What a conversation-led lesson actually looks like
A typical lesson starts with a short warm-up question that everyone answers, for example what you did at the weekend. The teacher then sets up a situation, such as ordering at a café or asking a neighbour for help, and gives you the few phrases and structures you need for it.
Most of the time is spent using those phrases: in pairs in a breakout room, in role plays with the teacher, or in short discussions. The teacher notes your mistakes while you speak and goes through the important ones afterwards, so the conversation is not interrupted every few seconds.
Grammar is not skipped. It arrives when the situation needs it: you learn the past tense because you want to tell what happened yesterday, and the dative case because you want to say where you are going.
Typical speaking topics, from A1 to B2
- Introducing yourself: name, country, job, family, why you are learning Turkish.
- Shopping and markets: asking for prices, quantities and sizes, and bargaining politely at a bazaar.
- Phone calls: booking a table, calling a doctor's office, leaving a message, spelling your name.
- Small talk: weather, food, football, plans for the weekend, the questions Turkish neighbours tend to ask.
- Telling a story in the past: a trip, a funny moment, what happened at work, using the -di and -miş past forms.
- Disagreeing politely: giving your opinion, softening it, and accepting or rejecting a suggestion without sounding rude.
Group or private: which is better for speaking?
In a small group you hear other learners at your level, practise with partners and get used to understanding different voices and mistakes. Groups at Royal Turkish Schools have at most 8 students at the same level, which leaves room for every student to speak in each lesson. The group course costs €99 per week for 10 lessons.
In a private lesson you speak almost the whole time, the teacher can follow your interests and you can work on a specific need, such as conversations with your Turkish in-laws or meetings at work. Private packages start at €140 for 5 lessons of 50 minutes.
Many learners who mainly want to talk choose a group for regular practice and add a few private lessons when they feel stuck on something specific.
How to prepare for a conversation class
- Check your camera, microphone and Zoom before the first lesson; a headset makes a large difference to how well you hear and are heard.
- Write down three things you did or want to talk about this week, even in simple words.
- Review the phrases from the last lesson out loud, not only by reading them.
- Keep a small notebook or document for new expressions and the corrections your teacher gives you.
- Do a few minutes of speaking practice between lessons, for example with Eda, the AI conversation partner in the RTS Plus app (10 free messages per day).
Who conversational classes suit
They suit people who need to use Turkish with other people: partners and families of Turkish speakers, people planning to live or work in Türkiye, frequent travellers and learners who have studied on their own but freeze when they have to speak.
They are less suitable if your only goal is reading academic texts or passing a written exam in a short time. In that case you still benefit from speaking practice, but you will want more reading and writing work alongside it.
Can complete beginners join a conversational class?
Yes. At A1 the conversations are simply shorter: greetings, introducing yourself, numbers, asking where something is. The teacher speaks slowly, repeats and uses gestures and images, and you answer with the few words you have. Royal Turkish Schools offers a free online placement test and a free 15-minute trial lesson, so you can check your level and the format before you book.