FOREIGN
At the Middle School Foreign Languages Department, we aim to ensure that students make effective use of English and, as a second foreign language, Spanish, that they are able to continue to develop their oral and written skills during the lifelong learning process, and that they become good communicators and well-balanced individuals. Our most important objective is to bring up open-minded citizens of the world who know and respect other cultures without forgetting their own.
The language programmes which we have developed draw both on the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Together with the textbooks, digital reading platforms and graded stories and novels used at all levels, they are planned in such a way as to support the students in developing their reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. Our academic staff includes teachers from different countries who take classes at all levels, making it possible for our students to perceive English and Spanish as global languages, and to communicate with different cultures, first hand.
The fifth grade at our school is a preparation year during which eighteen hours of English and two hours of Spanish are taught every week. The programme has been designed in the form of a Main Course, which encompasses all the skills, a Reading Class to improve reading skills, a separate Writing Class for writing skills, and a Speaking Class for oral skills.
In sixth grade, ten hours of English is taught every week. Besides the Main Course, which encompasses all the skills, there is a Skills Class, which concentrates mainly on reading and writing skills, and a Grammar Class about grammar. Two hours of Spanish is taught every week.
In the seventh grade, English is taught for nine hours a week. This includes the Main Course and a Skills Class concentrating mostly on reading and writing skills. Two hours of Spanish is taught every week.
In the eighth grade, eight hours of English is taught every week. In addition to the Main Course, which encompasses all the skills, there is a Skills Class, which concentrates mainly on reading and writing skills, and a Transition-from-Basic-Education-to-Secondary-Education (TEOG) English Course. Two hours of Spanish is taught every week.
The students have the opportunity to develop their language skills not only by entering international examinations but through club activities such as the Junior Model United Nations (JMUN), the Future Problem Solving Program International, the International Schools Theatre Association (ISTA) English-language theatre festivals, and the TEDX Public Speaking Club. In Spanish, there are also club activities and the students take part in competitions. The student portfolio presentations at the end of each year are conducted in Turkish, English and Spanish. The various performances that are organised in the context of programmes for the celebration and commemoration of important days also support the students’ language skills.
