The null curriculum in the classroom: The current situation in English language teaching and its reasons

The purpose of this study is to uncover the opinions and experiences of English teachers regarding the null curriculum in English language teaching. Twenty English language teachers who work in secondary schools make up the study group. A qualitative research method that was employed in the study was the case study design. A semi-structured interview form was used to collect the data, and content analysis was used to examine the results. Five themes—achievement, content, educational conditions, testing situations, and stakeholder attitudes—are used to contextualize the findings. Speaking skills were found to be the most neglected curriculum component, followed by writing and listening skills, as a consequence of the analysis of the research findings. According to the research results, the neglect of teaching these skills is caused by insufficient lesson hours, students' readiness levels, crowded classrooms and central exam factors. In addition, it was concluded that there were adaptation problems in the new measurement system that aimed to measure four language skills in an applied way in English lessons, which was put into practice in the 2023-2024 academic year. In this case, attention was drawn to the contradiction between the High School Entrance Exam, which includes multiple-choice questions based on reading skills, and the new applied exam system, which aimed to measure four language skills. It was suggested that the program should be simplified and organized, and that measures should be taken, and regulations should be introduced to eliminate the inconsistency between the education provided and the education desired.