![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
ЗДРАВСТВУЙ! Teacher of a Foreign Language...
... beware. Never let yourself be taught a foreign language in Glasgow. It is great fun, that is true, but that is due to the language rather than the efforts of our teachers, really.
Remember everything they teach us at the university about how to convey the mysteries of a foreign language to another human being?
Everything you ever heard about comprehensible input, and second-language acquisition, the natural order hypothesis, the affective filter, grammar teaching methods, everything Krashen ever said, in fact?
Forget about it all and become a language teacher for Russian at this university!
Today, we have continued our work on the Russian alphabet and sound system and did so by:
1.) listening to our teacher introduce us to the individual letters, ("Oh, yes, the next letter is pronounced like this: 'ya!' The next one as 'zzzs', the next one..."),
2.) listening to him reading it out loud ("Once again, "Ivaaan", that means "John".),
3.) listening to him reading a list of words with the new letters in them,
4.) listening to him reading them out loud again, repeating the words after he said them.
Furthermore, we are using the "New Penguin Course of Russian" - if you ever want to learn Russian, be sure not ever to buy this book.
It makes me have an IPA consonant chart craving, and that kind of thing is surely not a sign of mental health. It made me even want a vowel chart.
Those were the longest 45 minutes at this university so far. Our teacher may be a very renown professor of Slavonic studies, but he clearly is not really a language teacher at heart.
So, da sveedanya and love to all! Got to go over to hear the best lecturer at this university, Katie Lowe, on Old English. Whee!
Remember everything they teach us at the university about how to convey the mysteries of a foreign language to another human being?
Everything you ever heard about comprehensible input, and second-language acquisition, the natural order hypothesis, the affective filter, grammar teaching methods, everything Krashen ever said, in fact?
Forget about it all and become a language teacher for Russian at this university!
Today, we have continued our work on the Russian alphabet and sound system and did so by:
1.) listening to our teacher introduce us to the individual letters, ("Oh, yes, the next letter is pronounced like this: 'ya!' The next one as 'zzzs', the next one..."),
2.) listening to him reading it out loud ("Once again, "Ivaaan", that means "John".),
3.) listening to him reading a list of words with the new letters in them,
4.) listening to him reading them out loud again, repeating the words after he said them.
Furthermore, we are using the "New Penguin Course of Russian" - if you ever want to learn Russian, be sure not ever to buy this book.
It makes me have an IPA consonant chart craving, and that kind of thing is surely not a sign of mental health. It made me even want a vowel chart.
Those were the longest 45 minutes at this university so far. Our teacher may be a very renown professor of Slavonic studies, but he clearly is not really a language teacher at heart.
So, da sveedanya and love to all! Got to go over to hear the best lecturer at this university, Katie Lowe, on Old English. Whee!
no subject
THAT IS CREEPY! You scare me o.O
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
But honestly, I was amazed at how many people actually are fluent in foreign languages in that course. There were even a couple of people who'd had German in their A-Levels!
That is awe inspiring. I wouldn't want to learn this language. Ever.
no subject
On the other hand, I'd love to learn German!
Oh this is rocky, btw. I've friended you from my new journal! :)
no subject
Hey, glad to hear that! It is a nice language, but it seems to defy any kind of logic and so I would not really recommend it. Well, I am lazy and would not want to learn it, but then, that's me, I do not like cases.
On the other hand, surprisingly many people tend to learn it astonishingly quickly, so - go ahead!
There are at least two natives over here most willing to help and encourage you. :)