Friday, October 08, 2004

Fw:

I am extremely happy with my prof's teaching methods. I find that her tests
are reasonable and she makes a good transition from topic to topic that
seems like logical building on what we know. We learn vocabulary in natural
theme-related sets (numbers, colours, foods, days of the week), and she
focuses on case endings and typical natural sentences using those cases, so
that if need be I can take the sentences she teaches us and plug in my own
words from the dictionary.

However, I seem to be the only one in the class who is happy with her
teaching. Other people complain that she teaches too much written and not
enough conversation (I thought the class was heavy on conversation and light
on writing - we don't even need to be able to spell yet!), and they fault
her for her imperfect spoken English, even though she understands us
perfectly and can explain concepts in English.

I'm wondering why I feel differently about her teaching. Perhaps it's
because I'm the only one with a background in linguistic theory? Perhaps
it's because I came into this class with the least prior knowledge? Perhaps
it's because I have spent more time studying languages than most people and
am acutely aware of what kind of information I need, and therefore am aware
that she is giving me exactly the right information?


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