Philosophy

 

In today’s global world, students in different fields will need foreign language skills to gain a competitive edge. We would like to apply our proven education teaching methods and pedagogy to the teaching of the Turkish language. The overall objective for foreign language teaching is to get the students catch the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning.

 

Our beliefs are that students will:

 

• Ø  Possess reading, writing, speaking and listening skills to be able to communicate partially independently.

 

• Ø  Use higher level thinking processes to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information and ideas.

 

• Ø  Become bridges between the cultures.

 

• Ø  Become life-long learners and contribute positively to society.

 

 

 Structure of the Curriculum

 

The Turkish Language Curriculum for grades 6-12 is sequenced to build and develop non-native Turkish speakers’ linguistic proficiency within the six language areas of listening, speaking, reading, writing, critical thinking/learning strategies, and culture.

 

The sequence of the curriculum is based on Texas’ National Standards which are known as five Cs. (Communication, Culture, Connecting, Comparisons, and Communities). The curriculum is focused on meeting students’ needs as determined by language proficiency assessments.  The goal of the curriculum is to provide the students with the skills needed to make a successful transition into the content area classroom.

 

The Turkish Language curriculum of Acilim Books consists of four levels for now. They are; A1, A2, B1 and B2. The course names for these levels are;

 

Course	CEFR (Common European framework of Reference	Text Book(s)	ILR (Interagency Language Roundtable) Skill Level
Turkish 1	A1	Acilim 1 and Acilim 2	0/0+/1
Turkish 2	A2	Acilim 3 and Acilim 4	1+
Turkish 3	B1	Acilim 5	2
Turkish 4	B2	Acilim 6	2+

 

CEFR	ILR	ACTFL                                             NQF (UK)
A1	0/0+/1	Novice (Low/Mid/High)               Entry Level         (Preliminary)
A2	1+	Intermediate (Low/Mid/High)       Level 1               (Access)
B1	2	Advanced Low                               Level 2              (Achiever)
B2	2+	Advanced Mid                               Level 3               (Communicator)
C1	3/3+	Advanced High                              Levels 4-6          (Expert)
C2	4	Superior                                         Level 7-8            (Mastery)

 

 A1 and A2 describe the Basic User / Dependant User.  B1 and B2 describe independent user. The content topics, components, and the other details for the level s are given below.  Acilim 1 book contains A1 level topics. Students finishing Acilim1 would be in Novice Low or Novice Mid level.

 

 

 A1 LEVEL CURRICULUM

 

A1 level users are called dependant users of Turkish language since they have limited, minimal or no oral proficiency in Turkish They are unable to function unassisted in a situation requiring spoken Turkish.

 

APPROACH

 

Emphasis is on developing students’ ability to listen and understand.  There is little emphasis on grammatical accuracy.  Nonverbal behavior and cross-cultural communication are taught implicitly through demonstration and interaction.

Instructional emphasis is on developing the Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) of the learner for him/her to acquire a survival/basic conversational oral proficiency in Turkish and in the rudiments of reading and writing.  Drill, dialogues, role-play, realia, and other items provide visual context for the language. 

At this level, students begin to apply strategies that enable them to solve problems, make decisions and form new ideas.  Students need to be shown how to work in pairs and in groups.  Risk-taking needs to be encouraged.  Formal concepts of grammar are introduced gradually.

 

A1 Level (for Acilim 1)

• ·         Silently observes surroundings
• ·         Mentally fatigued from unfamiliar environment
• ·         Uses body language to comprehend and communicate; gestures, facial expressions, pointing, etc.
• ·         Often omits words or parts of words
• ·         Has limited vocabulary
• ·         Comprehends single words and short phrases
• ·         Relies on background and prior knowledge, both cultural and personal
• ·         Initiates communication for personal needs
• ·         Repeats utterances and words
• ·         Requires visual aids and repetition
• ·         Unaware of errors made
• ·         Struggles with writing the letters ü, ö, ş, ı, ğ
• ·         Struggles with pronouncing the letters ü, ö,  ı and ğ

 

 

Turkish 1 Curriculum for Acilim 1

 

  Goals for Turkish 1 (A1 Level)

 

Content Topics	Content Focus	Language Components
Survivals: Alphabet (Alfabe), colors, etc.	Classroom language, basic commandsDays of the week, months, seasons, colors, numbers,. (not in details)	Recognition, identification and writing.29 letters of the alphabet, vowels, consonants, soft and hard sounds, syllable chart, upper, and lower case letters…May I go to …? Open page … May I ask a question?What day is it today? 7 days of the week, week days, weekend.What month is it?What color is it? Names of the colors, dark and light color, colorful, colorless.Cardinal numbersResponse to the questions
1. Greeting(Selamlasma)	Greeting people in different times of the dayIntroducing each otherIntroducing someone to someone elseLeaving, saying goodbye.Personal pronounsPossessive adjectives	Recognition, identification, & verbalizing.Saying HELLO in different ways, greeting people in different times of the day; morning, during the day, in the evening and at night (merhaba, selam, iyi gunler, iyi aksamlar etc.)Welcoming people by Hos Geldiniz. –Hos bulduk. (welcome-thank you for welcoming)what is your name? (Adiniz ne?)My name is … (adim …)Last nameNice to meet you (Tanistigimiza memnun oldum)Goodbye (Hosca kalin)Bye (Gule gule)I, you, he, she it, etc. ( Ben, sen, o, biz, siz, onlar)   My, your, his, etc. (benim, senin, onun ) Question formation and response
2. How are you?(Hal Hatir Sorma)	How are you?EmotionsVerb BE (am, is are)Buyuk Sesli Uyumu (major vowel harmony in Turkish grammar)	Recognition, identification, reading, writing & verbalizing.Formal and informal asking of How are you; Nasilsiniz and NasilsinI am fine thank you, and youI am not fineI feel bad/ tired/ terrible…I am sad/sick, etc.Using am, is with nouns and adjectives. (iyiyim, yorgunum, etc)
3. Classroom	Demonstrative AdjectivesPlural nounsVerb BE negative and questionLiving and non-living thingsClassroom objects/ subjects	Recognition, identification, listening, reading, writing & verbalizing.This, that (bu,su)These, those (bunlar, sunlar)What and Who difference (Bu ne? Bu kim?)Plural suffixes (lar, ler)DEGIL (not) Bu kitap degil (it is not a bok)Mi/mu suffixes. Bu kalem mi? (Is this a pen?)Teacher, student, desk, chair, board, pen, book, notebook, etc.Question formation and response
4. School Subjects(Dersler)	Weekly ScheduleCommandsRecycle: days of the weekOrdinal numbersThere is /areThere is/are NOT	Recognition, identification, listening, reading, writing & verbalizing.Names of the school subjects; matematik, Turkce, Bilgisayar dersi, Fen bilgisi, etc.Sit down, stand up, go to the board, come here, take your seat, etcFirst, second, third, etc.What is your first lesson on Friday?There is math, science, music and computer on Monday.There is not art on Monday.etc.Question formation and response
5. Verbs (Eylemler)	Mostly used verbs in the classroomPresent Progressive Tense (affirmative form)Question word WHATPersonal pronouns	Recognition, identification, listening, reading, writing & verbalizing.Verbs with –iyor/uyor etc. suffixes (okuyor, seviyor, etc)Question formation and response
6. Months and Seasons (Aylar Mevsimler)	Telling birth dateTelling birth placeTelling one’s ageQuestion words How old?/ How manyPresent Progressive Tense (affirmative form)	Recognition, identification, listening, reading, writing & verbalizingNames of the months and seasonsQuestion formation and responseVerbs ending with flat vowels and + yor suffix in the present progressive affirmative form
7. Countries and Cities (Ulkeler Sehirler)	CountriesCitiesFlagsPrepositions of placePresent Progressive Tense (affirmative form)	Recognition, identification, listening, reading, writing & verbalizing.Names of the countries (Turkiye, Amerika, Fransa, Almanya, Ispanya, Avusturalya, Kanada, Rusya, Ingiltere, Meksika, Cin. Kenya.Where are you from? –I am from …. (-liyim/luyum endings with countries)Where do you live?In/at/on (de/te/da/ta)Question formation and response
8. Family (Aile)	Family membersRecycle: Possessive adjectivesProgressive(negative and interrogative)	Recognition, identification, listening, reading, writing & verbalizingFather, mother, sister, brother, grandpa, grandma (anne, baba kiz kardes, erkek kardes, abla, agabey, dede, nine)My, your, his etc. My father,…me/ma negative suffixes in Present Continuous tenseQuestion formation and response
GENERAL REVIEW of the first 8 topics