The Turkish-Japanese Foundation Culture Center
KURITA Emiko

Home to globally renowned tourist sites such as Istanbul and Cappadocia, Turkey is also known as a country with many Japanophiles. If you tell someone on the street that you are from Japan, you generally receive a complimentary comment in return.

According to the Survey on Japanese-Language Education Abroad 2015 by the Japan Foundation, Japanese language is taught in 42 educational institutions in Turkey. Almost all of those are higher educational institutions. There are a total of 2,194 learners, which is the largest number in any country in the Middle East or North Africa. Among these, almost all learners are based at higher educational institutions centered on four universities with departments of Japanese language and Literature, or Japanese-language education.

At the same time, in the last few years Turkey has seen the return of a Japanese-language boom. Coupled with the historically strong positive attitudes toward Japan, the recent anime boom has further increased the number of people, especially among the young, who want to learn Japanese. However, in the secondary educational institutions, there are just three schools that have established Japanese-language classes. At the current point, they are classes that are open to the general public and also private lessons that may provide a way forward, but such opportunities are limited to the major cities. Thanks to the recent spread of the internet, it appears that more people are starting to engage in independent study.

The Turkish-Japanese Foundation Culture Center Japanese Language Course

Maybe it is the result of such a boom, but most inquiries from people hoping to start studying on the Japanese language course at the Turkish-Japanese Foundation Culture Center (hereinafter the “Culture Center”) where I am dispatched are from the younger generation, particularly high school students. In the last six months, it has been the case that places for the course fill up on the day that the courses open for applications.

The Culture Center is a Turkish-Japanese friendship organization established with the support of the Japanese and Turkish public and private sectors. The Japanese language course at the Culture Center, where Japanese-Language Specialists are dispatched, has nurtured many Japanese-language learners and contributed to friendly bilateral relations for approximately 20 years since its establishment. As well as teaching the Japanese language courses, the Specialists also support their operation. It is now four years since teaching materials were changed to the “Marugoto: Japanese Language and Culture,” teachers continue to discuss and solve the various challenges or questions they encounter in their daily classes, aiming for better course operation.

Visitor session at the Culture Center

There are currently approximately 160 learners on the Japanese language course. Of these, 56 are high school students, 52 are university or graduate school students, and 52 are members of the public, with the number of high school students increasing in particular in recent years. Hardly any of these learners are taking the course with a clear target in mind, such as finding a job, or embarking on overseas study. Instead, most are learning Japanese as a hobby, and most are motivated by an interest in Japanese culture. For the younger learners, this is particularly an interest in anime and manga. The course is structured into three semesters in one year. Each semester has 10 classes, after which there is a summary test. Learners begin from “Marugoto Starter” and within seven semesters can expect to reach “Marugoto Elementary 2.”

In addition to Japanese classes, the course also incorporates cultural experience sessions, including calligraphy, origami and paper marbling. In some classes, with the help of Japanese volunteers, we also offer visitor sessions, where learners can enjoy conversations with Japanese people. To be able to actually use the Japanese they have learned is a valuable experience for learners who have very few opportunities to meet real-life Japanese people, and they excitedly talk about what they have learned in these sessions. I hope to be able to hold similar experience sessions in various formats in the future.

Japanese-Language Education in Turkey

One of the external duties of a Japanese-Language Specialist is to support Japanese-language education throughout Turkey, and we have opportunities to visit Japanese language courses at various universities and high schools. I would like to share a particularly interesting experience I had.

Scene from a mock class at university

One university established a training course for Japanese-language teachers, and as part of the course, a “weekend Japanese course” for the general public was opened, with Japanese being taught based on textbooks that the students on the training course had created themselves. When I visited, I observed a class called “teaching material development,” where the students engaged in a group discussion about the elements of the course they were responsible for and then compiled teaching materials to be used on the course. The process of developing the teaching materials gave the students various opportunities to think deeply about individual Japanese expressions and provided them with various insights. Seeing how the students were not just studying Japanese or Japan-related topics, but were also able to incorporate classes about teaching material development made me realize the true breadth of Japanese-language education in Turkey.

I am often approached by people saying, “I can’t find a textbook that is just right.” People at other universities are calling for activities to create their own textbooks. Developing teaching materials is also a good chance to review daily teaching practices. However, it does seem to be difficult to bring together everyone’s ideas. It is in that respect that I hope to be of help in my position as a Japanese-Language Specialist.

Turkey is a large country with major differences in circumstances depending on the region and the type of educational institution, meaning that it is difficult to provide frequent opportunities for learning such as an integrated study group. However, through my visits, I hope to link up with many teachers and help to improve the quality of Japanese-language education in Turkey.