Le Francais est tres difficile
I have a hilarious video from this weekend that will be forthcoming but right now my phone is being an idiot so I can't send it to my computer.
Anyways on to today's story. I am a psychology major as you may or may not know and because it is a bachelor of arts degree I am required to take 4 semesters of a foreign language; I chose French because I had taken it in high school. The first two semesters were a dream, I had a hilarious instructor who was actually from France and really knew how to help us grasp the language. Fast forward to this semester, my instructor is an absolute nightmare, she is rude and condescending and if she asks you a question and you answer the best you can (in french of course) but don't have anything else to say she just keeps waving her hand at you while rolling her eyes. She explains absolutely nothing in English including the grammar aspects such as tenses (there are a million of them) and definitions of vocabulary words. I am so stressed about that class that I have actually cried. So today we had to do a "causerie" where we were randomly paired with a classmate and randomly assigned one of three topics. While we were speaking the rest of the class was out in the hall. It was great being able to sit out there and worry and chat with all the other people who knew just as little as me (or so I thought). We had a lot of fun and made a lot of jokes but then I actually had to go in and participate and it was a nightmare. Sometimes I exaggerate and think that I did worse than I actually did but not today. By the time we were finished all my instructor could say (in front of my classmate) was: "you have very limited speaking skills" to which I replied "I know, it's very difficult for me to speak it because in previous semesters I wasn't required to do so to this degree but I assure you that I can understand it and write it decently" and once again she simply rolled her eyes. WHAT A BITCH. I mean seriously at least I'm trying (unlike half the people who simply skipped class), it's not my major and I will most likely never use it after I am finished with school. Don't get me wrong I enjoy studying it and I believe it is a great asset to learn many languages but when someone acts the way she does it just makes me self-conscious and makes me want to shut down and stop trying. I cannot wait until this semester is over, next semester I will most definitely take the class from a different instructor. Oh woe is me and my terrible life of academia lol
Anyways on to today's story. I am a psychology major as you may or may not know and because it is a bachelor of arts degree I am required to take 4 semesters of a foreign language; I chose French because I had taken it in high school. The first two semesters were a dream, I had a hilarious instructor who was actually from France and really knew how to help us grasp the language. Fast forward to this semester, my instructor is an absolute nightmare, she is rude and condescending and if she asks you a question and you answer the best you can (in french of course) but don't have anything else to say she just keeps waving her hand at you while rolling her eyes. She explains absolutely nothing in English including the grammar aspects such as tenses (there are a million of them) and definitions of vocabulary words. I am so stressed about that class that I have actually cried. So today we had to do a "causerie" where we were randomly paired with a classmate and randomly assigned one of three topics. While we were speaking the rest of the class was out in the hall. It was great being able to sit out there and worry and chat with all the other people who knew just as little as me (or so I thought). We had a lot of fun and made a lot of jokes but then I actually had to go in and participate and it was a nightmare. Sometimes I exaggerate and think that I did worse than I actually did but not today. By the time we were finished all my instructor could say (in front of my classmate) was: "you have very limited speaking skills" to which I replied "I know, it's very difficult for me to speak it because in previous semesters I wasn't required to do so to this degree but I assure you that I can understand it and write it decently" and once again she simply rolled her eyes. WHAT A BITCH. I mean seriously at least I'm trying (unlike half the people who simply skipped class), it's not my major and I will most likely never use it after I am finished with school. Don't get me wrong I enjoy studying it and I believe it is a great asset to learn many languages but when someone acts the way she does it just makes me self-conscious and makes me want to shut down and stop trying. I cannot wait until this semester is over, next semester I will most definitely take the class from a different instructor. Oh woe is me and my terrible life of academia lol
Labels: i hate something (or someone), school
Posted by Nicole at 12:42 PM::
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2 Comments:
Wow that sounds terrible. It must be so frustrating to be in her class and now you're stuck with her for this semester. At least you have a choice for next semester. Cheer up and just blank her out.
*just a little rant*
Oh Mah Gawd. Just what one is NOT supposed to do in teaching a language. This is what in ESL jargon is called "raising the affective filter," factors making your students so anxious or unsupported that learning stops. There are many things that raise the affective filter, but ideally, it's not the teacher adding to the problem!!!! For instance, more informal conversation or speaking more frequently with other classmates or French speakers (and practicing verbal constructions within various topics, e.g.) would help with your verbal fluency without her standing over you with the judging stick. Oy. Producing language verbally (much less fluently) is the LAST of the 4 skills for most language learners. Your teacher clearly does not understand the build up to language production. Telling you that your verbal skills are lacking is *so not* going to help you improve!
I know this is long. Just wanted to say: my hearty sympathies from both a learner's and teacher's perspective! :)
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