AATT Roundtable at MESA 2023

"Teaching Turkish in North America on the Centennial of the Republic"

Friday, November 3 at 4:00 pm

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ROUNDTABLE DESCRIPTION
As the year 2023 marks the centennial of the Turkish Republic, this panel will bring scholars together to look back at the history of teaching of Turkish in North America and discuss the stages that the field has gone through particularly during the last four decades. Without doubt, the teaching of Turkish and other Turkic languages has its roots way before. It is known that at least since the production of the first comprehensive encyclopaedic dictionary (i.e. the Diwan Lughat al-Turk by Mahmud al-Kashgari, completed in 1074), Turkish has been taught and learned in various settings. Due to the changing demands and needs of the world during the last century, the teaching of Turkish has gained impetus. With respect to the teaching of this language in North America, the foundation of the American Association of Teachers of Turkish in 1985 was a particularly significant turning point. Soon after its establishment, the Cold War ended; and in 1993, the organization changed its name to “the American Association of Teachers of Turkic Languages” to embrace the other members of the Turkic language family. A more recent major milestone has been the COVID-19 pandemic, as a result of which the online and hybrid modes of teaching of Turkish have gained momentum. The papers in this panel will analyze the past and current challenges that our field has encountered, as well as our collective achievements. The panel presenters will also discuss changes in teaching practices, methods, and pedagogies over time. In addition to reflecting on the past, the members of this panel will provide a critical analysis of current issues and identify main priorities for the future. Overall, the papers will present a picture of the development of the teaching of Turkish in the US and in Canada. Such a critical review is crucial for our field to document its progression and provide continuity through experience-sharing.

 

PARTICIPANTS
Saadet Ebru Ergul -- AATT President
Dr. Roberta Micallef -- Presenter
Dr. Jeannette E. Okur -- Presenter
Dr. Veysel Simsek -- Chair
Dr. Gozde Mercan -- Organizer, Presenter

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Click here for AATT's Roundtable at MESA 2022.