Turkish Intensive Course in Berlin

Absolute beginners with no prior knowledge looking for a solid and motivating introduction to Turkish.

In the A1 course you get to know the Turkish alphabet with its special letters ı, ö, ü, ş, ç and ğ, and you train clear, syllable-precise pronunciation. You understand the basic principle of vowel harmony and of agglutination, where endings are attached to word stems like building blocks. Because Turkish has no grammatical gender, there are no articles to memorise – instead we practise the SOV word order with the verb at the end, which is unusual for English speakers. This lets you handle first everyday situations such as greetings, introductions and simple questions.

Learners with A1 foundations who want to expand their vocabulary and communicate more fluently in everyday life.

At the A2 level you systematically build up the Turkish case system and learn how the accusative (-i), dative (-e), locative (-de) and ablative (-den) express relationships in a sentence through attached suffixes. You master the possessive suffixes (evim = my house) and the definite past tense in -di, which lets you talk about things you have experienced. We now also consolidate vowel harmony across multi-part suffix chains, so that endings reliably fit the word stem. This equips you for shopping, giving directions and conversations about daily life and the past.

Learners with a solid foundation who want to speak coherently and understand more complex structures.

In the B1 course you get to know the second past tense in -miş, so characteristic of Turkish, which you use to express things heard, assumed or not personally witnessed – a concept English lacks. You form your first subordinate clauses not with conjunctions but through participles and verbal nouns that attach to the verb as suffixes. The aorist (-er/-ir) for habits and the future tense (-ecek) considerably expand your tense system. This lets you express opinions, plans and narratives with growing nuance and coherence.

Advanced learners who want to understand demanding texts and express themselves in a differentiated way.

At the B2 level you master the productive derivations of Turkish: the passive (-il/-in), the reflexive and above all the causative (-dir), which turns "to do" into "to have done". You use verbal nouns and converbs (-erek, -ince, -dikten sonra) to express complex temporal and logical relationships within a single word structure. We work on transforming whole sentences into nominal phrases, which is typical of written Turkish. This enables you to understand newspaper articles, take part in discussions and argue in a structured way.

Very advanced learners who want to use Turkish confidently in work, study and complex contexts.

In the C1 course you refine your handling of evidentiality: through the choice between -di and -miş you deliberately mark a statement as witnessed, reported or distanced. You master the formal written language with its densely nested nominalisations and long suffix chains, and you understand idioms and figurative expressions in context. You deploy the subtleties of word order, with which Turkish steers emphasis and focus through the position before the verb. This lets you move confidently through academic, professional and media contexts.

Learners at the highest level who want near-native, stylistically confident command of Turkish.

At the C2 level you reach near-native command of Turkish and move effortlessly between colloquial speech, formal register and literary language. You recognise and use stylistic subtleties, Arabic-Persian loanwords of the elevated register, and subtle shifts of meaning within long suffix chains. You deploy irony, allusion and the discursive possibilities of free word order with precision. This enables you to understand demanding literature, specialised texts and rhetorically shaped speeches, and to express yourself in a nuanced and idiomatic way in any context.