A Book Teaching Turkish to Children Through Berlitz Method in Turkey in 1910s

Abstract

This research aimed to investigate a coursebook titled Metod Berliç’den Tedris-i Lisan-ı Türki, Kısm-ı İptidai (Turkish Language Teaching through Berlitz Method, Basic Part) that was written to teach Turkish to foreigners in 1910s. Orhan Salahaddin, then the teacher of Old Turkish at Istanbul Berlitz School and of French at Ottoman University, is the author of the book. Also known as the natural method, this method, which suggests that the process of acquiring a mother tongue and the process of learning a foreign language should be similar, aims primarily to develop speaking skills. The 113-page book begins with brief information about the Berlitz method and suggestions for teachers. After the alphabet instruction, language teaching begins with question-answer technique based on a text in sections called lessons containing various visuals. After the lessons section, teaching is reinforced with reading passages. In this study, the adaptation made by Orhan Salahaddin and Berlitz’s book were compared and changes made in the Turkish book were addressed. The most profound difference between the two books is that Orhan Salahaddin, in contravention of the method, included French translations of many Turkish statements in his work and changed the texts. The book is quite notable in Turkey for being the first Turkish book to have ever been written in accordance with Berlitz method.