Like many software developers and publishers of elearning content, we used Adobe Flash Player for our Turkish courses. There were many reasons for this decision. The Flash Player could be installed in every browser. It worked on every platform and every computer. It wasn’t necessary to create versions for Apple or Microsoft. The Flash Player also made many interactions possible, which allowed developers to create interesting and exciting courses.

However, the decision by Apple and Google to stop supporting the Flash Player confronted developers with a number of challenges, the main one being to find software solutions that could create the same interactions and the same learning experiences.

Handsonturkish.com has been re-programmed – without the Flash-Player

The Flash Player will no longer be supported after the end of December 2020. This does not mean the end of Handsonturkish.com courses that use the Flash Player. Over the past 12 months we have been preparing for this change and the new Handsonturkish.com version without Flash is now online. In a series of articles, which we will post here, we will explain what we have been doing in the background and how we have prepared our courses for the transition in January 2021.

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It is quite understandable that users want to get advice and recommendations from internet sites, but frequently people intentionally post misleading or malicious comments advising people not to use a certain site. Negative comments may be from a disgruntled client. But they may also be simply malicious. Or they may be posted by a competitor wishing to affect the sales of a competing site. How do you know then that the advice or recommendations are not biased?

With handsonturkish.com it is very easy to validate the website and check whether this is a serious website with serious content.

Who owns the Handsonturkish.com?

Handsonturkish.com belongs to Pendragon Educational Publishers Ltd, a UK-based company that specialises in the development of language learning courses and related products. The address of the company is clearly given at the bottom of the home page. The company has proper offices and colleagues who work there.

Can you contact the website?

The website has a contact us page with an online form. The contact page also gives a company phone number.

How do I know the quality of the courses is good?

Firstly, you can do a taster course “First Steps Turkish” which gives you an impression how the full course of Turkish is structured.

Secondly, the project has been developed with the support of the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Union.

How do I know my payment is secure?

HandsonTurkish.com works with secure payment gateway, 2Checkout.com. No credit card details are stored by Arabic Online or Pendragon Educational Publishers. Furthermore, no private data is sold or passed on to third parties for advertising purposes.

What syllabus does the Turkish course follow?

Our Turkish course meets the requirements of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), which is the internationally-recognised benchmark for assessing language learning achievements. By subscribing to handsonturkish.com you can be sure that you are following an internationally recognised syllabus leading to internationally-recognised outcomes.

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The post Turkish Language Android App Updates September appeared first on HandsOnTurkish.

On Thursday, July 9th, the German partners of the HandsOnTurkish project, Mrs Beyhan Güler and Mr Udo Hennig, presented the school with 15 new headphones to enable the pupils to work better with the online course and use the recording facilities and role plays more effectively. The headsets were received by the Turkish teacher Frau Ilay and the head teacher Herr Marenbach.

The students reported that they were particularly impressed that they could download the course as an app to their smartphones, iPhone and iPads, which allows them to use the course without being connected to the internet.

HandsOnTurkish provides extensive information about doing business in Turkey, including advice and tips about Turkish business etiquette. This is particularly helpful to learners who have contacts to Turkish firms or wish to have contact with Turkish firms.

As a Turkish proverb says: Bir lisan, bir insan. Iki lisan, iki insan.

Whoever masters one language is one person, whoever masters two counts as two people.

The post Trialling HandsOnTurkish at the Goetheschule Germany appeared first on HandsOnTurkish.

Turkish iPhone App

About two weeks ago, Jeroen and I uploaded the iPhone app to the Apple Appstore which has since been reviewed and approved. In the first week it has already started picking up some downloads

We decided to name the app “HandsOnTurkish Compact” to indicate that the smartphone app is content-wise more compact than the core online course. Naturally, the device and screen size is compact too and ideal for learning on-the-go.

So far, the app description has been published in English, German and Dutch.

Download the HandsOnTurkish iPad App

Turkish iPad App

We had a few difficulties related to the iPad app certificates and recording push notifications which may have been caused whilst we tried to package the iPhone app and/or related to iOS8 permissions. After “a week of hell” for Locusta, he finally managed to resolve the situation with Jeroen’s help.

The iPad app has now been updated with more Turkish language content and a new, refined interface (see below). This app has also been reviewed by Apple and since published on the appstore.

This app is available in all five languages, however the appstore description is currently only in English. It appears the App Store description can only be translated during a new version update process – something we only found out after we had updated – so further language descriptions will have to wait till the next release.

Download the Turkish iPad App

Further Turkish language content

The Turkish language content has been progressing very well and continues to be uploaded to the online beta test version. Here we test and edit the content before it is then released to public beta – or onto the apps.

Units 9 and 10 are almost complete in the XML, awaiting the final audio. Unit 9 deals with ‘checking into a hotel in Turkey’ and unit 10 deals with ‘discussing business plans’.

The language level is considerably more demanding in these units. Learners will also notice that the activities begin to deal with more language analysis including grammar activities and new writing exercises. This is to conform to the demands of Level A2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Modern Langauges which requires writing skills and an understanding of grammar.

The Turkish language notes

Due to the intensity of the work required for the Turkish languages notes, we are still catching up and currently completing unit 6. The collaboration between Udo Hennig and John Angliss remains very fruitful. The language notes are a key component for understanding the language and helps learners to become more creative with their Turkish.

Latest Turkish audio

As we mentioned in the previous post, the final studio recordings have been completed which marks a considerable milestone. The first unit has now been edited and uploaded to the private beta. We will need to modify some code – previously we added pause between the speakers in the audio but will code the pause now.

Technology trends

It is worth mentioning that HandsOnTurkish is keeping in line with current technology trends:

Statistics in the Independent newspaper (April 21, 2015) state that the use of mobile devices (smartphones, tablets) to access the internet has risen from 0.4 bn in 2007 to 1.9 bn in 2014. In 2007 24% of users accessed the internet via a mobile device. By 2014 this had risen to 58%.

We are also aware of this in our stats. It is, however, also worth mentioning that the majority of mobile learners looking for Turkish content will search via the appstores for free apps. Nevertheless, it is important that any content we have on our website (articles, useful Turkish phrases etc) is mobile friendly and accessible so that we can direct the mobile users to our iPhone and Android apps.

HandsOnTurkish on the social media

We’re continuing to make some inroads on the social media front. It’s not easy (and very time consuming) to generate a genuine and large base of followers. We now have well over a hundred facebook friends and about 75 followers on Twitter. Our recent interview with Leigh Turner caused a good deal of interest on twitter and facbeook with well over 200 engagements, retweets or likes.

We have also recently created an official HandsOnTurkish page on LinkedIn. This will aim to target and engage the business community more effectively.

Events and confrences

Carl Taylor, project co-ordinator, is currently attending the ÇİFTDİLLİ ÖĞRETMEN YETERLİĞİ, in Ghent, Belgium, which is being hosted by the Yunus Emre Enstitüsü and the Sakarya University. More details about the event can be found here.

Neal Taylor is one of the developers of HandsOnTurkish and regularly writes about business, culture and language learning news.

HandsOnTurkish is a new innovative eLearning course of Turkish for vocational and business purposes. Learn Turkish online or download the apps!

The post Project updates – April appeared first on HandsOnTurkish.

The finalised recordings mark a significant milestone in the project’s progression.

Up until now we used basic recordings from the Turkish author, Beyhan Güler who did a splendid job but often had to take on multiple roles – sometimes playing both parts in a simple dialogue between two people!

Obviously, we cannot rush into recordings too early on since the dialogues evolve over time. Our feedback from our initial trials, for example, indicated that some dialogues needed to be simplified or shortened. Other times, we have modified linguistic and grammatical aspects, for example we have taken phrases out, modified Turkish idioms and changed specific key words. There have also been cultural changes, such as, how our characters should address each other – i.e., formally or informally.

Recordings are costly – incurring costs of the studio, all the actors plus the post-recording editing, splicing and uploading. Whilst the recording can take only a day, post production can take much longer. The dialogues, therefore, need to be finalised before we record. Thankfully, we had reached that stage!

A few words about the dialogues

The dialogues are in many ways the ‘gem’ of the entire project – even though they might appear quite unremarkable at first glance. It is important to note that the dialogues aren’t simply a coincidental account of two people speaking Turkish. In many ways these dialgoues are a work of art: carefully crafted by Udo, Beyhan, Carl and John. The dialogues incorporate years of language learning experience particularly from Udo Hennig.

Each dialogue is almost holographic in its nature: they are set in situations that you are likely to find yourself; they contain useful formulaic language which you can use as a foundation when communicating; they contain cultural idioms and expressions that you might encounter or might wish to use to get a better feel of the language; they inform the language activities; and they address a specific grammatical topic which is discussed further in the language notes so that you can become more creative with your language. On top of this, the dialogues attempt to be natural and yet not too difficult! You can imagine how intricate the dialogues are.

We are, therefore, very pleased that the Turkish dialogues – after a tremendous amount of work – are now finalised and recorded!

Learners can look forward to new recordings in the Turkish online language course and in the apps!

A special thank you to John and all the speakers as well as Udo, Beyhan and Carl for their hard work on the dialogues.

Learn Turkish online with HandsOnTurkish!

The post Final Turkish Recordings Complete! appeared first on HandsOnTurkish.

But firstly: Recently we also discovered a bug which suddenly appeared when we embedded the Turkish interface into the CMS website. Even stranger, the bug only manifested on Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Locusta Liquirizia reports that the bug is related to the dynamic loading of the Table of Contents and the Navigation when the program first loads. The ToC draws on all the XML available and then creates the structure on the fly. Each individual file is loaded until the end of the unit is reached at which point the system notices that he can’t find any more module files so he moves onto the next unit. This notification, for some reason, was no longer compatible with Firefox and Explorer. We have, as such, rearranged the structure and how the ToC is created.

The bug has now been fixed!

More Turkish Language content

Unit 6 deals with “The way back to the hotel” and Unit 7 “Meeting Yasmin in Bursa” where our main characters go to the factory and ‘get down to business’. These unit have an increasing focus on Turkish Business Language and vocabulary related directly to the business world.

We are also pleased to report that Udo and John are continuing solidly with the Turkish language notes for Unit 5 which are also due to be released very soon.

New fonts and slight revamp

The interface now enjoys an update with three new fonts installed. The Turkish language and mother language fonts are now different making it easier upon first glance to differentiate between the two.

Work continues on the glossary and the pronunciation module. Updates will be announced as they become available.

HandsOnTurkish is a fully comprehensive eLearning course of the Turkish language for business purposes and you will be able to study independently and work towards taking one of our accredited units and gain credits, which are recognised within the European Qualifications Framework.

This project has been developed with the support of the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Union.

The post More Turkish Content and Bug Fixes appeared first on HandsOnTurkish.

The first visible improvement came in the form of an updated website for the English version. The site’s design is now harmonised with the other langauge versions. The German website is the only site still requiring an update which will occur soon.

HandsOnTukirsh Presentation in Ankara

Beyhan Güler’s presentation appeared to go very well and was recevied very positively be the audience. The slides are available online.

Turkish Content

We have completed Unit 4 of the language notes. This unit deals with expressing “want / would like” in Turkish and provides a very comprehensive step-by-step guide for learners allowing them to interactively discover how the language works and then encouranging learners to become more creative with this topic. This is the continued hard work and collaboration from Udo Hennig in Germany and John Angliss in Turkey.

Programming updates

We are continuing to add new exercises. One challenge we faced was the increasing number of abstract vocabulary terms, especially business terms such as “supervisor”. It became difficult to constantly add images for each of these terms. Some langauge course use more-or-less generic – or seemingly random – images for such terms but in this case we felt it would be of no benefit so why not just have just the translation with plenty of opportunities to practise those terms! Locusta Liquirizia is currently modifying the vocabulary exercises with new format / design and thus omitting any need for images.

Learn Turkish on your iPhone

The Android version has already been released with a limited amount of content and will be updated in due course. The iOS iPhone app is currently under construction and the first demo apps versions have worked on both iPhone and iPad devices. Jeroen Lichtenauer is busily developing the iOS version but will not release the it until he has completed more of the Dutch version.

PraktischTurks – Dutch Version

Jeroen has translated three units of the Turkish course and is currently moving on to the fourth unit. The Dutch version can be accessed at:

praktischturks.nl

LeTurcPratique – French version

The French version is now progressing well with our French translator, Louise Lisse. The website is currently sparse, but Louise is also working on the website too. The current version can be accessed at:

leturcpratique.com

“Maîtrisez une nouvelle langue… Découvrez une nouvelle culture… Accédez à de nouveaux marchés.”

Releasing further content

Unit 6
Neal Taylor has been working on the audio and exercises for Unit 6 “The way back to the hotel”. There are now 25 steps of activites including almost ten steps of interactive role plays where you can practice speaking Turkish. Some of the images have been selected.

Unit 7 is on its way.
We have started working on Unit 7 and hope to release it to public beta shortly.

The post Turkish Course January Updates appeared first on HandsOnTurkish.

We have decided to take this one step further and allow learners to take part in a conversation.

They will hear speak A (usually a question or a prompt) and then the programme will automatically start recording and learners can respond with the answer that they had prepared in previous steps.

After recording all the lines, in a karaoke fashion, they will be able to listen back.

The difficulty of the exercise can be raised by removing the text, or displaying only a snippet of the text.

It is hoped that learners will eventually be able to download their Turkish conversation and share this with friends or indeed and examining body!

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