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| L-R: Victoria, Me, Martina in green, Elisa and Lise |
I enrolled at a language school that came highly recommended and attend class twice a week. (Mondays and Wednesdays, from 10:00 till 12:00) The class has been the best thing I have done since arriving in Turkey. Although I am still at the beginning level, my speaking skills have vastly improved. Not only can I now call for a taxi--and it arrives--I am able to give the driver basic directions instead of just sitting there patiently, waiting to find the destination. My reading skills are better than my speaking, and my speaking is better than my listening comprehension. With reading, one can take the time to think and decode the words--with listening, one is forced to decode instantaneously.
The language is so different than English. They put their words in a completely different pattern. In English, the sentence "I am going shopping at Istinye Park" becomes "Istinye Parkta alisveris yapiyorum" or "Istinye Park to shopping I go." So even when I know the vocabulary, I need to think about how to place it. In Turkish, the endings of the words are extremely important, so it forces you to listen differently. (and that's why google translations of webpages are pretty useless!)
I love the structure having a class brings to my week. No more days of trying to find ways of filling the hours. Learning a language is something that takes a great deal of time, at least for me. Homework is always assigned, and I usually spend an hour or two extra each day, learning vocabulary or practicing sentence structure.
I mostly love my class for the friendships it is forging. In our class we have Dorothee, from France, Faranak from Iran, Martina from Germany, Amanda from England, Elisa from Italy, Victoria from Latvia, Lise from Norway and me. Most of them speak more than two languages; I think Victoria speaks five! But we are a merry, convivial bunch, laughing at our mistakes, and commiserating with one another over difficulties. Most are like me, in that they are new to the country, so we find ourselves going out for coffee after class, or meeting up for lunch. The past month has flown by; I've been busy, happy, and my days have purpose.
The language is so different than English. They put their words in a completely different pattern. In English, the sentence "I am going shopping at Istinye Park" becomes "Istinye Parkta alisveris yapiyorum" or "Istinye Park to shopping I go." So even when I know the vocabulary, I need to think about how to place it. In Turkish, the endings of the words are extremely important, so it forces you to listen differently. (and that's why google translations of webpages are pretty useless!)
I love the structure having a class brings to my week. No more days of trying to find ways of filling the hours. Learning a language is something that takes a great deal of time, at least for me. Homework is always assigned, and I usually spend an hour or two extra each day, learning vocabulary or practicing sentence structure.
I mostly love my class for the friendships it is forging. In our class we have Dorothee, from France, Faranak from Iran, Martina from Germany, Amanda from England, Elisa from Italy, Victoria from Latvia, Lise from Norway and me. Most of them speak more than two languages; I think Victoria speaks five! But we are a merry, convivial bunch, laughing at our mistakes, and commiserating with one another over difficulties. Most are like me, in that they are new to the country, so we find ourselves going out for coffee after class, or meeting up for lunch. The past month has flown by; I've been busy, happy, and my days have purpose.
Cok guzel!
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