Turkish: student comments
Hear it from our students themselves!
STUDENT TESTIMONIALS
I never imagined I would choose to study Turkish at Northwestern, but it has been one of the best experiences of my college career! Between class and Turkish cultural events, you learn so much about both the language and culture of Turkey. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to try a lesser taught language in a small class setting. It is an amazing program!
Georgia Schafer ‘22 Political Science and Anthropology
In the spring of my junior year, I ran into my friend selling Turkish treats at the Rock. She and her professor, Professor Topcuoglu, shared with me about the growing Turkish department and encouraged me to enroll in first-year Turkish. The following fall, I began my Turkish journey at Northwestern as a senior finishing my German and Religious Studies degrees. I decided to take Turkish as a supplement to my German studies, particularly given the close link between German and Turkish cultures. I am so grateful I decided to take Turkish and I learned more than I thought possible! Not only did I learn the basics of the Turkish language, but I learned a lot about the culture and history of Turkey as well. I only wish I had enrolled in Turkish earlier in my Northwestern career!
Reilly, German and Religious Studies ‘20
Turkish has been my favorite class at Northwestern, and defined my learning experience in such a positive way. The small class environment, engaged teacher and mix of language and culture lessons are unlike many courses you'll take in your time at college. Take advantage of that required language distro to study a language offered in few universities across the US, and meet a diverse group of people you wouldn't have come across otherwise!
Hannah, Medill School of Journalism ‘21
I decided to study Turkish at NU because my father is Turkish and I have a lot of family in Turkey but I never learned to speak the language, although I had always wanted to. Last summer I studied Turkish for two months in Istanbul and was able to continue my learning at NU as a part of Oya's class. It's been an incredible experience studying it at Northwestern because the classes are very small and collaborative so no one is able to fall behind and everyone's questions are always answered. Also, Oya is an amazing teacher and she makes Turkish class something to look forward to because she always assigns texts, music, projects and other learning materials that are both entertaining and engaging. For example, last quarter we cooked a Turkish meal together as a class project. Since I study theatre and acting and am hoping to one day act in Turkey, learning the language is very important to me and to the career I want to pursue. I definitely recommend taking Turkish if you have the opportunity to!
Alisha, School of Communication ‘19
I decided to take this class on a whim but now I'm glad I did! Class is fun and very focused on what the students want to learn or talk about. There's a lot of cultural context to every we learn so it's more than just a language course in a really good way.
Kinsey, WCAS ‘19