Gönül Sen-Menzel on Turkish Lessons in Cologne – Interview in Milliyet

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This article was published in Turkish. The original text, with a German translation, opens in a new tab in the German section of this website.

Gönül Sen-Menzel has lived in Germany for 35 years and has taught at various schools in the district for years. The author of 14 children’s books says: “As someone who worked at the Turkish Language Association (Türk Dil Kurumu) founded by Atatürk, I have tried to teach our children here pure Turkish.”

Gönül Sen-Menzel regrets that Turkish lessons in schools are being cut and that the number of teachers is falling. She recalls that in Cologne alone, 150 Turkish teachers once came to meetings: “Recently, at a meeting with all foreign-language teachers, there were fifty of us. That shows that Turkish lessons are being abolished.”

How great is the interest in Turkish lessons?

At the primary school where I teach, there are eight classes. For Turkish lessons we combine the children into a few groups, and I teach 14 hours a week. The children’s Turkish is full of mistakes. Some say “gelirkene” instead of “gelirken”. Or they mix both languages and say “pause yapalım” (“let’s take a break”). Many parents already belong to the third generation, and their Turkish isn’t good either. That is why they are not very interested in their children learning Turkish. The fact that the lessons are not compulsory weakens interest further. To make the lessons attractive, I hold reading hours and even teatimes. Of the 50 Turkish children at our school, 49 take part in Turkish lessons.

Aren’t parents and the Germans also called upon to strengthen the children’s interest?

A young person says “I am Turkish”, but his Turkish isn’t good enough. I would also like to appeal to the German authorities: “Don’t abolish Turkish lessons.” If these lessons are cut, all the children will have left is street language, or they will become victims of fanatical organizations.

The interview appeared in the European edition of Milliyet; the exact date has not been preserved on the clipping. Translated from Turkish for senmenzel.com.