UNIC recently introduced their UNIC Online Language Modules for Beginners has been developed to support international students and staff. You will be the very first students who benefit from the modules.
There is no grading or examination at the end of the module, the whole project is designed to teach basic Turkish together with Koç University-İstanbul-Turkey related content. You can start and finish the modules anytime at your own pace.
The registration manual for the modules can be seen here.
Since it is the first semester of this module, we also wanted to give voice to the international students and include feedback on some cultural and linguistic aspects of their experience as well as technical experience with the system.
We do appreciate it if you send your feedback via a straightforward survey here.
The TCH is a platform where international KU affiliates and their family members who have at least basic Turkish knowledge practice their Turkish conversational skills with native or advanced Turkish-speaking KU volunteers.
All international students, faculty, staff, researchers, and their family members are welcome to join.
DISCLAIMER: TCH does not claim to teach Turkish but aims to help you practice it. Participants are expected to have at least basic Turkish knowledge to actively take part in conversations. If you want to start learning Turkish, check out the resources we gathered and published on our website.
TCH sessions are on campus and available only for KU affiliates and their family members.
The sessions are very joyful, and we cover various topics with role-playing activities, games, conversations, and more.
Certificate of Participation
ICO will provide a certificate of participation at the end of the semester for those who attend at least 5 sessions. Therefore, the volunteers will take the attendees’ names each session.
Those rewarded with a certificate will be registered on the Symplicity platform as “Completed the TCH Program.” Their volunteer participation will be indicated on their social transcripts, if applicable at the graduation. Contact us via Trackit if you have any questions about this matter.
How to Join?
Meetings:
Beginners: Every Wednesday, between 5:30- 6:30 PM, location TBA on WhatsApp group by conversation leaders
Intermediate/ Advanced: Every Thursday, between 5:30- 6:30 PM, location TBA on WhatsApp group by conversation leaders
Spring ‘23 TPH Program
Tarih | Seviye | Zaman | Buluşma # | Buluşma Lideri | Buluşma Yardımcıları | Konu |
Nov 1, Wednesday | Başlangıç | 17.30- 18.30 | 1 | Cem Berk Görmüş | Arzu Nur Gün – Yasin Tantürk – Meryem Buse Apladı | İstanbul hakkında genel sohbet |
Nov 2, Thursday | İleri | 17.30- 18.30 | 2 | Mehmet Ataol Azeritürk | Cem Berk Görmüş- Fatmanur Yerlikaya- Azra Gül Dölek | Çocukluk anıları |
Nov 8, Wednesday | Başlangıç | 17.30- 18.30 | 3 | Yasin Tantürk | Cem Berk Görmüş- Zemzem Turanalp | İstanbul’u tanıtma |
Nov 9, Thursday | İleri | 17.30- 18.30 | 4 | Sena Demir | Mehmet Ataol Azeritürk – Yasin Tantürk – Meryem Buse Apladı | Türkçe’de sık kullanılan deyimler ve kalıplar |
Nov 22, Wednesday | Başlangıç | 17.30- 18.30 | 5 | Onur Alper Yücel | Arzu Nur Gün- Gülce Arabacı- Tahir Gündüz | interests, hobby, travelling, history |
Nov 23, Thursday | İleri | 17.30- 18.30 | 6 | Kerem Burak Yılmaz | Mehmet Ataol Azeritürk, Işıl Bekçi | Popular culture of movies, series |
Nov 29, Wednesday | Başlangıç | 17.30- 18.30 | 7 | Arzu Nur Gün | Onur Alper Yücel- Gülce Arabacı-Ayşe Karataş | |
Nov 30, Thursday | İleri | 17.30- 18.30 | 8 | Tülin Çelebi | Melih Döner- Fatmanur Yerlikaya- Tahir Gündüz | Türk Kültürü |
Dec 6, Wednesday | Başlangıç | 17.30- 18.30 | 9 | Gülce Arabacı | Buket Yeşiloğlu – Sena Demir – Azra Gül Dölek | Türkçe Müzik |
Dec 7, Thursday | İleri | 17.30- 18.30 | 10 | Sümeyye Gürdal | Onur Alper Yücel Kerem Burak Yılmaz |
Türk Dizi ve Filmleri |
Dec 13, Wednesday | Başlangıç | 17.30- 18.30 | 11 | Selin Mert | Sena Demir-Ayşe Karataş | Müzik |
Dec 14, Thursday | İleri | 17.30- 18.30 | 12 | Buket Yeşiloğlu | Zemzem Turanalp, Sümeyye Gürdal, Ömer Buğrahan Karaoğlu | Özel günler |
Dec 20, Wednesday | Başlangıç | 17.30- 18.30 | 13 | Işıl Bekçi | Selin Mert – Buket Yeşiloğlu | Günlük hayat sohbetleri |
Dec 21, Thursday | İleri | 17.30- 18.30 | 14 | Zemzem Turanalp | Ömer Buğrahan Karaoğlu, Işıl Bekçi | |
Dec 27, Wednesday | Başlangıç | 17.30- 18.30 | 15 | Azra Gül Dölek | Selin Mert – Naz Turgay | Turizm |
Dec 28, Thursday | İleri | 17.30- 18.30 | 16 | Ömer Buğrahan Karaoğlu | Seden Bilgiç-Firdevs Tortuk | Estetik |
Jan 3, Wednesday | Başlangıç | 17.30- 18.30 | 17 | Naz Turgay | Azra Gül Dölek Kerem Burak Yılmaz |
Türkçe Sayılar |
Jan 4, Thursday | İleri | 17.30- 18.30 | 18 | Sümeyye Gürdal | İstanbul Mimarisi/Yapılaşması ve Kültürü | |
Jan 10, Wednesday | Başlangıç | 17.30- 18.30 | 19 | Ayşe Karataş | ||
Jan 11, Thursday | İleri | 17.30- 18.30 | 20 | Seden Bilgiç | Sümeyye Gürdal – Naz Turgay | |
Jan 17, Wednesday | Başlangıç | 17.30- 18.30 | 21 | Firdevs Tortuk | Tülin Çelebi |
More information…
Application to be a Volunteer TCH Leader or Supporter for Spring ’23:
Application Link: TBA
Application Deadline: TBA
The program supervisor: Zikri Mert Demircan (zdemircan@ku.edu.tr.)
CSSH provides ten different levels of Turkish classes for international students ranging from BASIC TURKISH (TURK 201, 202, 203, 204); INTERMEDIATE TURKISH (TURK 301, 302, 303); and UPPER INTERMEDIATE TURKISH (TURK 401) to ADVANCED TURKISH (TURK 402). These courses aim to develop students’ productive language skills by providing a supportive and stimulating learning environment.
In these communicative- based Turkish language classes, assessment is based on testing learners’ linguistic knowledge and accuracy, and their skills in reading and listening comprehension as well as in spoken communication and oral presentation skills.
These courses help students not only to adapt to life in Türkiye and get to know the culture better but also enable them to communicate in Turkish efficiently. They can be offered every semester (fall, spring, and summer) depending on student demand and faculty availability.
Human Resources Directorate offers paid Turkish classes every academic year for pay-rolled faculty members. The announcement of classes is made through KU Daily. Then the faculty members who signed up for the classes attend a test to check their level in the Turkish language.
The university pays a certain amount of the course fee. Therefore just a small amount must be paid by the faculty members. The spouses of faculty members can also benefit from the paid classes. The amount is deducted from the faculty members’ salaries.
More information is announced in KU Daily when it is that time of the year.
You can also contact the HR office for more information regarding sign-ups, regulations, and fees: gsalik@ku.edu.tr.
You can attend the Turkish courses for foreigners for free. Several İSMEK centers have the program to give the knowledge and skills of listening, reading, writing, speaking and communicating the daily expressions for simple needs.
It is a portal that allows individuals to learn Turkish in an interactive way with the help of smartphones, tablets or computers without limitation of time and space.
Ankara University TÖMER (Türkçe Öğretim Merkezi) was founded in 1984 with the aim of teaching Turkish to foreigners by patterning leading language and culture centers of the world. There are 2 TÖMER branches in Istanbul: one in Taksim and the other in Kadıköy.
The site offers a very useful list of and sources to essential Turkish phrases.