15+ Best Ways to Learn Turkish (Updated 2024)

The major reason why I love learning a new language is the movies and shows in that language. I learned Korean just because of the craze I had for K-drama. Learning Turkish also had a similar reason. There was a Turkish show dubbed in English that I watched once. After that, no one could stop me from watching more such shows. Unfortunately, some shows do not have translations in them. I was really pissed off and decided, why not learn it? Of course, it was a different language and it was hard for me to learn. However, I try hard and find some of the best ways to learn Turkish.

Do you find this relatable? Or do you want to learn Turkish for traveling purposes? If yes, I will share the tricks that I used. I hope they help you in achieving your goal.

Ways to Learn Turkish

Learning a new language requires a lot of effort and ways. It is not like, you get a platform and stick to it for every new language. Thus, I am sharing some of the ways to learn Turkish-

1. Choosing a beginner app

The first thing that I would suggest is to choose an app that is specifically designed for beginners. This is because, as a beginner, you won’t want to get content for intermediate or advanced learners. There are a lot of platforms that are great for absolute beginners. Here are some of them-

Name of the platforms	Features
Duolingo	Offers exercise according to a gamified approach Keeps you engaged Get an award for every task performed
LingoDeer	Again, this follows the gamified approach Engaging lessons Start from teaching the main pillar of the language which is the Alphabet
Busuu	Perfect choice for all level learners Only have 14 languages which means each language has a lot of things to offer Provides grammatical explanations
Babbel	Oldest language learning platform Offer courses and live classes

2. Selecting a grammatical tool

In my whole journey of language learning, I have used multiple resources. Most of them fail to teach the grammatical aspect. I generally believe that learning a new language without knowing the basic reason behind it, has no fun. But if you do not want to learn it, skip it this way. However, if you are like me, then you must do it. Following are the platforms that help to learn grammar-

Name of the platform	Features
Busuu	Provides the most grammatical knowledge of the language Lessons are based on conversational exercises
Cooljugator	Provides best verb conjugation knowledge Covers all the situations of conjugating verbs
Lingolia	Best known for grammar Covers different aspects – conversations and vocabulary

3. Using Journal

Once you select the platforms, keep a journal with you. Make sure to add everything learned so far. If the writing style is different, make sure to add the alphabetic chart at the start. Whenever I use a journal, my simple way of using it is to divide it into two sections – Words and Phrases. All the new words are added in one section and the other in the second section. The reason I enjoy including them in a journal is the writing practice. Even if you don’t want to practice writing, keeping a. Journal will help to remember the words. 

4. Stay consistent 

Before starting to learn the language, just remember, that the journey will have a lot of hurdles. Learning a new thing is never easy. It takes time to master it. So, stay consistent in it. Consistency is the key to success. Without it, no one can achieve anything. Thus, make sure to be consistent. Even if you are feeling tired, just listen to a podcast for 5-10 minutes. It will not break the consistency. 

5. Never give up

There will be times when you will feel exhausted, learning a language is never an easy task. It’s full of hurdles. But if you don’t give up, it becomes easy to learn it. Let me share one of my experiences with you, while learning Turkish, I hardly remember a word of it. Yes, I was demotivated. But there was no chance to give up on it. Eventually, I can say:

Türkçeyi doğru düzgün öğrendim

Meaning: I learned Turkish properly 

6. Flashcard apps

Vocabulary is one of the important pillars of the language. Without it, no language can be learned. Thus, try to use flashcard apps along with it. Let me share a trick with you. Try to learn a word from another app and add words on the flashcard app on your own. It’s a perfect way to remember the words easier. However, there are always pre-made decks. Try to use them.  To make your journey easier, let me share some of the common flashcard apps that I used-

Name of the platform	Features
Anki	A lot of pre-made decks Allows to create one
Memrise	Multiple pre-made decks Allows to create a deck by yourself Download the words with the help of Memrise Scrapper
Quizlet	Flashcards for multiple languages including GCSE and A-levels

7. Focus on common Turkish words

Interesting fact: Native Turkish speakers use only 20% of the vocabulary for 80% of their conversation.

The fact that the language uses very less vocabulary, makes it important to learn the important words. In other languages, we have to learn a huge vocabulary because there is no choice. But I feel, it’s a big advantage of the language that there is not a huge vocabulary used in it. Thus, do not waste in learning unnecessary words. Of course, do it later after reaching the intermediate and advanced learner. 

8. Podcasts 

I believe podcasts have become one of the major ways to get plenty of knowledge. If you have checked online, each niche has a podcast in it. Whether I talk about entertainment or science-related fields, there are plenty of podcasts to listen to. As I already mentioned, my major reason for learning it was the show I watched. Of course, there was an interest in their entertainment industry. So, I always try to listen to a podcast of an actor, director, or producer. Of course, you don’t have to have similar interests. Choose the podcast that matches your interest. Here, are some amazing Turkish podcasts that will help you learn the language faster-

• Let’s Learn Turkish
• TurkishClass101
• Fluent in Turkish
• Learn Modern Turkish

Remember: Start from the podcasts that teach the language with translations. It will be easy for you to cope with it. Even when you reach the intermediate level, focus on having a transcript with it. Transcripts will make it easy to understand what’s going on. 

9. Books

Books are our best friends, neither they complain nor they demand.

I heard this dialogue in a famous movie. And I think it’s so true. In fact, there is no better way than learning from it. Just imagine, using the most oldest and traditional language resource to learn a new language. Of course, there are several books available in the market. But which will go with you depends upon your learning style and level. Here are the books that I used when I was at beginner and advanced level stage-

• Turkish Grammar in Practice (by Yusuf Buz)
• Learn Turkish While Having Fun 
• Turkish Language Course Book with Workbook, Yedi Iklim

Important: I only bought 2 books in my Turkish learning journey. There were no intermediate-level books because I didn’t feel the need for them. However, if you want, try.

10. Talk in Turkish

Look for friends or family members who are interested in learning this language. Have conversations with them. If no one is learning it, try to greet them in Turkish. Say “Günaydın” instead of “Good Morning”. Of course, it does not help much. I myself have done it. But I started getting more motivated. 

11. Look for an online exchange partner

If there is no one to talk to, look for partners online. There is an online exchange partner program that helped me to find the right person online. These programs are the ones that analyze the details added and based on it get the right person online. There are many such platforms where I have met exciting people. I personally used Tandem to find a partner for the Turkish language. However, are the apps that you may use to get a partner-

• Tandem
• HelloTalk
• Speaky

Each of the above platforms has 2 inbuilt tools – Translations and Auto-corrections. There is a limit on the number of translations on each platform. However, Speaky was the only platform where I could get learners from every age group. 

12. Watch shows in Turkish

If you want to make learning entertaining, look for the shows in it. As I already told you I learned Turkish by watching some shows on it. It helped me a lot to know about the Turkish language and culture. 

“For example: I first got to know more about Turkish ice cream in a movie.”

Try to look at some movies in your niche. I love watching romantic shows. Thus, I have seen more such shows and movies. While watching the movies, I try to repeat the dialogues I have heard. It helped me to improve my pronunciation.

13. Hearing songs in Turkish

There are so many songs that I love listening to. They help me improve my pronunciation and also my listening skills. I feel songs are the particular things that are liked by most people. Songs, for me, are a way of relaxing my mind. Thus, I always try to listen to them. Listening to them in Turkish is a big help in relaxing the mind and gaining a lot of knowledge.

14. Make learning fun

If you will only learn the language, trust me, you will get bored with it. The biggest lesson I have learned while learning new languages is to enjoy what you learn. There can be many ways to make it fun. If you love creating music, try to make music to learn it. However, below I have mentioned the ways that I used to keep myself motivated-

• I love teaching. Thus, I act like I am teaching someone.
• From my childhood, I loved getting rewards. I think every child loves it. So whenever I complete my goal, there is a reward waiting for me.
• Making movies and shows more entertaining. I usually get a pizza or Coke to make it more fun.

15. Shadowing the language

Shadowing a language means repeating what I hear. I usually do this while watching a show or listening to a podcast. The best way to improve pronunciation is by speaking it. Another thing that you can do is watch the shows and repeat them.

16. Make a Turkish dish

It may look crazy but is a great way to learn Turkish. I love trying new cuisine. While learning Turkish I got so many Turkish recipes. I remember, there was a dish named ‘Manti’ in one show. It looked so delicious. so I thought to try it. However, it turns out to be Turkish Dumplings. There were many such new names that I got in the shows. A few Turkish recipes that I learned about are-

• Taratorlu Piyaz
• Shish kofte
• Hibeş
• Tarhana Çorbası

17. Hire a private tutor

This is what I always do when I am stuck on a new language. It’s very common to find it difficult to learn the language. In such a case, look for a private tutor. There are a lot of online tutoring platforms which allow you to connect with the tutors. I have listed some amazing platforms to connect with a tutor-

Name of the platform	Features
Preply	Have more than 100 languages The minimum number of teachers for a particular language is 25 i.e for Danish Allows free trial
iTalki	Two types of tutors – Community and Professional Multiple tutors to learn a single language Allow free trial
Rosetta Stone	Mainly based on the course system Offer live classes Each live group has a limited number of students

Remember: The price you pay depends upon different factors. For Preply and iTalki, it depends upon the teaching experience, time duration, etc. Whereas, for rosetta stone, it depends upon the subscription plan chosen. 

Is learning Turkish worth it?

Well, it depends upon the reason why you want to learn. Like I said, I only learned it by watching the shows. There was no other reason behind it. Undoubtedly, it is not very beneficial for me. However, I am sharing the situation when learning it can be a useful situation-

• The first one is the obvious one, traveling to Turkey. It’s the main reason why most of the people learn it. In fact, now that I have learned Turkish, it will be easy for me to travel there. 
• Turkey is in the middle position to Modern Europe and the Middle East. Knowing Turkish can make it easy to trade with them.
• Many businesses are planning to take their business to an international level. Due to this, they look for people knowing a second language. Thus, it can be learned to get a job.
• Turkey is well known for its textiles and design. Textile is the major source of income in Turkey. Thus, there is no better way to learn design and textiles than there. Additionally, it also has great knowledge of Business management and computing sciences. 

Conclusion

There can be several reasons for learning Turkish. Mine was the exciting shows and movies in it. You may have a different reason for it. Whatever the reason may be, it’s important to know the right ways to learn Turkish. Thus, I have compiled them in the article above. Books, podcasts, different apps, journals, etc., are the things that helped me to learn the language. All the things mentioned above helped me a lot. I am sure they will help you too.

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