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Should I give classes another try? | ||
Tags: Class Learning | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Advice Center |  | |
| scribe Newbie United States Joined 4890 days ago 11 posts - 14 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Russian | Message 1 of 9 22 August 2012 at 5:11pm | IP Logged |
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I'm entering my last year of college, and I've found that I can fit another class into
my schedule. I've been seriously considering enrolling in an elementary Russian course - I tried studying the language on my own when the summer began, but had to give it up after about a month for several reasons. I had the entire Cyrillic alphabet down and I was working my way through the basics, so I'd probably be a bit ahead if I were to start this semester. My school apparently has very strong modern language programs and a large proportion of our graduates go on to careers in international relations and overseas work, so I would imagine that the classes are probably a step up from the ones at my previous school (where the class structure turned me off from classroom study). What do you guys think? Would it be a good investment to start out with the basics in a language class? Or am I being too hopeful? 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Hekje Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 4701 days ago 842 posts - 1330 votes  Speaks: English*, Dutch Studies: French, Indonesian | Message 2 of 9 22 August 2012 at 5:13pm | IP Logged |
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Why not? You're paying to be there, after all.
1 person has voted this message useful | |
| sctroyenne Diglot Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5389 days ago 739 posts - 1312 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Spanish, Irish | Message 3 of 9 22 August 2012 at 7:33pm | IP Logged |
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If anything taking a course makes it easier to block study time for a language and juggle it with your other studies so if you're going to study it anyway, go for it. Don't be afraid to study a faster-paced course on your own, get exposure to native materials and/or learner podcasts, and just put in more effort than needed for the class in general. Use the class to drill things such as grammar and spelling but don't rely on it completely to get exposure to the language. Set a good example for your classmates and maybe you'll find some who'll be motivated to work to your level willing to make the effort to stay in the language and all that. And don't be afraid of being a teacher's pet and try to practice conversing with your professor. Some classes can be better than others but a large part of your results and your experience will be up to you.
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| patrickwilken Senior Member Germany radiant-flux.net Joined 4531 days ago 1546 posts - 3200 votes Studies: German | Message 4 of 9 22 August 2012 at 7:58pm | IP Logged |
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I guess that is one of those questions that you can only answer yourself.
The Foreign Services Institute estimates it takes about twice as long to learn Russian as Spanish, so you should have a sense of how much work that will be. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5007 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 5 of 9 22 August 2012 at 8:28pm | IP Logged |
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It's nice to know that language classes generally offert by your university are not bad,
but if I were you, I would try to find out as much as possible about the Russian classes in particular and, if possible, about the teacher(s) you will have. You surely have some student forums or something, such kind of information tends to be there (or you can ask there). As others said, the class could be a nice complement to your studies and something to help you set up time for Russian in your daily life. But! If the class is too slow and low level, it might demotivate you (sorry, if I am underestimating you. I just have such an experience). So, consider all the info. About the teachers and the classes, the levels, about yourself, about the reasons why you gave up on classes previously. Do what you consider the best. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Chung Diglot Senior Member Joined 7154 days ago 4228 posts - 8259 votes 20 sounds Speaks: English*, French Studies: Polish, Slovak, Uzbek, Turkish, Korean, Finnish | Message 6 of 9 22 August 2012 at 8:53pm | IP Logged |
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Check out reviews or evaluations of the teacher involved. If there are at least a couple of language nerds in the class combined with at least a decent teacher (he/she doesn't need to be superb) you could thrive (especially if you supplement your time in the classroom with at least some independent study. Incidentally, this study pattern is similar to what students at FSI and DLI go through since even there the classes are not deemed to be sufficient on their own for the students even if their classes run longer than what "normal" people take).
I took a class in beginners' Polish as an elective in my last year of undergrad with a background of about a dozen phrases in Polish and just ran with it. The teacher was excellent and as a senior I didn't care what the froshes thought of me. I got a systematic introduction to the cases, aspect, and verbs of motion which probably spared me a lot of headaches if I had tried to learn the basics by myself, not to mention a certain amount of practice tuning my ear to and imitating natively-spoken Polish. Polish was my first Slavonic language and I couldn't relate that much of what I was encountering with what I had seen already by that time in French, German, Hungarian and Latin. That Polish class in hindsight was one of my better choices during undergrad. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| JohnPaul Diglot Newbie United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5708 days ago 28 posts - 63 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Spanish | Message 7 of 9 23 August 2012 at 1:28am | IP Logged |
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Give it a try. There are things that you will take away from class that you can't find elsewhere. I agree with an
earlier comment on how it will make it easier to block out time for study. Let us know what you decide and keep us updated on your progress. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| scribe Newbie United States Joined 4890 days ago 11 posts - 14 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Russian | Message 8 of 9 23 August 2012 at 4:14pm | IP Logged |
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Thanks for all of the advice! I've decided to register for the course as soon as I get
the chance. I think it probably would be better to take the class and be forced to have to learn the language instead of setting vague goals for myself. That and I'll have plenty of opportunities to practice my speaking with other people. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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