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Take a class or just immerse?

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13 messages over 2 pages: 1 2 
sctroyenne
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 Message 9 of 13
13 October 2012 at 12:57am | IP Logged 
Going into your semester abroad I'd definitely look into classes if they help you with
writing and learning how to work the general educational system. When I went abroad
they did nothing for us apart from grammar classes, spent the whole semester with no
assignments and no guidance to make sure we were keeping up properly (there was no
syllabus with assigned reading broken down week by week) and then faced down an in-
class essay for our final at the end which would constitute our entire grade for the
class. Of those who opted for direct immersion in the university system with natives,
even the best students escaped with average grades at best (those who remained in
French as a foriegn language programs had it much easier).

Unrelated to academics, it was a combination of immersion and study which brought my
level up. By the second semester (I was there for the year) I felt like I hadn't made
the progress I was hoping to make and started studying intensively which is when I
discovered this forum. Nothing works like immersion for cementing the language in your
brain and making it flow naturally but studying definitely helps move the process along
and helps keep you from stagnating.
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montmorency
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 Message 10 of 13
13 October 2012 at 1:42am | IP Logged 
What's a WWOOF?


FWIW, I'd definitely take the course if I had that opportunity (especially if it were free, or cheap, or subsidised! :) ).

One can immerse in one's spare time, hopefully.


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emk
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 Message 11 of 13
13 October 2012 at 2:05am | IP Logged 
montmorency wrote:
What's a WWOOF?


Willing Workers on Organic Farms, I presume. Some of the farmers near where I live participate. It looks like a pretty cool program if you want to learn about organic farming.

As an immersion program, it could be anything from excellent to almost useless. Will you be working under the close supervision of a monolingual French speaker, talking with the family every evening, and meeting new people in town? Or will you spend all your time harvesting vegetables with two other English speakers?

As usual, it all comes down to actual situation and what you make of it.
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Randwulf
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 Message 12 of 13
13 October 2012 at 9:34pm | IP Logged 
emk wrote:
montmorency wrote:
What's a WWOOF?


Willing Workers on Organic Farms, I presume. Some of the farmers near where I live participate. It looks like a pretty cool program if you want to learn about organic farming.

As an immersion program, it could be anything from excellent to almost useless. Will you be working under the close supervision of a monolingual French speaker, talking with the family every evening, and meeting new people in town? Or will you spend all your time harvesting vegetables with two other English speakers?

As usual, it all comes down to actual situation and what you make of it.


Indeed, I certainly realize I need to be careful with the circumstances.

I kind of mentioned WWOOF just as a placeholder where I really mean "some sort of way to live in Germany very cheaply while also having great immersion opportunities"

For a broader range of opportunities, i.e. not just organic farming, this site looks nifty:

http://www.helpx.net/
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Serpent
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 Message 13 of 13
17 November 2012 at 1:13am | IP Logged 
emk wrote:
That said, definitely investigate the class beforehand. If it says something like, "5 hours per day of intensive French, plus homework, plus a homestay in a monolingual environment" then that's very promising indeed.
Late post is late, but I wouldn't say this looks promising. 5h+homework is way too much for when you're in the country of your target language. Most of this will be something you can totally learn on your own, because obviously 5h per day will not involve more than 2h of speaking if even that.

You may also want to look for classes IN German, maybe something aimed at immigrants etc. This should be a great way to get more opportunities to practise.


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