Student Voices from Bahcesehir University English Preparatory School, Turkey

Below paragraphs were written by four B1 level students studying English at Bahcesehir University. In their one-paragraph-reflections they answer the question “What do you (or students in general) like and dislike about learning English?”

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Ece Muderrisoglu
Meltem Ezer
Volga Arasli
Baris Cihan Canturk

Ece Muderrisoglu

English is the most essential language in the whole world. Speaking English provides communication between people even when where English is not the native language of either party. The most crucial point about learning English is that it gives me a higher sense of self-esteem. When I learn and speak English, it makes me a more confident person. I know that when I go abroad, knowing English will make my life easier and that I will be able to solve any kind of problem. Another thing I like about learning English is that it helps me learn about new cultures. Having a native English speaker as a teacher in class helps me learn the English language with a natural and native accent. Sometimes our teacher gives us cultural information and real examples from her homeland. With this information we have a chance to compare Turkey and our teacher's homeland. In summary, English is the most widely spoken language in the world, and knowing it has many advantages. I am aware of the importance of learning English and that is why I always try to keep up with my lessons and do my best in class to learn as much as I can.

Meltem Ezer

Before I started university, I only used English for fun. I learned some English via TV shows, movies and songs. However, I've just realized that learning this language is obligatory for my future. This thought sometimes makes me feel a bit nervous during the learning process. On the negative side, studying grammar is boring and I really don't like doing exercises in which we have to fill in blanks with grammar rules. In addition, timed-writing has always been nonsensical to me; I think it restricts my creativity and I can't express my real opinions clearly enough. It also feels a bit awkward to write just for the sake of writing. On the other hand, listening and speaking activities are fun and really helpful for improving my English. I also love doing note-taking activities while my teacher is giving a presentation. Reading and vocabulary are good too; when we read from a book and discuss it in class, it is useful and enjoyable.

Volga Arasli

There are a few difficult aspects people might experience while learning English. First of all, for people who have just started learning English, they will certainly encounter a lot of unknown words. Therefore, memorizing them might be a difficult and boring process. Secondly, because people are used to speaking their native language, when it comes to speaking a foreign language, they will often feel shy and won’t want to speak very much. This is a big problem for people who want to speak a foreign language fluently. To overcome this they need to practice, study a lot, and work to overcome their shyness and fear of making mistakes. Another problem people have is acquiring a natural accent. A lot of people speak English with a non-native accent. For example, if a Frenchman knows English, he will probably have a strong French accent when using English. This can be a very challenging thing to overcome, but it can be done in time. Finally, people should do their best to overcome these difficult aspects of learning English because only focusing on the negatives won’t help them at all. They shouldn’t forget that when people become more used to using English, they often begin to like it more and in this way it may become easier over time.

Baris Cihan Canturk

People often resist learning if they don’t enjoy it and in Turkey it is widely accepted that learning English is boring. Therefore, how can we make learning English more enjoyable? Research shows that students lose their focus during lessons after twenty or twenty five minutes. If teachers want to focus students on their lessons, they should change their traditional teaching techniques. For one, teachers should add more fun learning activities in their lessons such as doing puzzles, playing hangman, taboo, or some other games, and doing more pair work. Teachers should also describe English vocabulary in amusing ways and through entertaining stories. In addition, teachers could be more flexible and friendly to their students because nobody enjoys learning from overly strict teachers. For their part, students should not abuse their teachers’ flexible behavior and they should try and work harder to learn English. Students should be aware of the importance of learning English and they might enjoy learning it more. Taking all these ideas into account, it seems clear that if students enjoy their English classes more, they can learn more easily.

Please check the Teaching Advanced Students course at Pilgrims website.