Do we have to learn a foreign language?

Compilation

Abstract

We all know that people always want to learn at least one foreign language in life for various reasons. Such a wish of course is that of normally an educated person, who nearly considers himself an intelligent to an extent. In Turkey, partly due to the Islam, as major religion, and partly the mentality of being the subjects of the monarch sultans for long years during the Ottoman empire, which was not so easy to eradicate despite the reforms of the republic, there is not a tradition of and a disposition to learning foreign languages. One of the ideals and aims of Atatürk, the great founder president, was to send talented students to Europe to learn the modern international languages, science and administration to take place in the staff of the institutions of the young republic. Unfortunately, even at present, there is not any national and well-thought-out policy to follow in terms of learning and teaching of foreign languages in Turkey.