WASHINGTON
A foreign language training scholarship program conducted by the US Department of State includes Turkish among languages that the department considers "critical" and gives financial support to their learners.
"American students are highly interested in learning the Turkish language because Turkey has a rich history and culture and it is a regional power and a global player," Meghann Curtis, deputy assistant secretary of state for Academic Programs at the US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, told the Anadolu Agency.
Curtis said the Critical Languages Scholarship Program includes Arabic, Azeri, Bengalese, Chinese, Indian, Korean, Indonesian, Japanese, Persian, Urdu, Russian and Punjabi languages, adding that the department offered scholarships for students who were willing to learn languages in their respective countries.
Curtis said 60 out of 631 American students were set to take part in the Turkey leg of the program this year and spend eight weeks in Ankara, the capital, Izmir and Bursa to attend courses at a language learning center for foreigners.
