September 15, 2009Class 1B, 6 to 9pm.In the earlier 1A class, reading passages and filling in the blanks was a piece of cake. I can’t say that anymore about 1B. Perhaps I waited too long (4 months) before I continued with the 1B class and I have forgotten a lot of things I learned in 1A, or it could be that I have a day job now and it does not leave me with a lot of time during the day to do my homework, revise things from the last lesson, etc. Plus, if everyone at home or at work are native English speakers, there is no opportunity to use German at all!One thing is definitely for sure: I am one of the weakest students in class. I must admit I am having difficulties with the vocabulary, and reading one simple passage could take at least an hour as I have to constantly refer to the dictionary and try to make head or tails out of the translated passage. Personally, I would suggest to anyone to not wait too long to take the next class, try reading tons of children books, and practice whenever you can!

September 14, 2009Class 1B, 6 to 9pmToday is our second week at my language school in Munich as well as our second day with our new teacher Verena. She started the class with small talk, going around each student with what we did last weekend. What is so nice about her is that she understands that it would take time for each of us to construct our sentences, and she gives us the time to do that. She does not help us “complete our sentences” just so that she can move on to the next student. She would also take the time to ensure students understood what was taught before moving on.Lessons have been good so far. We learned to use conjunctions today, matched pictures with the corresponding text, simple sentence construction, and a dictation. Whew! It is amazing how much we have done in 3 hours.

Class 1B, 6 to 9pmSeptember 10, 2009If I have to use one word to sum up today’s class with the new teacher, Verena, it has to be “Superb”. You have no idea how confused some of us were in the past couple of days. With Verena, it is a lot easier to learn the language as she set it at a slower pace, more interactions between students, explains things to us in English and actually gives us homework. She is also very friendly and warm, and most importantly, she makes learning fun for us bunch of people who have to learn Deutsch after a hard day’s work! 6 of the students who had her previously for 1A are elated to have her back, even the other 4 think she is awesome too. It would definitely be a BIG plus if she would be doing 2A next month (or in November).

Class 1B, 6 to 9pmSeptember 9, 2009We were informed by Sebastian today that a new teacher will take over his teaching position from September 10, 2009 onwards. It came as a surprise to us all but at the same time, most  students were openly delighted to hear that someone new (‘Verena’?) will be taking over. The lady at the office was not willing to say why we would be getting a new teacher…Anyway, class went on as usual after the news, and Sebastian didn’t seem terribly upset. I know it would be better for us all but I still feel bad that he is leaving, especially if my last blog played some part in causing him to lose his job…As for the lesson, it is still fuzzy for me at this point (a couple of students seem to have taken German lessons before and is therefore a walk in the park for them), and I would have to revise what I have learned today on my own. Hopefully things would get clearer with the new teacher. Fingers and toes crossed.

Class: 1B, 6 to 9pmSeptember 8, 2009.Well, after a nice slow first day introducing ourselves in German, it seems that we are now on the express train heading towards disaster. I thought the teacher was speaking too fast but everyone else in the class looked like they understood what was going on. It was not until after class when we were heading home, that 2 other classmates thought the teacher, Sebastian, was speaking too fast in the class too. A student was expressing herself in English during class as her German was limited, but Sebastian told her that it is a Deutsch Klasse and we have to speak in German. He would also not explain stuff in English. I understand the need to speak and listen to German on a regular basis in order to learn, but the school also has to bear in mind that at 1B level, our knowledge of German is very limited. Speaking to us at the speed of light would not make things any easier as it sounds like complete garbage, and flipping through the dictionary during class is a waste of time. Instead of benefiting from today’s class, I feel frustrated and confused at the end of the night, and my instincts tells me things are going to get worse. Oh Bettina, why do you have to teach 1M instead of 1B??

Class: 1B, 6 to 9pmSeptember 7, 2009 – first day of classWow. 4 months after my 1A class in May, I am back at Deutsch Akademie to continue the 1B course. So instead of the old company, I am now surrounded by fresh new faces, not to mention the new names I would have to learn again. I was disappointed that my old teacher, Bettina (who everyone in the 1A class thought she rocks!) is not teaching the 1B class, so I had no choice but to go with someone else. The lady at the office said Julia would be teaching, but I guess they swapped the teachers at the last minute and now I have Sebastian.First day was nice and slow, sort of revising the old stuff we had learned in 1A: Was ist ihr name, Wie alt bist du, woher kommst du… you get the idea. Then we moved on to learning the stammbaum (family tree): Vater, Mutter, Eltern, Onkel, Tante, Nichte, Neffe, Bruder, Schwester, etc; followed by the good ole listening exercise,where as usual, I have no idea what the German conversation was about. Oh boy, I can’t believe I’m in 1B. Fingers and toes crossed for the next 3 1/2 weeks at the language school in Munich.