The aim of the study is to examine the language and cultural competencies of students attending Turkish and Turkish Culture courses in Belgium and to reveal the views of Turkish and Turkish Culture teachers on these competencies. In this study, a case study from qualitative research methods was used. The study group of the research was determined by affinity sampling method, one of the purposeful sampling methods. The sample of the study consisted of 11 Turkish and Turkish Culture teachers with different levels of age and professional experience (in years) working in Belgium. A semi‐structured interview form was preferred as a data collection tool. The form consisted of open‐ended questions to analyze how effective the teaching process is in contributing to the language and cultural competencies of the students. Content analysis method was preferred for data analysis. As a result, it is seen that Turkish and Turkish Culture courses are an important carrier of cultural heritage for the Turkish community in Belgium in strengthening cultural ties as well as language proficiency. Teachers stated that students were successful in using Turkish in daily spoken language, but had difficulties in written expression and reading comprehension skills. However, some teachers reported that students' interest in the program was sometimes low, that the duration of the lessons was insufficient, and that students needed more guidance in some subjects.

We present a retrospective comparative study on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on secondary teachers’ perceptions of their online lessons and of teacher buoyancy, in a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) international school in the Netherlands. The research used an online questionnaire including closed and open-ended questions. This was distributed to the teaching staff in May 2023, two years after the end of the pandemic. The results include a descriptive analysis of qualitative data on teaching online and for teacher perception of buoyancy. By applying also the chi-square test of independence, we investigated the impact of the campus closure and remote learning on “years of teaching experience” and the perception of their “confidence in the use of technology”. Our results showed that: a) teachers reporting “confidence in the use of technology” were more able to navigate remote learning successfully, and b) teachers with fewer “years of teaching experience” required additional support on innovative teaching methodologies and student engagement to better cope with unexpected circumstances such as those experienced during calamities like the COVID-19 pandemic.