The Deep Approach to Teaching and Learning World Languages and Cultures: Research on Turkish

This research report follows research and development of new ways of stimulating deep learning in a less-commonly-taught language and culture. The purpose of this book is to analyze some impacts of the integration of self-determined educative projects organized with new online instructional materials oriented toward deep language learning. It uses data from a forum among instructors, skype conversations and interviews, teacher reports of classroom experiences, and questionnaires of deep learning and crosscultural sensitivity filled by the students learning a less-commonly-taught language, Turkish. The book describes the creation, study, implementation and impacts of instructional materials that take a "Deep Approach" to language acquisition. It is an immersive, learner-centered, technology-rich, and project-based approach designed for institutions of higher education in the U.S. and elsewhere that offer programs in language and culture, cultural studies, and international studies. What can depth in language teaching mean? Within the current structures, when asked what could be deeper, teachers express various clues such as extensive readings of short novels, work on video tele-novellas, field trips and video correspondence, but they do not have a solid framework that would legitimate new forms of deep practices. When we ask teachers what could be deeper, they recognize that slicing contents through grammar topics and exercises does not lead to a sense of deep learning and situated proficiency. The project worked on a framework that facilitates deep learning and deep education to materialize it into instructional materials that would permit a totally new approach to language teaching and learning. Right from the start, it is important to distinguish the approach from the instructional materials.

Review :
The Deep Approach to language learning is first and foremost about ownership: only by letting learners 'own' their targeted world language from the very onset can a confident user of all aspects of that language eventually emerge. The challenge now will be on 'teachers' who are to be the resource and guide that such learners will need. Erika H. Gilson, American Association of Turkish Teachers, Princeton University Project-based learning brings new answers to many problems we face as Turkish instructors, such as budget cuts and larger groups, finding approaches that motivate students and support creative studies, and integrate self-directed learning in our study environment. No such materials existed for Turkish. We started using the Deep Approach to languages in our intermediate and advanced programs and look forward to make it operational at the beginner and elementary levels as well. I am personally convinced that the deep approach is the next main stream and will serve as a model for other languages as well. Kemal Silay, Turkish Flagship Program, Indiana University-Bloomington I found this an impressive development project using an imaginative variety of methods to produce learning environments that students would be likely to find congenial and which was designed to encourage a deep approach to language learning. The evaluations suggest that the materials do lead to improved rates of progress in learning, and that both students and instructors find them easy and effective to work with. Noel Entwistle, University of Edinburgh, author of Teaching for Understanding at University: Deep Approaches and Distinctive Ways of Thinking (Palgrave, 2009). The Deep Approach brings the natural, healthy, vivid experience for language learning. Students are actively involved in their language learning. The Deep Approach allows students to discover their abilities while tackling their curiosities. F. Cangzel Zlfikar, Turkish Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill I have started to get exposed with the deep approach theory and it's application to Turkish throughFranois Victor Tochon. It transformed my understanding of teaching of a language to a new platform and radically changed it when I incorporated it with my experience of ACTFL criteria. My students and I enjoy the freedom and flexibility to realize their intrinsic motivations to use Turkish and I have seen the best processes and outcome so far in my 11 years of experience. Teaching a language has never been so enjoyable, so fresh and new every time, so much fun, satisfying and rewarding as a job. Zuleyha Colak, Columbia University The Deep Approach (DA) has been successfully used at the University of Pennsylvania since 2010.I enjoy teaching with the DA using especially the authentic audio and video materials from Turkish culture. This helped me create a fun environment with lively discussions and contributions from my students. Students like project-based, self-determined work. Studying according to their own interest areas and improving their Turkish language skills through the use of the materials on the DATTL website were very fulfilling for my students. Feride Hatiboglu, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA The Deep Approach enables the individual language learner to create a personal interface with the target language. It is an uniquelyinnovative language learning philosophy, which strongly empowers the student to absorb the language in a manner consistent with his or her actual linguistic needs. Kagan Arik, Ayasli Lecturer in Turkish and Turkic Languages, The University of Chicago