The Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV) think tank recently published an analysis of one such global research, carried out by Education First (EF), which found that Turks fared poorly on the English Proficiency Index, ranking 43rd among 44 countries surveyed. The survey was carried out among adults, and recent advances will take years to register, but only in Kazakhstan did people have a poorer command of the English language than here. Turkey, understandably, lagged behind the more developed Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, particularly European nations where knowledge of English is widespread; but it also ranked well below other emerging economies like Brazil, China or Mexico, which are also undergoing major social and economic transformations.
Several factors may have influenced this outcome. TEPAV pointed to the fact that Turkish students in state schools don’t start learning English before fourth grade, and they are often taught by teachers who don’t have specialist knowledge of the language. The EF report, however, showed that in other countries a late start can still result in high proficiency.
Foreign language education is not the only area where Turkish educational outcomes are insufficient. Turkey’s general Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) performance is relatively poor and the World Bank recently found that Turkish 15 year olds are behind many of their global peers in math and science. The quality of education across the country is also uneven. TEPAV points out that Turkey spends less on education than other emerging nations which also face the challenge of educating a young population: while Ankara spends $12,708 for the education of each child between the age of 6-15, Thailand spends nearly four times more ($45,331) and Mexico close to double ($21,175).
When I first arrived in Turkey two decades ago, only a small elite of highly educated people spoke English. Turks who hadn’t been educated in foreign universities were much more likely to speak German, due to the large numbers of Turkish workers who had spent time in that country. Today, many more people speak English, but it is still surprising that Turkey, which relies heavily on exports and tourism, has not invested more on promoting the language.
A few months ago, I interviewed business people involved in health tourism, which is considered a sector with important growth potential in Turkey. One of the obstacles they faced, I was told, was a shortage of medical personnel, particularly nurses, with sufficient English proficiency to deal with foreign patients. Hospitals had to send their staff abroad for language training in order to attract a foreign clientele.
That English has become a universal language is now firmly established. In the past, some nations saw the rise of English as a new form of imperialism, which they were intent on resisting. But English is now also the lingua franca used extensively in dialogue between emerging nations, and its importance has shown no sign of diminishing even as global power balances shift. As the EF report points out, a high English proficiency level in the population remains a key factor attracting foreign investment and for individual job seekers, knowledge of English has become a basic requirement. Beyond the personal advantages of being able to compete in the global job market and interact with citizens from all over the world, at country level widespread English proficiency also helps promotes scientific innovation.
