Why people suck in class

It’s a pity to see that the language learning community is divided between a ‘pro-classes’ and an ‘anti-classes’ camp. It shouldn’t be that way, we’re all learners and we can (and should) learn from each other. Why the hate? Are classes really that bad in general? Or are they *the* way to become fluent at a language? It’s not possible to say either things, it all depends on the student and to a lesser extent the teacher. Yes, a good teacher *can* compensate a weaker student (i.e. one who’s not really motivated in the first place or whose self-study methods are faulty). On the other hand there’s the teacher who can do quite some damage by suggesting bad methods or saying that only studying in class in needed (which is fine, if you have classes all day long, each and every day of the week).

I’m majoring Spanish in college, yes. But only because I want to be a teacher in the future, and you need at least a Bachelor of Education degree for that. In general, I believe that classes are not needed to become fluent in a language. I know, I know, it sounds weird me saying that as I want to become a teacher. But I strongly believe that a teacher should only be someone who gives you the right directions, and that you find the way to fluency yourself. Luckily for me, teachers are becoming more and more like that in the Netherlands. The classes I take (Spanish conversation and grammar) are centered around ‘reinforcing the Spanish you already know’, but some of my classmates seem to miss that point. Yes, they enjoy the classes (which is good), and they’re serious about getting fluent. But when class ends and they head home, what happens? They turn on the TV, watching a Dutch soap-opera or an American Movie (in English; ahhhhhhh!). The problem is: they think that taking a class is enough, and that homework means that you only need to fill in some grammar exercises to become fluent. It just doesn’t work this way.

But it’s not only the student’s fault. In general, teachers *want* you to make homework that only consists of filling in blanks, reading 20 lines of text or learning 100 new words by week’s end using rote memorizing. This way they can teach a subject for years and years with their limited knowledge, but in the end, the students will know nothing useful because they spent a lot of time using artificial materials instead of enjoyable input from native sources. So, what does this create? Yes, a bunch of people who suck in class. Why? Because teachers often expect you to advance, not to stand still. But filling in blanks simply doesn’t teach you how to speak or write naturaly. Sure, it can reinforce stuff from your classes, but it’s not that useful. Learning loose words won’t able you to put them in sentences in a correct way, there will be too much thinking and thinking is bad in this case (as it prevents you from speaking fluently).

Now, I may sound like a whiner, and maybe I’m. But I do have a technique to reduce your suckage-level in class. So prepare, here it comes (another “Self-development in 5 steps“):

1. Filling in blanks

So, you have to fill in blanks, don’t you? Poor you, but they can actually help. No, it doesn’t help filling them in once and never seeing them again, but it does help you if you repeat it. This is a point where a good SRS can work. How? Simply put in the question (the blank) in the question field and the solution (i.e. the conjugated verb) in the answer field. You might add some extra info to the answer field like a translation of the sentence or an explanation in Spanish (if you can handle it) of the difficult words.

2. Memorizing word-lists

No, I don’t like them and I’ll never say to you to use one. So how to get those **** words in your head? I assume that you already use the sentence-method, so get sentences for the words you don’t understand and add the sentence to your SRS just the way you put in other sentences. A good source for sentences is the Wordreference dictionary, so use it.

3. Grammar explanations

Oh man, I hate these most of the time. Why? Because they’re unclear as ****. What I *did* find useful is to add some short grammar notes to my sentences so that they’re burnt in my mind after a while. It’s not the most natural way of learning things (which, in my opinion, is massive comprehensable input), but it does enable you to explain stuff and advance quicker.

4. Not relying on classes

Depending on your teacher, a class can be a great motivator and a source of information. BUT DON’T RELY ON IT! A bad teacher in the first place, a new teacher replacing the old one, classmates who whine half of the lesson that they “don’t get it”, etc., etc. They’re all factors that you don’t want to have, but that does happen. So don’t rely on the class, especially because most classes are only 4 hours a week or so and will never make you fluent.

5. Ask for directions

The easiest way of getting through a lesson is by just listening and doing what the teacher wants you to do, but it’s not effective. When I went to Spain some of my friends said that my accent was horrible and that I needed to find a way (*any way*) to improve it. The weird thing was; I took classes for a half year, and no professor ever mentioned my bad pronunciation. To avoid this: ASK your teacher to correct you. ASK if you have doubts about something. ASK for more explanations if you still don’t get it (maybe it’s wise to do this after class, so that you don’t prevent other people from learning – although it may be something they’ll do). ASK for extra (native) materials, etc., etc.