School of Foreign Languages

Hello, I am Prof. Dr. Murat YURDAKUL, the director of the School of Foreign Languages at Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University. The School of Foreign Languages started providing education in 2016, but was transformed into a directorate in 2019. Currently, we carry out our academic activities with two main academic departments, the Department of Foreign Languages and the Department of Translation and Interpreting. The School of Foreign Languages runs an optional preparatory program within our university and accepts students from all departments in twenty-person classes. The optional English preparatory program at our university is shaped by students' preferences during registration after the exam results are announced. One of our biggest advantages as Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University is that we have enrolled all students who wanted to attend the preparatory program since our establishment. Therefore, we carry out our educational activities with a team of experts in twenty-person classrooms. We have a total of seventeen instructors, including one teaching in the Arabic department and one in the German department. The School of Foreign Languages has 25 classrooms and we conduct our educational activities in our own building. Perhaps the biggest advantage of the School of Foreign Languages at Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University is that we have a young academic staff. We have 17 instructors, four of whom have completed their doctorates and six who are currently pursuing doctorates. We offer an important preparatory program for graduates of Turkey's distinguished universities within our School of Foreign Languages.
The preparatory program we offer in the School of Foreign Languages is a 616-hour program designed to improve students' foreign language proficiency. This program, which is offered in two departments in the fall and spring semesters, is evaluated with exams that we give at the end of each term to students who take the foreign language preparatory program, and they are considered either successful or unsuccessful. Of course, the biggest difference between optional preparatory programs and other preparatory programs is that if the students fail, which is a very low probability, they can continue from where they left off in their program. If they are successful, we give them a certificate indicating that they have successfully completed the English preparatory program. Students with an average score of 60 or above on the exams we conduct at the end of the program are considered successful. Of course, fulfilling the attendance requirement is also one of the criterias, just like in all our university programs. The success criterion related to attendance in the foreign language preparatory program is also set at 85%. My biggest recommendation for students who choose Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University is to definitely participate in the preparatory program. In the 21st century, it is quite important to learn English or another foreign language. Therefore, a student who studies in the preparatory program will have reached a certain level of English proficiency after taking our 616-hour program in two semesters. What will this proficiency provide them? They will have no problem accessing academic knowledge, listening to and understanding any topic they want to follow in their field, and speaking about that topic. One of the biggest benefits of the preparatory program, and perhaps one of the things that students prefer the most, is that our students can benefit from exchange programs abroad. Our success rate is quite high in international exchange programs, provided that they meet the conditions of the relevant program. So, a student who successfully completes the preparatory program at Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University School of Foreign Languages can benefit from international exchange programs as much as possible. In addition to that, foreign language proficiency is also important for our students who consider an academic career. Because at the very beginning of an academic career, there are exams that question their foreign language proficiency, and the success rate in those exams is quite high. Another advantage of completing the School of Foreign Languages preparatory program is that it actually trains individuals with international work experience. As it is known, language proficiency is one of the prerequisites for making any international job application. Our students make very good use of these opportunities. With their foreign language skills, they take on important tasks in international arenas. I wish success to all students who will take the university entrance exam. Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University has opened its doors to you with all its facilities. We are waiting for all of you at our university. Good luck to all of you.