Learning Turkish in Atlanta: Ten Years in the Making

Continuing my student stories series, this time I’m sharing a piece by Haris, one of my students from Atlanta.

Haris came to Turkish with a long history with Türkiye already behind him. His interest began years before we met, through Turkish television, history, music, and his own travels around the country. He had also studied Turkish before, including a university course, but after several stops and starts, the language had gradually slipped out of his life.

We met earlier this year, when he came across one of my posts on LinkedIn and found his way to my website. What began with a strategy session turned into regular lessons, and over the past few months I have had the chance to watch him reconnect with a language he had never really stopped caring about.

I asked Haris if he would like to write about that experience in his own words. He sent me this.

It would take a book to describe how and why I came to love Turkiye. The nation is truly an encapsulating one, and some of us get stuck with the "Turkiye bug" that I have seldom seen anyone cured of. I am a victim of this affliction, with an obsession and love of the country for almost a decade now with no signs of abetting anytime soon (sometimes frustrating to my family who don't always understand). 

How did it start? I actually don't know how to answer that. Growing up, "Turkey" didn't mean much to me. One of my first exposures to the country was an Arthur episode on PBS when I was a child, where Arthur corresponded with his Turkish pen pal "Adil".

Another was a cartoon of the famous Sultan Mehmet. But besides that, I didn't think much of it. 

At some point years later, Turkish television shows made their way to my desk; and through that, an exploration of what the society behind these stories was. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, I was infected. I started reading up about Turkish society, listening to its old music (nothing captivated me more than the old village culture), and trying the food. 

Since then, I have traveled many streets in Turkiye, met many people, and immersed myself in its history. Still, I would say that Turkiye is much like an ocean.

You can stand on the shores and admire it, and indeed, even fall in love with it. You can walk on the shallow end of the water and feel the sand beneath your feet. This is the tourist experience; and many tourists also get the Turkish bug I speak about just through experiencing this much! 

But, I soon realized that you will never be able to access Turkiye for what it truly is without understanding its language. While an increasing number of Turks can converse in English...it is still limited, and even then, it is not just conversations you are missing out on. Indeed, it is an entire culture and deep traditions seeped in every inch of land, every village, and every home. I know this sounds philosophical, and it is admittedly hard to explain. But the truth that I learned is that the access point to this deep world I describe is the Turkish language. 

That realization stuck with me and I was fortunate to have a few opportunities to study Turkish to some level. One was a 90 hour university class, and the other was some online classes. But, between the ending of those classes to where I could not continue (either due to a teacher moving on or finishing the extent of what was being offered, which was basic anyways)...so too did my Turkish journey. 

I tried to trick myself for several years...that Turkish wasn't important; that English was enough, and so many more such stories to ease my heart. For a while, I even believed them. And no doubt, there is some truth to those statements. Turks can increasingly speak English (although it is still limited). You can technically, through struggle, get by with just English. But believe me, what you are missing out is tremendous. 

This feeling sat in my heart, until one day, a post by Seda Surel (henceforth referred to as Seda Hoca, the respectful term of address for a teacher in Turkiye - one of the beautiful elements of Turkish culture is respect for teachers) came up on my LinkedIn feed. It was an interesting post that led me to her website, which led me to learning more about her. Her website was packed with unique articles related to Turkish society, history, and culture. I was engrossed in it, and wanted to see what she had to offer just out of curiosity's sake. Her offerings and the structure which they were presented are what blew me away. 

Here I saw a professional system; with options for a diagnostic all the way to class packages. One thing I should note here is that I work in higher education, and take education very seriously. I understand the value of it, and believe in the value of a good education, and of course, good teachers. But working in the field, I am also very particular. I can easily spot out a good system versus a poor educational offering (commonplace in today's educational environment for those who know). 

I had no intention to begin Turkish learning again, but something overtook me and I signed up for a lesson without an afterthought. The payment process was seamless, the scheduling confirmations were amazing...arriving to both my phone and email with a receipt as well! This type of professionalism, from the moment you "walk in the door", is, as what I learned, a hallmark of Seda Hoca. 

During my first class, which I requested as a diagnostic, I was blown away. Seda Hoca was thorough and was able to quickly see where I was, and then give me a strategy for moving forward. That is what led to my journey which is now four months in. Every interaction with Seda Hoca has been something worth writing about, and as I have no shortage of reflections, I will save that for another blog post. 

Right now, I will concentrate on Seda Hoca as a teacher, just to give a hint of my experience. Before anything, my initial impression, that Seda Hoca was a thorough professional, has been proven again and again. In every class...I get a tailored lesson and afterwards, a full follow-up email. The in-class and out-of-class assignments are all built around me. I always think about how much effort she puts in just for my class. 

Seda Hoca is also truly an academic - I cannot understate that and how fortunate I was to come across someone like her. Coming from a university background first as a student all the way to continuing graduate education, as well as now being a professional university administrator, I deeply appreciate the rigor of Seda Hoca's classes. She always reminds me that I have to do the work, and she does not try to "gamify" the content. She teaches it so well, and is constantly herself studying the latest pedagogical discussions in the language to present it as simply as she can (if you read the articles she puts on her website, you will see this). 

At the same time, she has this ability to take these important concepts and actually teach them. She loves teaching, and it shows. Even though I often feel embarrassed at her generosity, she doesn't hesitate to extend the class to make sure I can in entirety get through everything I need to; and makes herself available for me through the week. I will send her questions, and she will constantly work to explain to me in however many ways I need. 

This has made for a very rewarding learning journey, which, as I said, I plan to write more about. As my Turkish level slowly but steadily increases, some topics are causing me great frustration (Seda Hoca tells me it's part of the process!), I am feeling more emboldened to start conversations with Turks whenever I see them, and I even told Seda Hoca that my dream is to one day sit for the proficiency examination administered by one of Turkiye's leading institutions. I am dreaming big thanks to Seda Hoca.

Most importantly though, I am starting to even a little, peep down the deep ocean that is the beautiful, magical, enchanted world that Turkiye is. 

If you know, you know. If you don't know...you may want to watch out. The Turkish bug is contagious!