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One of the great joys of writing for language learners is the chance to interview language learning experts.


Last week over at The Everyday Language Learner I had the chance to talk with Neil Rees, an experienced language learner who also helps regular folks learn about the language learning journey.

Neil is absolutely engaging and shares some top notch information that I know you will appreciate as you strive to master the Turkish language.

His expertise with understanding the ins and outs of pronunciation is especially helpful and as we work to nail those pesky |Ö| and |Ü| sounds, I think you will find it encouraging and motivating.

As I was researching for the corresponding blog post, I took my first close look at the Turkish phonology charts as they are found on Wikipedia.  

These charts identify the sounds of the Turkish language as well as a description of where and how those sounds are made.

Comparing these to English, I made some startling discoveries, discoveries that showed me the error of my ways.

Unless you have made an in depth study of Turkish phonology, I think you too will be surprised by what I found.  

Head over and check it out and be prepared to find out that you are making a whole host of Turkish sounds the wrong way!

I'd like to do a bit more research and as well talk to a few Turkish friends to confirm my findings and then I'll try and write a more in depth post on the topic here in the next few weeks.

Until then, enjoy Neil's interview.

Here it is: http://www.everydaylanguagelearner.com/2013/05/02/neilreesinterview/

 
 
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I came across a new learning platform today called Sulantra.

I haven't signed up and taken any of their courses yet, but the Sulantra program looks pretty cool so I thought I would pass it along to you.

You can get into two of the lessons for free with the Starter Course.  Teasers to let you know what Sulantra is all about.  

After that, the Basic Course is $10.00 and the Expanded Course is $20.00.  Not a bad investment if they can teach you the basic language necessary for all the situations listed on their pricing page.

Click here to see the course structure and prices.

They do offer a host of different languages to learn as well but I'd love to hear from some of you who try it out for Turkish.

The focus of Sulantra is for beginners.  Try it out and let me know what you think or pass it onto your friends who are just getting started learning Turkish.

Click here to visit Sulantra.




 
 
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I was searching the iTunes store today when I came across a new podcast called Turkish Tea Time.  

Click here to visit the Turkish Tea Time Podcast

Created by a great group of Turkish learners, teachers and lovers of the language, the website and podcast will be a great new resources for beginners and advanced speakers alike. 

Stop by the website and say hello and be sure and subscribe to the daily podcast for a daily dose of Turkish.

Click here to visit the website

Visit them on Facebook

 
 
A friend of mine recently introduced me to Kure TV, an online smorgasbord of all things Turkish television. It really has been great, especially as we have returned to the U.S. and have watched our Turkish DVD's now enough to call them, boring.

Kure TV is an amazing resource.  It is easy to search and easier to watch.  Categories are vast.

My kids have now watched nearly all of the 20+ episodes of the cartoon version of the Anne of Green Gables television series, all dubbed into Turkish.

I've decided to watch all four seasons of an old favorite, Tek Turkiye.  Granted it is possibly the lowest quality writing of any television series ever written, it is none the less entertaining and a source of Turkish.

Check it out and see what you think.

Click - Kure.tv - to visit now!
 
 
I wanted to share this video with everyone as it is of an accomplished polyglot speaking Turkish after just three months.  Please remember that Richard already speaks 16 or more languages.  He is really quite amazing and if you watch his videos you will see just how amazing.  Anyway, he does a great job and after just three months too.  I am impressed.  

So yes, you can learn Turkish in three months, but. . . . 

It helps to be an accomplished polyglot!

For the rest of us, have fun, work hard and put in the time.  It will come!
 
 
Hey everyone! There is a fun new blog out there written by a Turkish learner. Each post is about his Turkish journey and is posted in both Turkish and English.  Pretty cool and fun to see the effort. I am sure it might be a good resource for some extra reading and for finding new resources.  Give it a look today.

Benim Türk Arayışım
 
 
I was extremely excited to recieve an email today from LingQ Headquarters announcing that Turkish would be the next language added to their great site.  It is in the BETA stages now, but should be great. I have used Spanish at LingQ and think it is a great site and want to encourage all of you Turkish learners to take a look.  Here is a link to the announcement: Turkish is Now on LIngQ.  This should be a great resource and will get better as it grows.  There is also always listening to be had at LingQ and it will be another great resource for Turkish language learners.

Last year as I was just getting The Everyday Language Learner up and running I ran a series called The Online Resource Tour and featured LingQ in one of the articles.  You can read it HERE.

Make sure and stop by LingQ today and become part of the LingQ community.
 
 
Today I came across a new website for language learners called Pronunciator.  It has 60 languages available and could be a fun way to review basic vocabulary in any language - including Turkish.  The program is pretty cool and free. It can be just a normal audio flash card system with pictures, but it also has a lot of other goodies that I am just beginning to discover; voice recognition, quizes, spelling and a lot more.  A great site for beginners to get started with as part of an overall program.  Check it out HERE.  If any of you use it a bit, let me know what you thing.

Helping others learn language is one of my passions and so if you are just getting started learning Turkish, I would encourage you to check out The Ten Week Journey program over at my other website, The Everyday Language Learner.   You could also drop by the EDLL Youtube Channel for great tips and ideas.  

And speaking of Youtube, I added two new videos to the Youtube page today. One is a Smurfs cartoon from the days of old in honor of the recently released movie - which I haven't seen.  The other is a scene from the Cars movie.
 
 

I recently subscribed to a new blog that offers a daily dose of Turkish.  Chuck Wade of Izmir  puts together the daily posts at Turkce Cozelem, a site created to both share a bit of Turkish and a daily Bible reading.  Here is what Chuck says on the site:

I created this blog as a way to help myself (and possibly you) study Turkish.
Every morning post will be one verse from the New Testament, with new words explained, a basic translation and finally the English (ESV) translation at the bottom.


By subscribing to the RSS feed for email, each post will come to your inbox giving you a quick look at new words and grammar forms.  This can be a great two minute blast of Turkish and can help add a little Turkish to your regular work day.  A little bit everyday is an important remedy for success as a language learner.  I have used it this way and it's been a great Turkish interruption to my already busy days.  Check it out yourself.


http://turkcecozelim.wordpress.com/


 
 
I have been busy over at my other site, The Everyday Language Learnerlately with a few products that I am very excited about.  The first is the coming move from the blocked in Turkey Blogger platform to a Wordpress platform.  I am really excited about the look and the new features the site will have.  Now I just need to figure out how to actually make the switch!  When the relaunch happens though, I have two new projects that I am excited to be releasing. The first is The Everyday Language Learner Ten Week Journey email series which is designed to help beginners get started learning another language and to give them the tools, knowhow and habits to keep going.  The second project is my ebook, The Everyday Language Learner's Guide to Getting Started: Three Principles for an Effective and Efficient Language Learning Experience.  Both of these will be available when the site relaunches.  I'll give you a heads up!

Outside of that, I want to let you know about a new Turkish opportunity.  Not perfect, but if you need to be inspired, you might as well add a little Turkish to the mix.  TED is a conference that brings speakers from all over the world together to share their ideas.  And now, you can watch these videos with Turkish subtitles.  Pretty cool.  Check out John Wooden below or visit the TED website to choose between thousands of different speakers.  

Kolay Gelsin!