A Critical Analysis of the 2014 and 2018 High Schools Elt Curricula of Turkey

Abstract

This study explores what new contributions the 2018 ELT curriculum for high schools with no foreign language preparatory classes in Turkey brought by comparing it with the previous ELT curriculum for high schools with no foreign language preparatory classes, namely, the 2014 high school ELT curriculum by utilizing document analysis as a form of qualitative research. Because of word limitation, the ELT curriculum for high schools with foreign language preparatory classes was excluded from the study and only 12th-grade syllabi in both curricula are compared. The result of the analysis indicates that many parts of the theoretical background of the 2018 ELT curriculum for high schools are copied (without citation) from the theoretical background of the 2014 ELT curriculum for high schools. The new contribution in the theoretical background of the 2018 ELT curriculum is observed to be the inclusion of ‘ethics and values education’, which is explained in only half of the page. There is no difference between the two curricula in terms of the treatment of needs analysis, assessment and evaluation and the use of mother tongue in the classroom. Minor revisions are observed in goal and objectives, content (syllabus), approach and method, materials and weekly class hours.