Third Class

I felt a lot better in this class. I knew what to expect from the teacher, and I didn't feel too embarrassed when I didn't know an answer. I had studied a lot and knew the jobs list. This class was mostly review. We also talked about the position of letters in words, which affects how the letters are formed. I was pretty proud of my performance.  My classmate and I each expressed relief that we could recognize the alphabet and sound out words. It no longer seemed impossible or overwhelming.

What I learned: The student feels better once the ice is broken and the class gets to know each other. Class identity/unity.

Students benefit from review. It is affirming and helps them gauge what they have learned. It isn't a waste of time.

I like learning, and I like the affirmation it provides. That makes it fun, and in turn leads to more learning. I also enjoy the code breaking involved in learning an L2. Figuring a language out becomes fun, like a game. I remember speaking Spanish in Spain and thinking I was speaking some kind of code language. I would forget that everyone around me spoke Spanish too. It seemed like my private code that I could use with my friends. I feel the same way about Arabic. I'm finally starting to understand this fascinating code that seemed impossible just four weeks ago.