Non-Turkish speaking kids attending public schools?

[HijabiMamaBabyPajama 6]

Hi. I'm new to this forum, and I have some questions. Our family is considering a move to Turkey.

 

I'm American and my husband is Pakistani. We have 6 kids ranging in age from 1 month old to 17 years old. We have homeschooled the kids, had them in both public and private schools in the US, and had them in private schools in Saudi Arabia (Arabic language with no help for second language learners). They are English speaking. 

 

We are currently living in Abu Dhabi and found out after we arrived that public schools are for everyone according to policy (which we had thoroughly researched) but in reality they only enroll local citizens. I don't want to be taken by surprise like this again.

 

This would be a longterm (permanent?) stay for us in Turkey, and I would like for my children to enroll in Turkish public schools and learn the language and culture and make friends. Will they in fact be allowed to enroll? And is there any help for children who are new to the Turkish language?

 

 

[Meral 469]

Hello HMBP, welcome to our forum !

 

As far as I know, Turkish state schools are for any & all children living in Turkey, but I doubt very much there would be any extra help for children who enter with zero knowledge of the language.  In Didim, for example, there are a lot of British school children happily attending Turkish schools.

 

I believe children below a certain age (say around 12-13) can assimilate fairly smoothly, and should normally be able to pick up the language from their peers.  On the other hand, older students may need a helping hand with the basics of grammar, but you may need to engage a private teacher (who knows English too) for this purpose.  My own daughter was 13 when we first came to Turkey, with next to no knowledge of Turkish, and succeeded in picking it up mostly from her classmates & teachers, as well as attending a dershane (prep school) on weekends.

 

I hope you and your family will settle well in Turkey.... good luck!

[HijabiMamaBabyPajama 6]

Thank you!

 

I was reading a little about dershanes. Will this be necessary for the kids to manage through school do you think? Or is it just an option out there to give kids a boost?

[YabanciGirl 149]

Some schools recently opened where all subjects are taught in arabic. Can your kids speak arabic too?

 

http://www.turkeycentral.com/topic/21096-14-private-arabic-schools-in-mersin/

[GDB 119]

Hello

 

Welcome to the Forum.

 

You did not say which part of Turkey you intend to live in.

 

Private teachers in  Izmir (mostly teachers who wish to supplement their earnings) usually charge 100tl per hour and it is quite easy to find one.

 

The Dershanes generally cram the kids for exams.

 

Good luck

 

Gdb

 

 

 

[IbrahimAbi 590]

I think dershanes are in their last year of existence in their current form

[HijabiMamaBabyPajama 6]

Thanks for the help everybody. 

 

YabanciGirl, my kids still only have a minimum proficiency in Arabic, but this is an option that would definitely be of interest to me. Thanks It seems like they could both continue to develop their Arabic as well as learning Turkish in this type of school, plus have some of their native English thrown in to boot. However I do want a low cost option and one that ensures they become proficient in Turkish. I'll look into that.               

[YabanciGirl 149]

HijabiMama, I think they teach Turkish and English as foreign languages, so yes that may be good for your little ones, maybe not your older ones, but you never know.

[neselicocuk 6]

It would be much easier for a kid to get adopted into the country If It was a multicultural country like the US, the UK or Germany. Public schools here are very Turkey- centric. 

[HijabiMamaBabyPajama 6]

Neselicocuk, what do you mean by Tukey-centric? I have no problem with a curriculum that emphasizes the  importance of Turkish history over other world history or school ceremonies that always give a nod to Ataturk, for example. However I would mind if my kids were made to feel like a "lesser" person for not being Turkish. Hopefully you don't mean the latter!

[neselicocuk 6]

Neselicocuk, what do you mean by Tukey-centric? I have no problem with a curriculum that emphasizes the  importance of Turkish history over other world history or school ceremonies that always give a nod to Ataturk, for example. However I would mind if my kids were made to feel like a "lesser" person for not being Turkish. Hopefully you don't mean the latter!

I mean that it is a bit difficult to find English speaking teachers at public schools here. At least It was like that when I was a little school child. 

[HijabiMamaBabyPajama 6]

Ah, I see yes. I'm not worried about my kids being in a classroom where the teacher doesn't speak English. I will help them learn a few emergency words (toilet, hurt, hungry, sick) in case they have an urgent need. Otherwise learning a new language through immersion is a good thing in my eyes.

[eruza 36]

Turkish is an easy language to learn, Arabic is a lot harder. English is harder than Turkish. A lot of Turkish words aren't even Turkish at all, like kuafor which is French (coiffeur) for hairdresser. Your kids can pick up the language easily and be speaking at an intermediate level within one year if they hear it all day in school and talking with their friends. But, I would be worried about making sure you help them learn other subjects in school. Also, will they feel too much pressure because they need to work harder than all the other kids. Maybe you could homeschool them and get them a Turkish language tutor a few hours a week? So that way they can focus on being kids, learning all subjects through English, plus learning some Turkish. And they should make some friends who can practice Turkish with them too.

[Nour 1]

Thank you so much Hijabi Mama, your qeury about education solve my problem as we are planing to move to Turkey  I was worried about my girls education ( grade 6,3and 2) becaus the international schools in Turkey are out of range now my daughters easily move to public school in Turkey.By the way i am also from Pakistan living in Saudi Arabia.

[Nour 1]

Well now i want to know about your experience because this post is 2year back ,now please share your experience about public school for non Turks,Thanks

[FenerEniste 163]

My son just turned 6 & starts 1st grade in a month...I speak English and LITTLE Turkish. Wife speaks fluent (native tongue) Turkish & English fluently.  My Son has picked up Turkish in his time living in Turkey.  We don't send him to public school though.  But his private school is still Turkish language.  Good luck.

[Nour 1]

Hello sir , Fener Eniste

Can you please share the link of that privat school,it would be very helpful as we are not in the country(Turkey) from outside of country finding good school is a really big problem. Thanks

[FenerEniste 163]

10 hours ago, Nour said:

Hello sir , Fener Eniste

Can you please share the link of that privat school,it would be very helpful as we are not in the country(Turkey) from outside of country finding good school is a really big problem. Thanks

Hi, I don't know what city you will move to so you will have to do some research on your own.  

Also (& most importantly) for my personal security & security of other parents children, I will not post which school my child attends (sorry).

You can google search: international schools Turkey & you can see/decide there.

[Nour 1]

Thanks for your reply sir fener,. It's okay I can understand your concerns about security 

It's now just upto the school location where I find a good school I will move on that city.

[FenerEniste 163]

Best of luck!  Let us know how everything works out

[Ad Jam 1]

I found this post useful for me. Thanks to the owner of this post for initiating this subject.

I am planning to send my kids to public school in Turkey and I hope all the information here are still relevant now.

Cheers

Ad Jam