Frequently Asked Questions
School of Foreign Languages

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The test is accepted as a proof of language competence. Therefore, all students who have enrolled in partly or totally English-medium programmes are required to take the test.

The Placement Test can only be conducted on the dates announced in the academic calendar. Therefore it is not possible to take it on a later date.

The system allows a student a maximum of 90 minutes to finish the exam. However, most students generally complete the test in 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Those who achieve a score equivalent to at least B1+ level in the Placement Test are entitled to sit for BULET. If they score 60 in BULET, which is prepared depending on the language level required by the programme they have enrolled in, they will be eligible to start their department. On the other hand, if they score below 60, they need to attend Foreign Language Preparatory Classes at the level determined by their Placement Test Score.

If you have successfully completed the minimum language level required by the undergraduate/associate degree programme you have enrolled in, you are entitled to sit for BULET conducted at the end of Fall Term. If you achieve the required score in BULET, then you will be eligible to start your department. As of Spring Term, you may wish to start the programme you have enrolled in, or continue your language education in a higher language level.

SFL students who meet the criteria to sit for BULET may take the exam up to four times in an academic year: once at the beginning of academic year, and once for each term – fall, spring and summer. However, those who have suspended their studies for the term may not take the test in the relevant term even though they meet the criteria. Those students need to take BULET conducted in the following term.

Those who achieve a score equivalent to at least B1+ level in the Placement Test, and those who attend Foreign Language Preparatory Classes and successfully complete the minimum language level required by the programme they have enrolled in, which may be B1+ (Step-3) or B2 (Step-4) depending on the programme, are entitled to sit for BULET.

If you fail BULET even though you have successfully completed the language level required by the programme you have enrolled in, you will be placed in Proficiency classes in order to study for the next BULET. 

5 weekdays. You are required to attend 24 classes a week in total.

In the double shift education system, at the beginning of the academic year students are placed into the level groups according to their placement test scores and student numbers. Those with student numbers ending in odd numbers are placed into the morning group, while those whit student numbers ending in even numbers are placed into the afternoon group.

The double shift education system means dividing classes into morning and afternoon groups and determining in which groups students are to be assigned to take classes. Morning classes take place between 08:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., while afternoon classes take place between 1:15 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. The class times may change during the summer module.

In the Spring Term, at the beginning of the third module, morning and afternoon groups are switched. Except for this change, no excuses are accepted to change the shift. The double shift education system is not applied in the Russian Preparatory Programme and the evening education of the English Preparatory Programme.

No excuses are accepted to change the shift in the double shift education system.

No.  In the double shift system, uniquely generated student IDs, which are assigned at the registration are used for determining the groups. Thus, it is not possible to swap even if you and your friend are both willing to switch.

Yes. Normally those who have enrolled in an evening education programme are automatically placed in evening education classes regardless of their assigned student number. However, if they wish to continue their education in formal education classes, they may be placed in morning or afternoon classes as long as they submit their request to the Student Registrar’s Office with a petition during the add and drop period, and the Steering Committee approves that request. After this change, they cannot change their shifts again until their education in Preparatory Classes has been completed. In addition, those who have enrolled in an evening education programme may be placed in formal education classes during the summer module (Module 5).

If you have enrolled in a partly or totally English- medium programme, you are required to prove your language competence. Therefore, unless you prove your language level is at least B1+ or B2, depending on the programme you have enrolled in, according to your test scores in the Placement Test and BULET, you are obliged to attend Preparatory Classes.

Acceptable language tests and minimum scores required to be exempted from the Preparatory Class are shown in the Language Test Equivalency Chart below, which is updated by ÖSYM on a regular basis. The test results will be taken into consideration if the validity period defined by the institutions conducted the test is not expired.

Test Score Equivalency Chart

TEST LANGUAGE REQUIRED MINIMUM SCORE/GRADE
Group 1* Group 2**
YDS & E-YDS ENGLISH 75 POINTS 60 POINTS
YDS & E-YDS RUSSIAN 75 POINTS --------------
TOEFL IBT ENGLISH 90 POINTS 72 POINTS
PTE ACADEMIC ENGLISH 75 POINTS 55 POINTS
CPE ENGLISH C GRADE C GRADE
CAE ENGLISH A GRADE C GRADE
YÖK DİL ENGLISH 75 POINTS 60 POINTS
TORFL RUSSIAN 84 POINTS ----------

 

*Group 1: shows the minimum score for exemption for those who have enrolled in Translation and Interpreting (English), English Language and Literature, Translation and Interpreting (Russian), or Applied English and Translation. 

** Group 2: shows the minimum score for exemption for those who have enrolled in an undergraduate/associate degree programme, other than the ones listed in Group 1, where a language other than Turkish is partly or totally used as the medium of instruction. 

Pursuant to the relevant provisions of the School of Foreign Languages Education, Training and Examination Regulation, provided you have continued and completed your secondary education in a secondary school with native students for (at least) the last three years in a country where the mother tongue is the language chosen as the medium of instruction of the programme concerned, you may be declared exempt from the compulsory Preparatory Class    with the Steering Committee’s decision. In such case, you are required to submit the original documents proving this education to the Student Registrar’s Office during the registration period. As a result, you are allowed to start the undergraduate/associate degree programme you have been placed.

As a newly enrolled student, it is possible for you to be exempted from the Preparatory Classes depending on your success and grades taken in the Preparatory Programme of a different higher education institution where the medium of instruction is the same as the one in the current programme. You need to present a language certificate equivalent to the language level required by the programme you have enrolled in, and if the Steering Committee approves it, you may be exempted from Preparatory Classes. However the issue date of the certificate must be within the last three years. If not, then you need to submit documents proving that following the completion of Preparatory Classes, you have taken and successfully completed at least three undergraduate or associate degree courses (other than YÖK compulsory courses) with the medium of instruction in the relevant language within the last year.

Yes. If you take one of the language tests shown in the Language Test Equivalency Chart and get the minimum scores required during the Academic Year, it is possible for you to be exempted from the Preparatory Class.

If you have enrolled in a Turkish-medium programme, you are allowed to register for the English Preparatory Classes upon your request. The education period for certificate students is also one academic year. At the end of the academic year, successful students are granted a Certificate of Achievement and Competence for the level successfully completed.

 

When you apply for a minor or double major in an undergraduate/associate degree  programme  where a language other than Turkish is used partly or totally as the medium of instruction, you are also required to prove your language competence in that language. However, those with a Certificate of Achievement and Competence equivalent to B1+ or B2 level (refer to page 8 for the level required for your programme) are considered competent and do not need to take the Placement Test or BULET when they apply for a minor or double major.

There is no extra tuition fee charged for the Summer Term. If you have not completed the minimum required level, you are allowed to attend the tuition-free classes in Summer Term.

Yes. Each class is assigned with a class advisor and the class advisors have weekly tutorial hours with their students. You can attend the tutorials and get help from your teacher by scheduling an appointment in advance. The tutorial hours will be announced by your advisor at the beginning of each module.

There is no such restriction. It is also possible for you to study with other instructors within their tutorial hours, as long as you inform them in advance.

No. Exams are prepared by the Testing and Assessment Unit and designed to assess the pre-determined learning objectives and outcomes.

In the Foreign Language Preparatory Programme, the exam marking procedure is centrally monitored and supervised by the Testing and Assessment Unit (TAU). In order to avoid marking mistakes, each exam paper is marked separately by two centrally-assigned instructors according to the answer keys and rubrics provided by the Testing and Assessment Unit. The exam results with instructors’ signatures are submitted to the TAU after the marking procedure is completed. These precautions aim to eliminate all possible mistakes including ones that may arise from marking by only one person.

Appeals should be made in writing to the Student Registrar’s Office within 3 (three) working days following the announcement of the exam results. In order to identify the mistakes in fact if there are any, exam papers of the complainant are examined by a commission of 3 people, including a member of the Testing and Assessment Unit. The commission report becomes official after being approved at the first Steering Committee meeting following the appeal and is announced on the automation system.

Yes. There are several Wi-Fi hotspots available on campus. Networks are encrypted, you need to use your student number as your username, and your TR Identity Number to connect to Wi-Fi networks. Foreign students can use the TR Identity Number assigned to them upon registration. If you have any problems regarding the Wi-Fi connection, please contact the IT Department.

No. Use of mobile devices is not allowed in class except for the situations where the instructor finds it necessary.

There are various physical and educational facilities on campus from a library to a sports hall. You can benefit from these facilities for free and make use of your time on campus well.