(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Preparations have begun for Australian schools to begin offering Turkish language tuition to students from 2016 as part of the national curriculum.
From next year, students at public schools all over the country will be able to choose from Chinese, Italian, Arabic, French, German, Hindu, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Greek, Spanish Vietnamese, and now Turkish.
An agreement was reached in 2011 to offer the language following intensive efforts by the country's 60,000-strong Turkish community.
This week, the President of the Turkish Teachers Association in the state of Victoria, Yasar Duyal, called the decision "very important for pupils as well as for the future of the Turkish community."
"Indeed, the work does not end here, now it starts," he said, adding that he hoped that the lessons would raise the profile of Turks in Australia.
From 2016, the language will be offered to students from first grade primary to first grade high school level.
Duyal said that he hopes that outside of those of Turkish extraction living in the country, he also hoped other pupils would take up the language.
But he underlined its importance to Turks living in Australia
"If we do not protect the language, if we do not teach to our children, what will happen in the future?" he asked. "We would lose the Turkish language as well as our identity."
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.