Family language learning "emergency"

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sfuqua
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Re: Family language learning "emergency"

Postby sfuqua » Thu Apr 13, 2023 2:37 am

Depression? Probably. But I actually think that she is better now than a few months ago. She has the common lack of belief in the future that many young people feel today, and we have had a dark, cold winter with a huge amount of rain. She has been screened for depression recently.

C, my daughter, says that she just needs to prepare better and that she thinks that the problem is mostly her preparation.
Here is what we are going to do:

1. She has a friend in Germany who would love to help her. They are going to try to turn over some of their Zoom calls to helping improve her German, instead of just scheming on what boys they are going to chase during her visit to Germany June and July.

2. She is going to prepare for the next test the way she prepares for a play or a musical (she is a theatre kid). She needs to prepare, and then she needs to keep practising long after she can get through what she thinks will be on the test. Even though she is around people who speak several languages, I don't think she really has a good concept of how learning a language is more like learning a skill and less like learning declarative knowledge about a subject.

3. She is going to try to upgrade her German rapidly. She is just going to study more of everything.

4. She is going to start reading novels in German. This won't help her oral work for a while, but she is at a point where she can start doing it, and it might help make German a normal part of her life, where she will keep going no matter what kind of teaching she receives in class.

I have contacted the teacher, and he is a big fan of C, or so he says. He thinks that his teaching methods are appropriate, since they prepare her for the advanced placement course she will take next year. I disagree, but he is the teacher in her class, and by contacting him I may have already helped her. I'm going to watch this situation closely.
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荒海や佐渡によこたふ天の川

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LexiHope
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Re: Family language learning "emergency"

Postby LexiHope » Mon Apr 17, 2023 12:23 am

aije wrote:Is your daughter still doing well in her other subjects? Are there any indications that there might be issues that extend beyond German class such as not wanting to go to school, loss of appetite or interest in activities she used to enjoy?
I certainly don't want to be alarmist, but depression is endemic among teenagers these days and the signs are often easily missed.
It's probably nothing. But keep an eye open and, if there is any doubt, get help for her.

Although it doesn't sound like this is the main problem with the German in this case I really appreciate this. I struggled massively in high school due to depression, and everyone just asking me what was wrong and parents ready to give up on me because I wasn't going to class was so frustrating, because I didn't understand what was going on myself at the time. Even when I was court ordered (truancy, also I was asked first) to go to therapy I only went once. I still get mad when I hear parents say their kids are lazy and they're describing fairly textbook depression symptoms. So. Thank you for looking out for potentially vulnerable teenagers.
(Sorry for going off topic for a minute. I just feel it's a really important issue.)
sfuqua wrote:Depression? Probably. But I actually think that she is better now than a few months ago. She has the common lack of belief in the future that many young people feel today, and we have had a dark, cold winter with a huge amount of rain. She has been screened for depression recently.

. . .

3. She is going to try to upgrade her German rapidly. She is just going to study more of everything.


It sounds like your daughter is doing well and any depression isn't affecting her performance overall, so this may not be a problem, but the burnout thread is on my mind, so keep an eye out for that/make sure she's not doing too much to be sustainable. Especially if she has such high expectations of herself. You sound like a good parent, so I'm sure she'll be fine in the end. :)
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Re: Family language learning "emergency"

Postby leosmith » Mon Apr 17, 2023 3:24 am

sfuqua wrote:by contacting him I may have already helped her. I'm going to watch this situation closely.
You sound like a good dad.
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sfuqua
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1642
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2015 5:05 am
Location: san jose, california
Languages: Bad English: native
Samoan: speak, but rusty
Tagalog: imperfect, but use all the time
Spanish: read
French: read some
Japanese: beginner, obsessively studying
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=9248
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Re: Family language learning "emergency"

Postby sfuqua » Thu Jun 01, 2023 3:00 am

Well the school year is done, with 3 more of the oral tests completed.
The teacher seems to really want to help, whatever the ineffectiveness of his methods.
I insisted that she memorize some islands and conversations for each test.
The next test went much better, not perfect but a solid pass.
The second test was similar, a solid pass.

The final test received the highest grade possible. I think having some stuff memorized helped her, not because she had to use it, but because she was confident that she would have something to say.
The teacher said that she stumbled a couple of times, but that she self-corrected.

Thanks for the support everybody.
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荒海や佐渡によこたふ天の川

the rough sea / stretching out towards Sado / the Milky Way
Basho[1689]

Sometimes Japanese is just too much...


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