THE COMPARISON OF EFL TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS OF GERMANY AND TURKEY

Back to Page Authors: Hüseyin Evcim

Keywords: Teacher Education, English Language Teaching, Comparative Education, Germany and Turkey

Abstract: The comparison of EFL Teacher Education Programs of Germany and Turkey This paper aims at investigating and showing the similarities and differences between Curriculum of the EFL teacher education in Turkey and Germany in terms of the four basic elements of curriculum. Therefore, defining the advantages and disadvantages of both programs, the study intends to display not only a brief comparison of regarding curricula but also offer proposals related with the curriculum policies of both countries. To limit the study, the programs of Germany after the reunification of German Democratic Republic and Federal Republic of Germany are analyzed. As for Turkey, the study is limited to the foundation of Council of Higher Education, with which all higher education institutions in Turkey have gathered under the roof of YÖK; academies, universities, educational institutions have been transformed into the faculties of education, and conservatories and vocational higher schools (VHS) have been affiliated to universities. This study is a document analysis method of qualitative research method. The curricula of each country is studied in terms of objectives, content, teaching-learning processes and assessment, which are the basics of Educational Curriculum. The results of the study showed that there are similarities and differences between The Curricula of the Teacher Education in Turkey and Germany in terms of objectives, content, teaching-learning processes and assessment. The most significant difference is found in the teaching experience of prospective teaches. The EFL curriculum in Turkey concentrates less on practice teaching in schools and does not focus on enough on teaching the foreign culture, whereas this issue is heavily stressed in Germany by offering compulsory courses about the history and culture of the target language. Also students are obliged to have an internship in the target country. Moreover, considering the results of this study, suggestions were made regarding EFL Teacher Education Curriculum in Turkey and Germany. Key Words: Teacher Education, English language teaching, comparative education, Germany and Turkey