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| pity there is no A1 exam :( |
The Polish lessons have gone quite well however and at the moment seem to be worth the money. The classes I am taking seem to be targeted a little higher than my level but I think that's good for my learning because I'm hyper competitive at won't rest until I'm the top dog ;)
I've also learnt a great deal about language teaching in general, for example:
1. It is incredibly un-natural to talk a second language to your country people, incredibly.
2. L1 does have some use in a L2 classroom.
If you pick up a teachers book from the early 2000's the vast majority will warn you against using any L1 in the classroom. Even I have noticed that some newer books are taking a more relaxed attitude to this and I can now understand why.
At elementary or pre-int level, it's just faster and easier knowledge transfer to convey meaning in L1 between students.
I work for a language school which expressly forbids the use of Polish in English classes on bane of death. This is not a problem for me (Unless they give me a matura book to work with which is actually written in Polish), but I can't help but feeling that while your trying to elicit the accurate meaning of 'comfotable' or 'Suet', wouldn't it just be faster to use L1?
It proved to make my Polish lessons much more dynamic this week when the Polish teacher allowed limited conversing in L1 as a method of last resort. Probably, I'll do the same in my classes in the future.
3. All teachers like coloured card cut into little pieces. I thought it was just my little 'fetish' but apparently not.
Alongside my 3 hours in school, I'm also taking 1 hour a week with a private Polish teacher. She is fully trained and also quite expensive but I'm using her to help improve my performance in my other Polish classes (like I said, I want to be the best)
All of this might come as a suprise as I'm renowned for not spending money but one of my Korean students gave me some incredible advice this week:
'The safest investment is on yourself'
Magical words which have left me full of optimism. I'm now trying to learn Polish through the medium of Youtubing random things, hence the video linked. Cera = Complexion. Plus, I generally only watch videos with pretty ladies in, so bonus! but seriously, I hope all exposure will take me closer to that B1 certificate.
On a side note, I've found two, nearly mint condition street maps of Berlin from the 1960's in some of the bits and bobs boxed up from my wife's relatives - have I stumbled onto a miniature goldmine with these? I'm thinking of ebaying them?
Have a good weekend everyone.
sexy ladies always help
ReplyDeleteYour learning Polish by watching youtube vids on makeup? why is this knowledge needed! lol
ReplyDeletehave a gud weekend 2!
I agree about the L1 Thing. An added complication for me is that one of my fellow students doesn't speak English, so even without that, it's difficult to quickly bypass a misunderstanding using L1 as the last resort. Can be frustrating.
ReplyDeleteout of interest, where do you learn Paddy? Same place as me?
ReplyDeleteat IKO just off Nowy Swiat - is it?
ReplyDeleteNah, its not, I was being an idiot and forgetting that your not in Wroclaw.
ReplyDeleteIs IKO any good? for future reference?
It has a good reputation amongst the people I've known here. So far, I am impressed.
ReplyDeleteI did learn Polish intensively at Link Szkola in Plac Solny - I was highly impressed with them. Is that your school?
Having been a learner rather than teacher, I like the principle of L2 only. There may be some exceptions (more when first starting), but forcing me to think right and the teacher to focus on essentials - I have noticed an inevitable tendency to digress when speaking L1 - are both important for me.
ReplyDeleteIs 'suet' and the accurate meaning of 'comfortable' (if different to komfortowe) important enough to break this rule? Maybe. I can never remember what the Polish for suet is and its hard to describe, but it still seems to be a bit of a narrow interest.
What my objection is the 'belief' that any utterance in L1 is unacceptable on behalf of both teachers and students.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to say this fashion has passed some what over the past ten years with many teaching modern teaching manuals prefering an acceptance that some L1 can just save time.
Obviously, If you're having full conversations in L1, the lesson is a failure by default.
Sometimes it's impossible to get the meaning through without using L1. Teaching is all about horses for courses right?
ReplyDeleteYou adapt your teaching style for the problem, sometimes that means L1