Re: How far have you gotten *all* by yourself?
Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 2:57 pm
Classes are for a specific purpose. They don't sit in contradistinction to self-study in a specific way, tailored to one's needs. A view seems to be taken that classes are supposed to do a certain thing, and then when those things don't happen the classes are deemed to have failed. Leading to the conclusion: classes don't work.
Maybe some classes are bad or not enough; I know after all that there is a big difference between the Spanish courses at the Volksuniversiteit as compared to Instituto Cervantes. Depends who is taking which class. The former will help you work out some holiday Spanish if you're willing to put in some effort at home to fill in the gaps. The latter will help you to speak Spanish properly; partly, though not only, because all the tutors are Spanish and speak Spanish to you all the time and the library staff speak Spanish to you...etc. Also the former tends to be not very intensive, whereas the latter is. In terms of language production you really do need to be put on the spot to get that kick in the rear, and nothing else quite works as well. At least not as rapidly.
I find that the better the student is at working alone (and people here are pretty much invested in their own learning) they are even better in good classes. You also have to be aware of what you're seeking from classes. I deliberately didn't go to low-impact classes for either Dutch or German. I didn't want 2 evenings a week and a bit of homework. It's not enough. It's okay for a relaxed hobby, but if you need to learn the language for practical reasons you need to speed things up and that means more time and more effort. It has to become a passion, at least for a little while. So classes become a tool. As I've said before I chose the government fast-track programme because they turn out speakers pretty fast, to the point where you have the tools to improve on your own.
In other scenarios one might not need that much intensity, or even have time for it. Though this means the results might be somewhat slower and you don't have the luxury of instant correction and instant models of pronunciation and fixed phrases to mimic and acquire. I don't say that self-study is worse or the wrong method. It complements classes and vice-versa. Someone studying well on their own can make leaps with well-focused classes.
Caromarlyse, sorry for knocking your post off the last visible page!!
Maybe some classes are bad or not enough; I know after all that there is a big difference between the Spanish courses at the Volksuniversiteit as compared to Instituto Cervantes. Depends who is taking which class. The former will help you work out some holiday Spanish if you're willing to put in some effort at home to fill in the gaps. The latter will help you to speak Spanish properly; partly, though not only, because all the tutors are Spanish and speak Spanish to you all the time and the library staff speak Spanish to you...etc. Also the former tends to be not very intensive, whereas the latter is. In terms of language production you really do need to be put on the spot to get that kick in the rear, and nothing else quite works as well. At least not as rapidly.
I find that the better the student is at working alone (and people here are pretty much invested in their own learning) they are even better in good classes. You also have to be aware of what you're seeking from classes. I deliberately didn't go to low-impact classes for either Dutch or German. I didn't want 2 evenings a week and a bit of homework. It's not enough. It's okay for a relaxed hobby, but if you need to learn the language for practical reasons you need to speed things up and that means more time and more effort. It has to become a passion, at least for a little while. So classes become a tool. As I've said before I chose the government fast-track programme because they turn out speakers pretty fast, to the point where you have the tools to improve on your own.
In other scenarios one might not need that much intensity, or even have time for it. Though this means the results might be somewhat slower and you don't have the luxury of instant correction and instant models of pronunciation and fixed phrases to mimic and acquire. I don't say that self-study is worse or the wrong method. It complements classes and vice-versa. Someone studying well on their own can make leaps with well-focused classes.
Caromarlyse, sorry for knocking your post off the last visible page!!