Turkey: 2 new foreign languages to be taught at schools

By Ahmet Sertan Usul

ANKARA

Bulgarian and Ukrainian languages will be taught at schools across Turkey, according to a decree published in the Official Gazette on Wednesday.

The Council of Ministers’ decree announced the two languages will be taught in formal and non-formal education institutions.

In Turkey, English language is already compulsory for the students from the age between seven to 18, while the students can also choose to learn German and French languages.

Meanwhile, the students aged 13-16 can learn languages being spoken in Turkey and neighboring countries, such as the Kurdish dialects Kurmanji and Sorani, Laz, Abkhazian and Georgian.

A total of 40 different languages -- including Arabic, Georgian, Persian and Greek -- are spoken in Turkey, according to language research center SIL International's data.