Making mistakes while learning a language is something inevitable that new learners will face, but there is a big difference between a person who isn’t afraid to make a mistake and another who is.
In this post, I will talk about the 6 most common mistakes that Turkish language learners might face.
1- Being afraid of making mistakes
I know it might be intimidating and maybe you might feel embarrassed in front of the person you are speaking with but remember that without making mistakes you will never or at least, let’s say, it will take you longer to learn Turkish. So, why lose all that time to learn the language when you can learn it in a shorter period?!
Do you know that Turkish people feel happy when they see a foreigner trying to speak their language? Yes, I faced such a situation myself. And most of them encourage you to continue. Next time you are afraid to make mistake keep this in mind!!
2- Depending on others and hanging out with the wrong people
Don’t get me wrong, there is no problem with your friends. The problem is when you hang out ONLY with those who speak your language. Doing that won’t make you mingle in the society you are trying to learn the language of.
Take a minute and think of it, make some time for your friends and family and some time for YOU. Go out alone, try to meet and talk to Turkish people in the market, on the bus, etc…Try this and I assure you that you will notice a big difference and you will learn the language faster.
And by depending on others I mean, don’t always take your kid or a friend (who are already fluent in Turkish) with you when you want to run an errand. Depend on yourself!!
3- Translating a sentence from your native language to Turkish
In the beginning, this might be normal since you have no idea about the Turkish language. But after taking courses and advancing with the language, STOP IT !!
What will help you is listening and hearing Turkish a lot. In the market, while walking down the street, at the bus stop, during your ride in the bus or metro, listening to a podcast in Turkish, watching Turkish series or movies, and even while cleaning, cooking, or working just turn on the radio and listen to anything in Turkish.
4- Giving Up
Don’t give up, nothing is impossible when you have the right mindset and determination. Just think of those who know 5 or more languages are they superheroes or smarter? I don’t think so, if they can do it so can YOU!!
5- Not Staying away from negative people
Whether you are learning Turkish or simply in your daily life, stay away from those who hold you back. Stay away from those who are always complaining about how HARD Turkish is!! And how they have been living in Turkey for years and couldn’t learn the language. Ah! And how Turkish people are negative and hate foreigners and don’t help you and, and, and….
Hanging out with such people will only make you feel worse in all aspects of your life. There are always positive, optimistic people out there and those are the people you NEED!
6- Depending on literal translation
We all need to translate words using one of those translators out there. But this doesn’t always work especially in Turkish because some phrases are meant to be said as they are, translating them will definitely give you a wrong meaning. Of course, this might be hard at the beginning of your learning journey but as you advance in learning and hear these Turkish phrases in context, you will be able to know the meaning of these phrases without the need to use translators. One way to learn them faster is by buying books that explain the meaning of Turkish idioms and expressions.
Final thoughts
The Turkish language is spoken by more than 75 million people and nowadays more people are learning it for several reasons (maybe we’ll make a separate blog post for that!!) making it one of the globe’s 15 most widely spoken languages.
Now it is your turn to start. Remember, beginnings are always the hardest but try to feel/imagine the pleasure when reaching your goal, plus the memories you will collect during your learning journey!!
Which of these 6 mistakes did you or are you struggling with now?
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