Although this semester did not turn out the way I expected it to be, I still learned a lot outside of language itself. I do plan to pursue learning Turkish in the future, as I am still a little disappointed in myself for stopping. However, I do have the resources on the Ning and did work with some of the resources that were advised to me. I can continue learning Turkish through the books that Merve suggested, online resources, and continuing my journey through possibly finding a language partner once I reach that step. My greatest challenge has definitely been trying to create these posts in reference to my target language, which I am not currently enrolled in. Also, I had a hard time in trying to make posts not circulated around language, but deviated towards the country/culture commonly associated with it.
The Learning Styles survey we took in our first week of classes gave me greater insight on my learning style, which was something I would have never tried to make an effort to figure out. I can better establish goals in my future language learning settings and draw from my learning plan that I originally devised. I now have a better sense in how to gain greater knowledge in terms of language, with techniques that may be something I find more comfortable. However, I enjoyed the learning activities and our writing assignments as a means for us to reflect on our own languages. In looking up the history of Turkish and reading about Ottoman Turkish, I gained insight on the roots of the languages along with the influences throughout history on the language. Even looking up the language families of my target language gave me a better understanding of what I was to expect and what I was working with. I think people often do not think about the branches or families of languages that they are learning, even though it may benefit them in knowing.
I particularly enjoyed our earlier readings in regards to Hofstede Dimensions of Culture, since interpretations of culture often plays a big part in language and understanding. By looking up Turkey, in reference to these dimensions of culture, I was able to draw many similarities and differences in our cultures. I did learn that I am awful at figuring out IPA phonetic spelling and that it is something I should never seriously pursue, but I did have fun trying to guess the spellings for certain words. I also enjoyed talking about dying languages and took this as an opportunity to read and explore the dying languages in the regions of the world I am interested in. Even though most of the people that do end up taking SDLC may not be learning a language that is going extinct, it is important for people to be aware of the factors that contributed to such a decline. Also, looking up the other languages that are often the second language of the country associated with your language will give you a greater insight on how these languages became more and more outdated.
The teaching presentations was one of the highlights of the semester, even though I don't really know Turkish past the alphabet and twenty words. It gave me a better idea of how we process and present language, especially one that may be very unfamiliar to us. In figuring out how to properly present simple words, phrases, and ideas to people who may not otherwise have any exposure to the language. I do believe that you never really know something until you teach it, which may be easier if you have lower knowledge in the subject. Even though I was pulling out words and phrases that I completely was unfamiliar with, I had a good time in explaining the patterns and how to say certain words.
I have studied Russian with people who were not aware of Russian-speaking countries besides Russia and Ukraine. Often, we learn a language without having much insight on the cultural roots besides the general stereotypes that are persistent in our language books. This class has overall served as a means of intercultural communication and cultural self-awareness that has definitely benefited many of us. I would have never learned so much about Turkish culture and the roots of the language itself. I do think it should be a greater requirement for people learning any language at all, to be given the task to do even simple background research on the history and cultural aspects of their target language.
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