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Anadolu News Agency (Foreigners gain Turkish proficiency certificate through online exam with local and national software)
By introducing the online Turkish Language Exam system project developed with domestic and national software, a reliable exam implementation opportunity is provided to candidayes who learn Turkish as a foreign language all over the world.
Sefa Shahin, 19.10.2021
Ankara
Thanks to the Turkish Language Exam (TDS) system, which measures reading, listening, writing and speaking skills of Turkish language at international standards, more than ten thousand persons have been certified to date.
Mustafa HURMUZLU, the founder of the project, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they have been conducting online education and exams since 2015 within the scope of the project, and that they started developing the software for TDS in 2017.
Noting that they want to develop the project since there is no system in Turkey that measures four language skills at the same exam session, HURMUZLU said that they have done certificate programs with Gazi University in this context.
Explaining that in these programs and studies were carried out on how to prepare and evaluate questions for the online exam, HURMUZLU said:
"100 academics participated in this program and gained certificates. These academics write questions for the exam system. Anda that is why we prepared the TDS Guide. Our guide, which explains how to prepare and evaluate the questions in reading, writing, listening, and speaking language skills, and how the TDS system can be used, has been prepared according to the curriculum provided by the Ministry of National Education and the Maarif Foundation and the international standards. We will distribute the guide to all Turkish Education and Application Centers (TOMER) free of charge."
"We are collaborating with universities"
Stating that they received 5 ISO certificates related to quality and safety standards with the patent of the project and the logo, which symbolically includes the combination of the "Ğ" letter that is only found in Turkish, Hürmuzlü added that they are collebrtiing with Gazi, Hacettepe, Anadolu, Ankara Social Sciences, Yozgat Bozok, Çankırı Karatekin, Tokat, Gaziosmanpasha, Nevshehir Haci Bektash Veli, Antalya Science and Istanbul Gedik universities in this aspect.
HURMUZLU stated that after these universities announces the exam dates at certain periods, applications are received, and then the exams could be held at the exam centers of the universities.
Now we have authorized exam centers in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir in Turkey and in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Iran abroad, HURMUZLU added that:
"We are trying to establish exam centers in countries where there are students who aim to come to study in Turkey. It is enough for us to have an exam center in countries in Europe. With the cooperation with universities, the safety of the exam, the success and quality of the system are increasing. This exam system contributes to the internationalization of Turkey in education. With the agreement we made with an international company, we will be able to use the company's 12 thousand exam centers for TDS. As such, when we announce that we will held the exam in cooperation with a university at any time, this will cause the university to be recognized around the world. When the exam candidates succeed in the exam, they will receive recognized proficiency certificate from universities."
"The exam can be taken using only laptop or desktop computer"
HURMUZLU stated that they developed the security system of TDS exam system during the Covid-19 epidemic and prepared an exam application manual booklet in Turkish, English, Arabic, Persian, Kazakh and Uzbek languages.
Emphasizing that they send the exam application booklet to the students before the exam, HURMUZLU continued stating the following:
"Only laptop and desktop computers can be used to take the online exam. The system's question pool is constantly renewed. A unique single-use exam code is provided for the exam candidate. Before the exam, the candidate's identity is checked, a 360-degree camera view of the exam environment is controlled. The microphone of computer should be on. All precautions are taken to prevent duplication of identity. If the supervisor suspects a condition of the candidate, 'Rotate the laptop or camera 360 degrees in the room, let's see who's there.' "When you take the online exam on the computer, the system itself is completely open on the screen and cannot open another tab. If the candidate opens another tab, the exam is automatically canceled and ended."
"Reading and listening skills are evaluated by the exam system, and writing and speaking skills are evaluated by the teacher"
Referring to the fact that speaking-writing and reading-listening skills are currently measured by different online programs in language exams held in Turkey, HURMUZLU also shared the following information:
"We have developed the Turkish Language Exam system with a local company and national software. TOEFL, IELTS and PTE, which are the equivalents of this exam, are conducted to determine the English language level. TDS is the only exam for Turkish language in Turkey in which the four language skills are measured and evaluated in a single system and in the same exam session. Reading. , listening skill is automatically evaluated by the system during the exam, and writing and speaking question answers are recorded in the system and evaluated by the instructors after the exam. The answer given by each exam participant is evaluated by two separate evaluaters at the relevant exam center. The instructors cannot see which exam candidtate the answer belongs to. Then, the system automatically calculates the average of two separate evaluations. Validity and reliability standrads are kept at high level in the evaluation process."
Announcing that they are currently preparing the second version of the system, HURMUZLU said, "We have added the face recognition application in the new version of the system. This will increase the security more. Since it is domestic software, we can change and develop the system as we wish. We want everyone who learns Turkish as a foreign language to be able to enter TDS and get a recognized and reliable certificate. With the project we started in 2020, ten thousand participants have received certificates so far".
HURMUZLU added that candidates can access detailed information about the exams on TDS® internet address "turkcedilsinavi.com".
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