The Turkish-Japanese Foundation Culture Center
TATSUKI Chika

Japanese-Language Education Launches in Nevşehir

There are 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Turkey, one of which that is popular among Japanese people is Cappadocia. Close to Cappadocia is Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University (hereinafter “Nevşehir University”), where the Japanese Language and Literature Department started enrolling students from September 2017. There are a total of 26 students in the inaugural class.

In March last year, Nevşehir University held a calligraphy workshop in conjunction with an advertisement about the establishment of the Japanese Language and Literature Department. At the time there wasn’t a single student studying Japanese, but the event was very popular, with all the available seats soon filling up.

Japanese class at Nevşehir University

There are several dozen Japanese residents in Nevşehir, some of whom donate Japanese books to the department. I hope that these residents will cooperate with the classes at the university, helping to create opportunities for the students to practice their Japanese language skills. The teacher at the university, who is a specialist in Japanese language and literature, is continuing based on a trial and error approach, and it seems that from semester to semester and year to year, the course contents are gradually being improved and enriched. With the cooperation of Japanese residents, let’s work together to nurture the department. As of May 2018 student volunteers have established a Japanese culture club. They are currently recruiting members and already 20 people have joined. I am sure that by next year, they will be able to hold various hands-on events on campus that introduce Japanese culture. I hope that Japanese residents will offer their cooperation at such a time.

Following the attempted coup in July 2015 the number of Japanese tourists visiting Turkey decreased, but numbers have started to recover and we now see large tourist buses filled with Japanese tourists in Cappadocia once again. Before long, we may see people who have studied Japanese in Nevşehir guiding visitors around the magnificent sights of Cappadocia.

Japanese Language Proficiency Test Held in Istanbul

Applications to sit the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (hereinafter “JLPT”) are accepted online. Following the simplification of the application process the number of applicants increased to the extent that from 2017 we increased the number of times the test is held from once to twice-a-year. From July 2017 the test will be able to be taken in both the capital Ankara and the largest city Istanbul. Although the test will only be implemented in Istanbul in July, there will be another test in Ankara in December.

There were more than 700 applications for the JLPT in July 2018. Of the more than 280 applicants in Ankara, the majority were, as is usually the case, taking the N2 level test. In Istanbul, of the more than 420 applications, just under 60 percent were taking the N4 and N5 level tests. There were also applications from far-off Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq. I hope that everyone works hard so that they can pass the test.

Admired and Popular Japan

In Turkey, even schools with no connections to Japan find information online and hold “Japan festivals.” While a Japanese person may have difficulty in recognizing some of the contents of these festivals as being authentically Japanese, the admiration and enthusiasm expressed towards Japan is clear.

Making cherry blossom branches at Yaşam Tasarım Secondary School

Yaşam Tasarım Secondary School started Japanese-language education as an optional foreign language two years ago, and it is located in the city of Alanya on the shores of the Mediterranean, where no Japanese people live. Alanya is popular with German tourists and in the winter, there is a Christmas market. Although the students can still only make basic greetings, nonetheless they made the effort to set up a booth at the Christmas market to introduce Japan. I hear that at the school they asked a Thai cook to teach them how to roll their own sushi. I am sure that these students will get a chance to visit Japan someday, so I hope they continue their studies until then.

The Turkish-Japanese Foundation Culture Center will continue to support people learning Japanese, both inside and outside Turkey.