An English teacher who speaks Bosnian or Turkish: when it helps

Most of an English lesson should be in English. But a teacher who also speaks your language can explain a difficult rule in thirty seconds instead of ten minutes, spot the mistakes your own language causes before they become habits, and help a beginner past the point where English alone feels like a wall. Amila, who teaches at Triglot Languages, is a native speaker of Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian and also speaks Turkish, so lessons can switch language for a moment whenever that helps, then go straight back to English.

Is it better to learn English only in English?

For most of the lesson, yes. You learn to speak by speaking, and every minute in English counts. The exceptions are the moments where an explanation in English would take longer than the problem deserves: a grammar point with no equivalent in your language, a word with no direct translation, or a beginner who cannot yet follow instructions in English. In those moments one sentence in Bosnian or Turkish saves time and frustration, and the lesson returns to English.

Which mistakes do Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian speakers make in English?

The same ones, again and again, because they come from the structure of the language rather than from the learner. A teacher who knows both languages sees them coming:

• Articles. Bosnian has no a or the, so they go missing ("I am teacher") or appear where English does not use them.
• The present perfect. "I live here since 2020" is a direct translation; English needs "I have lived here since 2020".
• Questions. "Where you work?" follows Bosnian word order; English needs "Where do you work?".
• False friends. Aktuelno means current, not actual. Eventualno means possibly, not eventually. Ambulanta is a clinic, not an ambulance, and gimnazija is a school, not a gym.
• Sounds. The two th sounds, w and v, and the difference between ship and sheep, which Bosnian does not make.

And Turkish speakers?

Turkish speakers meet a different set. Turkish uses one word, o, for he, she and it, so he and she are often swapped in English. Turkish also has no articles, puts the verb at the end of the sentence, and uses endings where English uses prepositions, so in, on and at take practice. The w sound does not exist in Turkish, so wine and vine can sound the same. Knowing why a mistake happens makes it much quicker to fix.

What does a lesson look like?

A fifty-minute lesson at Triglot runs almost entirely in English: a short warm-up, a focus on one thing you need, practice built on your own situations, and a recap with notes and homework sent afterwards. When something will not land, Amila explains it briefly in Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian or Turkish, writes the English example down, and moves on. Beginners hear more of their own language at first; from intermediate level, lessons rarely need it.

Who is it for?

• Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian and Turkish speakers in the UK who want English for work, appointments and everyday life.
• Professionals in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the region and Türkiye who work in English.
• Beginners who found English-only classes too fast.
• Parents booking one-to-one lessons for a school-age child.

How to start

Take the free level test to find your CEFR level, then book a free twenty-minute consultation. A fifty-minute General English lesson costs £26, and Business English costs £35, with lower prices in packs.