Job Discussion Forums

[Anitata]

Hello...its me again. I want to learn some Turkish and I live close to Bakırk�y on the European side of Istanbul. Does anyone know any Language center in the area. some information please!!

[Mike_2003]

Hi,

I looked for language courses here for a while about two years ago. I went around a few of the bigger schools but none of them had anything. They used to, but they had shut down the Turkish lessons because there wasn't enough interest. Some of them said they could organize private lessons from one of their teachers but the prices were a bit silly. The closest I could find was Tomer in Taksim. Something might have opened up again since then.

In the end I found a Turkish literature/grammar teacher and got lessons off him and that helped a lot.

Mike

[ghost]

Yeah, T�mer is pretty good and the prices are usually reasonable. I took a one month T�mer course this past summer in Ankara. It was four hours every morning with the same teacher. We were 6 students in the class (and that is the smallest number T�mer accepts for a group course rate). 2 Israelis, one Iranian (who lived in the part of Iran where they speak a Turkic related language), one Bangladeshi and one Quatari.

If you sign up on site the usual price is around 250 U.S. for the one month course (I had to pay 1000 U.S.) because I made the mistake of going through an agent in Canada.

In Ankara (and I assume the same system is used in Istanbul) the Turkish teachers only speak Turkish from day one...that is the policy, and some people find that tough. But your 'ear' does really improve with a one month intensive. Plus you are given loads of homework. At T�mer Ankara the teachers told us we should spend the same amount of time doing homework as class time (i.e. 4 hours), but I found that about one hour per night was sufficient to pass the first level T�mer course.

At T�mer there is a nice blend of grammar, reading and conversation. After about one week you are expected to produce short one page essays in Turkish and if you follow the course this is what you will achieve.

At the end of the course you will be able to hold basic conversations using the present tense. If you do some extra on your own you will also have some past tense and future tense, because you really need those to be more street wise in the language.

One to one tutoring is a rip off as many of the language schools ask you for about 35 U.S. per hour.

[Albulbul]

Check out the ads in the Turkish Daily News.

I regret that I did not learn Turkish when I was younger. When I was a student in Scotland in the 1960's Turkish ws one of the languages on offer at Elementary level. Now that I am senile, tackling a new language from a completely different language group is just too much. If you want to learn a FL do it YOUNG !!!!!!!!!!!!

[ghost]

Yes it is easier to learn languages when you are young but you can learn languages at any age if you are motivated. For example in the Koleji I teach at there are several English teachers (female) from Britain, U.S.A., Holland and they have all learned very decent level Turkish within one year. How did they do it? All of them in this particular case have Turkish husbands and/or partners.

Turkish is a medium level difficult language to learn because of the word order, and system of endings to words etc... but it has the advantage of being easy to pronounce and read once you know all the little rules.

Another example of people learning Turkish well are the foreign football players who play in the Turkish Super League. These players come from countries like Nigeria, Romania, France etc....and most of them operate very well in Turkish within six months. They can function well with directives and express all their needs. Check into the t.v. to hear these sports stars speak in Turkish.

At T�mer Ankara, for example, everyone who takes the course continually for 6 to 8 months would be considered advanced level Turkish students with oral fluency.

People who go in with the mindset that Turkish is difficult and restrict their social time to the company of other 'yabancis' could stay here for years and learn basically very little.

If you want to you can.

[scot47]

Well it is difficult for me becasue I am not in Turkey ! I tried to learn - with a native Turkish speaker - while living in Saudi Arabia. Now I know about the real benefits of "total immersion" !

[dmb]

I agree Scot47. being in Turkey is better. Having been away from turkey for over a year I found it difficult to get back into turkish. However after about a week of being back this summer I was able to converse in Turkish again.