I really never imagined that I would actually grasp a language in such a short amount of time. Spanish is my second language and Chinese my third and both of those languages have taken me 5+ years of intensive classes and cultural immersion to pick them up. It was surprisingly easy for me to have a basic handle of Turkish with the help of Sezgi and a few apps. As a language learner, I have learned skills and approaches towards learning and remembering vocabulary such as repetition and flashcards that I will be able to take with me and employ if I decide to travel to Turkey or anywhere else I learn a language. I test myself every weekend after I go over what I learned in class that week because I want to know that I am remembering what I learned and I am able to make use of it on command, without much thought. In that way, I also learned that I am better at learning languages with others. Conversation is the easiest way for me to apply my language skills. In reviewing for our final, I have learned that I can answer questions relatively easily and understand exactly what is being asked of me, but in thinking of a monologue, I have a little bit more trouble recalling what I wanted to say or thinking of topics on the spot. That is not to say that I am not remembering those topics, but I am not able to bring them to the forefront of my mind without being asked about them.
I reaffirmed what I already know; international politics and religion seriously grasp my attention. I think that those two topics are excellent cultural markers and I learn a lot about a country and I can infer a lot about the culture of a country based on the historical contexts of their political structure and religion. It points to values and virtues and how important tradition is based on how richly a country's history plays into their present circumstances. For instance, Turkey's return to Islam is especially important considering the history of the Ottoman Empire with religion and the elimination of religion in government after the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
I think I will continue to learn about Turkish history, culture, and language, because I am intrigued by the traditional aspect of the culture and the fight to modernize while respect the roots of the Empire. To continue learning, I may keep in touch with friends of mine who speak Turkish, follow Turkish news, and stay committed to daily participation of my Turkish-learning app.
Some things I found most useful include:
- having a native speaker teach
- homework/reviewing on your own by creating quizlets
- listening to myself speak to gain confidence in my abilities
- using an app
- individual work in the classroom is what I am best at, but I really enjoy going over it all as a class
- being introduced to music
- being introduced to the culture/history of the Empire
- I can introduce myself including my name, how I am, and where I am from.
- I can hold a dialogue with greetings and salutations.
- I can count and do basic addition.
- I can talk about the weather.
- I can talk about the months, days, and seasons.
- I can ask questions about where something is in relation to myself or someone else.
- I can pluralize nouns.
- I can talk about my family.
- (b) Which readings and learning activities did you find most useful? What would you like to learn more about?
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