Last day of school

Almost six weeks ago, we climbed the steps to the second floor of an older building near our apartment, which is home to Actilangue, a French language school.

I wrote in an earlier blog about the screening process including a written exam and oral question period. Shortly thereafter, I was placed in one classroom at level B1- B2 with Michel as a prof and Keith and Brian went to another class A1-A2 with Blandine as prof. For the most part, I really enjoyed my learning experience. My classmates were motivated and I quite liked Michel. He was kind, funny and spoke clearly. I think that I understood about 90% of what he said and I think that is pretty darn good. We had homework every night and I worked diligently to complete all the exercises and assignments and even handed in a few extra. Despite my efforts, I honestly don't think that I speak or read any better than before I came, but I do think that my comprehension may have improved slightly. I was definitely the weakest student, but Michel was very good at helping me feel successful and my classmates were very tolerant and patient. This is a picture of my class on the last day. Michel is the gentleman with the white hair and glasses in the middle.

On the other hand, Keith and Brian were in a class where they were both frustrated. Because the school was so small and the critical number of students at this time of year was so low, there were only two classrooms. Needless to say there was a wide range of abilities in both classrooms and there really wasn't an adequate fiit, especially for Keith. Part of the issue is that he is a very skilled teacher and knows how to address the individual needs of a student in the classroom. He did not experience that as a language student regardless of how many questions he asked or how many requests he made for additional support. In the end, he became so frustrated and stressed that he "threw in the towel" after just under four weeks. I must admit that I felt frustrated in the oral language class with their prof as well. We had signed up for those additional classes to improve our oral language and comprehension skills. Unfortunately, many of those classes were not well thought out. Usually we were asked what we wanted to talk about and if we had any questions. As language students, we really weren't sure what would be most useful and spent the first week talking about travel plans. She talked most of the time giving us tips about where to go and how to get there. She also spoke very quickly and I found her difficult to understand. It was more useful when Michel led the class and we all had air time to discuss things like, what is your best memory and what is one of your worst? If you were prime minister of your country, what would be three things that you would change? Without a specific topic, sometimes we would just do a lot of navel gazing or one person would monopolize the conversation. 

Our oral language class.

We have had many conversations around the dinner table about our language learning experiences here. I would have to say overall, it has been positive for me, certainly more positive than the last three months I spent at ILA. However, due to various circumstances you may find yourself at a level well above or below your capacity and teachers who are not as skilled at accommodating student differences. There are also those teachers that don't necessarily fit with your learning style. And you may find fellow students who rub you the wrong way. We all have different ways of learning. Everything I have read says it is possible to learn a new language even for old duffers like me. I reckon I will just have to keep working at it and look for other opportunities to continue my journey.