kociamama
01.03.04, 08:35
It just occurred to me how much time is wasted in Polish schools, especially
during English classes.
I know, it's nothing innovative, no brilliant discovery... BUt anyway, I just
remembered a friend of mine who attended a reputable high school, where they
claim to have an extended curriculum of English. They start from,
intermediate/pre-intermediate level but have 6 English classes weekly.
In this case the teacher doesn't face the problem of mixed-abilities (at
least not to a great extent), and thus the major factor to be held
responsible for the slow down of progress is gone.
Circumstances are favorable, comparable to these on a course in a language
school, as students are divided into 2 groups with approximately 15 students
each.
The questions is, how come those students don't reach the FCE level? As this
time, with such intensity (6 classes weekly) should suffice to take the FCE
exam even without learning previouslsy, assuming they start with the
beginner's level. (According to the calculations by the organizers of the
Cambridge exams sufficient skills to pass the FCE exam can be mastered during
approximately 650 hours, 6 hours weekly means 720 hours for 4 years of high
school)
And the girl, whose case I'm discribing, after graduating this reputable high-
school, which people compete fiercely to get to, took a year-long course in a
language school (again 120 hours) only to end up with a C.
Later,
Kociamama.