Job Discussion Forums

[nimra_ghalat]

With the exception of Ghost's comments on a TOMER course in Antalya, which quickly devolved into the usual chaos, I don't see many postings on people's experiences in Turkish language courses in Turkey.

Does anyone have any comments about TOMER and other formal Turkish instruction? What teaching methods were used? How would it compare to an informed EFL instructor's class? Any use of TPR or other non-traditional methods? What places would you recommend? Inquiring minds want to know.

[richard ame]

Hi
I have to say that the poster you mentioned did not have a happy time at TOMER,it may have had something to do with the fact he paid a lot more for his course than others have in the past ,including myself . The trick really is to get on a day course with about 6-10 people and then you have got a fair chance of picking it up more quickly . Forget any of those teaching methods you mentioned it just doesn't happen here ,basically they are Grammar teachers not language teachers ,after almost 10 years here I have yet to find someone who can teach Turkish as a language instead of a set of rules and structures and bang on about vowel harmony and prefixes,suffixes,correct pronunciation,etc,etc, maybe one day a wise one will crack this code . Thats why my Turkish is still crap after all this time,or maybe I'm crap as one certain poster once suggested .

[ghost]

This poster studied Turkish at Tomer for two months (one month at the Ankara/kizilay branch, and the second month at the Antalya branch).

Yes - there were some problems in Antalya, mainly due to the fact that one teacher (a new teacher of 22 years) was too fast in her explanations and gave us (the students) precious little time to assimilate and practice the grammar rules. Furthermore the teacher had an attitude problem and would berate students.

In defence of Tomer - they do provide you with very good fundamentals in the Turkish language. You will learn all the rules ad. nauseum, and this will really help you if you are able to practice the language outside of class in your spare time.

Turkish - being a language so unlike any of the languages we are familiar with (for example the Romance languages) - you really do need formal grammar lessons to get to grip with the language. In the two months at Tomer (4 hours a day, 5 days a week) you will cover the present tense, past tense and future tense, and just from that base things will really begin to click. Yes - you will learn about vowel harmony, and at the end of the day will recognize that all the rules make sense and are logical and beneficial.

If you do not take formal lessons, you stand little chance of picking up the language....you will swim against a strong current. And unless you are cognizant of the rules, the language will remain more esoteric than practical.

Proof of all the above? Just look at some of the English Teachers who have been in Turkey for years but who elected not to invest in a course. These people remain (in their vast majority) at a low level in the language.
People who study at Tomer reach a level in Turkish which other teachers can not aspire to reach, even living in the country for years. If you study at Tomer for 8 months and pass each course level exam (after each month) you will reach fluency at the end of the 8 months. You will be way ahead of all the lazy folks who have been in Turkey for years but elect not to take the course.

In the worst case scenario if you do not have much time, then you can invest in the two month Tomer course (two times one month, Temel 1 and 2). You will become proficient in the language within two months and be able to express all your current needs and make simple conversations with correct grammar Turkish...and that is the key. Even the basic one month course will put you way ahead of those teachers who just live in Turkey (even for years). In a word it is well worth the investment. Most of us are too lazy for self study, and Tomer puts you on the scene day after day because rules are spelt out and then you are quizzed in class in front of the other students.

From Barcelona, Catalunya...

[Mike_2003]

Just buy "Teach Yourself Turkish" for about $15 and learn the rules. Then read newspapers, watch TV and talk to people. I'm one of those "lazy folks who have been in Turkey for years but elect not to take the course" and I can probably say I've reached upper-intermediate level without much effort.

Turkish isn't a difficult language. It has real rules, phonetic pron., easy tenses, and not a lot of slang. The main problem for learners is simply that they haven't come accross a language like Turkish before. You have to get used to a new way of thinking to really get to grips with it. But having done so, not only will it make your stay in Turkey easier, but it will help you a lot to understand the errors Turks make when learning English and allow you to plan your lessons accordingly.

[nimra_ghalat]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not looking to learn Turkish myself (biliyorum zaten), I just wanted to find out how it was taught in Turkey. I'm specifically interested in TPR and whether anyone uses it to teach Turkish.

Here is a link for those interested in finding places to learn Turkish: http://www.princeton.edu/~ehgilson/TurkishStudy.htm

The best advice I've seen on how to learn Turkish has to be the following:

"The learners must be forced to memorize all affixes of Turkish, in addition to the root forms. The roots and affixes must gush out of the mouth of every student automatically, without further thought and like scattering sparks. Because they will not have time for long thinking sessions when they speak�"

JAN CIOPINSKI, "Methods of Learning and Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language"