Chateau / Teaching / German Guilt
Chateau de Chenonceau
Wednesday was a national holiday in France to mark the Armistice. As everyone had a day off, we went to Chenonceau, a nearby chateau. I regret not having a camera because it was very impressive. I thought it would be quite dull, but it was surprisingly interesting - built on a bridge and, therefore, in the middle of a river, it was the home of Catherine de Medici as well as a few other king and queen type people at various points. I spent the day waving a small European Union flag I had got that morning and singing the European anthem. Hooray!
Teaching
Teaching has not been bad. I have some classes that are quite dire as the students don’t say anything or, in some cases, are simply incapable of expressing themselves in English. However, when I get students who actually speak English reasonably well, it seems well worth it - I had one girl say at the end of a class “that went well, we had fun!” I think the key seems to be to appear cheerful and friendly and loquacious, as the children then feel guilt-tripped into participating. :D
German guilt
Knowing lots of Germans makes me feel extremely bad. They all speak better French than English people, and on top of that they all speak almost perfect English. And it’s not even just language students - I have met several friends of German assistants who don’t study languages, and can still hold a conversation in fluent English. It’s just embarrassing. The only Anglophone who speaks any German in our friend circle here is me. I took it to GCSE and then gave up 5 years ago; as such, what I occasionally speak can barely even be called German.
So I feel embarrassed in comparison with multilingual Germans. Britain, France and Germany are without any doubt the most important nations in Europe and have contributed the most to its literature, philosophy and values; I kind of feel that to be the best European possible, I should learn German.
There is also a more personal aspect to my guilt. I took French rather than German to A level and subsequently to university for a number of reasons, but one of those reasons was that French is a lot easier than German. I feel as though I ran away from German. I know that, if I put my mind to it, I could learn German - I always complain about its cases and verbs and genders, but I’m a logical, rule-minded language learner and, though it would be difficult, I know I could do it.
So, feeling so guilty, am I about to try to start German again for the umpteenth time? I lack time and, I think, sufficient motivation; after this year abroad, I will have little use for German. But I’m picking up a lot by listening to Germans and haltingly talking to them in German, and I may do an oral course once I’m done with Spanish in February or something. So, at the very least, my German will become slightly better, and that’s something.
Wednesday was a national holiday in France to mark the Armistice. As everyone had a day off, we went to Chenonceau, a nearby chateau. I regret not having a camera because it was very impressive. I thought it would be quite dull, but it was surprisingly interesting - built on a bridge and, therefore, in the middle of a river, it was the home of Catherine de Medici as well as a few other king and queen type people at various points. I spent the day waving a small European Union flag I had got that morning and singing the European anthem. Hooray!
Teaching
Teaching has not been bad. I have some classes that are quite dire as the students don’t say anything or, in some cases, are simply incapable of expressing themselves in English. However, when I get students who actually speak English reasonably well, it seems well worth it - I had one girl say at the end of a class “that went well, we had fun!” I think the key seems to be to appear cheerful and friendly and loquacious, as the children then feel guilt-tripped into participating. :D
German guilt
Knowing lots of Germans makes me feel extremely bad. They all speak better French than English people, and on top of that they all speak almost perfect English. And it’s not even just language students - I have met several friends of German assistants who don’t study languages, and can still hold a conversation in fluent English. It’s just embarrassing. The only Anglophone who speaks any German in our friend circle here is me. I took it to GCSE and then gave up 5 years ago; as such, what I occasionally speak can barely even be called German.
So I feel embarrassed in comparison with multilingual Germans. Britain, France and Germany are without any doubt the most important nations in Europe and have contributed the most to its literature, philosophy and values; I kind of feel that to be the best European possible, I should learn German.
There is also a more personal aspect to my guilt. I took French rather than German to A level and subsequently to university for a number of reasons, but one of those reasons was that French is a lot easier than German. I feel as though I ran away from German. I know that, if I put my mind to it, I could learn German - I always complain about its cases and verbs and genders, but I’m a logical, rule-minded language learner and, though it would be difficult, I know I could do it.
So, feeling so guilty, am I about to try to start German again for the umpteenth time? I lack time and, I think, sufficient motivation; after this year abroad, I will have little use for German. But I’m picking up a lot by listening to Germans and haltingly talking to them in German, and I may do an oral course once I’m done with Spanish in February or something. So, at the very least, my German will become slightly better, and that’s something.