Do admission requirements matter? A comparison of the requirements for admission to the ELT programs in the Netherlands and Turkey

Abstract

Qualifications of language teachers affect their students' language development and proficiency. Turkish learners' low performance in international English proficiency indices requires an investigation of the qualifications of language teachers from a critical point of view. Without doubt, one of the crucial qualifications that language teachers need to possess is a high proficiency and competency in the target language. However, graduating from different programs in high schools, students are placed in English language teaching (ELT) programs with limited English proficiency. Considering the success of the Netherlands as the top country in international English proficiency indices, this study aims to find the admission requirements of the ELT programs in the Netherlands, to compare them with the ones in Turkey, and to suggest comprehensive admission requirements for ELT programs in Turkey. In this regard, a document analysis merging a detailed analysis of information regarding the admission requirements of the ELT programs in both countries and national and international statistics was conducted. Consequently, some recommendations regarding the likely changes to be made in the admission requirements to the ELT programs in Turkey are made.