Uber Students
by AJ
What is it? Whats the secret?
Some students are special. Extraordinary. They are more motivated, more energetic, more determined. They learn at a lightning pace. They are full of exuberance.
If only I could bottle that... or teach it. For example, Ive got one super-student in my class right now. She is goddam amazing. She comes to class everyday and takes copious notes. Not only that... she also records my class. She then goes home and listens to the recording. But not only that... she listens to the recording and WRITES every word I said. She then looks up words she doesnt know. She showed me her notebook... PAGES of transcriptions.
But thats not all. She listens to songs, downloads the lyrics, looks up unknown words, then repeatedly listens until she understands everything. She does the same thing with TV shows and movies.
This woman is a maniac.... and not surprisingly, she is learning at an incredibly fast rate. (And note, she absolutely avoids all "grammar study").
Honestly, I dont know what her secret is. How does she stay so motivated? Where does all that diligence and determination come from? I struggle to study Spanish 30 minutes a day.... often skipping days or weeks without studying. Most of my students come to class and thats it.. no outside study. A few of the very good ones do pleasure reading or watch movies.
But no one can approach this woman.
Every once in a while, I come across someone like her and I am amazed.
If only I could discover what makes her tick... and somehow convey a bit of her secret to the rest of my students...
... and to myself.
San Francisco, CA
What is it? Whats the secret?
Some students are special. Extraordinary. They are more motivated, more energetic, more determined. They learn at a lightning pace. They are full of exuberance.
If only I could bottle that... or teach it. For example, Ive got one super-student in my class right now. She is goddam amazing. She comes to class everyday and takes copious notes. Not only that... she also records my class. She then goes home and listens to the recording. But not only that... she listens to the recording and WRITES every word I said. She then looks up words she doesnt know. She showed me her notebook... PAGES of transcriptions.
But thats not all. She listens to songs, downloads the lyrics, looks up unknown words, then repeatedly listens until she understands everything. She does the same thing with TV shows and movies.
This woman is a maniac.... and not surprisingly, she is learning at an incredibly fast rate. (And note, she absolutely avoids all "grammar study").
Honestly, I dont know what her secret is. How does she stay so motivated? Where does all that diligence and determination come from? I struggle to study Spanish 30 minutes a day.... often skipping days or weeks without studying. Most of my students come to class and thats it.. no outside study. A few of the very good ones do pleasure reading or watch movies.
But no one can approach this woman.
Every once in a while, I come across someone like her and I am amazed.
If only I could discover what makes her tick... and somehow convey a bit of her secret to the rest of my students...
... and to myself.
San Francisco, CA
posted by AJ Hoge @ 2:33 PM
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