A language learners’ forum

Weekly update for the 2023 365 Day Challenge

2023/10/30
Turkish 30 min
- working on unit 1, Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1


2023/10/31
Turkish 30 min
- working on unit 1, Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1
Today I finally managed to do my half hour of Turkish first things in the morning again after some time. This really is what works best for me.


2023/11/01
Turkish 30 min
- working on unit 1, Klett Kolay Gelsin B1
I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed and lost right now with Turkish. I miss the clear way my first resource laid out and explained grammar topics, and the many exercises for each new topic.
My first resource was a distance course that was actually based on Klett Kolay Gelsin! A1-A2. I don’t own the book itself, so I don’t know how much they moved away from the original material to make it more appropriate for self-study. But based on the B1-book, it seems that they changed a lot, because the B1 one relies much more on reading and listening, the same as PONS Power-Sprachkus Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1. I like those books, but when it comes to grammar, I would like both to be a bit more “for dummies”.


2023/11/02
Turkish 30 min
- working on unit 1, Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1


2023/11/03
Turkish 30 min
- working on unit 1, Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1


2023/11/04
Turkish 30 min
- working on unit 1, Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1


2023/11/05
Turkish 30 min
- Yeah, I finished unit 1, Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1! I still had some time to start with unit 7, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1

Weekly update for the 2023 365 Day Challenge

2023/11/06
Turkish 30 min
- Working on unit 7, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1

2023/11/07
Turkish 30 min
- Working on unit 7, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1


2023/11/08
Turkish 30 min
- Working on unit 7, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1


2023/11/09
Turkish 30 min
- Working on unit 7, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1


2023/11/10
Turkish 30 min
- Working on unit 7, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1


2023/11/11
Turkish 30 min
- I finished unit 7, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1, and started unit 2, Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1.


2023/11/12
Turkish 30 min
- I started working with unit 2, Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1, but noticed that I never finished the exercise part of unit 1, so I went back to that.
I’m arriving at the conclusion that this book is definitely too difficult for me. I’m going to do unit 2, then finish PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1 and then maybe do something else before getting back to the Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1.

Because I’ve mainly been absent from the forum for the last months, I’ve only now become aware of a post about giving up Turkish due to the complexity of the sentence structures from the start of November. The poster didn’t enjoy the process because they found it impossible to speak the language actively.
I think that the OP didn’t reply to any of the comments in the thread, and it’s old by now, so I’m not going back there. But from what I gathered, they only had been studying for half a year or so.
This month marks my Turkish-studying anniversary - I’ve spent the last four years with this language and I can’t speak it, but I actually never try ...
Starting to speak is definitely going to be my goal for next year.

Weekly update for the 2023 365 Day Challenge

2023/11/13
Turkish 30 min
- working on the exercise part of Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1, unit 1.


2023/11/14
Turkish 30 min
- working on the exercise part of Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1, unit 1.


2023/11/15
Turkish 30 min
- I finished the exercise part of Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1, unit 1, and went on to work on unit 2.


2023/11/16
Turkish 30 min
- working on unit 2, Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1


2023/11/17
Turkish 30 min
- working on unit 2, Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1


2023/11/18
Turkish 30 min
- working on unit 2, Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1


2023/11/19
Turkish 30 min
- working on unit 2, Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1


You probably have noticed that I have not logged any content at all in my target languages for some time now.
I was having a bit of a content crisis. I didn’t feel like reading, like watching anything, like listening to audiobooks, in any language. I was kind of okay with music, but not thrilled either.
So I searched and searched and found some things that piqued my interested: I bought two issues of Stern Crime, a German magazine about true crime that I’m slowly reading, and I basically binge-watched Stranger Things. The show has its problems and is a bit too scary and yukky for my taste, but the characters and the eighties nostalgia sucked me in.
Let’s hope it will make me go back to enjoy other things as well.
In the absence of content, I’ve started to get into cooking again, which I’m very happy about. I usually rotate hobbies and interests, but I had not been enjoying cooking since 2020 (when I overdid it during lockdown). So, that’s a plus.

Sonjaconjota wrote:So I searched and searched and found some things that piqued my interested: I bought two issues of Stern Crime, a German magazine about true crime that I’m slowly reading, and I basically binge-watched Stranger Things. The show has its problems and is a bit too scary and yukky for my taste, but the characters and the eighties nostalgia sucked me in.

I've never seen the TV show, but I've got Kate Bush's Running up that Hill song rattling around in my head as an indirect result of them using it.

DaveAgain wrote:I've never seen the TV show, but I've got Kate Bush's Running up that Hill song rattling around in my head as an indirect result of them using it.

Me, too, actually right now when I opened your answer.

Weekly update for the 2023 365 Day Challenge

2023/11/20
Turkish 30 min
- working on unit 2, Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1
- I also watched a short youtube video about the history of the blues in Turkish.

I mentioned in my last post that I usually rotate interests and hobbies. Language learning videos fall into that category, and this morning I clicked on a youtube video by Elysse Speaks, which lead to others, so I watched several today.
I got reminded of the importance of listening. I’m not one of those input-learning-fanatics, quite the opposite, but I think I’m at a point now where I could benefit from more listening and should make an active effort.
After losing my ipod because my handbag got stolen, I now use a music player app on my new phone. (I’m not totally convinced though, because having everything on my phone means that I always have it in my hand and get distracted by faceboook or messages easily. Maybe I’ll end up buying an additional device, but the ipod sadly isn’t made anymore.)
I’m going to finally finish listening to the biographies of famous people I gathered in the past, and then I’ll probably re-listen to my list of fairytales.


2023/11/21
Turkish 30 min
- working on unit 2, Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1
- listening: short biography Nikola Tesla

Italian
- listening: La condanna del sangue (about 20 min)
(Yeah, I did something else apart from Turkish!


2023/11/22
Turkish 30 min
- working on unit 2, Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1
- listening: short fairy tale

Italian
- listening: La condanna del sangue (about 30 min)

2023/11/23
Turkish 30 min
- working on unit 2, Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1
I’m nearly done with this!

French
- Youtube video about David Bowie by Fashion Quiche
DaveAgain had recommend her channel to me ages ago, thank you for that. I learned the words “rixe” and “pochette”.


2023/11/24
Turkish 30 min
- I finished unit 2, Klett Kolay Gelsin! B1!


2023/11/25
Turkish 30 min
- I started unit 8, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1. I’ll concentrate on finishing this book for the time being, it works better for my level.


2023/11/26
Turkish 30 min
- working on unit 8, PONS Power-Sprachkurs Türkisch für Fortgeschrittene A2-B1