LingoflySigning up for a course in Kazakh
A person calls a language school and picks a group in Kazakh. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Сәлеметсіз бе (Sälemetsiz be), қазақ тілі (Qazaq tili) курсына (kursyna) жазылғым келеді (keledi).» — Hello, I would like to sign up for a Kazakh course; «Тіл (Til) деңгейіңіз қандай (Qandai)? Бұрын (būryn) оқыдыңыз ба (ba)?» — What is your language level? Have you studied before? Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a person calls a language school and picks a group. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Сәлеметсіз бе, қазақ тілі курсына жазылғым келеді.Sälemetsiz be, qazaq tili kursyna zhazylğym keledi.Hello, I would like to sign up for a Kazakh course.
- Тіл деңгейіңіз қандай? Бұрын оқыдыңыз ба?Til deñgeiiñiz qandai? Būryn oqydyñyz ba?What is your language level? Have you studied before?
- Сабақты жіберіп алсам, конспект бере аласыз ба?Sabaqty zhiberip alsam, konspekt bere alasyz ba?If I miss a class, can you give me the notes?
- Aitylym köbirek bola ma? Mağan grammatika qiyn soğady.Will there be more speaking? Grammar is hard for me.
- Iä, zhartysy — söileu. Qadam-qadammen ilgerileisiz.Yes, half the lesson is speaking. You will move forward step by step.
Lines one by one
| Kazakh | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Сәлеметсіз бе (Sälemetsiz be), қазақ тілі (Qazaq tili) курсына (kursyna) жазылғым келеді (keledi). | Sälemetsiz be, qazaq tili kursyna zhazylğym keledi. | Hello, I would like to sign up for a Kazakh course. |
| Тіл (Til) деңгейіңіз қандай (Qandai)? Бұрын (būryn) оқыдыңыз ба (ba)? | Til deñgeiiñiz qandai? Būryn oqydyñyz ba? | What is your language level? Have you studied before? |
| Мен (Men) бастаушымын (bastaushymyn), бірақ (Biraq) тез (tez) үйренемін (üirenemin). | Men bastaushymyn, biraq tez üirenemin. | I'm a beginner, but I learn fast. |
| Түсінікті (tüsinikti). Кешкі (Keshki) топ (top) бар (Bar), аптасына (aptasyna) үш (Üsh) рет (ret). | Tüsinikti. Keshki top bar, aptasyna üsh ret. | I see. There is an evening group, three times a week. |
| Сабақты (sabaqty) жіберіп (zhiberip) алсам (alsam), конспект (Konspekt) бере (bere) аласыз (alasyz) ба (ba)? | Sabaqty zhiberip alsam, konspekt bere alasyz ba? | If I miss a class, can you give me the notes? |
| Әрине (Ärine). Бірінші сабақ тегін (Birinshi sabaq tegin), келіп (kelip) көріңіз (köriñiz). | Ärine. Birinshi sabaq tegin, kelip köriñiz. | Of course. The first lesson is free, come and try. |
| Айтылым (Aitylym) көбірек (Köbirek) бола (bola) ма (ma)? Маған (Mağan) грамматика (Grammatika) қиын (qiyn) соғады (soğady). | Aitylym köbirek bola ma? Mağan grammatika qiyn soğady. | Will there be more speaking? Grammar is hard for me. |
| Иә (Iä), жартысы — сөйлеу (Söileu). Қадам-қадаммен (Qadam-qadammen) ілгерілейсіз. | Iä, zhartysy — söileu. Qadam-qadammen ilgerileisiz. | Yes, half the lesson is speaking. You will move forward step by step. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Kazakh in this situation?
“Сәлеметсіз бе (Sälemetsiz be), қазақ тілі (Qazaq tili) курсына (kursyna) жазылғым келеді (keledi).” (Sälemetsiz be, qazaq tili kursyna zhazylğym keledi.) — Hello, I would like to sign up for a Kazakh course. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.