Foreigners flocking to learn Turkish in London

LONDON - Anatolia News Agency

There has been a notable increase recently in the number of students attending Turkish courses, according to Ahmet Alver, Turkish teacher at the center. AA photo

Turkey’s strong economic performance in recent years has been leading many people from different countries living in London to learn Turkish in order to find a job in Turkey.

Nearly 150 students from 50 different nations are attending Turkish courses at the Yunus Emre Culture Center, which was opened in London in 2010 by Turkish President Abdullah Gül, according to Ahmet Alver, Turkish teacher and education coordinator at the center.

There has been a notable increase recently in the number of students attending Turkish courses, Alver said, adding that Brits and Greeks were showing the most interest in the courses, which run six days a week.

“Everyone has a different reason to learn Turkish. Some people’s spouse is Turkish or some are working on Turkey at university, but mainly Greeks and Brits are thinking of working in Turkey. They want to learn Turkish as soon as possible and come to Turkey. But there are also people learning Turkish out of special interest or for touristic purposes,” Alver said.

Greek students especially want to work in Turkey he said, adding that Brits were mainly learning the language for employment purposes in Turkey. “There are many of those who are learning Turkish because of economic reasons.”

Kostas Skordles, a Greek lecturer at Oxford University and a beginning-level Turkish student, said Turkish was a very interesting language.

“I want to communicate with Turkish people in the Turkish language rather than speaking a foreign language,” he said. “More people began learning Turkish especially in Greece because of economic reasons.”

British citizen Mark Whitley said his girlfriend was Turkish and that they would get married in July and move to Istanbul. “This is why I am learning Turkish. My girlfriend is a lawyer and owns a law office. Her work is going well and this is why we would prefer to live in Turkey,” he said.

François Courant of France said he was interested in Turkish culture and Turkey and added that he would come to Turkey in the summer to improve his Turkish before eventually finding a job.

“Turkey’s importance is increasing. It is a bridge uniting the east and the west,” he said.

Allyn Tan from Singapore said she was learning Turkish because of a Turkish boyfriend and that she wanted to live and work in Turkey.

“I love Istanbul. Turkey’s economic situation is better than Europe and it means more employment opportunities,” she said.

New Yunus Emre Culture Center to open in Lebanon

On the other hand, Turkish Education Minister Ömer Dinçer arrived on March 21 in the Lebanese capital of Beirut to hold a series of talks. Dincer was set to meet with Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Miqat and attend the opening ceremony of the Yunus Emre Cultural Center in Beirut.