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Enduring criticism of the self-study mthd | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies |  | |
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4895 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 33 of 36 23 June 2011 at 10:23pm | IP Logged |
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I completely understand people who say classes are no good, but I do know of a few examples of brilliant language teachers who make the classroom experience worthwhile. One thing these teachers had in common is that they made some use of the traditional method of group recitation: the teacher says something, the whole class repeats it.
When a film director wants to show a boring lesson going on, they usually film a language teacher reciting a list of verb forms with the class repeating. However, this is actually an effective way to learn, and the whole class can engage (although some wont bother of course). The other ingredient of a great language teacher is a good dose of humour and banter. My high school Hindi teacher would constantly insult us in Hindi, with a friendly twinkle in his eye. Sadly, however, good classroom language instruction seems to be the exception. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6583 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 34 of 36 01 December 2011 at 3:24am | IP Logged |
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Well, I tell them I've passed the exam for a Finnish certificate without ever taking any Finnish classes. If they know what it is I say it's the level C1. And I behave far more modestly than you might imagine;), always stressing the importance of visiting Finland many times too etc.
I need to remember to explain that I've decided to start as many languages as possible while I'm still young - I have the rest of my life for reaching fluency! It's more difficult when it's a family member telling you this... one great way is being seen with a book in this or that language;) It's partly for this reason that I asked dad to get me Forlán's book in Spain. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| adann Diglot Newbie Canada Joined 4729 days ago 3 posts - 5 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin | Message 35 of 36 01 December 2011 at 6:26am | IP Logged |
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As an English teacher in China I actually disagree with the view that language can only
be learned in a classroom. I've always told students that coming to class isn't enough and that they need practise more outside the classroom. I'm actually not surprised that 'teachers' hold the view that you can only learn language in the classroom. They probably fear that their jobs will be at risk if everyone were learning on their own. I hold the view that teachers are more like guides. They can tell you what areas you have problems with and what you can do to improve. On another note, I'm quite fluent in Chinese (spoken/listening/reading) myself after (3.5) years of self study and I never once step foot inside a classroom to learn Chinese. Edited by adann on 01 December 2011 at 6:49am 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| birthdaysuit Groupie United Kingdom Joined 4803 days ago 48 posts - 101 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish, Swedish | Message 36 of 36 06 December 2011 at 10:19pm | IP Logged |
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As some others have stated, yes having a good teacher makes A difference, but not ALL
the difference. If you think about how you learnt to read in your native language, the teacher only taught you the basics then it was up to you to do further reading to improve/expand your vocabulary. I apply this to language learning also. You need to do a helluva lot of self-study to really make a difference. Personally, I have never been a classroom person. All through school my attendance was terrible, and my attendance in university... let's not even go there. I got a good degree in Law by basically self-teaching, and I wouldn't have done it any other way. In fact, believe it or not, it was the only way I knew I had any chance of getting a good grade. So when I became obsessed with languages 7 months ago, there was no other alternative for me... P.s. And it's cheaper :) 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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