Idaho State University lands Turkish scholar as Fulbright Teaching Assistant; will offer Turkish language courses

Because it has received a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FTLA) in Turkish, Idaho State University will offer Turkish language classes during the 2010-11 academic year.

The new ISU Fulbright teaching assistant is Sebnem Kurt, from Kirklareli, Turkey, who is currently a university instructor at Akdeniz University in Antalya. She has been teaching English Language Training there for the last three years.

“My goal in this profession is to be the teacher of teachers, that is to be a teacher trainer,” Kurt said. “I want to have an influence on future teachers of Turkey just like my teachers at the university had on me.”

Her arrival this summer will allow Idaho State University to offer Turkish Language classes in the fall, LANG199 (Section I), “Elementary Turkish I,” and offer LANG199 (Section II), “Elementary Turkish II” in the spring. These classes are open for registration and fulfill Idaho State University Goal 10B requirements.

“Sebnem’s Fulbright teaching assistantship is not only a wonderful opportunity for her, but it brings an outstanding opportunity to Idaho State University students to study a Fulbright Strategic Language.  Students interested in a Fulbright to Turkey would be eligible to apply after taking a full year of Elementary Turkish at ISU,” said Sharon Sieber, ISU professor of Spanish and ISU Campus Fulbright Program Advisor.  There are about 25 languages worldwide Fulbright has categorized as strategic.

Kurt said she is excited about the prospect of her Fulbright award, which will help her improve not only her English, but also her teaching skills.

“By being an FLTA, I believe I will be able to gain several different views in teaching as a result of working in a different atmosphere within a different atmosphere with different students from a range of cultures, countries and ethnic groups,” Kurt writes in her application. “What is more, I will be able to interact with several teachers from all around the world, which will provide me not only the opportunity to share ideas in broader context but also the chance to get feedback for my teaching.”

Kurt stated that the courses she is interested in studying in the United States include comparative literature, world languages and cultures, and teaching and learning. Her other interests include volleyball, salsa and merengue dancing, and theatre.

Other languages in the Fulbright strategic category include Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Dari, Gujurati, Hausa, Hindi/Urdu, Indonesian, Japanese, Kazakh, Kiswahili, Korean, Krygyz, Malay, Mongolian, Pashtu, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Tagalog, Tajik, Thai, Uzbek, Wolof and Yoruba.

Countries participating in the program are Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Mongolia, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine Territories, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Korea, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Yemen.

For more information on the ISU Fulbright programs, contact Sieber at siebshar@isu.edu.

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 About Idaho State University

Idaho State University, a Carnegie-classified doctoral research institution founded in 1901, educates approximately 15,000 students per year in more than 280 programs. It is Idaho’s lead institution in health professions and medical education. Its seven colleges engage in a broad range of innovative research, teaching, and learning in the natural and physical sciences, humanities, performing and visual arts, education, engineering, business, pharmacy, and technology. Visit ISU today at www.isu.edu.