Experiences in Language Learning (Part Three)

Here is the final installment of the "Experiences in Language Learning" set...

At this point, I began considering all my failed attempts at language learning and the methods I had employed. I was increasingly frustrated that although I had studied many languages, some for months or years, I still could really only speak English and Spanish. I decided it was time to focus exclusively on one language until I reached near-fluency, but was not content with how I had gone about learning languages in the past. I wondered if creating an immersion-like environment for myself would give me success closer to what I had experienced in learning Spanish. With this idea in mind, I began thinking of all the ways I could create an immersion-like experience while studying independently. I wrote a list of all the activities I could think of which would help me immerse myself in the language, and determined to use them.

I started studying Turkish on my own in October of 2009. The resources I used in the first two months were online radio and TV, Turkish music from www.youtube.com , a good dictionary, a workbook, a web page with an explanation of grammar issues, online newspapers, www.livemocha.com exercises, two good online conversation partners willing to correct my mistakes, www.byki.com ‘s free flashcards with pronunciation and pictures, and Pimsleur’s CDs, which helped a lot with pronunciation practice.

I spent every minute studying, memorizing vocabulary, intently listening to the TV and radio and trying to hear words I knew. I practiced my pronunciation, tried to work out the complicated grammar, and tested sentences on my conversation partners; I frequently had the TV or radio on in the background, even after the kids came home from school, just to get used to hearing the intonation and stress patterns in the speech.

I went looking for Turks in the community, and found several. I made friends with one woman who had just arrived with her family and who didn’t speak any English at all. I went to her house several times a week and we started out with a picture dictionary, pointing at things and copying each other’s speech. I worked on verb conjugations until I had memorized the most important 20-30 verbs, and kept practicing making sentences with them and having my friend correct them. About two months into this, we were able to understand each other fairly well, and were both extremely motivated to keep learning, because we had become good friends.

After I had been studying about six months, another friend suggested I audit the class offered at the university in my town. I had been unaware that Turkish was offered, or that I could audit classes there, but was thrilled to discover the opportunity to more formally expand my knowledge of the grammatical structures. I decided the best way to maximize my exposure to the language was to enroll in all three levels at the same time. I figured I could breeze through the beginner material, struggle a bit in intermediate because I didn’t have all the prerequisite grammar structures, and just listen to the discussions in the advanced class. The same teacher taught all three classes, and when I showed up the first day with my audit paper, he looked a bit confused about my wanting taking all three classes, but signed the form and welcomed me to participate as much as I was able in all the classes.

Around this time I started a Masters course, and so had a lot less time to devote to Turkish, but continued to follow my schedule as much as possible, and having formal classes helped me stay on track. The first year I studied beginner, intermediate and advanced, and continued using the other methods that had worked so well for me in the beginning. My Turkish friends also gave me a nice selection of good quality workbooks and grammar explanation books, most of which I worked through right away. In the winter of that year, my good friend moved away and I was left searching for someone to take her place, but found no one. The second year of my formal study I continued taking intermediate and advanced classes, and in the second semester of that year I finally found a good study partner who was as enthusiastic about Turkish as I was. We could only work one day a week since he lived in another town, but I learned a lot from him during our time together.

I have been thrilled with the results of my efforts, and seem to have finally discovered how study in such a way that my brain can retain what I learn about new languages. I feel confident in my Turkish and know that it is a language that I won’t easily forget, as long as I keep listening to the radio and talking to friends. This year, I am excited about the opportunity to expand my Turkish in a real immersion environment during my three months in Turkey. I have set a goal of attaining an ‘advanced high’ or ‘superior’ rating (on the OPI scale) by the time I return home.
I plan to further test my ideas about language learning when I start taking Russian again in the spring.

Please feel free to comment and share your language learning experiences, especially the methods that  have worked best for you. Stay tuned for a review of an interesting book I have been listening to this weekend about a woman traveling in China and Mongolia...

Thanks for reading!

This is me, signing off...