TETRAKTYS provides private Turkish lessons for foreigners in Istanbul, which are engaged in four levels.

The age, native language, nature and social background of the student determine the duration of selected level.

BEGINNER'S LEVEL

25 - 50 hours

Foreigners with no knowledge of Turkish, and no experience with the Turks, will get a basic accommodation training for adjusting themselves to daily life in Istanbul. Beginner's Level enables the student to manage spoken Turkish, and to deal successfully with Turks, without the aid of a second person. The frame of this level includes basic grammar with emphasize on daily usages, and a vocabulary of about 250 frequently used words.

For preliminary part of Beginner's Level, $ 1,000 will be charged in advance, for 25 hours.

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

50 - 75 hours

Foreigners with basic knowledge of Turkish, and limited experience with the Turks, will improve their usage of the language, and get acquainted with actual customs of Turks. Intermediate Level enables the student to understand the main context of a newspaper column, some TV programs, run short daily conversations, write brief notes, and fill out simple forms. The frame of this level includes basic understanding of grammatical arrangement of words in sentences, and fundamental word structures, with a limited vocabulary of round 1000 words.

For preliminary part of Intermediate Level, $ 2,000 will be charged in advance, for 50 hours.

ADVANCED LEVEL

75 - 100 hours

Foreigners with average knowledge of Turkish develop their usage at this level, and be able to participate fluently in discussions, understand newspaper articles or TV interviews in details, and manage to express their thoughts by writing facile essays. The frame of Advanced Level includes complex grammatical structures, and examination of the works of contemporary Turkish writers, with basic knowledge on Thracian and Anatolian dialects. Vocabulary limit is up to 4000 words.

For preliminary part of Advanced Level, $ 3,000 will be charged in advance, for 75 hours.

PROFICIENCY LEVEL

100 - 125 hours

Foreigners with good understanding of contemporary spoken and written Turkish may gain proficiency at this level by learning special applications of Turkish in legal documents, juristic statements, special idioms and phrases, figurative usages, variety of verbalizations, slang and jargon of certain communities, tribal dialects, etc.. Proficiency Level enables the advanced student to cope with difficulties even the educated Turks cannot deal with. Some basics of Ottoman grammar and calligraphy for academic works, and development of Turkish language and literature in 20th century are also included. Vocabulary usage is around 16,000 words.

For preliminary part of Proficiency Level, $ 4,000 will be charged in advance, for 100 hours.

• An oral and written test will be applied for determining the knowledge level of the student, to begin with.

• Preliminary part of each level is essential, and extended part will be charged after each lesson as $ 40 per hour. Extended part can be maximum 25 hours, depending on the aptitude of the student.

• Private lessons can also be taken as groups formed maximal by four people. We apply 10 % discount for two, 15 % discount for three, and 20 % discount for four students.

• Students are expected to be able to communicate in English, German or French for the first two levels. For the next two levels, in addition, we support lexically other non-Slavic European languages, and Arabic. Asian students, whose native language is Turkic, do not need any second language to take our lessons.

• We do not have any age limit, but surveillance is required for students under 18.

• Lessons are held at the office of the centre. In case of other preferences, an extra of $ 20 will be charged for each visit. Working hours are between 1500-2100. For other specified working hours, all charges will be doubled. Additional charges cannot be discounted for groups.

• Students are expected to get an appointment before visiting us.

• For regulations related to lessons, please refer to the page.