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I think the practice sessions with my learning partner are really helpful, especially when there are other students there to practice conversing with. Justine and I were in the same practice session and practiced conversations where we introduced ourselves to each other, asking questions like "What's your name?", "How are you?", "Where are you from?", etc. In Turkish, saying "I am from __" consists of one word, which at first was a little unnatural to me. Turkish is an agglutinative language, so you can tack on endings to a word to form new words that translate into full sentences (which makes it more difficult to look words up). However, when saying "I am from __", it was difficult for me to know which vowels to use for the ending that translates to "I am from...". For example, "Virjinyaliyim" means "I am from Virginia," and "New Yorkluyum" means "I am from New York." After "Virjinya" and "New York," the endings "-liyim" and "-luyum" were used to convey "I am from (Virginia/New York)", but they are spelled differently. Apparently this is because Turkish has something called vowel harmony, which I will learn about more in the future. In my own time, I looked up different countries in Turkish and their endings that translate to "I am from" to get a better sense of how vowel harmony works and to identify patterns in how the vowels match up with the word it is modifying.
Expanding from the greetings that we learned independently, Merve went over the difference between formal and informal conversations when introducing yourself and asking introductory questions during our practice session. We also learned about formal/informal relationships and situations where they are used.
At this point in my self-directed language experience I was jumping between many different resources to learn Turkish. However, I think it would be more helpful for me to establish a routine and to know the resources I should use when I want to learn more about something.
The first half of this week was mainly trying to figure out the logistics of the course (scheduling times with my language partner, Merve, understanding what the course entails, etc.). I was very eager to start learning Turkish and figured that I should start with greetings, but in terms of resources I didn't quite know where to begin. Luckily, Merve suggested some Turkish workbooks for us to work through. So I started from the beginning of the workbook where there were exercises on greetings/phrases for introducing yourself. Because the workbooks were in Turkish and had no English translations, I had to look up a lot of words (I think Tureng is the best dictionary for this) and write them down. I like the idea of omitting English from the workbook, but it was difficult for me to understand some of the instructions, which were written in Turkish as well. I also looked through some YouTube videos from the TurkishClass101 channel, which were useful for pronunciation and for explaining the meanings of these new words and phrases. Regarding the effectiveness of my self-learning strategies, I think I need to find other methods to enhance my retention of new words besides just writing them down.
Throughout this year, my opinion on my learning habits and preferences did not change significantly. I still believe that I am a mix of a visual and a tactile learner. I understand information better by writing it out, color coding, visualizing, sitting in the front of the room, but I remember it better if I act it out, walk while reading, or arrange it in thematic groups. A few keys habits/needs I’ve noticed in terms of my learning processes are the following: 1) I cannot memorize information that is typed out or written by someone else – it needs to be my own writing. I am not sure if that is because of my handwriting or the way in which I organize information. In the same vein, I tend to understand and retain information better if it is written in blue ben (if color-coded, the basis color would be blue). 2) No matter how good someone is at explaining concepts, I may understand them I the moment they are being explained to me, but if I don’t go back and rework them o my own, I will rarely remember them. I have the same issue when I don’t understand the reasoning/logical continuation leading to an idea or a result. I have a hard time remembering a fact if the why behind it has not been explained to me in a logical manner. 3) I love trees and charts! If there is a way in which I can depict information in a tree, showing the relations between key ideas, then I will do it, because that is the easiest way for me to understand and remember all the information associated with it. Same for charts; pros and cons are a prime example; I would much rather write them as bullet points in two columns than in a paragraph or sentence(s).
For language learning specifically, I have noticed both with Spanish and English that I learn much faster by being forced to speak (i.e. being thrown into a country that only speaks that language) or by interacting with native speakers; asking them questions, having to paraphrase what I want to say in very simple terms, even including pantomime, because I have no other way of communicating my thought to them. Then what usually happens is they figure out what I’m trying to say and say it in that language. When this happens, whatever it is I was trying to covey, I will not easily forget later on because much time and attention were spent on it, and I tried to figure it out myself (going back to the learning styles).
Another strategy that I find works really well for me when learning a language (in addition to the ones mentioned before) is listening to songs in that language, looking up the word-for-word translation of the lyrics, and reading along while the song is playing. That way I have the general sense of what the song is about, and more or less what each word means, so when I have to recall said words I will remember them in the context of the song and will hence be much more likely to remember what they meant.
I really enjoyed the cultural stereotype beat-boxing video, as well as our discussions on the effects of language on learning. The topic of dead languages or dialects reminded me of a similar chapter I did in English literature in high school, where I had to read the story of an Italian family that migrated to the US, and write a diary entry as one of the children in that family. Language is an integral part of a people, and without knowing it, we can never really understand them fully. Thus, regardless of where I will raise my family and what other languages are spoken in the household, I have decided that my children will have to learn Greek.
In Greece, construction is very different from in America. For the most part, people live in houses that they or their ancestors built. Nobody buys houses, but they are passed down through the family. The housing market is slim, and the houses themselves are substantially different from American homes. Here, where wood is plentiful, most houses are made of wood; likewise, houses in Greece are mostly made of stone, since it is cheap and accessible. We have received criticism for buying homes like possessions and for building them out of flammable materials. Without going into a roasting session, the ideas of building a home a particular way are as foreign to the opposite sides of the Atlantic as the languages are.
This entry is light, but an observation that seemed strange to me. In English, we are taught the almost limitless importance of etymology, knowing which words come from Greek, Latin, Germanic, etc. While I asked Smaragda the etymology of a particular Greek word, she answered “That’s just what it is. There is no etymology.” I was floored, but then realized that many Greek words were made up by Greeks , and did not have any real history before them. Many other words are just compounds of Greek morphemes, and so the etymology that Greeks care about only extends as far as Greek. According to the father in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, everything comes from a Greek word, and that’s as far back as it goes.
Smaragda and I recently discussed the Greek military in one of our classes, and I was curious as to the difference between our cultures regarding the military. In North Carolina, many people join the military or are affiliated in some way. Where I’m from, some high school graduates went to work, a small handful went to college, and the majority went straight into the service. It’s a way of life and an expectation that we all serve in some capacity. Greece has a slightly different cultural association with the military. While it is not quite an expectation to join, many of the young men and women enlist for the job security coupled with the opportunity to serve. Greece has come into some hard times, and such government jobs are the closest thing to a guarantee for a job.
Since I’ll be in Greece over Christmas, I will need to know what is happening. With this in mind, Smaragda and I strayed from our syllabus and focused a week on Christmas in Greece. Many of the traditions are not terribly different from America’s, but with a few notable exceptions. While America can secularize even a religious holiday, Greece acknowledges the secular aspects but overpowers them with religious traditions. To name a few, they bake special breads, cakes, and cookies, which are blessed by Saint Nicholas. The young men swim a race to retrieve a wooden cross that a priest throws into the sea, and the winner and his home are blessed well for the year. Everyone goes to church on the three big days of Christmas (Christmas, New Year’s, and Epiphany), and the focus of the holiday is not lost to commercializing a sentiment, but given to prayer and preparation for the new year. Of course, the feasting is not to be overlooked, but the fervent focus on the religious celebration awes me, especially since I am not Greek Orthodox.
Here is a video of the race for the cross: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bbpwp_3Aq4c
One of my Greek friends, Myrsini, has been an immense help to me in my study of Greek. She wants me to learn as much as she can possibly teach me. Myrsini and I will have lunch sometimes, and during the whole meal, she will only speak to me in Greek. If I ask for a clarification, she just hits me and says “You should know this”. She usually says that much in Greek too. She firmly believes in the immersive approach, and while I do believe that it is a very useful tool. In part, Smaragda admits to putting Myrsini up to it, but wwe all know that she would have been more than willing to immerse me. They call this immersion a baptism into the culture, but sometimes it feels a little bit like drowning. I don’t mind, because when I do come up for air, I appreciate the knowledge and insight I’ve gained from our conversations. I’m counting Myrsini as one of my indispensable cultural artifacts.
In our class this week, Smaragda told me all about coffee in Greece. She describes it as being necessary as water to Greeks. Greeks drink coffee at least a couple times a day, and never for less than an hour or two at a time. She says that drinking coffee is a very mandatory part of visiting Greece. I drink coffee maybe once every month of two, so I will have to pick up the pace before going over. We built a sample menu for a coffeeshop to help ingrain it in my mind and help me familiarize myself with the different types of coffees commonly available. I’m including a short slideshow as a cultural artifact.%CE%9A%CE%B1%CF%86%CE%B5%CF%84%CE%AD%CF%81%CE%B9%CE%B1.pptx
Learning Plan with Self-Assessment Portion Attached
- Powerpoint Slides
Angella Lee's Cultural Presentation
- Summary of Presentation
My cultural presentation was about my cultural experiences while I was abroad at Yonsei University in South Korea. I talked about the currency and transportation aspects during my presentation because these were two parts of South Korea’s culture that I was uncertain about.
During my presentation, I talked about the metro aspect of the public transportation system because that was the one that I mainly used. I also talked about the different types of currency and how they are different from that of the U.S. I practiced what I learned about these topics by saying in Korean how to add money to your transportation card.
Overall, it was great to apply what I learned in this manner and get to reminisce over when I actually had to use these ideas while I was abroad at South Korea!
Coffee is one of the stereotypical Greek pastimes, but the stereotype is well-earned. They love their coffee, so we couldn’t avoid a unit on Greek coffeeshops and coffee types. I was more than happy to learn about these, since most of the words had English cognates, and coffee is a fun and useful. Beyond vocabulary, I learned the significance of coffee and the respect that each cup must be given, very slowly sipped over the course of hours. Culturally, it has huge significance as one of the universal pastimes in Greece, much more so than in America, so I need to know this for when I go to Greece.
Smaragda taught me about family trees, and all the terms for different members of a family. Some of these are eminently natural, like μαμά for mother. Some needed a little bit of thought, like αδερφός for brother (think Philadelphia), while others seemed to have no English connection, like παππούς for grandfather. I do prefer when everything is a cognate, but I just sat down and memorized some the hard way. This will be useful because I will be introduced to Smaragda’s family in Greek, and will need to be able to keep track of who is who to whom.
Since I will be in Greece over Christmas, I asked if we could do a week studying Greek Christmas. Smaragda agreed, and taught me dozens of words and traditions that mark a proper Greek Christmas. I was elated to be able to converse about the holidays, and being able to wish someone a merry Christmas and a happy new year filled me with joy. This is the first step to really empathizing with Greek culture, by feeling that joy that Christmas brings. Feeling it in the target culture is a gigantic step towards understanding it fully.
We realized fairly late in the semester that if I went to Greece and didn’t know how to introduce myself, then I would have a hard time getting to know anyone. I learned how to tell people who I am, where I am from, who I am with, and make very small talk. Instead of writing, this exercise was completely verbal, which of course makes much more sense, and when I can naturally ask someone in Greek how their day has been, I will be able to do so more gracefully than trying to remember words from a page.
In the second and third week of the semester, Smaragda and I planned to exclusively work on accenting rules and grammar. We broadened that focus to also include a large amount of vocabulary, to start putting the accenting into practice. We laid out a table with the rules, and laid out a long list of words to apply accent marks to. It seems to have worked well, since I can now see and hear words and know how to pronounce them. Before, I used to consistently butcher words, but now, if I suspect that a word has a cognate, I can quickly figure out how to properly accent it. This is useful, since the accenting can help me recognize cases and tenses in some words, and guide me in learning more.
