Intensive Turkish (20)

In short, my language course in Izmir at the "Turkish Language Center" was a very mixed experience. I enjoyed the stay and was able to improve my Turkish, but there are numerous things in the organization of the lessons and accommodation that urgently need improvement.

I was the only student in the class and therefore received one-on-one instruction. In return, the number of lessons originally agreed upon was reduced by half. I was informed of this beforehand, and it was ok for me.

I was taught by the same teacher for the two weeks; she was friendly and motivated. However, her grammatical explanations were sometimes uncertain. She has no specific training in teaching methodology or in teaching Turkish to non-native speakers. Since I've already completed several language courses and worked as a language teacher as well, it was fine for me, though not ideal.

With the teacher, I essentially worked through various lessons from a workbook that was provided to me in photocopied form. The lessons included reading, speaking, and grammar exercises, but unfortunately, there were no structured listening comprehension exercises (which were certainly included in the textbook). This was due either to the malfunctioning audio equipment in the otherwise well-equipped classroom or to licensing issues with the teaching materials. The reason remained unclear, and my questions during the second week of the course were met with the response, "We'll start the listening comprehension exercises tomorrow," which never really happened—apart, of course, from the discussions during class, which were not always in Turkish but also in English. In quite a few situations, the teacher could have continued to speak to me in Turkish; switching to English is naturally easier for both parties, but not really effective for learning.

The Center / institute is not a language school in the true sense, but rather a facility where various teachers tutor Turkish students (in Mathematics, English, etc.) and also offer Turkish lessons when there is demand. This didn't seem to happen very often so far; much of it felt improvised. Maybe there are any other Turkish teachers besides my highly motivated and friendly one; I didn't encounter any. This is regrettable, as it would naturally have been helpful for learning progress to be taught by different teachers.

The technical and spatial facilities are generally adequate, and the institute's director is very helpful, but he apparently has little experience with the needs and expectations of foreign learners of Turkish.

Accommodation was in an apartment right next to the "Center". I wasn't staying with a family, but with a very friendly retired man living alone, with whom I got along very well. I stayed in a small room that essentially only had space for a bed and a wardrobe, but I could use the bathroom, kitchen, and living room, and do laundry. However, the apartment's cleanliness was borderline acceptable; more discerning guests would certainly have had major issues.

I had booked half-board (breakfast and dinner); my host made it clear from the start that he wasn't responsible for meals, but rather the Center. Accordingly, I consistently ate my breakfast at the language school during the first break. The question of when and where I would have dinner was essentially a daily matter; a few times I had dinner at the language school (sometimes with the director, sometimes alone), at other times dinner was brought to my apartment. On the weekend in the middle of my language course, when the Center was closed, they arranged that my host cooked for me (tastiest meals I had).

Overall, the accommodation was very unsatisfactory in relation to the price I paid (significantly higher than the language course fees). I would like to point out that, according to my host, he received only a very small amount for my accommodation; so I don't blame him for anything, especially since he was very helpful and friendly. The problem lies elsewhere.

I did a two-week intensive course with apartment accommodation.

The school was pretty small and I was the only student in the class. However, this gave me the opportunity to experience one-on-one lessons catered to my level and my interests. Burcun, my teacher, was so kind and motivated, and learning with her was really fun! The director of the school, Emra, provided transportation to and from the airport, coordinated and accompanied me on day trips to Pergamon, the Ottomon Baazar and the Women's Museum.

I stayed in an apartment organized by the school, which was very comfortable and clean, with a kitchen so I could cook my own meals. It was a 20 minute walk from the school, which worked out really well except on the one day it was raining cats and dogs!

All in all it was a great experience, very worth my while, as at the end of two weeks my Turkish level was immensely improved. I really enjoyed my stay and may return to Izmir for more language courses!

Die Schule hat mir sehr gefallen. Die Lehrer wahren bemüht. Der Unterricht wurde spannend gestaltet. Auch für Programm nach dem Unterricht wurde man beraten. Die Unterkunft lag auch sehr nah. Die Dame, die mich für diese Zeit aufgenommen hat, war auch sehr bemüht und freundlich. Sie ist sofort auf alle Bedürfnisse eingegangen.
Das einzige, was vielleicht verbesserungsfähig währe, wenn man eine genauere Beschreibung über die Unterkunft erhalten kann.
Jemand mit Katzenallergie hätte zum Beispiel ein großes Problem gehabt, dar man zu jeder Zeit von mindestens 6 umgeben war.

The instructor was very efficient at communicating with students that had different language skills in different areas.
The facility was very good.

- I did very much like my young teacher, Koray did his utmost best to improve my Turkish and was very inventive and creative, our 3 hours together every day, for two weeks, were a pleasure; no criticism there whatsoever, I look forward to working with him again!!!!

-my lodging I didn’t like: this was not a family that welcomed me, on the paper I got from TLC Yeşim was my guest mother, but I did never see her, I discovered that she didn’t live in Izmir anymore, only her son did (and his sister, but I only saw her after one week); he had to go to work early, in the evening I saw him shortly. The apartment was not very comfortable either. I was lucky to discover an old friend was living in Izmir and I moved to his place after about a week

-I found it strange that the Turkish Language Center did not have class rooms, at least I didn’t see any; the classes did take place on the terrace of a café, most of the time that was ok, every now and then it did get a bit noisy, but the coffee was always good! I didn’t see in those two weeks anybody from the school, except for my teacher, and did certainly not get any proposal for activities.

Although I had just one week, I learned a lot thanks to my experienced and friendly teacher, Koray, who was able to adapt the lessons to my level and interests. He had a wealth of materials - grammar lessons, exercises and stories - to help me fill gaps in my Turkish ability.

The school is well-located and an easy walk to restaurants and the sea, making it a pleasant place to study. For my stay, I am very glad that I chose the host family option. They were open and welcoming, and I learned so much more Turkish staying with them and chatting about everyday life than I could have if I had stayed in a hotel.

Rüya is a great teacher. Studying in Starbucks was surprisingly comfortable and in general I definitely improved my level.
The only downside was the heterogeneity of the class. I think we managed well, but I see how it can interfere.

I studied the Turkish language for two weeks in Izmir and I stayed with a host family. The distance between the school and the house was very comfortable, just two minute walk and it was great. The school has been very responsive and has professional teachers. The learning process is very comfortable, light, friendly and cheerful.
My teacher was very responsive, answered all questions, shared some interesting facts. The lessons were interesting. We talked a lot and I liked it very much because my goal was to practice speaking. But during lesson we learned just a little about grammar. Since my goal was to speak in Turkish and my level of knowledge of grammar is quite high, for me a small amount of grammar was not a big problem. But maybe for other students this information will be useful. But without a doubt I have gained new important knowledge from them.
The family I stayed with was amazing. I actually felt like I was home. They were very cheerful, sociable, kind and hospitable people. I miss this family. We talked a lot, so outside of school I was constantly practicing the Turkish language as well.

In general I was quite happy with the language school. I met very friendly people and made good friends on the way. My teacher was very nice and always happy to help and explain. The school really does its best to estimate your current language ability and to find an appropriate class for you.

Unfortunately my class was very large though which sometimes slowed things down. My classmates often had their own discussions, I guess their motivation wasn't that high because their course was paid for by some scholarship.

I would have liked more listening comprehension, because I think this is some essential part when trying to learn a language. Maybe we had to reach a certain level of understanding before we could go that step.

The atmosphere was always nice and easy going.

The apartment was very good as well, it was close to the school and well-equipped. If one does not mind and wants to spend less money, hostels are a lot cheaper, which a friend of mine did, but either way I was happy with the outcome.