Rating: 
Summary: very cheepy edition
Review: It seems that they tried to make a course book spending as little money as possible. It is full of typos, sometimes they just forget the translation of the introduced vocabularly (e.g. chapter 3 dialogue 2) and you have to look about it at the dictionary. In every chapter, they introduce new vocabulary in exercises as isolated words (e.g. even root verbs!!) instead doing so inside the main text and then they expect that you remember it. The terminology they use when they explaining grammar is a jargon that makes anybody that has finished Middle school very annoyed. Not being unfair, I am at chapter 4 and I've enjoyed it till now, but I will continue with another course book.
Rating: 
Summary: Would have been higher if the tapes had been there.
Review: Listen to what your fellow reviewers are saying about this book! Despite what the title says, without tapes, this is in no way complete!Make sure you ONLY get it if the tapes are available! As far as I can tell, the tapes are no longer available (checking with book distributors such as Baker and Taylor). If you have other good books with tapes, you may find this one helpful, but it isn't top on my list. I've been teaching myself Turkish (slowly, painfully but I'm old!) for months and was excited to see this one, 7th of the books I purchased on this topic. Wish I'd skipped this one in favor of the last one I bought(which was the best!). This book is good if you want to be able to take lessons and quizzes (which I do) but is extremely frustrating without the tapes as many of the exercises refer to the missing tapes. Still glad I have it, but it isn't the best around.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazon does not sell this with the cassette.
Review: Since it appeared Amazon was selling this product with the cassette, I paid the full price from them instead of buying used, The order arrived and there was no cassette included. The description states:
* Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books; Book and Cassette edition (April 11, 1998) Amazon never answered my email regarding this issue, so I will be returning for a refund. The book itself looks great.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent for Beginners
Review: Teach Yourself Turkish is one of the best language books I have ever used. Each lesson builds on the previous one, and presents useful situations that apply what is being learned in context. Vocabulary building comes quickly, and grammar, syntax and verb conjugation are explained in terms very easy to digest. My only problem with the book was the authors' occasional inclusion of new grammatical elements without explaining them. Aside from this small flaw, the book is excellent and a must for anyone wanting to learn Turkish.
Rating: 
Summary: The book I wish I'd learned from
Review: Textbooks are usually written by teachers, not learners. Teach Yourself Turkish is an exception. It is a collaboration between my wife, Asuman (a native speaker and teacher of Turkish) and myself (a *learner* of Turkish and educational technologist).
When writing the course I wanted to create "the book I wish had been available when I went to live in Turkey": I wanted dialogues which did not insult the intelligence of the reader; I wanted Turkish which would get me interacting *fast*; I wanted recycling of language items without over-dwelling on them; I wanted clear, jargon-free English; I wanted to tackle head-on all the grammar questions which other books fudged or made incomprehensible through jargon; I wanted language exercises which required the learer to think about the *meaning* of the language they're using; I wanted entertainment; I wanted a book which was transparent.
I believe my wife and I have achieved the above in Teach Yourself Turkish.
You're thinking "he would say that, wouldn't he?". Well, buy it and email me if I'm wrong..
Rating: 
Summary: It's no good without the cassette tapes
Review: The authors state that the book is designed to be used with their cassette tapes which correspond to each lesson, or with the assistance of a Turkish speaking teacher. IT DOESN'T COME FROM AMAZON WITH THE TAPES! If you had a Turkish speaking teacher, you could use any of a dozen other texts. So, until Amazon starts sending the tapes with the book, don't waste your money on this book.
Rating:
Summary: It's no good without the cassette tapes
Review: The authors state that the book is designed to be used with their cassette tapes which correspond to each lesson, or with the assistance of a Turkish speaking teacher. IT DOESN'T COME FROM AMAZON WITH THE TAPES! If you had a Turkish speaking teacher, you could use any of a dozen other texts. So, until Amazon starts sending the tapes with the book, don't waste your money on this book.
Rating:
Summary: Be Careful!
Review: The book description says that the new edition has "2 CD recordings." Alas, the book arrived with no CDs. Apparently this refers to a different edition. I'm returning it--I specifically wanted something with an audio recording, as I understand that the pronunciation is crucial when attempting to speak Turkish.
Rating:
Summary: Tapes do not come with the book
Review: The text makes reference to an accompanying cassette but all that comes from Amazon is the book. I have sent a fax to the American distributor at 847-679 2494 and an e-mail to the British distributor orders@bookpoint.co.uk but so far no way to get the tape. The British publisher is Hodder and Stoughton Educational 338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH The book seems pretty good to me but I haven't been to Turkey yet. It's a tough language.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun and fast.
Review: This book is so much more fun than any of the other textbooks that I have tried that I am acutally eager to study. The sessions go by fast, but I feel that I really have learned a lot. The only problem I have is with the pronounciation guide at the begining which was written for British-English speakers and was confusing for me an American-English speaker. Thankfully though I have my own Turkish tutor to help me with the prounciations.
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