- Listening Understanding: B1. We are working a lot with the TV news in our class, probably so we can get better at understanding it. I don't know enough vocab and I can't understand when they speak as fast as they do on the news currently, so I am definitely B1. I can understand the main points though, so I think B1 labels me to a T.
- Reading Understanding: B1. Again with the Vocab. If I understood more vocab, I could easily be B2. I have no problem following trains or thought in texts, but I just don't know enough vocab to be able to follow most literary prose.
- Spoken Interaction: B2. I think that I am able to converse with every day people as long as they speak slowly enough in return. I didn't think that I was this B2 but since having many conversations with my teacher, host parents and brother, and classmates, I think that I might be. The people yesterday at Ultimate didn't have much trouble understanding me either, though admittedly they use a lot of English words while playing. I think that my main trouble is loss of confidence when speaking with strangers, and when the other people speak too fast for me to be able to understand them.
- Spoken Production: B1. While I really want to think that I am B2, I have a lot of trouble coming up with the right helping verbs, or using the correct cases while talking. Often I have to go back to adjust which helping verb I used. The problem with German is it either takes a ton of preparation for each sentence or a ton of intuition. Since I don't have the intuition yet, it takes a ton of concentration and time for the preparation. I can see this getting better though, and hopefully it will be at B2 by the end of the 6 weeks.
- Writing: B2. My writing is definitely my strength. All of my instruction has been heavily focused on grammar, and while it takes me a little while to do it, I have always been complimented on it. I still can't easily select a "style" for the reader, as is the goal in C1, but I am able to clearly describe what I want, with varying sentence structure and transitional statements.
- Overall: B1. I think that my comprehension and speaking errors are holding me back to being a B1. Luckily, that will always improve with more and more integration.
The class, titled "Seduction and Terror: Hitler's Germany" sounds like such an opportunity to learn about how it was in and before WWII. This is one of the reasons I chose to learn German, to hear just what he said and how he became such a powerful leader while using such inhumane tactics. He must have just been a ridiculously charismatic and powerful speaker.
This Hitler course is an "A-track" course, so it runs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, which means I would have to pair a "B-track" course with it. This worked perfectly because the German speaking course was a B-track course, but now that it is cancelled it is very inconvenient. The semi-intensive courses are also A-track courses, so I can't double up with that, as I would prefer. If I decide I wan't the language instruction more than the Hitler course and switch so I have a semi-intensive course, then I might as well just do another intensive language course, because none of the B-track courses sound more interesting to me than more language classes (especially if I can manage to have this teacher again. He is spectacular). So, I am faced with a quandry. I am going to look into other universities to see if they have Tuesday/Friday courses taught in German (which seems unlikely to me, but what do I know?), but I will be faced with a tough choice this week for sure. The course offerings are here, in case you feel like offering any advice.
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