Bridging the Gap between Policy and Practice in Teaching English to Young Learners: the Turkish Context

*Asst. Prof. Dr. Pamukkale University, Faculty of Education, Department of English Language Teaching, Denizli. e-posta: receparslan@hotmail.com Acquisition of a foreign language, particularly English, has received great interest not only worldwide but also in the Turkish context since the late nineties with the widespread influence of the English language as a lingua franca (Ersoz et al., 2006; Kirkgoz, 2009). The Turkish nation has therefore given special emphasis to learning English since acquisition of sound knowledge of English is deemed essential for Turkish citizens to secure a good status in their careers and also to cater to the emerging demand for citizens who know English for the nation’s social, economic and political reasons (Ersoz et al., 2006). However, successful outcomes to this end may be stressful or the whole process may result in loss of time, energy and money (Moon, 2005) unless such a task is taken seriously (Cameron, 2003) and also if such factors as sufficient time, relevant materials, appropriate syllabus and professional English language teachers who know how to teach English to young learners fail to be satisfactorily provided. This article therefore aims to discuss the major factors that affect the quality of foreign language education in Turkish state schools and also attempts to offer some possible solutions to its improvement with specific reference to teaching English to young learners.