Development and Assessment of a Foreign Language Curriculum for Primary Education in Turkey

Abstract

This study investigates Turkish primary EFL teachers' perspectives of the nation-wide initiation of English in primary grade two and grade three classes as part of a curriculum renewal process, and aims to gain an in-depth understanding of teachers' experiences in implementing the curriculum effectively. Following a discussion of the foreign language teaching in Turkish context, the first part of the study examines the process of designing the new ELT curriculum, giving an outline of curriculum objectives. Then, the research study is presented. After that, a questionnaire survey with Likert scale items and open-ended questions is employed to explore teachers' (n=250) perspectives of the new ELT curriculum and their experiences during the implementation process. Data were analyzed statistically and qualitatively. Results indicate that teachers have positive perspectives of the new ELT curriculum, yet they express some concerns about implementing it effectviely in young learner classes. Recommendations for teacher development and future research are made in the end.