chronicle

[David Kaiser]

I think that one of the main problems is one of expectations. Learning a
foreign language is difficult and time-consuming, it requires a tremendous
amount of practice. To expect students to be able to read a newspaper,
write an essay and carry on a conversation beyond the level of "how's the
weather?" after two years of three hours per week is simply unrealistic,
and this is doubly true for the "difficult" languages. I think there needs
to be discussion on the goal(s) of language learning and perhaps we need to
consider several different tracks if resources allow. For example, if one
only wishes to read a foreign language, this can be done more efficiently
if we don't bother with pronunciation and comprehension. Many students can
learn to read French in a summer with enough practice, but don't expect
them to speak. This is great for scholarly research, literature and
checking out French web sites and newspapers, but less useful if one wants
to live in Paris. Conversely, those who wish to live and work in Paris may
not need to know some of the nuances of Rousseau or the subjunctive, as
long as they can order a meal and find their way to the metro. Either way,
by emphasizing the desired aspect and de-emphasizing what is deemed
peripheral, we can make more progress towards the stated goal. Maybe we
want to push reading *and* conversation, but that will require more than
three hours per week.

Maybe the point of studying a foreign language is to learn culture, but
administrators can argue that culture can be learned by reading
translations. How do we respond to that in a way that is both precise and
forceful? Maybe the point is to learn about language in general, but so
many American students don't even know the grammar of English, much less
Russian or German. If many high schools and colleges are unwilling to teach
English grammar, how can we expect them to emphasize the grammar of a
foreign language? It's a difficult situation.

Regardless, simply sending students to a foreign country without
preparation is a waste of time. I was group leader on a study abroad trip
to Russia a few years back, and there were students of all levels, and my
observations were that those students who had two or three years of grammar
and recitation were able to make a great deal of progress, because the
grammar was in the back of their heads waiting to be activated by practice,
and they were at a point where they could venture out into the
Russian-speaking wilderness and find the opportunity to practice and
improve and by and large they did. Those who had little or no Russian prior
to arrival struggled with simple greetings, the alphabet, etc and spent
most of their time in expatriate bars talking to fellow Americans and
English-speaking Russians, because that is all that their meager skills
would allow.

As a final note, I think we need to make practice more accessible and more
engaging. I find myself envying the students of Spanish, who, in most
American cities, have a choice of Spanish-language programming on TV and
Radio. In Chicago, with one of the densest populations of Slavs outside of
Eastern Europe, I struggle to find Russian and Polish programming, and I
haven't found any Czech radio or TV. Perhaps the Internet will make it
easier to get in-language radio and TV, but it's still not as accessible as
it needs to be. In-language newspapers and magazines for the students to
use would help as well.

My two cents

Dave Kaiser
Doctoral Student, University of Chicago



"A shared purpose did not claim my identity.
On the contrary, it enlarged my sense of myself."
        Senator John McCain

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