Hola. Yo me llamas Marsha y soy de Canada. Yes, I’m back in the classroom and this time, as a student! My friend convinced me to sign up for a “Survivor Spanish” course. It’s a two-hour class and runs twice a week, for four weeks. Now, I’ll admit, I haven’t been a student, in years, so before the class started I wondered, “What will it be like? I’m so used to being the instructor, how will I fare as the student?”
As the first class approached, I felt excitement and enthusiasm. It then slowly turned into anxiety and nervousness. What if I wasn’t able to get it? What if it was too difficult? I found myself going through the stages of learning that we discuss in our How Adults Learn Workshop. How crazy is it when your work life transfers into your personal life?
We arrived early to our first class (hey, I’m not going to be one of those late attendees) and took our seats. The class was set up in a U-shape and two other people were already seated. I had no idea that one of them was the instructor! She didn’t welcome us or introduce herself. I was somewhat disappointed.
She started the class (not on time, mind you) and jumped right into the content, without any type of introduction. No objective, benefits, or agenda for the session. The class just seemed to be without structure and very disorganized. My disappointment grew into annoyance.
I tried to stay calm and remain focused, but with each faux pas, that became increasingly difficult. The instructor distributed handouts and told us there were mistakes on them. She couldn’t remember our names (there were 10 of us in class and no tent cards to be seen). At one point she left the room without saying why. Apparently, the markers weren’t working so she left to get one. We also went past the 8:30 p.m. finish time.
When I thought it couldn’t get any worse, the instructor told us she wouldn’t be returning as our teacher, because of personal problems, and we would have a replacement for the remainder of the classes.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Has Langevin set my expectations so high that I cannot tolerate less than perfection in other trainers? Is this good or bad? I decided to come back and see the replacement instructor before I made any harsh judgments.
The second instructor didn’t greet us or start on time. He seemed young and somewhat nervous. I was willing to cut him some slack, but that ended when his phone rang and he actually checked the message, during class!
I realized that Langevin has made me tough and I do expect the best whenever I attend a session. The good news is that I’ve spoken with the Director of the School and offered suggestions to improve their instructors’ performance. Who knows, I may have found a new client for Langevin so it’s a win-win for everyone.
As for my Spanish? Not sure if I could survive, just yet. Discuple, donde esta el bano? Buenos noches.
Marsha
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Hi Marsha.
This sounds like a discouraging learning environment. Thanks for sharing this experience with us. You have done us all a favor.
Laura
Hi Laura,
Thanks for your feedback and I’m glad that at least something positive came out of this experience!
Marsha