I think one of the most under utilized aspects of a language learners learning program is that of making recordings of what you are learning in order to listen later.  It may be that our academic minds feel more comfortable with grammar books and good old fashioned hard work, but it is in a way like cheating ourselves.  By recording samples of what we are learning, by recording daily journals that we have written and filled with the new grammar forms we are working on, we give ourselves access to hours more opportunity for our mind to soak in new grammar patterns, words and expressions.  They say that those entrusted with protecting the US banks from counterfeit money spend hours and hours handling, counting, and looking at REAL money.  They soak in the stuff.  When they go on the job then, and a counterfeit bill comes across their desk, they just instinctively know its not the real deal.  They did not so much “learn” all the technical aspects  (i.e. the grammar) of what real money looks and feels like as they have “acquired” the feel, the texture, the look of the real money.  Making those recordings then offers you the opportunity to immerse yourself in the grammar, words and expressions you are learning so that they begin to just “feel” right.  You will do more acquiring and less learning which is a good thing.  Give it a try and if you are wondering how, shoot me an email and I will give you a few suggestions.  Good luck with your language learning and Kolay Gelsin!

  The iPod.  I didn't always have an ipod.  I have mostly been a non-techy type of person, not buying my first computer or cell phone until moving to Turkey in 2008.  I did buy a Sony digital recorder for language learning which was a great investment.  I recorded lessons, expressions I needed to use every day, pronunciation drills and countless other Turkish audio for my language learning.  My only regret is that I did not use it more.   Then for Christmas that year I received an ipod.  I did not know what to make of it at first.  It held music, right?  Little did I know how much it could do, how easy making files and albums of files was and how much more Turkish listening I could fit on it.  With itunes, countless other listening opportunities opened up and I was soon an ipod geek so to speak.  I have one playlist called Turkish Listening, another called Turkish Music and another called Turkish Worship Songs.  As I add to my corpus of Turkish listening audio, I may break down my playlists even more.  One for handcrafted audio, one for narrow listening, one for podcasts, one for audio readings of literature.  The options are endless and with literally thousands of hours of space, the only thing that can limit your Turkish listening is yourself. 

   With the new ipod touch (16G and 32G) you can also record directly onto your ipod, using it for capturing audio in your lessons or out on the street.  You may still get better  sound quality with your laptop and a free recording program like audacity, but it is another great option that the ipod offers.  

   The ipod seems to do it all better than any other device of its kind, but really, any MP3 player, including the one found on most cell phones can be a great tool for your language learning.  With it, you can take your lessons everywhere - on the bus, in the kitchen doing dishes, out for a walk.  There really is no excuse for not listening more.  Listen More!