I think I am supposed to be posting a tip of the bi-week this week - yesterday.  But we are in the process of moving to a new home, preparing for a summer visit to the states and of course the general business of life.  Looking for a new apartment did remind me of the importance though of forcing new situations upon yourself.  Last week I was suddenly immersed in a new world of vocabulary and expressions that I had not encountered much.  I have learned a lot of new words and a lot of new expressions that i probably would not have if it were not for being out shopping for houses.  These things come up in life and we learn - sink or swim.  But as language learners, it is important as well to occasionally intentionally find new arenas, new areas to explore and throw yourself into.  Be creative!  Have fun!  Explore and learn.

As well, jump over to www.english4turkey.com and make a recording via your iphone or follow the instructions on the native speakers page and share your opinion and thoughts about a host of topics - and help Turks learn English.

PAN? Project Activities Notebook.  You should carry it with you everywhere.  It is an idea from the PILAT training program and it is an important part of your Turkish learning journey.  It is important in two regards, though I am not sure which is more important.  The first is the obvious - whenever you encounter a situation you don't quite have the Turkish for or see something that you wish you could learn more about - you write it down (right away) in your notebook.  Then you can come back to it later with a language helper or a Turkish friend.  As an example:  last week I was talking with a young man who sells simit in our area and was thinking he was not quite dressed warm enough for the cold day.  I wanted to ask him how he stayed warm on cold days, but while I was able to cobble something together to get the idea across, I knew there was a better way. A few minutes later on the bus, I pulled out my PAN and wrote the incident down and later went over it with my language helper coming up with several ways to ask my simple question.  The second reason to carry a PAN with you at all times is that it serves as a constant reminder that you are a language learner and it will bring an added awareness to your language learning experience. It also serves as a regular reminder to your Turkish friends that you are serious about learning their language. BUT, you have to create the habit of pulling it out and writing stuff down.  To do this, the notebook must be small enough to carry with you.  I would encourage everyone, no matter how long you have been working at learning Turkish to carry a Project Activities Notebook and write down anything and everything that you would like to learn or need to work on.  Good luck on the journey!  

Live Mocha is a great site for learning languages -  36 different languages to be exact, including Turkish.  It is a great site for all levels.  Though I have only just begun to play around with the site it has a structured set of lessons to progressively help you improve your Turkish.  You can upgrade for more help, time with a tutor, more lessons and video downloads.  One great feature is that instruction can happen in your native language - not just English.  This provides better access for our Turkish friends trying to learn English.  Check it out.  It may be just the extra piece of the puzzle you need.  It may be just a good review.  Or it may be just the site your Turkish friends are looking for to learn English.  Let me know what you think. 

PS- click on the Live Mocha icon to go to their site.

If I had a job to cut down a tree, and I had ten hours to finish the job, I would spend the first six hours sharpening the saw.   - Abraham Lincoln

I don't think that those are the exact words, but President Lincoln highlights an important point in life and in language learning.  Preparation.  My father-in-law is a farmer and often says, "an hour in summer is worth two in winter."  He understands the importance of preparation.  In language learning, preparation is also important and should not be neglected.  We often get into the flow of life and forget to stop and reflect on how things are going or to take the time to plan for how we would like to have things go.  We just don't have the time. Or so we tell ourselves. But when we take the time to prepare, our time in lessons, in the community, at neighbors is more effective and we end up having a more rewarding learning experience and we have more fun!  Let me give a brief example:  Going to the store.  Unprepared, I just go to the store.  I get what I need, I pay and I leave.  But, if I take two minutes to think of a few things I  would like to work on, to write them down and then to rehearse on the way to the store, I will have a learning experience where unprepared, I would have just had a trip to the store.  So I pick a few things to work on, asking the name of something and the location of some product for example, and head off to the store.  In the course of my shopping, whenever I see a clerk, I practice my questions, maybe asking where the rice is three or four times.  Sounds crazy, but then I get to hear three or four responses to the same question.  All a bit different, but all leading to the rice, which of course I already know the location of. (Then I can head in that direction, even if I have no idea what they said) In roughly the same amount of time (plus two or three minutes) I will get the same job accomplished but will have also had a small opportunity for language learning.  Too often we see life as a lot of menial tasks we need to get accomplished so we can get on with the real work.  But just as life is lived and experienced in the menial, so language can be learned there also - with just a little bit of preparation. 

With that said, check out the newest handcrafted audio, "The Wood Cutter" a story written to emphasize President Lincoln's advice.