Radyo ODTU has some great Turkish language podcasts, but one of my favorites is called "Şimdi Neredeler?" It is a super fun where are they now show with each episode timing in at right around three minutes.  The audio is clear and not too rushed and the people they dig up are a wonderful blast from the past:  Webster, Adam Ant, Tom Sellek, Ralph Maccio, M. C. Hammar, Scott Baio, Mr. T, and many, many more from all generations.  I am a child of the 80's so these are the names that stuck out to me.  Great short listening pieces.  Put them on your cell phone or mp3 player and you can listen to an episode four or five times in a row on the way to work.  By the time you get to work you will know where Webster is now! (Atlanta Georgia - founder of Emmanuel Lewis Entertainment)

Find the show at their website or on itunes.

The University of Texas at Austin and Brigham Young University have teemed up to produce a fantastic site called Cultural Interviews with Turkish-Speaking Professionals.  There are literally hundreds of short video interviews with Turkish professionals and executives talking about: professional activities, negotiation practices, courtesy, and stereotypes.  The Turkish is very clear, they speak quite slowly and really well.  As a source of narrow listening it can’t be beat.  Everybody is talking about the same topics!  Check it out today!  And a huge thanks to this website for our first real narrow listening files.  We are slowly getting recordings together here, but don’t yet have enough to put a narrow listening file together.  It is coming though!  For now, check out this great site.  Just click on the tabs at the top and then click on the person you want to listen to.  Each video is accompanied by the transcript of what they are saying as well.  Happy Listening!

Two new handcrafted audio files have been added to the Istanbul page.  Check them out.  We are still waiting for the first submission from one of our listeners. Be the first!  We are waiting.

A new feature has been added to the contribute page allowing you to upload your files from this site.  Just head over to the page and scroll down to the contact form.   Fill in the form, upload your file and send it over.  Easy as 1, 2, 3.  Except that you need to record something first.  Get started.  Together we can make this a better site. 

Also, a pole has been placed on the side bar.  Please let us know what you think.  Handcrafted Journals have had the Turkish text removed. Handcrafted Stories still has them.  Compare the two and vote today! (the pol

Finally, a new story has been added to Handcrafted Stories called "The Parable of the Tenant."  It is a basic retelling of an old parable.

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.

A new handcrafted audio was posted today called Squirrel Cop. It is my attempt to retell one of the funniest stories I have ever heard.  Have you had a bad day?  Today?  Ever?  Well if so, take a listen to the original story HERE. (The Squirrel Cop story starts at the 19:53 mark of the story. The story immediately following is crude and you may not want to listen to it.  FYI ) Then you can listen to my retelling in Turkish.  Besides being hilarious (the original), it is a good reminder that in order to gain experience, we have to make mistakes.  Dwight Gradin from PILAT (Program in Language Acquisition Techniques) says you have to make a million mistakes to master a language - so get started! 

Have you heard a great story lately?  Try retelling it and we will get it up on the website for others to enjoy as well. 

Have an Awesome Day!