So i came across this list today at Wikipedia.  It is the list of the top 1000 most frequently used Turkish words.  I have listed the top ten below, but it is an interesting list and perhaps one to look over.  Here is an idea:  Print the list out.  Read through the list putting a red dot next to every word that you do not feel completely comfortable with.  Repeat this exercise every three months, using a different color each time.  It could be a fun way to provide a caveat of assessment for yourself.  Here are the top ten words:

1. bir
2. ve
3. olmak
4. bu
5. için
6. o
7. ben
8. demek
9. çok
10. yapmak

Yea! I feel completely comfortable with all 10 - though I am still wrapping my mind around the nuances of how demek is used.  The first one I had trouble with was #184 - alınmak even though I remember reading it, looking it up and writing it in the margin of the book I was reading just last week.  I guess I need more exposure.

I recently read an article written by Reid Wilson entitled Activities for Building Vocabulary Recognition and thought I would share the idea as a language learning tip.  Wilson, whose writing about the MP3 player in language learning was a big part of inspiring the Turkish Listening Library used this method on his journey toward fluency in colloquial Arabic but I think it is something we all could do as well.  Wilson had a few 30 minute blocks of time with his friend (they were exchanging English for Arabic instruction) and wanted to maximize the time.  What he did was to sit down with a friend and a recording device and have his friend share for two minutes about what he did the day before.  After making the recording, they immediately went back and began to listen through the audio together, one section at a time. After words and expressions were clarified, Wilson would immediately rewind and listen once more and then write down a note about the word and meaning.  In this manor, he continued through the entire two minute recording which took up the remainder of the 30 minutes.  That day, Wilson continued to listen back through the two minute recording.  At their next meeting, Wison again asked his friend to record a two minute audio of what he did the day before.  This created a narrow listening opportunity where much of the core of what he learned the time before was repeated and reviewed, but a lot of new vocabulary and topics were added in as well.  Overall, it seems like a great way to take control of the input and provide for multiple contacts with the new things you are learning.  There are lots of questions I can imagine you can ask of people to multiple times to get this kind of narrow listening opportunity.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.  And check out the full article by clicking on the title above.

For beginning language learners there are few things as important as getting ahold of and using the language learning power tools.  The term Power Tools I think comes from Dwight Gradin’s PILAT training, but the are a good list to get started with is found in Peter Pikkert’s LACE Manual. Power tools are basic phrases that allow native speakers to know that you want to learn their language and allow you to get the input that you need to get in order to learn.  They in many ways act as a set of keys that allow you to begin to interact and speak with native speakers who do not know English.  There are many phrases that you can use, but here are a few I used often:

• I don’t know Turkish, but I want to learn.
• May I practice speaking with you?
• May I tell you what I learned today?
• What is this? (said as you point to something)
• Can you please write it down?
• Did I say that correctly?
• May I come back tomorrow?

When I came to Turkey, I was given a long list of power tool phrases by a friend so finding the translation was already done for me.  If you do not have that, you just need to find one person who speaks a bit of English from whom you can get the translations and then record saying them.  Pick a few of those that seem most relevant to you and begin using them today.  If this or any of the language learning tips have been useful, please leave me a comment and let me know how.  If you have a valuable tip for language learning, please share it with me so that everyone can benefit.

Pikkert’s book Field Manual for the LACE Manual of Language Learning is available free for download or for purchase at The  Greenhouse in Kadikoy, Istanbul.

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!

Back in the states for a few months and our time features much time in the car.  Taking advantage of that time, my wife and I mostly talk, but we do also listen to lots of kids cd's - one of which was a collection of children's songs in Turkish.  It was a surprising lesson in listening, trying to pick out and hear all of the words and the ways they used the language to create the rythm of the songs.  I was struck at how many new things I felt like I learned.  Here is one observation I made - please offer correction if I am wrong, I haven't actually looked this up, but rather am just making a hypothesis of sorts based on what I heard.  In English we use the words 'somebody' , 'anybody' and 'nobody'.  In Turkish, there is one word that can be used for all three - 'kimse'.  Listening to children's songs with my kids broght this to my attention - something I probably use correctly, but have never thought about. 

And actually, once I thought about it, the English way we say, "Nobody is here" is pretty strange. 
       Frank isn't here, but nobody is here.    It makes me glad I am not learning English at times.

Anyway, so that is the tip of the biweek.  Listen up!  Listen up to those kids songs, pop songs, worship songs, etc - you will be surprised what you learn. 

Kolay gelsin!

Reading in the target language should be an integral part of your language learning journey - and it should be one that never ends as life long language learners.  The importance of reading cannot be overstated.  However, if you pay attention to how you read in English (or your native language) you will notice that you do not read every letter, but rather skim through each sentence taking in whole chunks of letters at a time and easily connecting these chunks to words and expressions.  Our brains are quite amazing this way.  For example:  I tihnk the bairn is rlelay azmanig! Eevn tihs snectene is radebale.  Could you read that?  If your a native English speaker you probably could - I think the brain is really amazing.  Even this sentence is readable.  When we begin to read then in our target language, our brain, which is trained to take in chunks, will continue its ingrained habit and skip right along through the text - especially as we advance in our knowledge of the language.  I find that when I read in Turkish this happens a lot - even skipping through new words or long pesky words that I really cannot pronounce well.  Taking the time to read out loud then forces your brain out of its old habits and into pronouncing each and every syllable - the way we would if we were speaking.  This is a good way to "train" your tongue and your mind to work together with the new rhythms, intonations and sounds of the language.  It will slow your reading down - but done in chunks of 10 - 15 minutes a day,  "read aloud" time will be a a great tool to improve your overall fluidity in reading aloud, as well as to improve your general speaking ability.  Give it a try for a week and let me know how it goes.

Well today is my son Malachi’s 6th birthday so I will borrow a bit of a lesson from my observations of his learning of Turkish.  He has done quite well and amazes me with his ability to take in the language, process it and use it effectively.  We are no longer constantly amazed, but one observation that I notice and knew would be the case for all kids, is his ability to approach language learning without shame or fear or the thought of embarrassment.  It is this reckless abandon that I think we must all strive to step into as we learn language.  Linguists talk about something called the affective filter.  This encompasses all those things listed above and the “higher” the filter is, the bigger a barrier it is to effective language acquisition.  Children tend to have very low affective filters.  So, the tip of the bi-week is to become like a child.  Leave the pride behind.  Come to grips with the fact that we as language learners will be the town clown – for a while.  Good luck on the journey and remember, don’t take yourself – or your mistakes, gringo accent, or cultural faux pas - too seriously.