exam. In addition to these teaching periods, students will be educated to extend their Oral Turkish language skills. Therefore, movies and debatable topics will be chosen from various sources which are about social movements, global- social issues around the world. Watching the given movies will be followed by debating controversial issues in the film. Students will be asked to submit written persuasive essays for each debatable topics and/or movies. Students will also be asked to choose the topics that they want to discuss in the class.
 
The debates will involve topics such as Relationships, Drugs, Emotional Wellbeing, Healthy lifestyle, Risk and Safety, Identity, Communities, Managing Money, Laws and the Justice System, Presentation Skills and Personal Statement preparation.