My 1999 Neon is making a weird sound.

I have a 1999 Neon with 154,000 miles on it and just recently it started making a weird sound when I accelerate. It is kind of a whirring sound. It's not really loud and I only hear when I'm driving slower like around a parking lot or my neighborhood. Also when I make hard turns with the steering wheel like when I am turning a sharp corner or into a parking lot the car acts like it's having some sort of power problem, it tries to idle a bit rougher. I would like to sort of know what to tell a mechanic to look for before I take it in. In the past whenever I had a car issue I would ask my father what he thought it would be but he past away not long ago and this is my first car problem since his passing and now I am a little lost. I would really appreciate any help.