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How to tell a story

Every day I learn something new from my students in our private English lessons, İngilizce özel ders.  This morning I met my student A. for an English speaking lesson at Namli Gurme Karakoy. We sit side by side on the wide wooden benches. The wide table surface gives us extra space to lay out the white board, papers, markers, and pens. He has many stories to tell me as he just returned from vacation.

Before he tells the story, I guide him to use new linking words such as:

in the beginning
before long
as I was saying
as I told you before
finally
After I listen carefully to each story, we brainstorm new slang words and idioms:
sleepy, dog-tired, exhausted, sleep-deprived
tipsy, drunk, buzzed, smashed, intoxicated, inebriated
bossy, pushy, argumentative, provocative, aggressive, pick a fight
We play a speaking practice game. He has 10 seconds to memorize the new vocabulary. I flip the board. He manages to use all of the new words in complete sentences.  :)

We start to talk about how immigrants sometimes act the most patriotic to compensate for their recent arrival to the country. He teaches me the Turkish idiom kraldan çok kralcı or more king than a king to describe someone who acts proud or patriotic.