[abrenzel]

Loved the comment about it being a "switch." This is exactly what I found when I went to Turkey after 2 years of studying Turkish. I was in a program where we had a 4 hour class in the morning taught about 80% in Turkish. The first week or two was terrible. Then the "switch" flipped. I wasn't a fluent speaker and still missed words and phrases while listening, but all of a sudden I could follow the class, do the lessons correctly, and ask semi-intelligent questions. It's a great moment when you're learning a language.

[ebiester]

Which program? I did a month of the absolute beginner level at Tomer in Istanbul. I remember being so absolutely lost the entire class, but somehow I kept learning. I'm still not at the point where I can make the "switch," like I used to in Spanish, but that's more my current priorities. (watching two languages slip away... sigh)

[abrenzel]

I did the AATT/ARIT summer program at Bogazici in Istanbul. I thought it was a very good program, but very intense. I have heard some good things and some bad things about Tomer.

[ebiester]

Tomer has some good teachers, but the admin side is one of the worst bureaucracy experiences I've seen. I've heard good things about Bogazici, including that they didn't let you speak anything but Turkish on campus.