Yunus Emre Institute (YEI) continues its trainer's training programs while having 64 cultural centers in 53 countries in the world and teaching online Turkish courses for all age groups with online courses in geographies where it does not have centers. YEI contributes to Turkey's mission of becoming an intercultural bridge of peace by promoting the Turkish language and culture and organized a special training program for Iraqi Turcologists. Between September 28 and October 4, 2021, the Training Program for Iraqi Turcologists was organized in Istanbul in order to contribute to the background knowledge and professional competences of Iraqi Turcologists.

TRAINERS FROM ALL ACROSS IRAQ PARTICIPATED IN THE PROGRAM

Scholars who work at reputable universities of Iraq and many trainers have participated in the training program for Turkish language teachers. YEI Director of Turkish Language Teaching and Turcology Prof. Yavuz Kartallıoğlu, YEI specialists and associate specialists, Turkish language teachers and scholars who work in Baghdad University, Erbil University, Kirkuk University, Zaho University, Kufe University, Mosul University, Mosul Northern Technical University, Mosul Turkmen Fellowship Hearth and Tel Afar Turkmen Front have participated in the program.

EFFECTIVE METHODS OF TEACHING WERE SHARED IN THE LIGHT OF SCIENTIFIC DATA

YEI Director of Turkish Language Teaching and Turcology Prof. Yavuz Kartallıoğlu gave the opening speech for the program. After the speech, Kartallıoğlu gave presentations on "Turkish Language Teaching and Cultural/Art Activities of Yunus Emre Institute" and "Spelling and Punctuation in Turkish Language Teaching".

Throughout the training program, the expert teaching staff of YEI delivered their deep understanding of the Turkish language teaching and language teaching methods supported with scientific research to the Iraqi scholars and Turkish teachers. During the program, YEI specialists shared, with the Turkish language teachers who teach Turkish as a second language, the subjects that will enrich Turkish language teaching in all aspects for the purposes of improving the reading, listening, writing and speaking skills of the students.

Many interactive presentations were held during the training program, such as first lecture delivery, drama and gamification, text preparation, improving vocabulary, online Turkish language teaching, assessment and evaluation, and use of technology in online Turkish language teaching.

FACILITATING THE TURKISH LEARNING OF IRAQI STUDENTS WAS DISCUSSED

In some presentations during the program, important hints for helping Iraqi scholars and Turkish language teachers to teach Turkish more effectively were shared by considering the facilities and difficulties that students whose native language is Arabic have in learning Turkish. In the program, factors that facilitate the Turkish language learning such as the common vocabulary of Arabic and Turkish and that make learning difficult such as difference in alphabet were handled. Improved training methods for helping Iraqi students better learn Turkish were discussed based on such facilitating and challenging factors. Iraqi lecturers shared their experiences in the training program and received solution proposals from YEI specialists on the challenges they faced in Turkish language teaching.

The training program, which had quite the active participation, contributed greatly to the competence of the Iraqi scholars and Turkish language teachers. Iraqi lecturers expressed their satisfaction towards the program and stated that they wished they could have more of such programs.

WE WILL REDESIGN OUR CIVILIZATION WITH OUR COMMON CULTURAL ORIGINS

Prof. Ateş mentioned that our common cultural origins and civilization created the grounds that could answer the needs of today's world and expressed that the solid foundation and inspiration created by these affiliations would enable us to rethink, reinterpret and redesign culture and civilization.

"If we created a mindset and cultural foundation that ensured peace and welfare according to the needs of the period for 400 years, if we could do this once, if we could achieve this once, we can do that, we can achieve that once again." said Prof. Ateş and continued his words as follows:

"We have taught Turkish to more than 100,000 people for six hours per week. It is our common duty to disseminate Turkish as the language of science, literature and art. Yunus Emre says, 'I have not come for the cause, my work is for love. Hearts are the houses of friendship, and I have come to create hearts.' These words have been shaping both Anatolia and the entire world for 700 years. In a sense, all causes do come and go, but we can establish the unison between all people through language."

Prof. Ateş stated that the strength and inspiration from our common cultural origins will enable us to culturally redesign our today and tomorrow with peace, welfare and trust and relayed the following message to the Iraqi scholars and Turkish language teachers:

"Whenever we strayed away from wisdom, science, faith and unity, then dominated unrest the lands of Iraq, the country of prophets and cradle of humanity. We have a debt to you that is overdue. We will pay that debt of ours together with you. We will disseminate kindness, beauty and aesthetics together in every region of Iraq with our beautiful Turkish, the language of love, inspiration, science and heart.

"LET OUR REGION BE THE CENTER OF PEACE, WELFARE, DEVELOPMENT AND BEAUTY"

Prof. Ateş mentioned that the geography in which we lived exhibited the successful and important examples of coexistence in different historical periods and continued his speech as follows:

"We will strive together to build a cultural environment in which peace, solidarity, mutual understanding and tolerance will come to life. Without discriminating anyone as Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic, Persian, we have created a common civilization and expressed ourselves through the beauty of our values. In this respect, we wish that our region once again becomes the center of peace, welfare, development and beauty. Because, as Yunus Emre Institute, our fundamental understanding is to bring the fundamental wisdom in the creation of humanity together with the kind and beautiful, which we call the final stage, the humanity, in a manner that overlaps with our own belief.”

Prof. Ateş called for establishing bonds of heart all around the world between Turkish language and people and continued his words, "Our fundamental mission as Yunus Emre Institute is to bring all kinds of support in relation to Turkish language teaching to the entire world, such as Turkish teaching materials, books, and teaching methods. Of course, we would first like to bring such a support to the lands of Iraq, which is right next to us, in which we live together."

Prof. Ateş also mentioned that they were developing common projects with other universities through the Turkish Academic and Scientific Cooperation Platform (TABIP), run by Yunus Emre Institute under the auspices of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey, and that they were always open to new projects.

After Prof. Şeref Ateş completed his closing speech, certificates of participation for the training program were presented by the Yunus Emre Institute specialists to the participants.

PRIVATE CONCERT BY ARSLANBEK SULTANBEKOV TO THE IRAQI TURCOLOGISTS

Within the scope of the culture seminar, Prof. Erdoğan Boz delivered a Yunus Emre themed seminar to the participants. Within the scope of the art event that was carried after the presentations during the program, Turkish World Troubadour Arslanbek Sultanbekov gave a concert for the participants. Sultanbekov was joined by artists Akdeniz Erbaş, Sinan Gönültaş and Islam Satırov during the concert, and compositions that have historical roots all around the Turkish world were performed. The concert provided the participants the opportunity to listen to different works from different musical traditions of the Turkish world and included works such as “Laşın Kus”, “Tüs”, “Türkler Geliyor”, “Kanılı”, “Dombıra”, “Kay Kojon”, “Pirlere Niyaz Ederiz” and “Eki Atar”. Sultanbekov entertained the participants with his famous composition "Dombıra".

A trip to the Çamlıca Tower, Dolmabahçe Palace and Miniatürk was organized after the educational and art events for the purposes of introducing the participants to the historical and cultural spaces in Istanbul. The participants returned to their countries after the boat trip organized at the end of the cultural trip.