I am sure all foreign language students reach the same crossroads of having to decide if a certain class or learning method is working for them or not and whether or not to stick with it. That was me these last couple of weeks.
My self study at home has been going well. Thankfully I am naturally driven, academic, and an organized person so self study has been no issue. I don't want to just do self study though, especially for a foreign language. You need to have the speaking and auditory practice of an in-person class/lesson (at least in my opinion), which is why I had signed up for the beginner course at the local French cultural organization I am a member of.
Unfortunately the class was a frustrating experience for me. Our teacher was a native speaker and was very nice, however, the class was not designed for beginners. Because the class was not through a college there was no structure to the class. No lesson plans, learning objectives etc. The textbook is also the worst textbook I have ever used. I admit I am pickier than most in regards to textbooks and curriculum since I am a former teacher who researches and writes curriculum for a living. but still I think most people would agree it's terrible. I just felt like each class I didn't really learn anything and always left feeling frustrated and stressed. Not good.
My summer class ended this week though and so I was left with the decision of whether or not to stay in the class for the fall session or to look else where for a different class.
If I would have to just listened to my intuition (and my husband) it actually was a very easy decision...but of course I fought what I knew in my gut. The class I was in had multiple very obvious issues. I didn't gel with the instruction style, I had to start work 1.5 hours early just to get off in time to make it to the class, and I had to commute in rush hour traffic for 45-60 minutes. Really all of these factors made it obvious that I should not stick with the fall session of the class, but like I said I still resisted "quitting" and trying something different.
I did finally decide to at least look around for other class options this week since I was feeling so stressed and frustrated. There weren't many French course options during the summer, but I thought maybe since it is now the fall semester there would be more options. After a quick search I found a couple of evening class options at local community colleges. Of course I also quickly discovered the fall semester had already started this week, oops. Which meant I had to make an immediate decision. I decided to just go for it. If I ended up not liking a different course I could always go back to the course at the cultural organization. I chose the course that seemed the best time and location for me and then quickly went to work to get registered. I had to get permission from the instructor to be added late to the class since I had already missed the first class (on Tuesday night).
All of this means I went from finding the course, registering for the class, ordering my textbook, and then attending the class all in one day. Crazy! It's a Tuesday/Thursday evening class so I only missed the first class (since I attended last night). I was nervous about going. I've never taken a foreign language class at a community college (only university) and what if I also didn't like this new class. I was worried that maybe it was just me struggling with French and not the instruction style. Would a new class and instructor really make a difference?
So...I went to class last night and guess what, it was the best decision I have made for my French learning journey. I love my new instructor and more importantly I love her teaching style and class structure. I already learned a lot in the first class and left feeling happy and excited about the rest of the semester.
The truth is as much as I try to be an adventurous out-of-the box type of person I am just not, at least when it comes to academics. I am an OCD type A nerd plain and simple. I need structure and organization. I can't even express how embarrassingly excited I was to be given a syllabus and to have a PowerPoint outlining exactly all of the night's learning objectives. She wrote out clear notes and did activities with us that were fun and designed to help us remember French pronunciation...it was academic heaven.
I've learned a lot through this whole process. It's important to listen to your gut and it's important to know what your learning style is. And of course most importantly if something is not working it's okay to try something else. In fact not only is it okay it is necessary. This is my journey. I have to learn French in a way that is the best for me personally. If you hit a road block it's not always about pushing through it, sometimes it's about getting off the road and taking an entirely different route instead.
À bientôt
