Learning Plan

[Christopher J Meike]

Christopher J Meike

SDLC 105

September 13, 2019

 

Christopher J. Meike learning plan:

 

Like Gual, my Turkish language deficiency can be divided into three parts:

 

1. Grammar: There are particular grammatical constructions I do not understand and have not had the opportunity to learn in my previous studies of Modern Turkish. Generally, I have had to look these up myself and have not received feedback upon my usage of these new concepts. These are suffixes include, but are not limited to, miş, mişti, dir, ki, leş, and en. The knowledge of the cases associated with particular verbs is another deficiency of mine. More new grammatical concepts will surface as I explore more advanced content.

 

2. Vocabulary: As a beginner and, later, as an intermediate level Turkish learner, I have had a very limited vocabulary. I attribute this to the controlled and limited situations in which I found myself using Turkish. This lack of vocabulary restricts my ability to engage with Turkish-speaking people and Turkish-language literature. I would like to learn the vocabulary relevant to a romance novel or a Turkish-Language soap-opera, as they would help create a greater pool of words from which I could draw in casual expression and increase my comprehension of “daily” conversations. Further, I would like to develop a more specialized vocabulary pertaining to history and the terms historians using the Turkish language employ.

 

3. Syntax (word-order): Thoughts are structured differently in Turkish than they are in English. “I went to the library” is “kütüphaneye gittim:” (Literally:) Library+to go+(past simple)+I. This is a simple example and I know how to order such brief thoughts. My problem is in ordering more complicated thoughts. If I wanted to say, “When I went to the library with Sibel after that Tuesday, I saw that the wind and rain had caused a tree to fall,” I might say, “O gürütülü bir günde, kütüphaneye Sibel’le giddiken (How do you make a relative clause?) yağmur ve rüzgar ağaç düştürdüler.” If that is in the “natural” syntax or if it would sound odd to a native speaker, I do not know.

 

I have achieved what I would call an intermediate level understanding of Turkish. I can understand many but not close to all of the words used in simple conversations. I have a basic vocabulary of around 800 words. There are many thousands of words yet to learn. Fortunately, however, there are fewer grammatical concepts in language than words, thus I would say I have learned 60 percent of the grammar of the language. In regard to syntax, I have a basic understanding, but I am not particularly comfortable. I have also gained a keen eye for identifying grammar that I do not know.

 

The resources I wish to use to gain knowledge in my areas of deficiency:

 

1. Hazal Hanım: She can serve as a conversation partner with whom I can use Turkish, a critic who can evaluate my use of the language and provide tips and corrections, and a point of reference in the case of confusion.

 

2. Grammar Books: Grammar books will allow me to review concepts I cannot recall and new concept which I have not yet seen. As no grammar book is wholly comprehensive, I find it best to collect multiple so that one will cover what another does not.

 

3. Quizlet: This will allow me to practice identifying words and their translations, an exercise which should help with comprehension and employment of Turkish words.

 

4. Novel: Reading short romance novels in Turkish will allow me an opportunity to learn a vocabulary as well as idioms used for social settings.

 

5. History Book or Articles: Reading an academic history in Turkish will give me my first contact with the words and grammatical concepts I will need to use to read similar books and articles in graduate school.

 

6. Additional language partners: Hazal has mentioned the possibility of speaking with people she knows in Anatolia. This would help get me out of the nest of the classroom to practice my communication skills in Turkish with someone who is not a teacher.

 

My studies will allow me to study Turkish at a different level because they will patch the holes in my knowledge of the language and help me with new obstacles (grammar, syntax, vocabulary) as they present themselves. The time spent on text and communication about text will give me a vocabulary that will crack open for me the heavy doors of the Turkish-language academic press. Further, I will improve both my written and spoken ability to express myself.

 

My interest was first prompted by the necessity of reading primary sources in graduate school. As my interest is in Ottoman History, those primary sources could very well be written in Ottoman. However, the programs for Ottoman require Modern Turkish as a prerequisite. Further, some knowledge of Arabic or Persian is also necessary.

 

I did not receive any feedback from my classmates.