What to expect in a private online lesson
Before the first lesson your level is checked, either with the free online placement test or in a free 15-minute trial lesson. The teacher then plans the lessons around your goals: everyday conversation, Turkish for work, preparing for a move to Türkiye, or filling the gaps from earlier self-study.
A 50-minute lesson usually mixes speaking, a short focused grammar or vocabulary point, and practice that you continue on your own. Because there is no group to keep pace with, the teacher can slow down on something difficult and move quickly through what you already know.
Lessons follow a coursebook when that helps, at Royal Turkish Schools the school's own Pusula books, but a private lesson can also be built around your own material, such as emails you have to write or conversations you need to prepare.
How to choose an online Turkish tutor or school
- Is the teacher a trained Turkish teacher, not only a native speaker? Explaining vowel harmony or suffix order clearly is a teaching skill.
- Is there a clear level structure (CEFR A1 to C1) and a way to see your progress?
- Can you try a lesson first, without entering card details?
- What happens if the teacher is ill or you have to cancel, and is the rule written down?
- Is there a replacement teacher, so your learning does not stop if your tutor leaves?
- Do you get materials and practice between lessons, or only the live hour?
- Will you receive a certificate when you finish, and who issues it?
Tutor marketplace or language school
Tutor marketplaces give you a wide choice of individual teachers and prices, and some excellent teachers work there. The quality, method and reliability depend entirely on the person you choose, and there is usually no shared curriculum or certificate.
A school gives you a set curriculum, coursebooks, a team that can replace a teacher, and an organisation responsible for scheduling and records. Royal Turkish Schools is a language school in Istanbul and Izmir accredited by the Turkish Ministry of Education (MEB), and online private students receive the same completion certificate as in-person students.
Packages and prices
Private lessons at Royal Turkish Schools are sold in packages of 50-minute lessons: 5 lessons for €140 (€28 per lesson), 10 lessons for €250 (€25), 20 lessons for €460 (€23) and 50 lessons for €1,000 (€20). There is no registration fee for online courses.
A small package is a sensible start if you want to get to know the teacher and the format. Learners who already know they will study regularly usually take 20 or 50 lessons, where the price per lesson is lower.
Scheduling, evenings and weekends
Lessons can be scheduled on any day of the week, including evenings and weekends, and the times are shown in your own time zone. This matters if you live in the Americas or East Asia, where the Turkish working day falls at night or very early in the morning.
You receive an email reminder before each lesson, in your local time, so a change between summer and winter time does not cause a missed lesson. Most learners keep fixed slots, for example two evenings a week, because regularity helps more than long irregular sessions.
Cancellation rule
In the student panel you can cancel a lesson free of charge up to 24 hours before it starts. Cancellations later than that, and lessons you do not attend, use one lesson credit. Knowing the rule in advance makes it easy to plan around travel and work.