Young Malaysians in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, show heightened interest in Turkey as the number of the students who have chosen Turkish as a foreign language is on the rise.

Yunus Emre Institute's Kuala Lumpur Branch has been working to promote Turkish culture, history, art and literature and teach Turkish to foreigners since 2017, and the Turkish language course for the spring term of the 2019-2020 academic year has kicked off with 40 trainees. The Turkish language course has been designed in compliance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), and the trainees who have enrolled in this course will receive training at A1 and A2 levels, and at the end of the term, they will be issued certificates that confirm their Turkish levels. The candidates who take and pass the Turkish Proficiency Exam will be entitled to receive Turkish Proficiency Certificates. The Turkish Proficiency Certificate provides huge advantages also for those who seek to work in Turkish or at international Turkish companies, those who want to work as translators or interpreters and prospective teachers who seek to teach Turkish abroad, as well as exemption from Turkish preparatory classes for the candidates who seek to attend a university in Turkey.

Yunus Emre Institute has been conducting multifaceted activities to address the increasing interest in Turkish language not only around the world, but also in Malaysia and Thailand and lends full support to the efforts to ensure that Turkish is taught as an elective course at universities under the "My Choice Is Turkish Project."

Under the project, Turkish classes are created at the schools with limited facilities and various materials such as interactive whiteboards, laptops and projectors are gifted.  The Institute also organizes various activities and "In-Service Training" seminars for the professional development of teachers. This year, Turkish has been chosen as a foreign language by 478 students at the Integrated Islamic School in Pattani, Thailand, 66 students at University Putra Malaysia, 29 students at MSU-Management & Science University and 33 students at Usim-Kolej Permata Insan.