How to use the language teacher most profitably, or why saying « I’m going to enrol in a language course to learn French » can be a false good idea, or « I am learning a foreign language » or « I am being taught a foreign language »?
Language lessons are expensive. And of course, it takes several hours of lessons and practice to reach a certain level. According to different sources, reaching level A1 takes about 70-100 hours, then 150 to 250 hours to pass from one level to another, which gives us almost 900 hours to have level C1. These estimations are approximate, and even in my opinion a little too optimistic: in reality, it will take much more, even taking into account that these are the hours of teaching, I mean « face-to-face » courses; for the actual number of hours needed, you should multiply at least by three. If you plan to do all this volume only with the teacher, you can easily calculate the cost of such training. And if you want to optimize the cost, it’s not a « revolutionary », « innovative » or even « based on the latest results of neuroscience research » method that will allow you to move faster, but only your attitude and what which is referred to as « motivation ».
Motivation is a vast topic that I will cover elsewhere. And this is where I come to the main point of my remarks which may be unpleasant for many learners and teachers:
You don’t learn a foreign language in a language course. You learn it on your own, and most of the work is done outside of language class lessons.
This is what is simple and complicated at the same time. And that is why we often hear that the magic method does not exist. It is because it is not the lessons, the method, or the teacher that make you learn a foreign language. Of course, all this is important and contributes to the final success, but most of the work is done by the learner himself, through his daily and regular work.
It is therefore not during the lessons that you will learn. The teacher is not there to « teach » you, but to accompany you in your learning. You do the job.
Classroom lessons, textbooks and the work of the teacher will allow you to:
1) give structure, and outline the content to be mastered; if you prepare for a test, that gives you knowledge of the requirements for candidates and practical information for taking the test;
2) explain the working method, the tools and tips for learning more effectively and the mistakes to avoid;
3) give clear explanations of how language works: vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, but also those communication habits and customs that linguists classify as « pragmatic competence »;
4) motivate, even if it is the hardest for the teacher to master, and the most difficult to quantify. I would say if after the course the learners have the feeling of having learned things, want to go further and are confident about their success, that means it worked.
When you book private lessons or pay for language training, you pay for these four « products », sometimes individually, sometimes « as a package ».
But all this is only the theoretical content. Certainly, we do some practical activities in class, but I want to emphasize that everything given in class should be reworked after classes.
With the individual course, it’s the same thing. The course with a language teacher is a consultation. And the consultation must be prepared beforehand. When you practice the language, remember to write down the points you have trouble with as you go: an expression whose meaning you don’t understand, a sentence where a grammatical form gives you trouble, something you don’t know how to say in the target language, etc. Do not hesitate to come to class with a list of questions. From my experience, I can say that students who ask a lot of questions learn more and better.
Do more than the teacher asks you: if he tells you to do two exercises in writing, do not hesitate to reread and repeat a few sentences of these exercises, and make your sentences with the same word, expression or grammar point you work on, redo the written exercises orally, etc. If he tells you to read the text and answer the questions, in addition, try to say in a few sentences about that text: what it is about, what you agree or disagree with, or why you find this text boring or useless. Those few extra things will get you a few more revisions, and every extra revision makes you progress. For now, this is progress that cannot be felt, but it will be felt over time and it does not cost you much in terms of effort and time.
Keep in mind the objectives you set for yourself: in which situations will you use the target language? What type of texts will you read or write? Try to practice yourself, do some first tests and show them to your teacher, it might give him ideas of a very interesting and useful lesson for you, and these materials will serve you for a long time!
Ask him for advice on resources: sites, methods, magazines and books adapted to your level. The language teacher is also a librarian: he can advise you on ways « to go further », take advantage of it!
And the last tip. Be (pro-)active. It is often said, but the meaning of this phrase often remains underestimated. From my own experience, I can say that those who come to class with the attitude of « I signed up for training, teach me now! » are making modest progress. On the other hand, those who are active and « harass » the teacher with their questions get the best results. Don’t wait for the teacher to teach you the language. He doesn’t teach you – you learn. To continue the analogy that I made elsewhere, it is you who make this path. The teacher is there to give you a map, advise what you should have in your backpack and help you if you get lost.
Finally, what is the relationship with the cost of training? It is obvious that if you optimize the time in the language class or during the individual lesson with the teacher, if your lessons are informative, if you make the most of the information given by the teacher or contained in the documents studied, you make your working time, and therefore the cost of your training decreases.