I have started going to German classes (A1 level), and the actual class itself is taught in German! Not a word of English is spoken.
So my question is, how are you supposed to learn what things mean if you aren't given the translation? Sure you can sometimes "guess" what the teacher is saying, but often you are wrong. Isn't it more effective if the teacher were to explain in English?
I can't understand their logic in this. How are you supposed to learn if they speak in fluent German, which you can't yet understand?
Are all German courses here taught in German itself? If not, where are some that are actually taught in English?
As a language teacher myself, I think your teacher is an excellent one.
Only by immediate immersion will you be able to progress and become fluent in the language you wish to learn. It's very important that as soon as possible you stop 'translating' everything in your head, and start processing the info in the new language.
Your teacher probably repeats himself a lot, uses the same words again and again with plenty of gestures, until the basics get understood.
I can understand how unsettling it can be for a beginner, but I really think it's the sign of a high-quality class.
It's fairly common, yes, and the logic is that you will simply pick things up by practicing them. I'm not convinced, and my cynical side says that it's simply to make it easier to run courses without having to separate out the classes based on native languages spoken.
But I agree with the basic premise that learning German or French should not be a question of translating to and from English, as often the meanings of phrases and even individual words may not be exactly equivalent, or not so in all situations. you only have to listen to the common English mistakes like until and actual to see the result of that approach.
Personally I like to get inside a word and understand where it comes from, which often gives an insight into the range of meanings it may have, and why it may or may not have an exact English translation for all of its uses.
In the UK, English courses are taught in English, and in Italy, in Italian, etc.
When I taught German in the UK, I always took 1 week of lessons out about2 months after the start of the course, to explain, in English, about the different cases, and what they refer to - as kids had no idea about the concepts of nominative, accusative, dative and genitive - and then went back into full immersion. Of course, another reason in a course abroad, is that the students will come from different countries, with different languages. How can the teacher teach partly in English, if some students do not speak English and all have different languages. is the teacher supposed to teach in Mandarin, Hindi, Serbocroat, etc, etc.
Try not to panic and go with the flow, your ears will become attuned. If necessary, ask another friend who speaks both English and German to go over things separately from the lesson- if you find it too tough. Once a teacher starts to speak in your language, the 'magic' and the immersion is broken. Hold on in there - it will work.... eventually
Actually, like it was already said, it is the best way. One of the worse mistakes I have seen in the Swiss classes is teachers that try to teach English but they do a lot of explanation in Swiss german. When a student knows that it is possible to answer only in English (German, Italian bla bla bla) then he will find ways to express himself even though it is difficult or he makes mistakes.
Also...in your class you will find people from different countries...what if they wanted German lessons in Romanian...Greek...Russian?
100% agree. I went to try to learn Russian here and was told that it would be in 100% Russian which is perfect. However, the teacher wasn't good enough to do that and kept explaining in German. My German is reasonable, but not good enough to learn Russian through it (if you follow me) so I ended up complaining and eventually leaving the class.
There is also the practical point - if not German, then what? German for English, for Italians, for French, for Thai? It just isn't possible
A quick tip for this is to pick up two "German-English" dictionaries.
One small 'pocket' version to take to class (at least), and the other larger more comprehensive version for home study.
Prepare yourself before the lesson by writing out a list of words (key words first) from the next lesson WITH English translations.
It makes the upcoming lesson much easier..... not that learning German is easy.
As said previously, the lessons have to be in German to accomodate all the other languages that want to learn to speak.
Finding someone who speaks no English is much easier to practice German with, than someone who does. It's too easy to revert back to English, and you should avoid this where possible.
I agree, it should be like this. Things still need to be explained in plain English, otherwise how else do you understand?
As I said before, you can "guess" from gestures and immersion, but often you are wrong. For example, my teacher has been repeating the same phrase over, and I "guessed" what she meant. It was only today I found out that it meant something completely different. If she would have just explained what it meant in English from the start, there would have been no misunderstanding.
Believe it or not, i'm the ONLY native English speaker in my class! This makes it even more difficult, because I can't yet communicate with other students very well in German. As a result, I feel even more alienated.
English is probably the most common language spoken here by foreigners, so wouldn't it make more sense to have some classes with just English speaking students?
If I am learning German and trying to understand, it is much more confusing to me if the teacher all of a sudden speaks in another language, say English, which is not my mother tongue. I have to undertake a double effort - German-English-my mother tongue, whereas with sticking to German only is much less tiresome.
Granted, it's very hard at the beginning, but, as others have already posted, in my opinion it's the most effective way.
At least you're dealing with a language (German) that has the same linguistic roots of your mother tongue (English). Imagine learning Russian like Caviarchips said, or Chinese, or Hebrew...I've done Hebrew in Hebrew only, which is totally different from my mother tongue, and I can assure you it wasn't pretty at all at the beginning!
Good luck with your classes - it does get better after a while!
I need a German course that never, ever, mentions grammar. Just correct me when I'm wrong and talking in the wrong tense, I get totaly lost if someone tries to tell me why I'm wrong, and how I should correct it.
It's easy they tell me, "it's in so you just in front of the and the "
"Oh". I don't understand grammar in english, german seems worse.
Another problem with this is that I don't understand instructions given. For example if the teacher were to ask the class in German "open your book, read X, complete Y, then do Z when you finish" I don't understand what is being told. I basically have to watch other students and hope for the best. Very frustrating!
Over half the class are already somehow fluent in German too, so it makes me even more behind. I am not sure why they started at A1 level if they are already reasonably fluent in German. Most of them can even hold a basic conversation in German! On the other hand it takes me ages to think of the words and string a basic sentence together.
I spoke to my teacher about this and she admitted that most people in this class were very advanced for A1 level. It doesn't feel like a beginner class at all.
Perhaps I should ask if I can change to another class?
one thing I can tell you for sure - if you're a native English speaker, trying to learn German from someone who is not a native English speaker can be frustrating as all living hell. no matter how hard they try, they will simply never be able to fully assist you in bridging the gap between the 2 languages in a way that you will understand. add to this the fact that you are doing so in a country where German is a foreign language and you can really find yourself frustrated.
best bet is to practice, practice, practice on your own, listen to nothing but German radio and watch as much German tv as you can (that way you can read lips). the biggest mistake I see people make is to assume that they will ever learn the language by working on it in a classroom without putting in the work on their own. "immersion" is a myth in Switzerland, since you will never find yourself surrounded by only one language, and "immersion" in a classroom setting without somebody to guide you in a manner you understand is like trying to teach a blind man to drive a race car by putting him behind the wheel.
Also, you have to remember that these classes are not marketed to only English-speakers. Many people come to Switzerland from parts of the world where English is not only not required, but entirely uncommon.
In my A1 Deutsch class we had 2 individuals who did not speak a word of English- the teacher being one of them!
So the only language EVERYBODY had in common was German, either by previous knowledge or desire to learn.
This is an added benefit of immersion teaching- you don't have to worry about the languages of the individual students to teach them the new language.