Implementing the European language passport standards into the advanced reading course at the elt department,Gazi University

This thesis aims at developing a syllabus for the Advanced Reading course at GaziUniversity English Language Teaching Department according to the standards defined in`European Language Passport? which is designed by the Council of Europe.Turkey has been a member of the Council of Europe and now is a candidate memberof the European Union. As a result, the education system in Turkey has been underreconstruction; the Ministry of Education and Council of Higher Education are offeringcertain changes and reforms in the current curricula, including primary, secondary and alsohigher education curricula. As for Foreign Language Education, the definitions in theCommon European Framework of Reference for Languages are taken into consideration sothat language teaching policies in Turkey will be parallel to those of other European countries.Considering these latest trends, the standards defined in the Common European Frameworkshould be implemented in the syllabuses of foreign language teaching in education faculties.In order to achieve this, the present syllabus for the Advanced Reading course is re-designed. First a checklist was prepared so as to determine the topics that the students areinterested in. Then a 12-unit syllabus is designed according to the scales offered by the CEF.While designing the syllabus, language strategies were treated as a major concern togetherwith tasks and text types. Communicative tasks were designed, for reading skill should beintegrated with speaking, listening and writing skills.Key words: Common European Framework, teacher training, teacher education, reading skill,syllabus design.