5 comments about Teach Yourself Beginner's Turkish Audiopackage.

1. It is a shame that this very fine product should have its rating reduced because of an errant review by a person who didn't receive the book. This book/CD package is a lot of fun. It's very clear and straightforward, and takes you through Turkish in 10 lessons. The lessons build on previous material, and the situations presented are very useful. The audio is well recorded on the CD, there is no hiss, and the speakers don't go at lightning rate. Once you get accustomed to Turkish pronounciation, the audio is a big help even without the book.
   
   If there is one criticism, is that some vocabulary is introduced in conversation before being fully explained. That can be remedied by checking the glossary or the translation in the back of the book. More awkward is that some grammatical constructions are employed without any introduction at all. For example, you learn the word for "breakfast" (kahvalti - with the short "i") and in the next sentence it becomes "kahvaltisi" or "kahvaltida." It's not that these suffixes are difficult to learn, just that they should give you a heads up on them first. But they do eventually explain these points of grammar, you just have to remain patient it will become clear eventually.
   
   Definitely start with this program, then move on to either the full Teach Yourself Turkish, or the Elementary Turkish by Thomas. Hugo "Turkish in 3 Months" is the best choice to folow with, but it is out of print and difficult to find. If you can find the Hugo with audio, grab it. Otherwise the other choices are the next best thing. Tesekkurler!



2. Excellent, loved it. The pronunciation was perfect. Most common responce, "Where the hell did you learn Turkish!?" On a CD I'd say. They'd look at me like I was putting them on.
   
   Suggestion - iTunes is great for learning a language off CD. The lessons appear as individual songs, simply keep clicking on the song progress meter in the same place to keep playing the same 5 second bit over and over. Turkish is supposedly really hard to learn, with this repetition I got it pretty quick.
   
   Merhaba!



3. After dabbling in several TY language sets, Beginner's Turkish is the most organized and easy to use set I've seen to date.
   
   I've only had the set a couple of days but am starting to get the dialogues down for Lesson 1.
   
   Not only are the dialogues clear and manageable, but the test at the end of the chapter helps you identify areas that need work before progressing to the next lesson.



4. I am personally not a fan of the Teach Yourself language books in general. Turkish is about as different from English as it could possibly be, and I found this book to be rather scattered and disjointed.
   
   If you're serious about learning Turkish, get a grammar book like the famous Lewis text, and then peruse the web for reading materials and internet radio. If you can, find a native speaker to converse with, since, unlike Spanish or French, it's extremely difficult for an English-speaker to imitate the natural pulse of the spoken language without a lot of direct interaction.



5. I have quite a number of Teach Yourself language courses, both the beginner's series and full courses. I've worked through a few of them for different languages (I'm pretty serious about several languages and "dabble" in some others). Some are good, some are not. It's interesting that the "Beginner's Series" seems to be much more logically presented (in general) than the full courses. At least they have been for the French and Italian beginner's courses that I have--and this Turkish course is no exception. Maybe it's just because they are newer, and TY seems to have developed a better teaching philosophy lately.
   
   I'll start with the one thing I feel could have been improved upon:
   
   * The grammar could have been a bit more rigorously treated. But I can't fault this particular book; it is, after all, a beginner's course (not to mention, most courses are "grammarphobic" anyway). So I won't take stars off for this.
   
   Okay, why do I like this course? First, I'm just getting started. But as I said, I have a bunch of Teach Yourself courses with which to compare, and I can see this is a good offering. It avoids almost all of my pet peeves.
   
   * When I'm working through language courses I expect a logically sequenced, step-by-step presentation, and this Beginner's Turkish course does this quite well.
   
   * The vocabulary is presented at the word level, rather than having phrases to "parrot." I prefer to learn words and grammar, and then form my own sentences. That's primarily the way this course goes about things. Of course there are stock phrases that everyone should just memorize--this book has those, but it quickly moves beyond that.
   
   * The vocabulary is presented in nice lists with the columns lined up well for drilling yourself. The book does not force you to extract vocabulary from dialog and write it all out on you own. It's there. Thank you!
   
   * There is no vocabulary overload! The word load seems about right. Some TY books just dump way too much vocabulary on the reader.
   
   * Most courses do not have enough practice exercises. This one actually has quite a number of them!
   
   * Here's a shocking one for you: the dialogs are fully transcribed in the back of the book. Most courses are too cheap to do this, and it's a very welcome addition to this book. It will save hours of time looking up words--time that can be better used drilling with flashcards or some other productive activity. Looking up words is a total waste of time.
   
   All in all, I think this is a very good offering from TY. It seems they have been getting their act together the past few years. Maybe they have realized that the tried and true "old school" language learning approach still has value, because they do a pretty good job of blending traditional presentation with newer techniques and technology. For several years, they were putting out glorified phrase books that taught nothing of the language, just a bunch of canned phrases with a bit of watered down grammar thrown in (which is worthless if it's not put into the context of the language). I'd say this is a well-rounded offering that should please anyone who is curious enough about a language to go beyond simple phrases.

No comments about Langenscheidt New Standard Dictionary: Turkish-English/ English-Turkish.

5 comments about Langenscheidt's Universal Turkish Dictionary: Turkish-English/English-Turkish.

1. Just the basics, but there isn't currently much choice in the low price category.



2. Good basic dictionary and the right size to fit in a pocket or the glove compartment of the car.



3. I honestly think it would have been in better condition and cheaper if I had purchased it new. It is a little haggered on the outside. However it is a perfect travel size and I look forward to referencing it upon my travels all over Turkey. Service was very prompt.



4. This dictionary is very useful for beginers that are learning turkish. You can take it in your pocket to the classroom doesn't ocupy a lot of space. Useful for beginers but if you want to continuing to improove you should buy a bigger dictionary with more words. To begin is good. Very precise and easy to look for words. Good price also.



5. I can't complain too much because there aren't that many Turkish-English dictionaries out there, but this one has some small issues.
   
   First, I've found two typos so far. They were minor ("to rob oneself" instead of "to rub oneself") but I suspect there may be more.
   Second, there are discrepancies between the English section and the Turkish section. For example, I hear a Turkish word and look it up. It's not in the Turkish section, but I guess the meaning, look it up in English and it's there.
   
   Having said that, what I like about the dictionary is that it includes many forms of verbs (the passive, reflexive, causative, etc) which make my time in Turkish class a lot easier.
   
   A warning: Turkish changes quite a bit. With this dictionary (or any dictionary) one probably wouldn't be able to tell if a word is old or new, or which is more acceptable to use in speech. Be prepared for people to correct you.
   
   All things considered, I carry mine everywhere I go.

5 comments about Turkish Grammar.

1. This is the best reference grammar of Turkish currently available, and has for years been the preferred reference of intermediate to advanced English-speaking students of Turkish. (Note: It is not a textbook, but a reference grammer intended to clarify and expand on what one has learned from a textbook or course. Also, it is a traditional grammar, with little of the jargon or theoretical speculation of "modern" linguistics.)

   Its strength is the incredible richness of the material it contains, and the way that this material is explained. Lewis clearly loves the Turkish language, and has been collecting material and thinking about it for many years. He thus covers very many constructions that are simply not dealt with at all in other books. Moreover, he writes beautiful (British) English, and has a particular gift for finding an English expression that parallels the Turkish one so closely that the reader both gets and is able to recall the point.

   Beginners in Turkish will likely find this book too much at first, but after getting their bearings in the language and looking to learn more, they will find this one a treasure-chest of information that is a pleasure to read.




2. (based on the 1984 reprint edition)
   
   I have been studying Turkish on my own for the past three months and G.L. Lewis?s Turkish Grammar is by far and away the most useful book on the subject I have come across.
   
   My first exposure to the book was when I signed it out from our public library ? and overnight after just glossing through a few sections I felt my understanding of Turkish grammar had doubled compared to what I had learnt in the past couple of months. The layout is such that you can pick things up very quickly.
   
   Turkish Grammar has an excellent layout which allows it to tackle the subject in a quite thorough manner - yet remaining concise with numerous examples with accompanying English translations to prevent the new student from getting buried under a mass of mind-boggling grammatical terminology. The terminology is still there for those who know it ? but not essential knowledge to find one?s way through the book. It is very easy to look up and locate specific details and find a quick answer to any questions or concerns.
   
   Turkish has a notorious reputation for being a difficult language ? where in fact it is so analytical, consistent, regular and logical that (after mastering the basics of Turkish grammar) one has to seriously wonder just how foreigners are able to acquire even a working knowledge of English ? a language overflowing in inconsistencies and irregularity.
   
   My only complaint ? and a minor one, at that ? is that it does examine some of the obscure stuff like the older Ottoman forms imported from Persian and Arabic which have become obsolete or rarely encountered in general daily language since the Atat?rk language reforms in the 1930s. Such material should have just been compiled together and included in a separate reference appendix ? because the general modern student really has no need to know about obsolete Ottoman usages. That all said, but if the book was going to look at the Ottoman language, it would have been interesting to have included for reference the old Arabic script which the Ottomans used. But this complaint is just a minor point and in no way blemishes this outstanding work.
   
   If you only have one book on the Turkish language - this is THE ONE!



3. This book is an excellent resource, but not a good introduction to the language for a beginner. I'm glad I bought it, but didn't really start using it until I had been studying Turkish for a while. So, if you are sure you will reach a more advanced level buy it now. If not, it's better to buy introductory books that are concerned with teaching rather than being an encyclopedia of grammar.



4. This is an excellent grammar book for Turkish, definitely among the top 2 or 3 available. I think this is a must-buy if you're serious about learning Turkish.
   
   However: The price on Amazon is OUTRAGEOUS, so don't buy it here. I got my copy at Barnes & Noble for about $15.
   
   Iyi sanslar, arkadaslarim!



5. This book IS NOT a grammar the way one means when does a search here in amazon for grammar books. This is more, according to me at least, a historical grammar rather than a grammar of the actual language. Probably the second edition of this book is just a replacement of the cover , and the content stays exactly as it was in 1960 when it was written, with some adjustments in the preface.
   Personally I find very interesting this book for the richness of the vocabulary it provides, however it doesn t correspond to the actual language, and so it doesn t meet the purpose for which one buys it. It is mostly for very advanced learners who want to understand and see in depth how this languages has changed in a couple of decades. I am interested in the subject and I have not changed my mind for this purchase, but I am sure that many would do, especially because of this over-overrated price( in fact the major reason for the 2 stars )

5 comments about 201 Turkish Verbs: Fully Conjugated in All the Tenses (201 Verbs Series).

1. The book describes the tenses, but fails to give enough translated examples of most of them. I frequently had to go to other texts to find out which tense to use. What do the terms "Indefinite past, Necessity, Optative, Conditional" etc mean? I can guess, but I can't be sure. This book might be useful as a spelling aid, because the manner of adding endings to verb roots can be difficult at first, but it leaves the student with almost as many questions as answers. The explanation of vowel harmony is too brief, and lacks sufficient examples. You will need to read about vowel harmony elsewhere,
   Also missing are the common idioms which are found on each page of the "501 Verbs" books published by Barrons Educational Series.



2. It's not as much help as such lists are for Indo-European languages, but with Turkish you need all the help you can get. I've been working through the Pollards' "Teach Yourself Turkish" (and by the way, to get the tapes for that you have to go to the U.K. Amazon.com) and it was helpful in recognizing strange words that are not glossed and turn out to be unfamilar verb forms that a dictionary would not give you.
   The problem is that Turkish is so completely different from French or German in its entire structure that you have to learn completely different concepts. As a simple example a verb is changed to a negative form by putting a syllable in the middle of it. I haven't yet figured the vowel harmony thing. I'm still planning my trip to Turkey for October.



3. Turkish has the wonderful distinction of being one of the few languages I've seen with completely regular verbs, unlike Latin, Greek, Sanskrit, Russian, Spanish, French, German, Arabic, and most of the world's other major languages that I've seen books on. Japanese and Chinese are the only other ones I know that come close, as the number of irregular verbs can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

   It would be interesting to know how many are like this, and perhaps some of the other Uralic languages like Turkish are too. As I said, Japanese is the only other one I know like this, and in fact there are only two irregular verbs in Japanese. Chinese, if I remember right, is also very regular since it doesn't even inflect for person or number, and I suspect the other Han Chinese family languages are similarly regular because of this, but I can't speak for the other tonal languages such as Thai and Vietnamese, but I assume Cantonese and Hakka are very regular too like Mandarin.

   I also don't know how the other southeast Asian family languages compare, such as Mon, Khmer (Cambodian), Burmese, or the many other language groups and dialects in southeast Asia such as Hmong in the Mon-Khmer group. The other groups are the Bahnaric group, which includes languages like Sedang and Halang; the Senoic group, which includes Semai and Temiar; Nicorbarese, which includes Trinkat and Bompaka, Munda, which includes Juray and Remo, and the north Munda group, which includes Kork and Sora.

   Actually, come to think of it, Arabic is pretty good. It has ten different verb conjugation categories, and once you know those, you're all right. In fact, they're so regular the dictionaries actually refer to them by numbers I-X.

   But getting back to this book, as someone noted previously, because the verbs are completely regular, this book could probably have been about 15 pages long. The only other thing to learn is vowel harmony in Turkish, which isn't that difficult and fans of linguistics will recognize this concept from other languages where it occurs, such as in Hungarian, where it's very important. In phonetics, vowel harmony is a type of assimilation which occurs when vowels take on features of contrastive vowels elsewhere in a word or phrase. Once you know how this works, it's very difficult to misspell a word in Turkish, so even that's not really a problem. So overall, a fine book on Turkish verbs despite all the wasted wood pulp. :-)




4. The 201/501 Verb Books are great for languages like Russian, Portuguese, French, German, etc., but not for Turkish.I have perused this book several times in stores but have never been foolish enough to buy it. Considering the regularity of Turkish verbs and the simple rules of vowel harmony (which you will have to master anyway, even to speak in the simplest language) anyone who has learned the rules for forming a tense could fill out these tables by him/herself. If you want to increase your vocabulary of verbs you can buy a dictionary (Redhouse and Langenscheidt both have good ones). Let's face it, you're not going to have time to look in this book while conversing with someone in Turkey, so learning the rule for forming the tense and exercising it, is time much better spent.



5. I did not see this book - ever. So what I am writing here??? Well, I am a native speaker of Turkish, so I decided to add some comments here.
   I read all the comments and I have to agree that tenses-wise, Turkish is very complicated, because we have many many tenses all are expressing different things (or maybe it seems so, because all can, must, shall etc are embedded in the verb itself when tenses are applied and a conjugated verb is self-sufficient to express a full sentence. eg. I could have done it. Yapabilirdim.) In primary school when we learned the conjugation, our book only had a full page of different tenses for the same verb. And the list was applicable to every Turkish verb with adjustments of the vowel harmony. So if you want to learn Turkish, first step: start with vowel harmony (don't worry if it comes difficult, because even some native speakers find it difficult, just a tip, try to see differences by applying the wrong letter and you will see that it is difficult to pronounce the word with wrong letter.)(though there are some small exceptions, generally Turkish is a very by-the-book language, exceptions exist but either because the origin of the word is foreign or root has changed and vowel harmony applies to the original root) But the exceptions do not apply how the word is conjugated, it is fixed for all. So one is enough to see how it is done, you must know the root of the word and how harmony effects the structure. I know, it is always easier said than done =)) I believe what you would need is a very good and detailed Turkish dictionary (preferably one showing how to understand the root of the words, because if you know the root and how suffixes and prefixes work, you can easily identify the meaning of words and build your vocabulary quickly. And for verbs, better prepare a chart that can easily be seen from your work area and that would be just what you will need to work on your verbs.

2 comments about Turkish Phrasebook.

1. The book is well organized, and contains most things that I would want to say. Once I get to Turkey I'll see whether I'm able to use it on the fly, but even if it sees little use, it will be a good insurance policy to make sure I can get around.



2. BESIDES THAT IS LONELY PLANET, AND THAT SHOULD SAY ENOUGH, IT'S WRITTEN BY A NATIVE SPEAKER COMPARED TO OTHER PHRASE BOOKS, IT IS REALLY REALLY GOOD!, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!

5 comments about Just Enough Turkish (Just Enough).

1. I have this book, and it's the best purchase I ever made! It's very simple and direct in its format, and has a really excellent explanation of how to pronounce the words and letters. In fact, of all the Turkish language books I've tried out, this one explains the pronounciation the best.
   It focuses on only what is needed to know, if you plan to visit Turkey. If you need a book that will get you started, but don't want something that makes the language more in-depth than you need for your preliminary study -- this is the book to have! Plus, it's really small, so you'll be able to carry it with you in your purse or backpack or briefcase with ease.



2. I have this book, and it's the best purchase I ever made! It's very simple and direct in its format, and has a really excellent explanation of how to pronounce the words and letters. In fact, of all the Turkish language books I've tried out, this one explains the pronounciation the best.
   It focuses on only what is needed to know, if you plan to visit Turkey. If you need a book that will get you started, but don't want something that makes the language more in-depth than you need for your preliminary study -- this is the book to have! Plus, it's really small, so you'll be able to carry it with you in your purse or backpack or briefcase with ease.



3. ...if you are going to Turkey, and you're only going to get one book about the language, this is the one I'd recommend.

   My oldest son is marrying a Turkish girl in Istanbul, and while we're all going to join them there for the wedding, I'm trying to learn enough of the language to be able to talk a little, and understand a bit. My second son just wants to get by, my third son is somewhere in between. We are all using this book!

   For me, it has been a starter book (though In Flight Turkish was my first and best, since it had a CD to help me comprehend the spoken word). For my two younger sons, it has been a way to learn the essentials for it seems if you are going to another country, you should be able to say some basic things in the language of the country. Each of them has their own, to stick in a pocket or backpack and carry around, stateside and in Turkey.

   This book is small (maybe 1/2 inch thick, 6" x 4" in size (or so) and structured in a way even a (brilliant) ten year old finds easy.

   A great beginner's book, a getting by book, a getting around book.




4. I found this book to not be very useful. It was lacking in providing many words and phrases that would have been helpful during my visit to Turkey.



5. This book is probably fine if you are seriously planning to learn to speak Turkish, but if you just want a phrase book for your vacation in Turkey it has a fatal flaw - it doesn't have an English/Turkish dictionary! So if you're looking at a menu in Turkish, and want to know what an item is, what do you do? Yes, you can browse through the book looking for the word, but that's hardly convenient. Luckily the tour book I brought did have an English/Turkish dictionary - not a big one, but enough to get by.

5 comments about Teach Yourself Turkish Complete Course Audiopackage.

1. Hei! I'm a norwegian(!) girl who's been trying to learn herself turkish. this book is really awesome!! it explains all the grammar so nice, so even me who's a foreigner can understand it. (And I've learned quite a lot of english grammar as well I think;) The only thing I'd like more of, are the exercises at the end of each chapter. (I don't always get the point in just one exersice). apart from that, this is the best book I've found so far. (And I've tried several:P )
   Good luck to everyone buying it!! Eli:)



2. The book arrived quickly and came with the CDs. I am fully satisfied with the purchase, however my friend ordered the same book with the same isbn number and did not receive the CDs. I have no idea why.
   
   The book itself is very useful for those of us who want to learn the kind of turkish you'd hear on the phone, in the street or in conversations between friends. While there are explanations for the grammar points, the book is dominated by useful common examples and the grammar points shown in not just sentences, but in entire dialogs.
   
   This is by far my favorite Turkish learning book.



3. Very good book, really helped me with starting and practicing turkish!
   Recommended for all who wants to start speak or understand turkish!



4. This package is great. I haven't had much of an oppurtunity to consistently study, but the speed and order is great.
   
   But don't buy the seperate CD that goes with this. It turns out this is the audio package, and you already have the sound.
   
   Great product, highly recommend. A+++



5. I am a person who noodles his way through language books. I take my time, don't stress out, follow my curiosity, go over and over the basics, and finally do pretty well speaking and understanding. These TY books fit my approach. They intelligently unfold the whole of basic grammar. And they have excellent dialogs on CD.
   
   Here is how I do a lesson a week:
   
   Monday - Figure out the two dialogs
   Tuesday - Read the lesson
   Wednesday - 1/2 of the exercises
   Thursday - 1/2 of the exercises
   Friday - Read a previous lesson or two
   
   As for the audio, I listen to the dialog ten times each day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. My goal is for my mind to move along with the speakers which means that what I hear has to go from gobbledygook to phonemes to Turkish that I understand. I do some, but not too much, pausing and rewinding and looking things up and mainly I do this on Tuesday.
   
   I recommend you do Conversational Turkish: Learn to Speak and Understand Turkish with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur) before you use this TY Turkish. Then do Teach Yourself Turkish Conversation (3CDs + Guide) (Teach Yourself) afterwards which is more practice (with a little more pressure) in speaking-only.

5 comments about Elementary Turkish.

1. I've lived in Turkey for two years now and have a collection of books on Turkish. This one I would rate at the bottom of the list due to several things. 1) The Turkish it teaches is out of date, most Turks who I show this to (including my teacher) agree on this and find many things about the book laughable. This shows itself in both the vocab and in the conjugations (the future negative is condugated as "-miyecek" for example). 2) The descriptions are incredibly obtuse and technical and I was only able to understand them based on a few months of private lessons about the same concepts. If I had tried to learn on my own from this book I can't imagine how long it would take. The only positive thing I can state about it is there are a lot of exercises at the end of each chapter, something missing in every other book I've found... but even the answer keys to these exercises are sometimes wrong, use outdated words and forms, and ask you about concepts not yet taught. Perhaps for linguists this might be useful but as a begining and intermediate student I have found it incredibly frustrating. Many other books such as Teach Yourself Turkish are much easier to understand and explain the concepts so much simpler.



2. I use this book in combination with a simple tourist primer (for light studying while walking) and other more challenging books (that require more motivation). This book is excellent as a vehicle for steady (though not completely rigorous) acquisition of vocabulary and grammar.



3. This book is more or less for advanced students of language who have a better capacity to absorb grammar and language structure than the average tourist wishing to learn a few words in the local language. Some of it is outdated as language is constantly changing, but the vast majority of the information is useful for today.



4. This standard for the English learning Turkish is everything I hoped it would be. I am working my way through the lessons with the help of my Turkish friends and hope to be able to speak and understand with some proficiency when I next visit Turkey.



5. I lost interest halfway through this book. It's not bad, but I guess I was expecting starting with more conversational phrases instead of rules of language. There were a lot of exercises for which I would flip back to try to figure out what each word meant and occasionally get frustrated when a new word not previously defined was introduced. Sorry I didn't finish it. I will bring it on my trip though.

5 comments about Conversational Turkish: Learn to Speak and Understand Turkish with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur).

1. It's good because it keeps on repeating itself- can be easily used in an MP3 player in the train. The course is built logically, and is easy to follow (assuming you listen to each lesson a few times). However, it is unfortunate that there is no book to accompany the CD-Rom, as I would like sometimes to see what I'm hearing.



2. I admit that I was skeptical about whether or not I would truly be able to absorb and learn to speak and understand Turkish with 30 minutes a day for 16 days but -- Wow! I have had this product for 4 days and I'm not only impressing myself but the native Turks that I work with. At the beginning of the first 2 lessons, I was a little overwhelmed because I didn't think I was retaining any of it and I was struggling to recall the words. I'm not sure how but, at some point, it became almost second nature and I relaxed and the words came out. It helps that I have native Turks to converse with and I get extra practice.
   
   I don't really see any negatives in this program except the price of the full set. I'm not sure why it is so much more but, since I'm hooked and want to know more, I'm considering buying it anyway. I guess that explains the price! I've tried to learn Spanish and French before with traditional methods and I can't speak either of them. I think the biggest thing that I noticed is my ability to understand the native speakers. They certainly do not speak it as perfectly as the people on the CDs and there are some slight variations in pronunciation but I still understand it.
   
   I'm amazed that something actually was exactly as advertized.



3. I've wanted to learn Turkish for a long time now. My wife is Turkish, and I can't communicate with her family (yes, I know, to some that would be a problem not worth fixing).
   
   This is an excellent audio course, and it has no fluff in it whatsoever. You start playing the CD, and GO! I use it during my 1 hour commute each way in the car. As others have said, I sometimes need to rewind because I can't always think as fast as they want me to, but I transferred it to my mp3 player, and it's easy to go back a few seconds and try it again.
   
   I've tried Rosetta stone, but basically it just sat there because I had to dedicate the time to sit in front of a computer and do it. For me, this is much better.
   
   Be forewarned, however, that you need to repeat things out loud constantly, and if you are not in a private place, it's not going to work out.
   
   In the very first lesson, they start by saying, "Listen to this conversation in Turkish." Only 30 minutes later, you listen to the exact same conversation and you understand it!
   
   5 stars.



4. This is the best method of learning a language I have ever experienced. I have studied many languages and would be surprised to hear of a method I have not tried. This is CD-only learning, nothing written, nothing read. You learn like a baby does -- a very big, smart, old baby. Here are some tips for making the best of a great method:
   
   1. Do each lesson three or four times before going on to the next.
   2. Do a lesson a day, five or six days a week.
   3. Repeat everything the CD asks you to repeat. "Repeat" means say out loud.
   4. Answer every question it asks of you.
   5. Repeat every answer or example you are given.
   6. Do your lessons without headphones and with sufficient volume on the CD player.
   7. Don't be bothered by the speakers' fluency (speed) or the short time given for you to respond. Let these gently pressure you into your own fluency. If you need to, do a lesson more than the usual number of times until your fluency is passable.
   
   Note: To see what I think about the larger 16CD Pimsleurs, search Amazon's So You'd Like To guides for "learn a language for no good reason". I talk there about when the big ones are good and when other cheaper options are better.



5. I am planning a trip to Turkey in a few months and wanted to learn turkish ASAP. This is an 8 CD set. There are two lessons on each. They are tagged so no need to name tracks when importing to iTunes etc.
   
   If you have 2-3 weeks this 8 CD set is the way to go. If you have longer ...go for the next set which is 16 CD's. There is no written material and this is "spoken" turkish only.
   
   Bottomline....this set is for those who can listen to 30 minutes of material daily.If you commute daily...dont think twice and just buy it. I would recommend listening to each lesson 2-3 times before proceeding to the next ( hence the 2-3 weeks). Also , I found it very helpful to supplement the learning process by spending a little time on learning the alphabet and phontics ( it is straight forward and I used youtube videos!) along with using a phrase book