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This is an All Ears English Podcast, Episode 146: “Turgay Evren on How Learning English Online Will Make You Braver.”

Welcome to the All Ears English Podcast, where you’ll finally get real, native English conversation with your hosts, Lindsay McMahon, the ‘English Adventurer’ and Gabby Wallace, the ‘Language Angel,’ from Boston, USA.

Okay, guys. We have an e-book, that’s gonna (going to) offer you the 100 most common phrases in English and to become a fluent speaker. So go to AllEarsEnglish.com/100 and download it now.

In today’s episode, you’ll meet Turgay Evren, an online and classroom English instructor. We’re going to explore the question of “Have you ever thought that learning English online could actually make you a braver, more active English speaker?”

Hey, Lindsay.

Hey, Gabby. What’s up?

Not much, but I’m super excited because we have a guest today. We have Turgay Evren. Hi Turgay, how are you?

I’m okay. I’m really happy to join, (you know), this, (uh), podcast, Gabby and Lindsay, I’m a bit excited, but I will be okay.

Oh, thank you.

Welcome, welcome.

Yeah, welcome.

Thank you for coming.

And, and I want to introduce you to our, our audience, our listeners. (Um), if they don’t already know about you, they should. Turgay is an online and a classroom English instructor. He lives in Turkey and he’s also an author of over, (uh), 60 ESL books, (um), best-sellers in Turkey. And I believe you said they’ve sold over one million copies, so that is amazing. That’s very impressive.

That’s awesome. Congratulations on that.

Yeah.

Yeah, thank you.

That’s wonderful.

And also very proud of our books. And, (you know), it’s such a nice feeling to make a difference with your own books.

Absolutely.

And when you see the students reading your books, (I mean), you feel so happy. You can never buy that happiness, (you know), (like), with, with money or with (an-), anything else.

Absolutely. That’s beautiful. And we were so happy to connect with you. (Um), especially since you’re in Turkey and you can, you can give us a perspective about (um), learning and, and teaching English online versus in the classroom. So what we’d like to talk about are some of the differences and the challenges and maybe some possible solutions or advice for our listeners who are thinking about learning English in a traditional classroom versus online. (Uh), because now, nowadays, we have two options.

Right, we have the traditional classroom where we have a, a school and a teacher and you go physically to this location, you might have a textbook. And I think we’re all pretty familiar with that situation but, but nowadays, we also have the online option. (You know), you can meet with a teacher or a tutor or a friend on Skype to practice your your English. You can watch YouTube videos or you could purchase a, a video course, or you could listen to a podcast, like ours.

There’s (there are) so many different options. So let’s, let’s start just by talking a little bit about the differences. (I mean), obviously there’s, there’s (there are) differences like location, right. You can, you can practice English at home with the internet or at your office, but are there other differences?

Yeah, of course there are some differences and when you talk about the location, you also need to, (uh), to consider, (you know), (like), in big cities sometimes there’s a traffic jam and the people are spending a lot of time, they’re wasting a lot of time, (you know), in the traffic, sometimes they get stuck in the traffic.

Yeah.

But when you get online education, you don’t suffer, (you know), (like) from the traffic and just in your home, you could get connected and you can start learning, (uh), because, I mean, I live in Istanbul and in Istanbul from one neighbor, neighborhood to another part of the city. (You know), sometimes it takes nearly two hours for…

Yeah.

Wow.

Yeah.

And like you said that time really usually feels wasted.

What a waste.

Yeah.

I, I also know in parts of, (uh), Latin America, like Brazil, they have…

Sao Paulo

really bad traffic.

Yeah.

Yeah, and actually I, I had, (uh), (you know), (like), a funny memory about this– I was teaching a very rich business man and just one time, (you know), he, he got stuck in the traffic and he called me and he said, (like), “(You know), I have got an iPad, and I don’t know, (you know), (like) how much longer we are going to waste in the traffic, so if you’re free, (you know), can we do our lesson?”

Wow!

That makes a lot of sense.

Yeah, he was stuck in Istanbul traffic and we started, (you know), doing a conversation class.

And, he also, (you know), utilized his time effectively.

Wow!

Way to think creatively.

Yeah.

So, I guess the idea is just think creatively about what you need in the given moment and make it work for your life right?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah. What other differences – (I mean), do you think there’s, (um), a difference between meeting face-to-face or with, (uh), or with your teacher, or meeting online. (I mean) is, is there any other difference?

(Uh). Actually, many people think that, (you know), face-to-face educational of course is much better, but I say online education works better in terms of psychology sometimes, ‘cause (because) remember some students are shy and maybe they are not courageous and especially if they are in a big classroom, they get lost and they cannot talk in front of the other students, or, (you know), other friends, or colleagues.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

But, (you know), (you know), when you’re having online education – (I mean), sometimes they can be so much open with some students, if there is no camera it works better the student feels

Yeah.

comfortable…

Yeah.

and the student, (you know), (like), can’t speak really much better sometimes.

Isn’t that interesting?

Yeah. I know. That, that’s a great point, actually. I’ve worked with students on Skype where they’ve asked me to turn off the camera and to, to just use voice and that’s totally fine. As teachers we can respect that. We can understand and we can maximize that, that opportunity to just use voice.

Isn’t that interesting. It’s great.

That’s, that’s another advantage. Maybe another benefit that I can mention hear – of course you can utilize not only time, but also (tech-), technology more effectively through online education because, see, when you’re teaching in a classroom, every time you need to copy some papers, (I mean), you need to give, (you know), (like), some sheets to the students but when you’re teaching online, you can take the students to different websites…

Yeah.

So.

Yeah.

they can benefit from some videos some audio podcasts, or – there’re really, (you know), some great websites and they are exploring. For instance, these students are going to learn how to stand on their feet for the future.

Right.

Not on…

Yeah.

Yeah.

I love that. Yeah, you have so many resources at…

Right.

your fingertips. And you’re teaching your, your students – (I mean), you, you’re learning how to be resourceful yourself.

Yeah, and we save trees, environmentally friendly.

Yes.

No printouts.

Yes.

Yeah. (Um), that’s, that’s another advantage because in the future, that student is going to carry on, (you know), learning and when you’re teaching online education, you can also give some assignments, (you know), like one podcast maybe from All Ears English.

Yeah.

(I mean), sometimes I give your podcast, (you know), (like) to my…

Thank you.

students, as, as homework as assignments.

Yeah.

And really it feels great, (you know)…

Wonderful.

so that’s another – another advantage, you can give a video and the students can, can watch a video. You can, (I mean), just, (you know), you, you can assign maybe a movie, then you can have discussion about that. So in terms of technology, online education really works better.

Wow, yeah.

So in terms of our listeners, the takeaway then would be to request it, for example, if we want to turn the video off or just to take advantage of technology?

Yeah. And, and yeah, and exactly. (I mean), it seems like there’s so many advantages to online language learning. (Um), it’s different, right. There might be situations where you want to have the traditional classroom experience, like if you want to meet face-to-face with, with a teacher or with your, your classmates. (Um), or maybe you, you want to go to a particular school, maybe you want a certificate from (you know), XYZ…

English school and, (uh), you really want to go there. I don’t know, just making this up. But I’m sure, (you know), some people still prefer the traditional method. (I mean), for me, for example, when I started teaching English on Skype, I remember my first lesson online and I was so nervous because I was used to teaching in person and it does take time to get used to teaching online and, and having the computer in front of you, instead of (um), the, the student or your teacher. And it’s just a different kind of connection.

Yeah, actually there also some setbacks because at the end of a day everything depends on the quality of the technology you are using…

Sure.

yet sometimes – (I mean), (un-), unfortunately there are some breaks, there are some cuts and the students can feel frustrated…

Yeah.

when you have all these technological mishaps happen. (Uh), and on the other hand, maybe in a traditional school system, you can also socialize. I know (like) lots of students go to a language school, it’s not only for learning a foreign language, but also for making friends.

Right.

And with online education, actually, you can get deprived of – I mean that side, of that aspect… Gabby : Yeah, I, I agree and I, I disagree, but, (um), I think that it just, (um) – you need to look for, for resources online, (like), for example, we’re talking with you on Skype, Turgay, and, and you’re…

Yeah.

in Turkey. And so that’s something that, as an English learner, you can set up a Skype exchange and, (you know), we feel very connected with you even though we are thousands of miles or…

Yeah.

kilometers apart, (um), so it’s just a different way.

Yeah, you’re right. That’s another aspect. I mean – I have come to know such great people…

Yeah.

(you know), while exploring online education.

Yeah.

(I mean), before I collaborated with, (you know), (like), Jennifer ESL…

Right. Jason.

Jason, (uh)

Fluency MC.

Rachel’s English, so I came to know great people doing great works and we are helping each other, we, we are trying to help each other reach, (you know), (like) more people in different countries and really sometimes – (I mean), when you think about, for example, (uh), (like), video producers, they really feel so connected. They come together, they spend, (uh), some time (to-), together and in the past, I came to know some people online but then they came to Istanbul and

Wow.

we spend some time together, (you know). So, yeah, there’s something different.

Yeah, absolutely. So for our listeners, we just encourage you to connect online. It doesn’t have to be a lonely, isolating way to learn English, you can actually connect with real people and, and as you were saying, (um) – before we started recording Turgay, you were saying don’t forget that there is a real person behind that screen. (You know), you’re not talking to a robot. You are talking to real people.

So I love that idea and, (um), and, and we just, we really enjoy talking about the differences here. We just have to keep in mind that, (um), there are differences, but learning online can be so positive. And I, I love all the, the points that you brought today. (Um)…

Yeah.

where can our listeners find you if they want to know more about what you do?

I’m on, on, (uh), they can explore my wordpress blog…

Great.

at Turgayevren.wordpress.com.

Okay. Great.

So I share, (you know), my new works on my blog. I’ve got also an audio blog at Turgay evren.podomatic.com.

Wonderful.

I’ve got a YouTube channel, so sometimes I create some videos and I share my videos, (you know), with my followers in YouTube. So YouTube.com/Turgayevren, just, (you know), (like) name, surname.

Great.

(Uh), yeah, and I’ve got also a, a, a page on Facebook, “Learn English with Turgay Evren.”

Wow, you do a lot. You have a lot of great learning materials out there.

So, they can also visit, (you know), my page and they can get updated about our latest works.

Well, wonderful. Well, thank you so…

Thank you.

much for joining us and for sharing your, your ideas and your resources.

Yeah, thank you so much.

Such a pleasure and such a big honor to be a part of, (you know), this, this podcast. I, I was looking forward to it.

Thank you.

I’m, I’m…

The pleasure is ours.

I’m really happy to join that and another thing, you, you really create such positive energy…

Ooh.

on your podcast.

Thank you.

(I mean), there’s so many people creating this podcast are really, (you know), you create a different energy and I believe that you motivate, (you know), ESL learners to do their best in the part of learning English.

Oh.

Oh, thank you so much Turgay.

Thank you. Thank you.

The pleasure is ours. Thank you so much.

We…

We’ll…

appreciate that.

We’ll talk to you soon. Thank you.

Take care.

Okay. Bye.

If you wanna (want to) put your ears into English more often, be sure to subscribe to our podcast in iTunes on your computer or on your smartphone. Thanks so much for listening and see you next time.