Turkish lesson given based on TV series in Argentina

ISTANBUL

Turkish lessons have started to be given in an Argentine university based on Turkish TV series as the productions have broken audience records, especially in Latin America.

As well as millions of dollars in exports, the interest in Turkish TV series all over the world paves the way for the introduction of Türkiye’s history and culture to the world,

Aside from those who visit the country to see the places where the TV series were shot, a special curriculum including TV series lines was created and Turkish 101 lessons were started to be given at the Argentine Social Studies University (UMSA) within the scope of cooperation with Istanbul’s Altınbaş University.

“During our visit to Argentina and Chile to improve academic relations between universities, we found that there is a great interest in Turkish TV series and films and that a Turkish series plays almost every day on their channels,” said Nur Eradlı, an official from Altınbaş University.

“We were asked to create an infrastructure for online courses,” she added, informing that the age of those taking the course ranges from 18 to 75 and all of the students are women.

The TV series watched most were determined with a survey, while Aşk-ı Memnu (Forbidden Love), Binbir Gece (1001 Nights), Vatanım Sensin (Wounded Love), Kara Para Aşk (Black Money Love), Muhteşem Yüzyıl (Magnificent Century) and Mucize Doktor (A Miracle) were the leading ones.

The courses progress with content based on daily conversation, with more vocabulary teaching, question-answer, dialogues, through small paragraphs and texts, said Merve Selçuk, the head of Altınbaş University’s School of Foreign Languages.

Word posters related to TV series and cultural materials are used, while examples are given from Istanbul through historical and touristic places, she added.

Nearly 100 Turkish series are currently featured in at least 150 countries around the world, said Şekib Avdagiç, the head of Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO).