Lack of Posts

The lack of posts on this blog is a consequence of my French class. I took the class during the Spring semester (mid-February to mid-June). I've taken many classes before, working diligently to improve my french, but never a full semester with the same teacher, same students for the whole time.

I decided to take the class because there are too many distractions. Studying by myself is difficult. I need structure and the fear factor.

Well, I got it and I'm going back for more.

I signed up for a university-level, semester-long class. I took an entrance exam, had to provide loads of paperwork to assure the school that I was up to the task, paid a lot of money (school isn't cheap).

I realized the first day of class that I would be the oldest student by 30+ years. This turned out to be the only down-side of this experience. While I love being around young people, university students, 18-22, are a bit too young to have a real-world conversation.

But, I went for the language, not to make friends.

Class started promptly at 9. On the first day of class, we had to discuss the "rules" for the class and agree to them as a group. No cell phones, no food during class, you must text the teacher if you are going to be late or absent.

A syllabus was passed out. We covered it all. The class was a mixture of grammar lessons (least popular), oral (comprehension and speaking), written (reading comprehension and production). Every grammar point was covered across the field.

We had tests! Even though I was there to learn, not for credit or a grade, I was not exempt. Of course I was stressed out. The tests were graded on the normal french system of X (your score) over 20, so X/20. I have no idea how this works. Every test had at least 40-50 possible points.

In the US, we're used to success and we normally work on a scale of 100%. A grade of 95 is good, 70 is awful, maybe failing. France is completely different. I learned along the way that the scores are also judged as: assez bien (OK), bien (good), tres bien (very good). There is no such thing as excellent. A score of 16/20 would be tres bien, no one ever got higher than 17/20. A score of 13/20 or 14/20 is considered bien (good). This is the category that I ended up in most of the time. One time I got 14.5 and smiled all day. If I tried to figure this out on the US system of 100, I could multiply by 5. So, 14/20 equals 70/100, certainly not "bien" in my book, but this is the way it worked.

Did I learn? I learned a lot. I studied hours per day after school. Tests don't ask for regular verb conjugations, they ask for the most esoteric, changeable, never-used verb tense. I learned/re-learned (knew this when in school but forgot it) to study for the test during the week prior to the test.

I made flash cards and carried them around with me, even when jogging. You never know when a question will need an answer. Instead of people-watching or listening to music, I studied my flash cards on public transportation. Somehow I never missed my stop.

School ended several weeks ago. I know I'll continue with my studies in the fall. But, I haven't lifted a book, a flash card, haven't conjugated an irregular verb unless I needed it, and haven't thought much about the passe simple.

I understand what Summer's all about.