Hi there everyone.. Sorry that I havent been on here for a while.. As most of you know, I have been tied up with college...
I have actually dropped English Langauge & Literature because it was so boring!! I even fell asleep in the lesson once hehe.. Maybe more than once actually...
Instead I have arranged another TURKISH EXAM.. but this time at A-LEVEL standard.. I have 4 hours a week to study Turkish at college... So, you will be seeing me on here a lot more again... I missed my TC anyway hehe

Anyway, let me get to the point...
Well, most of you know that I am doing an online course in TESOL so i can teach English when we move to Turkey right?
I have just completed half of the first module. Luckily there was a really suitable question there for me and I have finally finished it.
Before submitting it though, I would like you all to read through it and tell me what you think and mainly: HOW IT CAN BE IMPROVED. This is not GCSE or even A-Level work anymore.. This piece of writing has to be at Diploma Level and I dont know if it is or not...

You know also, how much I apprecaiate all your help and I have even mentioned you all in my essay here...
Once re-drafted, I would like to also submit this piece to the TC essay bank

Oh Oh and by the way.. Do you think that I covered all the given points?

Anyway, here it is:::


"Describe your own experience of learning a language or languages.

You can cover the following points:

Was it taught or 'picked up'? How?
When did learning start, how long was it for and how frequent was your exposure to the language?
What experience of native speakers of the language?
What was the bias of listening, speaking, reading, writing, grammar, translation, literature, pronunciation teaching?
What kinds of texts and other materials or teaching aids were used?
What about the teacher's personality?
How efficient was your learning?
Which language varieties did you master?
Where are the gaps in your knowledge or ability?



I can still recall those doubtful times of desperation; the intense desire to be able to speak Turkish, to be able to communicate with my own relatives who I was unable to even form a relationship with. I am still haunted by the flash backs of when I was incapable of putting together one basic sentence to express myself. I was a prisoner; captive in my own ignorance, trying dubiously to tell how I felt. I struggled so hard to be released from my linguistic restraints. I wanted to shout, tell the world how I had discovered myself. I wanted to understand, be able to open my ears to the harmonic sound of a new language. And most of all, I wanted to sing, sing the song of happiness. I was however, unable to do any of this and felt like a deaf child who couldn’t speak.
As a young child, I was always encouraged by my parents to listen to as much Turkish as possible; may this have been from the television or from my Turkish father and his friends’ conversations. I was always told that if I listened to the language enough, my brain would become used to the words and I would be able to pick them up easier in the future. Of course, as a young girl, I was always preoccupied with Barbie dolls and cartoons! It never entered my mind that being able to understand and speak Turkish (or any other language) would ever be important. I was very much mistaken.
Then the day came, the year was 2003 and I was going to Turkey with my father for the first time. I was 13 years old and knew approximately one hundred words of Turkish, including colours and numbers! During my eight weeks there I would be in an environment of people who only know Turkish for approximately four weeks, on my own. I was so worried and even angry with my father for not speaking Turkish to me when I was younger. I was putting all the blame on him when I should have taken responsibility.
We arrived at the airport and in the first ten minutes of my arrival I had managed to learn one word. Thinking this was something to boast about, I began to feel confident, until I arrived at our first stop of course. I lost all feeling of excitement along with all my skills of self- assurance. This is the point when I began to realise the importance of language and the doors it opens for us as human beings.
I felt alone. Unaware of what was happening around me, I began to lose my confidence and eventually I was incapable of completing even, every-day tasks comfortably. I was finally meeting all the people I had been hearing about, they seemed to be characters from a bed-time story and even though I was in their world with them, I was still unable to interact with them, thus yet again, leaving me on the outside; the outside of life. No one(No being) could understand even ten percent of that feeling, without being in a similar situation. Wanting so much to contribute to conversations, to participate in group activities and truly get pleasure from it.
One evening, as the sun was gracefully setting beyond the horizon; as the warm rays of evening light delicately kissed my skin; as everyone around me was passionately and enthusiastically singing to the lyrics of Davut Güloğlu’s concert, it struck me. The divine smell of burning wood accompanied by the sizzling smell of beach BBQs lingered in the air. The pink, purple and orange sprays of colour in the clouds merged together tattooing a large zebra-skin piece of art work in the sky above us. This was when I discovered, discovered where I really belong. I had found my home, but how was I to express this? How could I express this burning feeling of love which was growing inside me? The singing continued and I felt ridiculed at every word; everyone’s dancing seemed to make a mockery of my unawareness in this new world. I had to learn Turkish.
As the weeks progressed, I continued on my journey of not only knowledge of another language and awareness of another culture but also on my long journey of self discovery. With no books, and no resources I struggled to identify with new grammatical rules and was perplexed with how this language is structured. I ended up mainly improving my lexis, of course this not being adequate enough to convey my innermost thoughts and feelings; I was only capable to say incredibly basic sentences which were a companion to my fantastically atrocious English accent! Spending several long weeks unconsciously accustoming myself to not expressing myself as well as I was able to (I could have), I began to reunite with part of the self-belief which I had formerly lost contact with.
In spite of the fact that I did begin to feel better within myself, the aggressive feeling of jealousy still overcome me and I frequently found myself beginning to extremely dislike every person who had what I was far from being in possession of, the gift of speaking Turkish.
When I returned to England, this feeling stayed with me and as I was burdened with more and more school work, I had less time to study for what was really important and essential to me. Those strong feelings which had grown inside me whilst in Turkey however, could not be forgotten and I became more and more determined and strong minded than ever before. Most children of 13-14 years of age would go home from a long day at school, grab a bag of crisps and switch on the television; filling their heads with unnecessary garbage. I however, would have quickly completed whatever school work which had been set in order to be able to spend more time on studying for Turkish. I had fortunately found myself the “Teach Yourself Turkish” book by David and Asuman Çelen Pollard which gave me a great advantage. I finally had something I could work from, in opposition (oppose) to my solitary studies beforehand. I began to work through the book; I actually read half of it in one go, not even completing the advised exercises. Maybe I thought that reading the book quickly, would enable me to learn the language just as fast! That was the point when I discovered that in life one cannot fulfill a dream without their full effort and work, so I started again.
Every night after school, for approximately a year, I was studying Turkish for at least 3 hours. I had even managed to find some Turkish people my age on the internet that I could practice what I had learnt with. This may have helped me more than anything else as it was keeping everything I had learnt fresh in my mind. At this time, I also found reading the Turkish and English lyrics of my favourite Turkish songs over and over again very helpful. I did this firstly, so that I would being able to know the words of a song and there upon be able to sing along at the next concert! More importantly though, so that I would become used to hearing the way the words are said and thus adapt to this way of speaking myself. My main reason however, was the hope that I would actually remember the phrases and their meanings and would actually be able to use them in my own conversations. There were times also when I felt as though I could have given up; forgotton my dream and I would have requested a translation instead of help to write something myself. This was actually an easy way out a lot of the time. Although, when I realised that it was not benefitting me at all, I studied the grammar of all the translations that had been done. I remembered how desperate I had felt before and by merely having text translated I was fooling myself. As I studied the grammar and looked back on the actual text again, I could feel myself learning and I loved it. I could gradually feel everything clicking into place.
As the months slowly passed, my Turkish was progressing more and more. Spring was nearing, and as the delicate flowers opened their eyes to the fresh Spring sunshine, I felt refreshed and that I had accomplished something. The newly-born birds twittered in the sky, they sang the song of congratulation. I could taste the encouragement to work harder in the air and as I saw each aeroplane soar through the clouds I did just that. I completed the book, still not knowing everything as well as I could have done, I progressed to the next step of my journey. I managed to find a couple of Turkish Learning forums on the internet and also used the online lessons there to develop my understanding further. I also found many members there who are fluent in both Turkish and English; I will never forget how these people explained grammar rules to me over and over again until I understood. They were so patient and their help made so much difference to me. I still believe today that I could not have come this far without them. I will also never forget what a great feeling it was to be able to talk to lots of people who were members on the forum because they were in the same situation as me. I no longer felt alone.
Then came the April of 2005, I was now fourteen years old and had decided that another trip to my Türkiye would be a good idea. I still knew that my Turkish was not at the level it could have been and I had been used to having the online dictionary one click away when I was speaking Turkish to my online friends. In regards to everything however, I was sure that it was the right thing to do.
On the plane journey there, I was still studying- making sure that everything I had learnt in the previous week still made sense to me! Once again, I was on my own although I finally felt different. I had not only learnt a lot of Turkish but I had also learnt more about myself. I had learnt who I am. This was the first time I had been on an aeroplane alone and I was not at all nervous. On the plane there were many Turkish people speaking Turkish, and I felt part of them. I could finally believe with my whole heart that I belonged on that aeroplance. Swiflty travelling over the many countries my excitement took hold of me and I counted the minutes until my arrival. As the hours passed, İstanbul Airport neared.
On arrival I was welcomed by all of my relatives. The harmony of their voices, yet again, created a warm and affectionate feeling inside me. And once again, being able to hear the beautiful sound of the language, I could feel myself slowly falling (delving) into that absurd drunkenness all over again. I could understand so much more from conversations and the whole concept of the Turkish language didn’t seem as much of a huge obstacle anymore.
During my twelve- day stay in April I didn’t actually speak that much. I remembered watching back the camcorder videos of myself speaking Turkish and I didn’t want to make a repeat of that! I didn’t want to speak unless my accent was a good as a native speaker’s. I eventually realised that this was another big mistake and that the only way to speak a language with a good accent is to copy other people. I was too proud though and the thought of making a fool of myself again made me shudder. I preferred to just keep quiet. The language was not actually that much of a problem for me anymore though; I was used to not expressing myself fully and even though this still did upset me I still felt as though my understanding of everything was much better than it had been previously.
I returned to England for a second time and vigorously continued with my studies of Turkish. By this time, it had become the most important issue in my life and I was spending every free moment I had to learn more. I was never satisfied and just kept going. I even went to the extent of fixing post-it-notes with the Turkish and English translations of words written on, around my house. I was very surprised to find that I was actually capable of learning one hundred words in an hour using this method. This may have been down to my self-determination (self-will) but overall I found that it is a great way of improving one’s vocabulary. More recently, I have (I have more recently,) advised many people to do this themselves. I am also aware however, that different people use different methods to memorise words and lists etc. Some people are visual learners whilst other people learn from listening. This is another reason I love this method as words can even be learnt with pictures instead of the translation!
Then was the summer of 2005 and I travelled to Turkey once again. I was very excited to finally be able to use all the Turkish I had learnt in a real-life environment.
At the airport I met some of my cousins and relatives, I thought out what I was going to say, opened my mouth and… the words came out terribly. I was so shocked. I knew that if, like what I had done in April, I didn’t speak much Turkish my speaking level would never improve. For that reason, I made sure that I listened to every conversation I could; not always the words, but usually the harmony and the way words were spoken.
By the end of my eight-week holiday I was very confident within myself; my accent had improved 110% and I could finally say that my speaking skills were as good as my writing and reading skills. In my time in Turkey that summer I managed to form the relationships that I had always strived to, and was finally, finally enjoying myself. Of course, there were still occasions when I couldn’t say as I wished and this still frustrated me more than anything. I would have just said the English though, instead of just keeping quiet. I had to make sure everyone knew I could speak at least one language fluently! At this point (time), I could look back on when I had first arrived in İstanbul that summer, and be shocked to think that I had to think out a sentence before I said it. Turkish finally felt natural to me. I was so happy.
This time when I returned to England I was faced with my GCSEs and fortunately I had also managed to arrange a Turkish GCSE which I could do through the school. I was still very nervous about this and I was actually expecting exam questions which were beyond my level of Turkish. This gave me another boost of determination to work and I tried my hardest to watch as much Turkish television as possible, finally listening to my parents advice all these years later, I realised that they were right and I was so shocked to find myself actually adapting to the way the characters in various programmes were speaking. This must have been the most beneficial factor, in regards to my speaking and listening skills and overall my accent (which had been bothering me so much!) On the Turkish forums aforementioned, I had also become the number one member and was finally able to give back the help, which I had received, to people whose Turkish level wasn’t as good as my own. I could translate large pieces of text for people and even explain grammatical rules to them.
When the exam time arrived, I opened each of my four Turkish papers and I was overwhelmed to see that everything included was in my level of capability.
The most thrilling part of it all though, was the day I received my exam results. Turkish – A*. I had managed to obtain full marks on all four units; listening, speaking, reading and writing. I felt so proud. It had taken me 1-2 years to get from nothing to this level and personally, I believe that it was my self-will that got me this far and it will be my self-will which will take me further in life. I finally had something to prove how hard I had been working.
I never used Turkish in the early years of my life, despite my father being of Turkish orientation. I’m also sure that if I had gone to Turkey earlier in my life, by now I would be at a better level as learning would have started earlier. I began to learn Turkish at the age of thirteen, which is when learning another language becomes more difficult. “Typically, when pressed, people asserting the superiority of child learners resort to some variant of the "critical period hypothesis." The argument is that children are superior to adults in learning second languages because their brains are more flexible (Lenneberg, 1967; Penfield & Roberts, 1959). They can learn languages easily because their cortex is more plastic than that of older learners. (The corollary hypothesis is the "frozen brain hypothesis," applied to adult learners.)” (BARRY MCLAUGHLIN, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA CRUZ- 1992.)
I am now studying A levels at college and have managed to arrange another Turkish exam, this time at A-level standard. I have also recently been invited to a new Turkish language forum online, but this time for “advanced learners”, I am thrilled. But most of all, I am looking forward to being able to sit down with a glass of Turkish çay and read some Turkish Literature. I’m sure that this will benefit me greatly and the way more complex sentences are formed will become part of me, at the moment this is the only gap in my knowledge. I have even become familiar with several Turkish idioms and really feel as though Turkish is a part of me now.
It is this, my own experience of learning Turkish, which has inspired me to become a language teacher as I can finally understand how important languages are to the world. We could be nowhere without them and under no circumstances would I want to see other people in the position I was in. As I have been studying I have learnt many methods which can make learning another language easier than it initially appears to be. I can’t keep these methods to myself. I want to help everyone I can! Languages open many doors to us and for that reason… I have also taken a course in Spanish. There is no stopping me now.


C.Yılmaz "

valla çok iyi oldu demi hehe

I'm not so sure what "diploma level" standards are myself, but I can tell you this: Your motivation and drive are extremely inspiring. I think this is a wonderful essay.

How can you say you dont like english language and literature! Literature is my favourite subject at the Uni!!
Anyway, I copied your essay to read it later, I'm very curious, but just haven't got the time now to read it

Good luck!

thats a really good piece!! i wouldn't change anything its perfect..!

Having read your essay and seen your talent I have to tell you that you have made a big mistake to drop English langugage and literature. Go and get it where you have dropped it . You are very good at expressing, especially, your feelings. And also I am not surprised on seeing a long essay by you. Have you ever tried writing short stories? I think you should.

missceyda hun..who did u get for both subjects?..i might have had the same teacher ...im preparing a list of improvements for u ..but ur essay is excellent..i love the phrases u use to convey ur feelings..truly outstandng hun im proud that u are also an intelligent basildonian

How come you get to study Turkish at your college?

Wow that brilliant, it's amazing what you can do when you have the drive and determination.
Well done thats truly inspiring.

and any helpful tips for learning you have would be greatfully appreciated!!

Good luck, I hope you get evertything you want!!

I know you want some constructive criticism, but I don't have any. It was wonderful. You are a fantastic writer. Not only did you paint wonderful pictures that the reader could put themselves into, but it was so heartfelt. You could also be a motivational speaker because after reading your essay, I want to work harder at learning the Turkish language, heck after reading your essay I just want to work harder at everything in my life.

Thank you for a great read. Best of luck. I can tell you will be a success at whatever you pursue!!

ceyda hun..u know ur head is already too big to go outside ..just kidding..newayz im having another read now..so will be able to suggest improvements etc after..p.s.i got my degree certificate through yesterday

business studies human resources.. sacma incelemeler yani

hehe i have just re-read through the essay myself... and actually really just made myself laugh...

you know the part when i wrote... "the numer one member".. i was only refering to having the most points on TC..

i really didnt mean that i was the best one here, because of course thats really not the case

yanlış anlamayın yani hehe

oyle mi?i think u r the most helpful hun ..im writing corrections and suggestions and will send them to you when i am done

maybe he has a new 'star student' newayz im trying to read ur essay..stop talking

..there will be more i'm sure when i have my thinking cap on..glad its appreciated..i knew my experience working at schools wouldn't be totally wasted once i had given birth

Any more for any more arkadaşlar

it was really a loooong and good essay about your adventure with Turkish...
there was one or two stringy sentences that somehow losing the attention of reader, i mean reader is about to get lost in your world
but as a whole essay is perfect to save them...

so what is next step? a book??
i have the tittle: "How to learn Turkish in a few Months"
good luck

Im going to do some more now arkdaşlar, I would really appreciate a reply to this post... hadi hadi bekliommm xXx

Quoting miss_ceyda: Quoting capoeira (By PM): Hi there! Read your essay. It was good. I would only suggest that you add more about being an english teacher/instructor. How you propose to help people. I think it should say just a little more about that. Your personal experience is wonderful and it should just have a bit more details. Like some teaching methods you would use besides the post it notes. Also, what are your career goals as an instructor...besides teaching and helping others learn what do you want to do? travel as a teacher, learn more languages, have workshops to help other teachers improve. These are all important I think. Best wishes. Yes, adding more about being an English teacher is a good idea and I did even consider that when writing... The question though, does not ask about that so I was in two minds of whether or not I should write about it. I dont really want to go off subject and then lose marks but as you say, it may be good. What does everyone else think? Hehe yeah, thats definitely right. I will add more methods which I used in learning Turkish and then will state how I could use those methods to teach. By the way, Im not planning to teach English only with post it notes hehehe I also wrote about Turkish TV didnt I..? You are right though.. I will add more... Very good point, THANKS!

i replied to you in tc but u left..
the essay is for a tesol course so i think a bit more about being a teacher would be ok..but try not to lose too much focus..and yes u did mention turkish tv

i replied to you in tc but u left..
the essay is for a tesol course so i think a bit more about being a teacher would be ok..but try not to lose too much focus..and yes u did mention turkish tv

aww.dont be downheartened hun..ur essay is great..but theres always room for improvement..nothing's perfect eh

well then i'll make sure i won't reply

yeh i like it..think it fits in well with how u discuss how your turkish was progressing in the next paragraph

no no no!

if you list the methods you used so much!
your assay turns into the shopping lists my mom does

describe the atmosphere the weather of colour... what the wind was whistling to your ears... show the difficulties as a dragon keeps the secret sword of language

such things looks much more literary

creative shoes will be no good ceyda hun..u need a creative cap on !

that is just beautiful ceyda hun.a pleasure to read

Attention!

the more you can write does not mean that you can write better all is related to being efficient...

as you add some more parts... read your story again delete some unrelated details... if you want to keep it longer... you have to use a strong language... to keep the attenion of reader on your work

Arkadaşlar, valla çok yoruldum... bu hiç bitmicekmiş gibi gelio bana off
Hadi yardım edin de bitsin artık...

Actually I disagree Miss Ceyda. As a piece of descriptive writing you should not necessarily need to keep it succinct - there is no hurry, you are not trying to sell something, so no need to use strong language, just let the words flow - you can be as poetical as you like!

My only comment would be to try and reduce the number of times you say 'I'. It is hard when you are writing in the 'first person' but if, in particular, you could reduce the number of sentences beginning with 'I', it would immediately create more interest and become less repetitive. A good way to practice this is to read a novel written in the 'first person' and see how they deal with it!

I enjoyed reading it - thanks for sharing

THE LATEST VERSION:

"Describe your own experience of learning a language or languages.

You can cover the following points:

Was it taught or 'picked up'? How?
When did learning start, how long was it for and how frequent was your exposure to the language?
What experience of native speakers of the language?
What was the bias of listening, speaking, reading, writing, grammar, translation, literature, pronunciation teaching?
What kinds of texts and other materials or teaching aids were used?
What about the teacher's personality?
How efficient was your learning?
Which language varieties did you master?
Where are the gaps in your knowledge or ability?



I can still recall those doubtful times of desperation; the intense desire to be able to speak Turkish, to be able to communicate with my own relatives who I was unable to even form a relationship with. The flash backs of when I was incapable of putting together one basic sentence to express myself still haunt me. A prisoner, captive in my own ignorance, I tried dubiously to tell how I felt. The struggle to be released from my linguistic restraints was so hard. I wanted to shout, tell the world how I had discovered myself. I wanted to understand, be able to open my ears to the harmonic sound of a new language. And most of all, I wanted to sing, sing the song of happiness. However, being unable to do any of this I felt like a deaf child who couldn’t speak.
As a young child, I was always encouraged by my parents to listen to as much Turkish as possible; may this have been from the television or from my Turkish father and his friends’ conversations. I was always told that if I listened to the language enough, my brain would become used to the words and I would be able to pick them up easier in the future. Of course, as a young girl, I was always preoccupied with Barbie dolls and cartoons! It never entered my mind that being able to understand and speak Turkish (or any other language) would ever be important. I was very much mistaken.
Then the day came, the year was 2003 and I was going to Turkey with my father for the first time. I was 13 years old and knew approximately one hundred words of Turkish, including colours and numbers! During my eight weeks there I would be in an environment of people who only know Turkish for approximately four weeks, on my own. Feelings of worry ran through my veins and I was even angry with my father for not speaking Turkish to me when I was younger. I was putting all the blame on him when I should have taken responsibility.
We arrived at the airport and in the first ten minutes of my arrival I had managed to learn one word. Thinking this was something to boast about, I began to feel confident, until I arrived at our first stop of course. All feelings of excitement along with all my skills of self- assurance disappeared. This is the point when I began to realise the importance of language and the doors it opens for us as human beings.
I felt alone. Unaware of what was happening around me, I began to lose my confidence and eventually I was incapable of completing even, every-day tasks comfortably. I was finally meeting all the people I had been hearing about, they seemed to be characters from a bed-time story and even though I was in their world with them, I was still unable to interact with them, thus yet again, leaving me on the outside; the outside of life. No onecould understand even ten percent of that feeling, without being in a similar situation. Wanting so much to contribute to conversations, to participate in group activities and truly get pleasure from it.
One evening, as the sun was gracefully setting beyond the horizon; as the warm rays of evening light delicately kissed my skin; as everyone around me was passionately and enthusiastically singing to the lyrics of Davut Güloğlu’s concert, it struck me. The divine smell of burning wood accompanied by the sizzling smell of beach BBQs lingered in the air. The pink, purple and orange sprays of colour in the clouds merged together tattooing a large zebra-skin piece of art work in the sky above us. This was when I discovered, discovered where I really belong. I had found my home, but how was I to express this? How could I express this burning feeling of love which was growing inside me? The singing continued and I felt ridiculed at every word; everyone’s dancing seemed to make a mockery of my unawareness in this new world. I had to learn Turkish.
As the weeks progressed, I continued on my journey of not only knowledge of another language and awareness of another culture but also on my long journey of self discovery. With no books, and no resources I struggled to identify with new grammatical rules and was perplexed with how this language is structured. It mainly improving my lexis which was improved and of course, this not being adequate enough to convey my innermost thoughts and feelings, I was only capable to say incredibly basic sentences which were a companion to my fantastically atrocious English accent! Spending several long weeks unconsciously accustoming myself to not expressing myself as well as I was able to, I began to reunite with part of the self-belief which I had formerly lost contact with. Expressing myself like this became normal.
In spite of the fact that I did begin to feel better within myself, the aggressive feeling of jealousy still overcome me and I frequently found myself beginning to extremely dislike every person who had what I was far from being in possession of, the gift of speaking Turkish.
When I returned to England, this feeling stayed with me and as I was burdened with more and more school work, I had less time to study for what was really important and essential to me. Those strong feelings which had grown inside me whilst in Turkey however, could not be forgotten and I became more and more determined and strong minded than ever before. Most children of 13-14 years of age would go home from a long day at school, grab a bag of crisps and switch on the television; filling their heads with unnecessary garbage. I however, would have quickly completed whatever school work which had been set in order to be able to spend more time on studying for Turkish. Fortunately I had found myself the “Teach Yourself Turkish” book by David and Asuman Çelen Pollard which gave me a great advantage. Finally, I had something I could work from, in opposition to my solitary studies beforehand. I began to work through the book; I actually read half of it in one go, not even completing the advised exercises. Maybe I thought that reading the book quickly, would enable me to learn the language just as fast! That was the point when I discovered that in life one cannot fulfill a dream without their full effort and work, so I started again.
Every night after school, for approximately a year, I was studying Turkish for at least 3 hours. I had even managed to find some Turkish people my age on the internet that I could practice what I had learnt with. This may have helped me more than anything else as it was keeping everything I had learnt fresh in my mind. At this time, I also found reading the Turkish and English lyrics of my favourite Turkish songs over and over again very helpful. Initially I did this so that I would being able to know the words of a song and there upon be able to sing along at the next concert! More importantly though, so that I would become used to hearing the way the words are said and thus adapt to this way of speaking myself. My main reason however, was the hope that I would actually remember the phrases and their meanings and would actually be able to use them in my own conversations. There were times also when I felt as though I could have given up; forgotton my dream and I would have requested a translation instead of help to write something myself. This was actually an easy way out a lot of the time. Although, when I realised that it was not benefitting me at all, I studied the grammar of all the translations that had been done. I remembered how desperate I had felt before and by merely having text translated I was fooling myself. As I studied the grammar and looked back on the actual text again, I could feel myself learning and I loved it. Gradually, I could feel everything clicking into place.
As the months slowly passed, my Turkish was progressing more and more. Spring was nearing, and as the delicate flowers opened their eyes to the fresh Spring sunshine, I felt refreshed and that I had accomplished something. The newly-born birds twittered in the sky, they sang the song of congratulation. I could taste the encouragement to work even harder in the air and as I saw each aeroplane soar through the clouds I did just that. I completed the book, still not knowing everything as well as I could have done, I progressed to the next step of my journey. I managed to find a couple of Turkish Learning forums on the internet and also used the online lessons there to develop my understanding further. On these forums I also found many members there who are fluent in both Turkish and English; I will never forget how these people explained grammar rules to me over and over again until I understood. They were so patient and their help made so much difference to me. Even to today, I believe that I could not have come this far without them. I will also never forget what a great feeling it was to be able to talk to lots of people who were members on the forum because they were in the same situation as me. My lonliness gradually faded.
Then came the April of 2005, I was now fourteen years old and had decided that another trip to my Türkiye would be a good idea. I still knew that my Turkish was not at the level it could have been and I had been used to having the online dictionary one click away when I was speaking Turkish to my online friends. In regards to everything however, I was sure that it was the right thing to do.
On the plane journey there, I was still studying- making sure that everything I had learnt in the previous week still made sense to me! Once again, I was on my own although I finally felt different. I had not only learnt a lot of Turkish but I had also learnt more about myself. I had learnt who I am. This was the first time I had been on an aeroplane alone and I was not at all nervous. On the plane there were many Turkish people speaking Turkish, and I felt part of them. I could finally believe with my whole heart that I belonged on that aeroplance. Swiflty travelling over the many countries my excitement took hold of me and I counted the minutes until my arrival. As the hours passed, İstanbul Airport neared.
On arrival I was welcomed by all of my relatives. The harmony of their voices, yet again, created a warm and affectionate feeling inside me. And once again, being able to hear the beautiful sound of the language, I could feel myself slowly falling into that absurd drunkenness all over again. I could understand so much more from conversations and the whole concept of the Turkish language didn’t seem as much of a huge obstacle anymore.
During my twelve- day stay in April I didn’t actually speak that much. I remembered watching back the camcorder videos of myself speaking Turkish and I didn’t want to make a repeat of that! I didn’t want to speak unless my accent was a good as a native speaker’s. Eventually I realised that this was another big mistake and that the only way to speak a language with a good accent is to copy other people. I was too proud though and the thought of making a fool of myself again made me shudder. Just keeping quiet seemed easier. The language was not actually that much of a problem for me anymore though; I was used to not expressing myself fully and even though this still did upset me I still felt as though my understanding of everything was much better than it had been previously.
On my second return to England I vigorously continued with my studies of Turkish. By this time, it had become the most important issue in my life and I was spending every free moment I had to learn more. Never was I satisfied, I just kept going. A lot of the time, I even went to the extent of fixing post-it-notes with the Turkish and English translations of words written on, around my house. It was very surprising to find that I was actually capable of learning one hundred words in an hour using this method. This may have been down to my self-determination but overall I found that it is a great way of improving one’s vocabulary. More recently, I have advised many people to do this themselves. I am also aware however, that different people use different methods to memorise words and lists etc. Some people are visual learners whilst other people learn from listening. This is another reason I love this method as words can even be learnt with pictures instead of the translation!
Then was the summer of 2005 and I travelled to Turkey once again. I was very excited to finally be able to use all the Turkish I had learnt in a real-life environment.
At the airport I met some of my cousins and relatives, I thought out what I was going to say, opened my mouth and… the words came out terribly. I was so shocked. I knew that if, like what I had done in April, I didn’t speak much Turkish my speaking level would never improve. For that reason, I ensured that I listened to every conversation I could; not always the words, but usually the harmony and the way words were spoken.
By the end of my eight-week holiday I was very confident within myself; my accent had improved 110% and I could finally say that my speaking skills were as good as my writing and reading skills. In my time in Turkey that summer I managed to form the relationships that I had always strived to, and was finally, finally enjoying myself. Of course, there were still occasions when I couldn’t say as I wished and this still frustrated me more than anything. I would have just said the English though, instead of just keeping quiet. I had to make sure everyone knew I could speak at least one language fluently! At this point, I could look back on when I had first arrived in İstanbul that summer, and be shocked to think that I had to think out a sentence before I said it. Turkish finally felt natural to me. I was so happy.
This time when I returned to England I was faced with my GCSEs and fortunately I had also managed to arrange a Turkish GCSE which I could do through the school. I was still very nervous about this and I was actually expecting exam questions which were beyond my level of Turkish. This gave me another boost of determination to work and I tried my hardest to watch as much Turkish television as possible, finally listening to my parents advice all these years later, I realised that they were right and I was so shocked to find myself actually adapting to the way the characters in various programmes were speaking. This must have been the most beneficial factor, in regards to my speaking and listening skills and overall my accent (which had been bothering me so much!) On the Turkish forums aforementioned, I had also become the number one member and was finally able to give back the help, which I had received, to people whose Turkish level wasn’t as good as my own. I could translate large pieces of text for people and even explain grammatical rules to them.
When the exam time arrived, I opened each of my four Turkish papers and I was overwhelmed to see that everything included was in my level of capability.
The most thrilling part of it all though, was the day I received my exam results. Turkish – A*. I had managed to obtain full marks on all four units; listening, speaking, reading and writing. I felt so proud. It had taken me 1-2 years to get from nothing to this level and personally, I believe that it was my self-will that got me this far and it will be my self-will which will take me further in life. Finally, I had something to prove how hard I had been working.
Turkish was never used in the early years of my life, even despite my father being of Turkish orientation. I’m also sure that if I had gone to Turkey earlier in my life, by now I would be at a better level as learning would have started earlier. I began to learn Turkish at the age of thirteen, which is when learning another language becomes more difficult. “Typically, when pressed, people asserting the superiority of child learners resort to some variant of the "critical period hypothesis." The argument is that children are superior to adults in learning second languages because their brains are more flexible (Lenneberg, 1967; Penfield & Roberts, 1959). They can learn languages easily because their cortex is more plastic than that of older learners. (The corollary hypothesis is the "frozen brain hypothesis," applied to adult learners.)” (BARRY MCLAUGHLIN, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA CRUZ- 1992.)
I am currently studying A levels at college and have managed to arrange another Turkish exam, this time at A-level standard. More recently, I have also been invited to a new Turkish language forum online, but this time for “advanced learners”, I am thrilled. But most of all, I am looking forward to being able to sit down with a glass of Turkish çay and read some Turkish Literature. I’m sure that this will benefit me greatly and the way more complex sentences are formed will become part of me, at the moment this is the only gap in my knowledge. I have even become familiar with several Turkish idioms and really feel as though Turkish is a part of me now.
It is this, my own experience of learning Turkish, which has inspired me to become a language teacher as I can finally understand how important languages are to the world. We could be nowhere without them and under no circumstances would I want to see other people in the position I was in. As I have been studying I have learnt many methods which can make learning another language easier than it initially appears to be. I can’t keep these methods to myself. I want to help everyone I can! Languages open many doors to us and for that reason… I have also taken a course in Spanish. There is no stopping me now.


C.Yılmaz "

I took your advice of the "I" thang.. OMG.. Re-reading it back like that really made me realise how many times I had used "I" at the beginning of my sentences!!

Thank you so much for pointing that out, really!!

Who thinks its ready to be submitted?? :S Im scared now!!

im against discrimination in human beings,so i have nothing to write here piss-ceyda thanks

OMG.. I JUST REALISED THERE IS ANOTHER PART TO THE QUESTION... IT WAS AT THE VERY END...

" What conclusions can you draw for your own teaching of English? "


OMG, WHAT SHALL I DO? SHOULD I ADD THIS IN AS I GO ALONG (IN EACH PARAGRAPH) OR JUST DO A PARAGRAPH AT THE END? :S

HELP!!

Always put your conclusion at the end and title it:

Conclusion: It should be too long, concise and to the point and clearly a conclusion.

I agree - the conclusion should definitely go at the end

AHH i liked my conclusion though.. .i dont know how im going to fit that in now

i was planning to start reading the pther text for my next essay today... im so confused. omg...

shall i combine it with my conclusion that i have written or what.. i dont know omg...

i dont even know what to write..

MY FIRST CONCLUSION:

It is this, my own experience of learning Turkish, which has inspired me to become a language teacher as I can finally understand how important languages are to the world. We could be nowhere without them and under no circumstances would I want to see other people in the position I was in. As I have been studying, I have learnt many methods which can make learning another language easier than it initially appears to be. I do not want to keep these methods to myself. I want to help everyone I can! Languages open many doors to us and for that reason… I have also taken a course in Spanish! There is no stopping me now.



THE LAST PART OF THE QUESTION:
"What conclusions can you draw for your own teaching of English?"



WHAT AM I GOING TO DO YAA

WONT WHAT I HAVE WRITTEN DO? I really think this would be ok actually...? Maybe it doesnt have to be that long??

missceyda hun i dont think that is enough detail to constitute a conclusion, given that technically it is drawing together all of the work u have done above and determining why u want to teach english..u have done this..but im not entirely sure that it would be sufficient..really, in my opinion i would suggest that u conclude this throughout ur work where appropriate. It is always useful to conclude throughout the essay as well as concluding like this at the end..and u know i aced my subjects including english

anyways i hope u get this in time...hope it helps u and doesnt worry u :-S

yes but at least i only do it with you and 'u' and i ..

True! However, I think it must become habitual. Do you have to really concentrate when you write "normally" now? I notice even capital letters and punctuation are ignored! Do you have to "think" when you write normally?

no i dont have to think when i write normally,its very easy for me to write in proper english, i just don't feel the need to on the internet

hold on miss ceyda honey..i'm just checking over now..then i will do bulletpoints xx

my first point is a point which can be expanded ceyda darling..it would retain its relevance and not look out of place..
"No onecould understand even ten percent of that feeling, without being in a similar situation. Wanting so much to contribute to conversations, to participate in group activities and truly get pleasure from it."

here i think u can say that this is part of the reason u feel it is so important to u to teach english as a second language..

thats ok darling..i hope u do excellently

I am afraid I have to disagree on the conclusion Robin, when I did my degree the conclusion always came at the end of the work, not within the work.

the same here libralady..but we had to conclude throught the essay as well.concluding throughout the essay shows analytical thinking which got me better marks

Suppose it depends on the type of degree. I had a mix of exams and written work, but as mine was an International Business degree the whole of the written work had to be analytical and of a specific format. I have also done NEBOSH Health & Safety Diploma part 1 and this again was a specific format, conlcusion at the end other wise the whole lot was returned to you unmarked. It happened to me because I put it in the wrong type of folder!!

But if I was MissCeyda, I would probably ask as to where they would like to see the format of the writing to avoid marking problems. And besides, there are so many differing opinions I should think the poor girl is getting confused.

yes so do i..i did a business studies human resources degree with employment law and stuff..but my english a-level was the same..concluding throughout and then a small conclusion at the end...

So herein let our opinions differ....................

Hahaha - any more qualifications to throw into this argument ! (I can think of nothing funnier than an argument about English language which contains spelling and grammar errors!!!

Dear Miss_Ceyda

I have read amd re-read your essay. it is very compelling and passionate. You are a great writer. I too am in the midst of writing essays for a scholarship to travel to Saudi Arabia. I regularly write essays for scholarships, and have learned that figuring out "what they want" in the questions they ask is crucial.

The question you just stumbled upon, about 'concluding'- "What have you learned from your teaching of English?" is a very important question indeed. I believe to gain this certificate, they are asking you about your ability to reflect upon your teaching methods and pedagogy. Are you able to critique yourself and identify your strengths and needs. If you can find a way to say how your experiences as a learner of a foreign language has empowered you to become an excellent teacher- it would be very good. More specifically, say how your personal learning experiences have provided you wtih techniques to teach new learners.

I'm not sure if this is helpful, but I hope so.

If you wish I will re-read the entire peice, and edit as a word document.

Sincerely,
Chrisitne

Hmm..

I have never actually taught English.. well only once for about 30 minutes.. Im only 16 years old and only finished school myself earlier this year.

I dont really have that much knowledge of teaching at all so maybe thats why im kinda struggling.

As you can all see, I have talked about how my learning experience has inspired me to teach english and I have also included some of the methods in which I could use. I have also indeftified my knowledge that not everyone learns in the same way.

What more can I do?
I dont even know if this part of the question was meant to be a conclusion or just an extra point.

And yeah, you are all right.. Im really confused.
There is also so much more to do and my father wants me to finish this whole thing before we go to Turkey. Im guessing that this would have taken about a year to complete. You should see the other questions and the amount I have to read... I dont know what to do