Germany’s reluctant young Turks offered courses to learn Turkish

After 50 years, Turkish immigrants living in Germany are no longer considered guest workers; instead, they constitute a community which is viewed as one which should be integrated into German society as quickly as possible. However, attempts to integrate the Turkish minority into German society are causing identity problems, especially regarding the use of the community's native language.

Vedat Fındık, a university student from a Turkish family which migrated to Germany in the 1960s, says the children of immigrants are sandwiched between two languages, namely Turkish and German. “I have to speak German with my friends at university; however, since my parents can not speak German well, I must use only Turkish at home, which is quite difficult for me. But the worst thing happens with my 10-year-old nephew. His Turkish parents speak in German at home, but when he visits us I must translate what he said to my parents [his grandparents] because he speaks very limited Turkish,” said Fındık.

Nükhet Kirvan, a manager of the Munich Education and Training Platform, a voluntary civil society group working to teach Turkish as a foreign language in elementary and high schools in Munich, said the group has successfully initiated Turkish courses in three high schools in the city. Speaking to Today's Zaman in an e-mail interview, she added, “The interesting thing is that not only Turkish students, but also German students and students from other ethnic backgrounds are also interested in Turkish courses.”

Asked whether the third generation of Turks use Turkish correctly and frequently in their daily lives, Kirvan replied by describing personal experiences and emphasized the role of the family. “I, as a child of a Turkish immigrant family, personally observed that my family was not interested in teaching their national values or their native language to their children as they were struggling with the hard economic conditions they faced. Consequently, I could not speak Turkish correctly. Rather, I spoke a different language mixed with Turkish and German. When I noticed that, I forced myself to speak the languages separately and correctly,” she said.

In an effort to keep the younger generations of the Turkish community connected to their culture, the Turkish government has been sending Turkish teachers to Germany, Austria and the Netherlands to offer Turkish lessons to Turkish students independent of their daily schooling.

However, complaining about the deficiency of the programs offered by the Turkish government -- which has been providing Turkish courses in Germany as part of a program established in 2004 -- Kirvan pointed out that these programs have largely been far from successful in teaching Turkish to the young generation of Turks. “The courses are mostly after school, and neither the teachers nor the students have a lot of motivation to follow the classes. One of the main factors preventing the success of this program is that the Turkish courses given by Turkish teachers are not graded; students have no obligation to attend and they get nothing tangible in return, either,” said Kirvan.

She stated that her organization is now negotiating with authorities in Munich for Turkish courses to be added to school curriculums and be graded the same way as other courses. Kirvan also noted that they are working quickly to open language courses in two local kindergartens and that these courses will definitely facilitate and generalize the use of Turkish.

The attempts to teach Turkish -- which is the second most widely used language in Germany -- to Turkish students in Germany is encouraged by local German authorities, including those in Munich. German authorities say they view a good command of a person's native language as a crucial part of integration into German society.

Speaking to Today's Zaman in an e-mail interview, Martin Neumeyer, the representative of the Bavarian Parliament's Integration Office, stated that the ability of immigrant groups to speak their native language well plays a positive role in their integration, while also emphasizing that German is as important as the native language for the coexistence of people of different ethnic backgrounds in German society. A good command of German is also important for immigrants' children to successfully complete their education and successfully find employment.

Neumeyer highlighted the supportive language courses, which are called Completing (complementary) Courses for Mother Language, provided by the Bavarian state. These courses are aimed at teaching immigrants' children their native language. He also stated that in the 2007-2008 school year, 771 foreign language courses, including Turkish courses, were established, serving nearly 9,200 students in elementary schools.