NÛN Educational Philosophy Our Precision of Language International Understanding Guidance and Psychological Counseling Assessment and Evaluation Value - Based Education

Our Precision of Language

NÛN Schools aims to raise students to transfer their skills gained in their mother tongues to foreign languages, express their knowledge and thoughts in different languages, and develop themselves by using various resources and communication ways while considering their needs and interests as global citizens. Believing that language learning is a set of social actions, our institution raises students who are curious learners of different languages through experience. It accepts all teachers as language teachers and implements the Turkish National Education curriculum within the framework of PYP, MYP and DP. The following principles were prepared by the teachers and shaped by the different opinions of the parents and students: This policy document is reviewed by the school community every year and necessary arrangements are made on it.

Our primary goal in our English language education curriculum, which we have prepared by taking into account the differences and learning characteristics of our students, is to teach our students English as a means of communication. We aim that they gain the skills of doing research in the academic field, accessing different sources, reading books, writing, interpreting what they see, hear and read, expressing themselves in prepared or impromptu dialogues, and thinking critically at the same time attribute the language as a tool and using the language they have learned in their social lives. Besides, knowing a foreign language is the key to opening the doors for our students to become world citizens and interact with cultures. In line with these issues, we have created lesson plans that do not spare extra lessons for grammar. In addition to the written and oral practice activities that will enable our students to gain daily language skills, we supply extra sources to follow in the lesson for academic research and writing skills.

Language of Education

The language of education in our school is Turkish. The second language is used for the inquiry unit of every lesson, except for English, which is created within the framework of the national curriculum for students to create meaning and develop transdisciplinary connections.
Language is an effective tool for expressing feelings, thoughts and experiences and finding the meaning of the world.
Language skills support the development of students in different fields. In each classroom, there are reading corners designed by the students themselves. On the bookshelves in these corners are books by age group that support questioning.
For the inquiry process research, students actively use printed, visual and digital sources in different languages in our library. Resources classified according to PYP, MYP and DP themes enable our students to access information easily during their research processes.
Our school handles media literacy at two points. Our priority is to enable students to access content in the media and to develop their skills in using technology. Secondly, it is to enable them to interpret and evaluate the content presented together with understanding. The aim of the media section of our school library is that students learn different ways of accessing information, make analyses and syntheses, and give importance to academic honesty in the information they reach.

Tablet computers are commonly used in our school, aiming to increase the quality of education, support the learning phase of students, and train individuals who use technology in education efficiently.

Foreign Languages

In addition to Turkish, the language of instruction, English is taught starting from kindergarten. With the belief that every teacher contributes to language teaching, we aim to improve learners' reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills by creating a foreign language learning environment.
In addition to English, Arabic is taught at the middle and high school levels. As part of the IB DP program, our students are introduced to a third foreign language in high school, equipping them with the ability to communicate effectively in different languages and gain a broader understanding of the world.
Various online portals are used in order to contribute to the development of our students' reading, listening, speaking skills.
All our students have online access passwords to the world-famous general culture encyclopedia.
Trilingual board labels are used in every area where student products are displayed to familiarize the school community with different languages and for the foreign language-speaking visitors to our school.
To enable students to see English as a learning tool, bilingual (Turkish-English) education is provided in some branch courses and excursions. Turkish English is combined in science applications and visual arts courses to develop a positive attitude towards language learning and active use of the language.

Assessment and Evaluation in Language Education

The purpose of assessment and evaluation in language education is to determine students' cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills and plan the lesson curriculum accordingly. For this reason, every student take "Readiness Tests" at the beginning of the academic year. Placement tests are applied for English and Arabic courses. Students are placed in classes according to their level and to plan differentiation studies to be carried out throughout the year.
During the process, the development processes of the learners are monitored, and a roadmap is drawn by using various measurement tools (observation form, rubric and checklist). The progress of the students is shared with the parents in the progress reports prepared every quarter.
In our language lessons, a process evaluation and six final evaluation exams are applied to monitor the development of our students' language skills constantly and to provide appropriate support. All these exams are designed to test the development of all the skills of our students.
Our students perform the knowledge and skills they have acquired throughout the year with performances at specified times. Before and after these performances, our students have the opportunity to reflect on the process. Performances also allow our parents to monitor and evaluate the development of the process.

Differentiation in Language Education

Necessary adjustments are made to the instructional program to meet the requirements of students whose native language is not Turkish with the classes.
Considering individual differences, necessary differentiation techniques are applied in the education tools in the classroom content and assessment and evaluation for students who need additional work.