Suzie wrote:I am so sorry to read about your problems with the language school, and I fully understand how demotivating the whole situation is for you. I feel you. Isn't it annoying that such external factors have so much power over our motivation? Logic dictates that strong intrinsic motivation should not be susceptible to disruptions that easily. We should all be more resilient...
It is annoying, but I have always been an autodidact and very resilient. But even I have limits. Just this once, I wanted help. Convinced also by those people (some of them on this forum), who praise teachers as also source of motivation and something that pushes them harder.
Just once, I tried to be humble and do it this way. And it has ended so badly.
This may be a ridiculous question, but don't you think it might be worth to gamble and take the risk to attempt a C1 Goethe exam this spring (March?) anyway without the help of the school? A while ago you mentioned that one great part of the C1 is the absence of basic grammar errors from A and B levels. From what I am reading, this is already something you have accomplished - you have become an incredibly strong B2 and solidified the underlying grammar. I am sure in some fields (such as medicine/science) you already have advanced vocabulary. And I would guess there is much advanced learning material out there to specifically prepare for the exam. You are an extremely experienced learner and have mastered so much. Plus, you know what examiners need. If anyone would succeed in such a crazy mission during a few weeks time, it is you - I believe that very strongly!
Anyway, all the best for your meeting with the school!
Thanks for the compliments, but it looks like I am unconsciously making a much better impression of my skills than the reality.
Nope, this wouldn't be a gamble but just a waste of money
-I am not C1. Not by far. I let this situation get me out of my normal pace. I am a solid B2 slooooowly crawling towards C1
-nope, I am not as errorfree as needed, especially in writing
-nope, I don't have any medicine vocabulary. Where would I have gotten it? I work in French, I read scientific articles in either French or English. I have several books in German but no time to read them at all.
-yes, there are tons of materials to prepare for the exam, once you are overall C1. It is worthless to just to mock exams, if you don't have the solid enough base for it, it is a waste of (limited) material, that won't be new again, once I am really ready to use it.
And I don't want to waste my time this way, I am still looking for my next job and that's the priority for the next few months. I am a bit torn.
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To sum up the meeting:
-they are good businessmen (too bad for me), so no refund really discussed (in spite of mistakes clearly admitted by the school, especially the explanations before the contract), no extra classes. I can let the money go to my husband's learning, but I really hope he won't need any extra months.
-yes, they'll look for a way to make this work with more than one teacher, for the planning
-the goal will be two hours per week
-we also cleared up the goals. I paid, because I needed German fast. Their "most students cannot go that fast" was clearly explained as not pertinent too. But it is too late. This sort of communication should have happened in early November.
-at the end of my prepaid hours, I will probably "need" 10-12 more, by my teacher's estimate. Finally an estimate! Well, the decision whether to pay this much money will be at the end of prepaid hours, so I have time to look for cheaper alternatives (just on my own, or someone much chearper on Italki)
So, let's hope this works for the next 8 hours, and we'll see. As a cheaper option, I can look even at the expensive Italki teachers. And self study is the necessary base of course. But I really wish there was an Italki like thing, but just for professional writing corrections of longer texts. Too bad it doesn't exist and probably never will. This I would love to pay for.
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A side note:hard to study, I am ill again. Many of us are.