Posts by Emin Altun

Direct Method in Language Teaching

Education
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Direct Method in language teaching is known as a Natural Method from beginning 20th century. It is a non-scientific method but it is a movement toward to a scientific method as response to Grammar Translation Method. GOUIN built this method through child’s language learning. There are conversations for practicing language. Grammar is taught inductively.

Lessons are topic-based, there are cultural, geographic texts and so on. Vocabulary is taught through demonstrations, these are important for making explanation. Evaluation is not written exam, but it is based on speaking activity.

Drawbacks of direct method:

  • Demonstration can consume a lot of time,

  • No textbook,

  •  Teacher’s spoken competence can be a problem if it is not improved,

  • Classroom nature,

  • Lacked of Applied Linguistic and psychology of learning.

It was quite successful in private schools, but wasn’t quite successful in public schools because of classroom nature and similarities between native lang. Also, target language is overemphasized.

Example

The teacher explains new vocabulary using realia, visual aids or demonstrations.

Aspects of the that method are still evident in many ELT classrooms, such as the emphasis on listening and speaking, the use of the target language for all class instructions, and the use of visuals and realia to illustrate meaning.

A useful article for Direct Method in Education

Free To Do

Uncategorized
Reading Time: < 1 minute

It’s only after we’ve lost everything that free to do anything.

 📍 Ağva, Istanbul, Turkey

 🕒 2017

 📷 40mm/5D Mark II

Masukiye: Ottoman Rulers’ Evasive Destination For Love

Travel
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Masukiye and Kartepe are the possible destinations for weekend holiday. First, I would like to answer your probable questions about transportation. The distance between Istanbul and Masukiye is 128 km and it will be approximately one hour 45 minutes to drive. If you want to go by bus, you may use Efe Tour and get off Halkevi station. After, you should transfer to bus 261 and you are at Maşukiye in 25 minutes. As Maşukiye is next to Sapanca Lake and Kartepe, it will be logical decision to explore new places for one day. Also, you may optionally camp out or stay university practice hotel at affordable price.

It’s name comes from “Maşukköy”. Because of Masukiye’s original name, it was visited a lot for honeymoon and selected girls for Ottoman harem. Also, it’s vegetation is like Black Sea and you will notice the freshness when you smell out. Maşukiye looks like an oil painting because there are all features in an oil painting such as hedges, frame houses, valleys, swings, mountains. All streets of the town are named as different flowers’ name and most of the frame houses are used as restaurants and hotels.

 Sapanca

From Masukiye to Sapanca, it will last 15 minutes by car. You can have a breakfast in cafes, drink your coffee or walk near Sapanca Lake. There is an another option to hire a pedalo.

What to do?

If you go in spring, you should see the cherry orchard. Also, the flowers of cherries would be a great background for you.

There are many bike hire points. You can hire ATV or motorbike and take a nature tour.

It can be good activity to go skiing to Kartepe if you visit the Maşukiye in winter.

You can make a barbecue, play paintball and swing in the forest or visit one of Masukiye’s beautiful highlands.

What to eat?

As there are many different kind of fish farms, it is impossible to run across any of them. I suggest you to eat tile fish under the shade of trees.

One more thing to taste is absolutely cheese. Maşukiye is known as Cherkes and smoked cheese because of Cherkes population. These types of cheese are rested 3 days and serviced with the village bread prepared with sourdough. By the way, I want to remind you to enjoy the harmony of cheese and red wine😉

Interesting Facts Behind a Cup of Starbucks Coffee

Uncategorized
Reading Time: 3 minutes

We can all agree that Starbucks is the leading coffee company both in our country, of course after than Mahmood Coffee:), and in the world. Some of you have traditional flavours like fresh filter coffee or distinctive flavours like caramel macchiato. As coffee choices may change and vary person to person, some crazy-cool facts abut that coffee brand stay there for all of us. Here is the list, enjoy it! (By the way, my favourite one is not here, it is Hot Chocolate Milano by Caffe Nero.)

1) The prices are not same at every country. The cheapest one is at New Delhi, India. The most expensive one is at Oslo, Norway.

2)Starbucks spends more money on healthcare insurance for its employees than on coffee beans. They offer health insurance to all employees including part time.

3) The company annually uses a whooping 352 million litres of milk. That equals to 155 olympic pools!

4) Starbucks was the name of the first-mate of the whale-ship Pequod, the ship in Moby Dick.

5) The brand’s logo has been updated 4 times since it was founded.

6) Starbucks uses 2.3 billion paper cups per-year. It means one-third of the world’s population.

7) The new Starbucks trenta cup is bigger than your stomach.

8) On average, two new stores have opened every day since 1987.

9) Founders of Starbucks were about to name as “Cargo House” until one of advertising agency mentioned that beginning with ‘st’ were powerful ones.

10) The profit margin in China where company opened first stores is more than any other countries.

This article was published first in Yıldız Kalemlik.

Sessizliğin Sesi Demonstration

Uncategorized
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Sign language helps to bridge between people with hearing impairment and those who can hear or not. By using hand gestures and symbols, sign language is an effective way of interacting with the world.

Each gesture or sign has different meaning or message that we can infer directly or indirectly. Also, in terms of career, public and private institutions are looking for people  qualified with sign language apart from English.

Bakırköy Municipality every year organises sign language courses that people from every age can participate. This year again a demonstration after course was holded. As some students from our university accomplished their courses and gain right to take place in choir.

As an Yıldız Technical University Foreign Language Teaching Department Representation, we were in performance centre and had chance to make communicate with some bureaucrats.

Here is the event video, Enjoy it!