Foreign Language Education and Foreign Language Teacher Training Policies: A Comparison of Türkiye, Singapore, Norway and the Netherlands

This study comparatively examines the primary school foreign language education curricula and English teacher education systems of Türkiye, Singapore, Norway and the Netherlands, and aims to identify the similarities and differences among these countries’ systems. The study seeks to understand the reasons for Türkiye’s low level of foreign language proficiency and draw implications from the practices of countries that achieve success at the international level. The study adopts a comparative education research model. Within the scope of the research, the general comparison criteria used to examine the foreign language education curricula of the selected countries include structure and administration, objectives and learning outcomes, content and curriculum, and assessment and evaluation. The study employs document analysis as a qualitative data collection method, and the data are analyzed using descriptive analysis. The study analyzes the current state of foreign language education and teacher education policies in the selected countries based on their rankings in the 2024 English Proficiency Index (EPI). The findings indicate that the Netherlands introduces foreign language education at the earliest stage, while Norway and the Netherlands provide flexibility in their education curricula. In contrast, Singapore and Türkiye implement centralized education systems. With regard to teacher education, the study finds that all countries except Türkiye allocate significantly more time to teaching practicum courses. Based on the findings obtained from the examined countries, the study develops several recommendations for primary school foreign language education and English teacher education programs in Türkiye, drawing on the education systems of the Netherlands, Singapore, and Norway, which achieve high performance in the EPI. In this respect, the study constitutes a comparative education analysis that contributes to the improvement of foreign language policies.