In my years of taking Spanish, I have learned what I like and dislike about language classes. Even though I have been taking Spanish since freshman year of high school, I definitely do not know the language, which is frustrating considering the amount of time and effort I put into the class. I did not learn the language as well as I had hoped for several different reasons. One reason is because the courses were set up for rote memorization. Everything was divided up into units, which made it seem like nothing was related. When I had to learn the various verb tenses last year, I kept every tense very separate. This made it very difficult to actually hold a conversation but in order to pass the tests, it was necessary to learn this way. I knew that on the test certain tenses would be in one category while others would be in another so that was the way I studied. I did enjoy the overall structure of the class. I liked that there were specific learning goals that we needed to accomplish; I did not like how everything was compartmentalized. It is important to me that I have goals I need to reach or I will feel like I have accomplished nothing at all. Developing my learning objectives for every meeting will probably be the hardest part for me. There is not necessarily something specific I want to learn; I just want to learn it all. I will need to refine my goals.
On the FIRE model I scored highest in the rational and evaluative sections. I prefer open-ended questions and I expect the material to be related to people’s experiences, lives, and stories. I am determined for the class to not be rote memorization but a more immersion process. I want to learn through casual conversation instead of note taking. I learned from the Learning Styles quiz that I do not learn well from notes so I’d like to structure the class in a way that is not dependent on my notes. However, I do realize that I need something to revise between my meetings. Learning how to develop my own “syllabus” will be essential for my learning style. I need structure but I also need some freedom to learn in a more immersive style. It is important I want the material I learn in class to also be useful to everyday life. I would like to be able to hold a conversation with my family members and friends that is meaningful and not strained.
This blog was mainly a way for me to think my way through what I want to get from this course during this semester. After rereading this very convoluted paper, it seems that I need a to do list of sorts. I need goals to reach so I can feel accomplished.
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