I'm Dr. Furkan Kurt, an academic, not just a language teacher. I've taught Turkish at universities and government institutions in five countries, and online to students from 20+ countries around the world.
Experience
- I taught Turkish to foreigners in Kazakhstan (2012-2015), North Macedonia (2015-2020), Türkiye (2020-2021) and Nigeria (2021). From 2021 to 2024 I worked online with students from different countries; since 2024 I have been teaching Turkish in Kyrgyzstan.
- From 2012 to 2021 I worked at the Yunus Emre Institute as a Turkish teacher and education coordinator, and taught Turkish to staff of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Presidency of the Republic of North Macedonia.
- Lecturer in Turkish at the School of Foreign Languages, Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University.
- PhD in Turkish Folklore, Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University (2022).
Education
- Bachelor's degree: Turkish Language and Literature Teaching, Khoja Akhmet Yassawi International Kazakh-Turkish University, Turkistan (2003-2008)
- Master's degree: Turkish Folklore, Gazi University, Ankara (2010-2013)
- PhD: Turkish Folklore, Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University (2016-2022)
Positions
- 2012-2015: Yunus Emre Institute, Turkish Cultural Center in Astana; Turkish teacher and coordinator of educational and cultural activities. Taught Turkish to staff of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan and at L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University and S. Seifullin Kazakh Agrotechnical University.
- 2015-2020: Yunus Emre Institute, Turkish Cultural Center in Skopje. Taught Turkish at the Presidency of the Republic of North Macedonia, at several ministries and at International Balkan University.
- 2020-2021: Yunus Emre Institute, Ankara; taught Turkish online to students from different countries.
- 2021: Yunus Emre Institute, Turkish Cultural Center in Abuja (Nigeria); taught Turkish.
- 2021-2024: Online Turkish lessons for adults from different countries on the Preply platform.
- 2024-present: Lecturer in Turkish, School of Foreign Languages, Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University.
- I have written placement, level-completion and proficiency exams.
Publications
I have published books and conference papers on teaching Turkish to foreigners and on Turkish folklore. I have studied the difficulties that speakers of Russian, Kazakh and Macedonian meet in reading, speaking and writing Turkish; many explanations in these lessons come from that work.
- Türkçe-Rusça Konuşma Kılavuzu (Turkish-Russian phrasebook), Cinius Yayınları, 2024
- Türkçe-Makedonca Konuşma Kılavuzu (Turkish-Macedonian phrasebook), with F. Ruşid, K. Yayınları, 2023
- Türk Halk Bilimi ve Yabancılara Türkçe Öğretimi Yazıları (Essays on Turkish folklore and teaching Turkish to foreigners), K. Yayınları, 2023
- Kültürel Mirasın İzinde Türk Halk Bilimi (Turkish folklore on the trail of cultural heritage), Cinius Yayınları, 2024
- "Rus Dillilere Türkçe Öğretiminde Okuma ve Konuşma Becerilerinde Karşılaşılan Sorunlar ve Çözüm Önerileri" (Problems in reading and speaking when teaching Turkish to Russian speakers, and solutions), International Symposium on Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language, Warsaw (2015)
- "Kazak Dillilere Türkçe Öğretiminde Okuma ve Konuşma Becerilerinde Karşılaşılan Sorunlar ve Çözüm Önerileri" (Problems in reading and speaking when teaching Turkish to Kazakh speakers, and solutions), Erzurum (2015)
How I teach
Not memorisation, but the logic of the rule. Every grammar explanation on this site and on the channel starts with a rule and the reason behind it, because a rule you understand is one you can use in a new sentence.
Many learners understand far more Turkish than they can say. The lessons are built to close that gap: short explanations, real sentences from everyday life, and then speaking.
Languages of explanation
I explain most of my videos in Turkish and some in Russian. For many years I also taught students who speak Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Macedonian.
Why everything here is free
The video lessons, the grammar articles and the live practice events are free. New lessons appear first on the YouTube channel; this site gives each of them a written summary, vocabulary and examples, and a place to ask questions.
Institutions I have worked with
- Yunus Emre Institute
- Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan
- Presidency of the Republic of North Macedonia
