Konuşan Paragraflar (Talking Paragraphs) takes a process-oriented and student-centered approach geared specifically for Anglophone learners of Turkish trying to move from the intermediate to the advanced level. Activities are guided by the three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational) and the exploration of authentic materials will be structured to encourage cross-cultural comparisons. Learning outcomes are clearly provided at the beginning of each unit with grammar and vocabulary introduced in a carefully controlled manner and with a wide variety of activity types that increase in complexity over the course of the unit.
Each unit has an authentic text, with warm-up activities and reading comprehension questions that require the learner to work on and with the texts to identify the text type, topic sentence, supporting arguments, and other salient details. Each text is accompanied by a “Spotlight on Culture” section that examines a cultural practice, product, and/or perspective mentioned in the text in addition to explanatory sections on grammar and vocabulary. Task-based, communicative activities focused primarily on developing presentational skills are employed throughout each unit. Each unit concludes with various types of writing assignments that activate schemata for vocabulary, syntax, and cultural content while exploring a variety of different styles including personal writing, public writing, social writing, creative writing, and institutional writing. Chapters in this project will be released in a serialized fashion with work completed during the summer of 2023.
The contents of this textbook were developed under grant P229A180008 from the U.S. Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
Cover image, courtesy of Kenan Tamer – Professional Turkish Tour Guide used with permission from Kenan Tamer’s Instagram, @kenan_tamer.
