Colloquial Turkish: The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series) (Colloquial Series (Book Only))

A few days ago I posted a harsh review of this book. I decided that my criticisms were unfair in that my reactions had as much to do with my approach to learning a language as they did with the book itself. I've acquired a professional interest in learning Turkish. My ultimate goal is to be able to read Turkish journals and Turkish publications in history and social science. I wouldn't mind acquiring some spoken fluency as well, but it is not my first priority. I am clearly not the audience for whom "Colloquial Turkish" was published. (The title should have been my first clue.) Some of my frustration with the book arise from the fact that the authors didn't write the book that I wanted them to. That being said, even those who are most interested in conversational Turkish should be forewarned. Aarssen and Backus clearly believe in learning through immersion without much comment about how the language actually works. The book's central pedagogical device is the dialogue, one of which begins each lesson. These dialoques present situations -- meeting a friend on the street, introducing one's English family to one's Turkish friends, etc. The dialogues are followed by vocabulary lists. There is very limited discussion of the mechanics of the language. This makes for a slow start indeed. One can memorize vocabulary, but if you want to start putting together sentences and in other ways build your repertoire, you will find yourself frustrated. You'll want to start thinking in Turkish and trying out your own little expressions based on the content of the dialogue, but you won't have the tools. In other ways, the presentation appears to be needlessly obscure. The exercises that appear in each unit are pretty sparse, and the explanations are often cryptic. This problem is compounded by the fact that examples and explanations often use vocabulary that hasn't been introduced in the vocabulary lists, and they may use verb tenses that haven't been covered. This makes for tough sledding, though, again, I think the authors do this intentionally on the principle that one expands one's command of the language by confronting forms and vocabulary that one hasn't previously seen. My argument would be that learning is much faster and more effective if these new forms, etc., are accompanied by more explanation. I don't want to bash the book. I've been using it for several weeks now and I've made some headway. But I am basically self-teaching, and this is not the way I approach learning a language. In my conversations with a couple of people who teach Turkish and from what explorations I've been able to carry out, I would say that if your approach sounds like mine, you would be better off with "Elementary Turkish" by Kurtuluo Oztopçu. It's not cheap at $75.00 plus shipping, but you get a much more complete text plus two CDs to help with pronunciation. If you buy "Colloquial Turkish" with accompanying CDs, you'll pay about the same. Unfortunately, I think you may have to buy "Elementary Turkish" online directly from the author. I haven't seen it listed on Amazon.

Colloquial Turkish provides a step-by-step course in Turkish as it is written and spoken today. Combining a user-friendly approach with a thorough treatment of the language, it equips learners with the essential skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively in Turkish in a broad range of situations. No prior knowledge of the language is required.

Key features include:

• progressive coverage of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills

• structured, jargon-free explanations of grammar

• an extensive range of focused and stimulating exercises

• realistic and entertaining dialogues covering a broad variety of scenarios

• useful vocabulary lists throughout the text

• additional resources available at the back of the book, including a full answer key, a grammar summary and bilingual glossaries

Balanced, comprehensive and rewarding, Colloquial Turkish will be an indispensable resource both for independent learners and students taking courses in Turkish.

Course components:

The complete course comprises the book and audio materials. These are available to purchase separately in paperback, ebook, CD and MP3 format. The paperback and CDs can also be purchased together in the great-value Colloquials pack.

Paperback: 978-0-415-15746-9 (please note this does not include the audio)

CDs : 978-0-415-30494-8

eBook: 978-0-203-97732-3 (please note this does not include the audio, available from www.tandfebooks.com)

MP3s: 978-0-415-47047-6 (available from www.tandfebooks.com)

Pack : 978-0-415-42703-6 (paperback and CDs)

Colloquial Turkish provides a step-by-step course in Turkish as it is written and spoken today. Combining a user-friendly approach with a thorough treatment of the language, it equips learners with the essential skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively in Turkish in a broad range of situations. No prior knowledge of the language is required.Key features include: progressive coverage of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills structured, jargon-free explanations of grammar an extensive range of focused and stimulating exercises realistic and entertaining dialogues covering a broad variety of scenarios useful vocabulary lists throughout the text additional resources available at the back of the book, including a full answer key, a grammar summary and bilingual glossaries Balanced, comprehensive and rewarding, Colloquial Turkish will be an indispensable resource both for independent learners and students taking courses in Turkish.Audio material to accompany the course is available to download free in MP3 format from www.routledge.com/cw/colloquials. Recorded by native speakers, the audio material features the dialogues and texts from the book and will help develop your listening and pronunciation skills. Now including over 50 different tongues, this well-known modern language series is designed to help learners to acquire a sound command of the everyday spoken and written forms of a foreign language.Each Colloquials course includes:-- clear, concise grammar and useful vocabulary-- exercises for regular practice-- pronunciation guide-- extensive reference sectionThe Routledge Colloquials courses are available in a variety of formats to best suit each learner's needs:These popular course packages include a full-length paperback book with activities, vocabulary, grammar and more, plus one or two 60-minute cassettes recorded by native speakers.Sold separately for those who need to improve their reading or listening skills only.Available for selected languages, these two-CD packs include additional recordings to supplement the book and help learners to improve pronunciation and listening skills.Full courses in Chinese, French, Portuguese and Spanish are now available on CD-ROM!These self-pacing courses are created by experienced teachers, and are ideal for beginners with no prior knowledge of the language, or for learners who need to "brush up" their communication skills. "Colloquial Turkish is the ideal introduction to the language! Written by experienced teachers of the language, Colloquial Turkish offers a step-by-step approach to Turkish as it is spoken and written today. No previous knowledge of the language is required." "By the end of this course, you will be able to communicate confidently and effectively in Turkish in a broad range of everyday situations."--Résumé de l'éditeur Colloquial Turkish is the ideal introduction to the language, offering a step-by-step approach to Turkish as it is spoken and written today and requiring no previous knowledge of the language.