A new report prepared by the British Council and the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV) examining English-language education among higher education institutions in Turkey was published yesterday."The State of English in Higher Education in Turkey: A Baseline Study" revealed that universities teaching in English in Turkey have trouble matching the needs of students with the curricula. At the event held to present the findings on Wednesday, Richard Moore, the British ambassador to Ankara, emphasized the importance of learning new languages. He stressed that enhancing English competence is significant if Turkey is to reach its national objectives for 2023. Yekta Saraç, head of the Higher Education Council (YÖK) in Turkey, also attended the event, and said higher education in the country must increase in both quality and quantity.The study included participants from 38 universities in 15 cities throughout Turkey. The report, based on more than 400 teacher and 4,300 student surveys, 65 observed lessons, focus groups with more than 350 participating teachers and more than 72 interviews with senior managers, provides both strengths and challenges faced by teachers and students of English in higher education institutions. The report indicated that the mismatch between student's needs and the curricula in English learning decreases motivation for both teachers and students.The report underlined that the curriculum must be altered from general purpose English to general purpose academic English.As a result of a previous study done by TEPAV and the British Council titled "Turkey National Needs Assessment of State School English Language Teaching," Moore said a task force concerning teaching has been established between Turkey and the U.K. by request of the National Education Ministry. Moore emphasized that since English is the most prominent language used in trade and investment, enhancing English proficiency in Turkey would allow the country to achieve its economic goals for 2023.