Whining about our students

[Pavel Samsonov]

> Having a basic knowledge of Latin was definitely helpful in learning
> Russian at the age of 36. The teachers I had who'd studied at Russian
> pedagogical institutes knew how to teach. The teaching assistants who were
> put in the classroom after a three day workshop in language teaching,
> heavy on how to run a VCR and do all the paperwork were not. It isn't the
> students' fault.

There is a great deal of controversy about the question who can teach a
foreign language better: a native speaker or
a non-native speaker who has learned the language him/herself.
I believe if a person has been taught a foreign language in a systematic
way, s/he will apply this system even when teaching this language or his/her
own language.
On the other hand, a native speaker who has never acquired any language
other than his/her own will have big problems especially with beginners. Of
course, with more experience these problems can be solved. But not always.

As to the kids now...

When I was a kid myself, single-parent kids were exceptional. They were
pitied and regarded as poor things, deprived of something very dear...
Now single-parent kids or kids having a second or a third father (mother)
can be majority of a class. Does it mean that these kids learn not to have
big commitments from the very beginning?
I don't know.

With compliments,

Pavel (Paul) Samsonov
EDAD, College of Education,
Texas A&M University
tel. (409) 862-7771 (lab)
      (409) 862-9152 (home)
fax (409) 862-4347
e-mail p0s5658 at acs.tamu.edu

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