Student Testimonials

Ich habe schon dreimal an einem Türkischkurs bei Eye Turkish Language Center teilgenommen. Es war immer eine tolle und wiederrum auch unterschiedliche Erfahrung. Angefangen hat immer alles mit Herrn Sentürk in Frankfurt, der sich um die Organisation kümmert. Herr Sentürk war immer erreichbar, hat meine E-Mails schnell beantwortet und war mir bei der Planung des Kurses sehr hilfreich. Zweimal war ich in Izmir und hatte als Lehrerin Tugce. Da ich selber Lehrerin bin, kann ich ziemlich gut Kompetenzen und Fähigkeiten anderer Lehrer einschätzen. Tugce war von allen Lehrern, die ich sowohl in Deutschland als auch in der Türkei hatte, die beste. Ich habe sie immer verstanden, auch als ich unter dem A2-Niveau war. Sie spricht klar, deutlich und benutzt den Wortschatz, der dem jeweiligen Niveau entspricht. Meinen letzten Kurs hatte ich dieses Jahr, 2021, im August in Istanbul. Meine Lehrerin war Nurcan. Wenn Sie zum ersten Mal in der Türkei sind, kein oder wenig Türkisch sprechen, sich in Instanbul gar nicht auskennen, dann brauchen Sie Nurcan als Ihre Lehrerin. Sie ist eine ausgesprochen warme, freundliche, nette und hilfsbereite Person, die keine Mühe scheut, Ihnen zu helfen, egal um was es geht. Nurcan hat sich um meine Istanbul Card gekümmert, mir hilfreiche Tipps für Ausflüge gegeben, mir geholfen Geld zu wechseln. Sie ist sogar so weit gegangen, dass sie einen Fernsehsender angerufen hat, um sich für mich nach einer türkischen Serie zu erkundigen. Es gab kein einziges Problem, bei dem sie nicht geholfen hat. Aus allen diesen Gründen kann ich das Eye Turkish Language Center nur vom ganzen Herzen empfehlen.

Mirna

What come first in your mind when you think about your language course in Izmir?

I want to come back to Izmir very much. I would like to continue a Turkish course at the Turkish Language Center.

It was really excellent Turkish language course. I learned a lot. The teacher was really great. The course was really intensive (30h/week) and every day we had a lot of work after our class – it was pretty good because I could see my progress day by day. I loved the course a lot. It was also really great that I could stay with a genuine Turkish family who only spoke Turkish to me. It was very good for my Turkish, really. I loved Izmir very much.

How was the course location Izmir?

Best language school and marvellous location in Karsiyaka, next  to Bostanli.

The language school?

As above. The location was very good.

What was different in the course, compared to Turkish lessons, e.g. At the university / school or private lessons in your country ?

The teacher was Turkish, all the students were foreigners and the Turkish course was teaching in English. It was very good for me. The course was very intensive.

From which countries did the other students come from?

Germany, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Poland, Great Britain

Was it easy to get into conversation with locals and other students?

Yes

What did you do after the Turkish course?

I was working a lot – studying school materials. Every day we had a lot new words do remember and many exercises to do (ödev). After school I was sightseeing Izmir with my school friends, going to restaurants and pubs, by the see and to the harbour. On weekends I and my school friend went to Yeni Foca and Eski Foca to take a rest, swim and tan.

Where and how was your accommodation?

My accommodation was really not very comfortable but the hosting family was really very nice, friendly and helpful. The family only spoke Turkish to me and it was really very good for me. I learned a lot Turkish words from my hosting family. The location of the house in Bostanli was pretty good.

Do you have an tips for others interested in Izmir and the language school?

Ask for an accommodation with the air condition because there is really very very hot in Izmir in the summer. Bostanli is a beautiful place to stay, metro and ferry are very very helpful means of transport. The city transport is very good. People in Izmir are very firendly and helpful.

2 weken Izmir in september 2015. 2 weken op de taalschool. Ik was een beginner en heb er erg veel geleerd. Ik sprak daarvoor een paar woordjes, ik kon iemand groeten en tot 10 tellen. Maar als iemand antwoord gaf wist ik het al niet meer….

In die 2 weken heb ik erg veel geleerd. Het ging in een redelijk hoog tempo. Maar daardoor moesten we al snel in het Turks gaan praten over onszelf. De lerares vroeg ook altijd wat we gisteren hadden gedaan en wat we hadden gegeten bijvoorbeeld. Goede oefeningen. De lessen waren erg afwisselend van grammatica, woorden, gewoontes en door veel oefeningen en af en toe een spel leerde ik veel. Maandag t/m vrijdag was er les van 9 tot 15u. Met 2 pauzes. In de pauzes ging in lunchen bij een klein tentje om de hoek. De baas van dat tentje hielp altijd met huiswerk. Na school liep ik naar mijn hostfamily en ging daar huiswerk maken. Vervolgens eten om 19u en daarna eigenlijk iedere avond een heerlijke wandeling maken langs het water. Buiten school had ik weinig contact met klasgenoten, maar hier heb ik bewust voor gekozen omdat ik er echt ben om de taal te leren en voor mezelf wat tot rust te komen. En dat kwam ik zeker door iedere avond langs het water uit te waaien. Op zondagen bezocht ik een kerk in Izmir, een internationale kerk, waar ik me zeer welkom voelde. Mijn ‘gastmoeder’ was erg lief. Ze sprak geen Engels, maar na veel proberen en veel geduld konden we op den duur iets communiceren. Ze heeft altijd heerlijk voor mijn eten en drinken gezorgd. Na die 2 weken ben ik naar een voor mij bekende familie dichtbij Konya geweest.

Voorheen sprak ik weleens met hun met een tolk en nu kon ik zelf een paar woorden wisselen. Vervolgens in NL ben ik verder gegaan met Turks aan de volksuniversiteit. Maar dit gaat lang zo snel niet als in Izmir. Daarom hoop ik maart 2016 DV weer terug te gaan naar Izmir. Ik hoop ook dezelfde hostfamily.

Paris’den Merhaba! I want to thank You for the good week I spend trying to learn Turkish. Tugçe was a very clever teacher, and also kind, attentive, I liked her very much and I wish youtell her my best thanks. The first Teacher that I had one day was also kind and handsome but I knew her only one day, I think her name was Jasemine? I wish you coudl have such excellent turkish school in Paris! Tese kür ederim, best regards Michèle T.

Dear Mehmet & TLC Team, sorry for delaying. I could not find the box where I can register my comment.

My time at Turkish Languge Center as a beginner student was really useful, indeed I improved my knowledge of Turkish thanks to my professional teacher. The school director was always kind and available and gave me all the information and the details I asked for her.

The accommodation was absolutely comfortable and very well equipped. During my study-holiday I could also visit Izmir, which is enchanting and attractive, Selcuk and the impressive ruins of Ephesus. Every day I used to walk along the relaxing “Kordon” next to the sea, where people go jogging, do gym or just look at the waves and the horizon.

I hope I will come back to Izmir soon: Turkish Language Center, kind people and lovely city.

My best regards. Silvia B. from Italy

This is my comment about my experience at the Turkish Language Centre.

I did a one week one-to-one Turkish course at the Turkish Language Centre in Izmir and was very happy with the course. My daughter is living in Turkey which is the reason why I am learning Turkish. Although I have been to Turkish evening classes in England they were very much geared to grammar points and translating written pieces from one language to the other.

My course at TLC concentrated on spoken Turkish which was exactly what I wanted. I stayed with a Turkish family about 2 minutes walk from the school. This was also good for my spoken Turkish. Regards Peter.

My experience with the Turkish Language Center was both, challenging and enjoyable.

I am the daughter of a turkish father and a german mother. But because I grew up in Germany and my father spoke only german to me, I never learnt to speak turkish. Before going to the Language school I already attended a few turkish courses but still was not able to hold a very simple conversation. So I went to TLC for four weeks with the attention of learning to speak and to be able to get along in the turkish life and not to struggle with the simplest conversations, e.g. in the supermarket.

TLC is located in Izmir. It is a beautiful city directly at the sea. The neighbourhood where it is located (Atakent) is not very touristy and so most of the local turkish did not speak english at all! That was very helpfull as you have to communicate in turkish. I stayed in the apartment and it was very basic but nice overall. The school is literally a 3 minute walk away which was perfect. On the weekends and after school it was really easy to get around and to explore more of the city.

Turkish is a quite simple structured but still tough language to learn as it is completely different to the romance languages. While I was at TLC there were three turkish teachers wich where really nice and patient and instructed everything in turkish. I would not claim that I learnt all of the turkish grammar or that I am now able to speak turkish fluently, but I do not know anyone who learnt a language in four weeks. The course helped me to start to communicated with the natives and to lose the fear of speaking turkish even if not everything was completely right. The Turkish are really nice and open and love it if you make the effort to try to speak in their language.

So overall I was very pleased with my stay at TLC and would recommend this to anyone who wants to start practicing to speak turkish and to communicate with the natives!

My experience at the Turkish Language Center in Izmir, Turkey I retired several years ago and, as I seem to have a knack for languages (a German citizen with native English and conversational French and Russian), I decided to learn some Turkish. In Germany it´s not at all as exotic as in the US or perhaps England. I had had four and a half years of instruction in Turkish, but after that amount of time I was still mostly unable to form the simplest of statements or requests in comprehensible Turkish. The center point of my learning here in Frankfurt had been the written language (why is it called a “tongue” then?), and I asked several of my fellow students if they had had any experience with any language school in Turkey. One said she had been at the Turkish Language Center in İzmir and had learned quite a lot there. So on her recommendation I contacted Mr. Sentuerk and made the necessary arrangements. Everything ran quickly and easily; my requests were very specific and quite tailor-made for me. ……….. The best one of the other students told me after class “hats off to you, Erich! Wonderful job!” But a big portion of the credit goes to my instructor Gizem, I must emphasize. Will I ever go back for more? Very probably. Any doubt in the matter, however, will lie exclusively with me and my personal situation. But I would recommend the Turkish Language Center to any student who is willing to work (we all know if we don´t work, the best teacher in the world isn´t going to help). One-on-one instruction ain´t cheap, but every cent of the expense was worth it to me. –Erich Baumeister

The course I followed at the Turkish Language Centre was both challenging and rewarding. I found the first two weeks extremely challenging as I was submerged in an environment of turkish language and turkish culture. The second two weeks were rewarding and enjoyable as I picked up more vocabulary and grammar and my confidence snowballed. At the end of my third week I went to see my Turkish in-laws, and for the first time was able to hold a proper conversation with them, and understand what they were saying to me. 8 years I have been waiting to be able to do that. Thanks to Ruya and all at TLC! Jamie, London

The days at the Turkish Language Centre were good, and it is the most effective Turkish education I have ever attended or could ever imagine. I came to Izmir with a Turkish too poor to use for most conversation, and left 2 weeks later with the ability to use my Turkish like I’ve never imagined I would. If course, I still have a long way to go, and I look forward to coming back to your school again. We also had a good time at the apartment provided. TLC has my warmest recommendation. The Teacher did such a great job with us all, and her patience and ability to meet everyone at the right level was highly appreciated. Semiha’s gentle way of receiving a Norwegian with small Turkish skills and some hearing problems was also highly appreciated. And her gentle touch to the whole adventure. Her ability to converse with me and find suggestions and solutions to almost everything was so good.