Yunus Emre Institute has organized the "Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language" Trainers' Training Program in cooperation with the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) Lifelong Learning Directorate General and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

The teachers who work at the Turkish language courses given in the Adult Education Centers within the scope of the Intensive Training Project (ITP), conducted in cooperation with the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) Lifelong Learning Directorate General and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), received training on teaching Turkish as a foreign language as part of the training program organized by Yunus Emre Institute.

The program was attended by 60 teachers who are actively working under the Intensive Training Project (ITP), which seeks to improve educational opportunities of Syrian children and help Syrian who are under temporary protection integrate with society.

The training program was held in Ankara between February 12 and 15, 2019, and the participants attended the theoretical and practical training given by Yunus Emre Institute's experts and academics as well as seminars and workshops. The topics covered in this program included Basic Principles and Concepts in Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language, Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, In-class Relations, Teaching Vocabulary, Intercultural Interaction, Methods of Teaching Reading and Writing for Syrians, Exam Preparation, Administration and Assessment Techniques, Effective Use of Technology in Language Teaching, etc.

The program ended with the closing ceremony held at Başkent Teacher's Lodge on February 15, 2019. The ceremony was attended by Murat Aşım, the Head of the Department of Social Partners and Projects of the Directorate General of Lifelong Learning of the Ministry of National Education, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kamil Kurtul and İbrahim Lubbad, the representatives of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Prof. Dr. Yavuz Kartallıoğlu, the Director of Turkish Training of Yunus Emre Institute, and Bora Civan, the Coordinator of the Intensive Training Project of the Department of Social Partners and Projects of the Directorate General of Lifelong Learning of the Ministry of National Education, and certificates of participation were awarded to the teachers who attended the program.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Social Partners and Projects Department Head Murat Aşım pointed out that many programs have been organized to improve occupational skills of Syrians who took refuge in our country due to war and terrorism, ensure their employment and facilitate the integration of Syrian children with the Turkish education system.

Aşım noted that the number of the courses teaching Turkish as a foreign language at the Adult Training Centers is on the rise and more than 6,000 Syrian kids have been accommodated into the education system thanks to these courses. "This also means that we have earned the hearts of 6,000 children. Every child who is left outside the educational environment is at risk and therefore, these training activities are valuable and important for the future both of those kids and our country," he said.

In his speech, UNICEF Representative Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kamil Kurtul underlined that there will be new initiatives to be launched upon the identification of the needs in the field.  Noting that this program has demonstrated the need for developing a new program for the children who have not attended school for several years or who have dropped out of school for some reason, Kurtul stated that this topic will be discussed again.

Yunus Emre Institute Turkish Training Director Prof. Dr. Yavuz Kartallıoğlu asserted that the Institute has been conducting various activities at more than 100 points of contact around the world with a view to enhancing Turkey's recognition and credibility prestige in the international arena, and these activities included training programs that are designed to support the professional development in the field of teaching Turkish at home and abroad. "It is a great source of happiness for us to contribute to the professional development of our teachers who are actively working in the field and share the Institute's experience in teaching Turkish as a foreign language with you in order to help Syrians under temporary protection overcome language barriers to integration with our society," he said.

At the end of the program, the participants were presented with their certification of participation and they posed for photo shooting.