Learning Turkish
Do you want to finally become fluent in Turkish and feel like a local in countries and regions where Turkish is spoken? Find below a summary of my top recommendations for tools and resources that will help you learn Turkish. I've personally tried and tested all of them and selected the ones that I found to be most effective, user-friendly, and fun. Mix and match them, and use 3 or 4 of them interchangeably to keep your motivation high and your attention span focused.
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This is my #1 recommendation for anyone starting to learn Turkish or trying to improve their listening and pronunciation skills. The 30-minute lessons are easy to fit into your schedule, and they do wonders for pronunciation and speaking skills!
Effectiveness: *****
Easy-to-use: *****
Cost: $
Learning a language successfully is impossible without interacting with native speakers and getting lots of speaking practice. This app gives you access to thousands of professional and community teachers, and you can book private online courses with them for as little as US$ 5 an hour!
Effectiveness: ****
Easy-to-use: ****
Cost: $
This is my favorite app to train my memory and retain vocabulary in Italian. It uses spaced repetition system to help you remember words and phrases more effectively. It also has a great game-like interface, making this app a fun and exciting pass-time. And you can complete a session in as little as 5 minutes, making it very easy to practice your Turkish on a break or during a commute.
Effectiveness: *****
Easy-to-use: ****
Cost: $$$
This website and app have great short 10-15 minute videos and podcasts with lessons from beginner to advanced levels, flashcards, dialogues, grammar break-down, and vocab lists. Premium plans give access to a tutor for accountability and faster progress.
Effectiveness: ****
Easy-to-use: ****
Cost: $$
This online course has the most impressive innovative way to teach you Turkish through immersion into an addictive and super-fun story. Rather than following a standard curriculum of grammar, sample dialogues, etc., the teaching happens by engaging you in a creative story context, and it's surprisingly effective! Although access to this course is on the pricier side, it's one of the best investments you can make to help you learn Turkish, and it's totally worth it.
Effectiveness: *****
Easy-to-use: ****
Cost: $$$
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This fun app helps you learn languages with short stories, audiobooks, and music. It shows texts in two languages, side by side, so you can compare the two and learn the language in context. And all texts have audio narration! The texts go from fairy tales and news to science papers and novels, and new ones are added every week. You can listen to a native speaker narrate at your preferred speed (even with your phone locked or while offline) and take tests to assess your comprehension.
Effectiveness: ****
Easy-to-use: ****
Cost: $
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Mondly is a fun game-style app that teaches you vocabulary through core words and phrases. The app breaks the learning process down into short lessons and puts them into themed packs. It has great visuals and is easy to use if your schedule is too busy for more structured or intensive courses.
Effectiveness: ***
Easy-to-use: ****
Cost: $
Glossika helps to learn Turkish patterns and speak Turkish naturally. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced language learner, Glossika's audio-based training improves your listening and speaking at native speed. It helps you acquire Turkish Grammar and vocabulary through complete sentences.
Effectiveness: ****
Easy-to-use: ***
Cost: $
This very thorough video course from Turkishle is designed for learners at most levels. It offers a lot of content designed to help students read, write and understand Turkish. Their videos include Russian for tourists, a comprehensive assessment of various everyday situations, and lots of cultural insights! Turkishle also has a comprehensive and very good paid course for beginners on their website.
Effectiveness: ***
Easy-to-use: ****
Cost: -
In this excellent podcast, the hosts chat about the Turkish language, its grammar, and how it's spoken in everyday life. The hosts are Turkish learners, Turkish teachers, and Turkish people themselves - so they understand what it takes to get a grip on this amazing language. There's something there for every Turkish learner: the difficulty level of each lesson rotates between four levels, from absolute beginner to advanced, and there are over one hundred and thirty episodes.
The podcast is completely free.
Effectiveness: *****
Easy-to-use: ***
Cost: -
