Studied in a traditional classroom for 8 yrs then lived in France. I was probably Intermediate-Mid to High after 8yrs of study.
Tatiana - 7 years ago
I studied Italian in HS, 2 yrs, then in college I studied Italian. Junior year I spent a semester in Italy and a semester in Colombia. My experience in Italy helped tap into a survival language of sorts, that took what I learned via traditional methods in school to the forefront. It is amazing what a good abroad experience and a monolingual home experience can give you. SIT was my program.
Bessie - 7 years ago
I studied in high school for four years and two years in college, back in the 90's. I was an A student, but I couldn't even carry on a "Hi, how are you?" conversation. It wasn't until I lived in Argentina, that I learned. It took me three months of immersion and I was fluent, versus six years of classroom work.
Yael - 7 years ago
I had learned how to read Hebrew as a child, but in those days, it was just decoding and absolutely no comprehension or output at all. I moved to Israel and just "got out in to the streets" and learned the language. After that, I then learned more specific "rules", but output and vocabulary came from total immersion in the community.
Elizabeth Thompson - 7 years ago
I was a ballet major at the University of Utah 1965 and all the terminology was of course French. I chose French as my minor and began classes with Madame Camille Lamoureux at the University of Utah. With my southern Texas accent most of the students suggested I learn to speak English first prior to a foreign language. :) I developed a passion for the beautiful French language and continued my studies throughout college and earned a teaching certificate in 1970. I continued my studies at Texas Woman's University with Madame Germaine Stuart (from Pau, France). I was fortunate to continue my studies at University of Texas at Arlington, 1991. I had another excellent professor in 2008,2011, and 2016.
In my dance academy I used French in all of the ballet classes.
In the nineties I learned a great deal from my two French foreign exchange students, Two of my daughters became fluent in French by living and working abroad and we have managed to maintain our fluency. I have never studied nor lived abroad. I am grateful to all of my college professors who have shared their knowledge with me all of these years. I am also grateful to my penpal/friends in France who continue to help me. This is my first year to teach AP.
Elizabeth Thompson - 7 years ago
I was a ballet major at the University of Utah 1965 and all the terminology was of course French. I chose French as my minor and began classes with Madame Camille Lamoureux at the University of Utah. With my southern Texas accent most of the students suggested I learn to speak English first prior to a foreign language. :) I developed a passion for the beautiful French language and continued my studies throughout college and earned a teaching certificate in 1970. I continued my studies at Texas Woman's University with Madame Germain Stuart (from Pau, France). I was fortunate to continue my studies at University of Texas at Arlington, 1991. I had another excellent professor in 2008,20011, and 2016.
IIn my dance academy I used French in all of the ballet classes.
In the nineties I learned a great deal from my two French foreign exchange students, Two of my daughters became fluent in French by living and working abroad and we have managed to maintain our fluency. I have never studied nor lived abroad. I am grateful to all of my college professors who have shared their knowledge with me all of these years. I am also grateful to my penpal/friends in France who continue to help me. This is my first year to teach AP.
Saundra Schneider - 7 years ago
I attended a bilingual school from K-6 grade where we had Spanish for 3 hours of the day, grammar, reading, writing, vocab, etc. I lived in Miami, FL where I spoke Spanish on a (near) daily basis.
Amy Szabo - 7 years ago
A combination of 2 study abroad experiences, one year living in Ecuador and then sealing the deal by marrying a Peruvian and speaking Spanish DAILY. :)
Jodi Grosser - 7 years ago
I was hired to teach Spanish in the early 90's but didn't really speak it ... surrounded myself with Music , periodicals and UNIVISION. Sought out opportunities to practice with native speakers.
Michele - 7 years ago
A combination of a study abroad program in France followed by completing my BEd in the French language. Three of the 4 years were in an Anglophone university so it took a lot of persistence to maintain my proficiency.
Dawn Carney - 7 years ago
No proficient based classroom for me. Study abroad & 3 more years living abroad did it for me.
Definitely a mixture. I studied Spanish from 7th-12th grade in a system that was not very proficiency-based and got "good enough" to pass the AP test. But it wasn't until I met my Colombian girlfriend (now my wife) in college and began speaking with her family in Spanish at their home in the same city. The "in-town-study-abroad," as I like to refer to it, was incredibly beneficial as I found myself doing all kinds of things around the house (cooking, hanging out, doing carpentry projects) using the target language. Best of all, this experience wasn't over after a semester or even a year like a typical study abroad! When my daughter was born 10 years after my wife and I started dating, we decided to speak only Spanish at home (quite a change, since we had only spoken English to one another before that!), and you can probably imagine how this has benefited my language skills since then.
Cathryn - 7 years ago
Mixture of public school, college and study abroad.
Kelly - 7 years ago
It was a real mixture for me. Immersion is my number one answer, but that came from a combination of context-based classes conducted in the language (culture, literature), being abroad in tourist and study settings, leading teacher workshops in the target language, writing essays for applications in the language, and just plain teaching in the language (including preparing for lessons by reading and listening to authentic materials as well as grading students written and oral presentations)
Studied in a traditional classroom for 8 yrs then lived in France. I was probably Intermediate-Mid to High after 8yrs of study.
I studied Italian in HS, 2 yrs, then in college I studied Italian. Junior year I spent a semester in Italy and a semester in Colombia. My experience in Italy helped tap into a survival language of sorts, that took what I learned via traditional methods in school to the forefront. It is amazing what a good abroad experience and a monolingual home experience can give you. SIT was my program.
I studied in high school for four years and two years in college, back in the 90's. I was an A student, but I couldn't even carry on a "Hi, how are you?" conversation. It wasn't until I lived in Argentina, that I learned. It took me three months of immersion and I was fluent, versus six years of classroom work.
I had learned how to read Hebrew as a child, but in those days, it was just decoding and absolutely no comprehension or output at all. I moved to Israel and just "got out in to the streets" and learned the language. After that, I then learned more specific "rules", but output and vocabulary came from total immersion in the community.
I was a ballet major at the University of Utah 1965 and all the terminology was of course French. I chose French as my minor and began classes with Madame Camille Lamoureux at the University of Utah. With my southern Texas accent most of the students suggested I learn to speak English first prior to a foreign language. :) I developed a passion for the beautiful French language and continued my studies throughout college and earned a teaching certificate in 1970. I continued my studies at Texas Woman's University with Madame Germaine Stuart (from Pau, France). I was fortunate to continue my studies at University of Texas at Arlington, 1991. I had another excellent professor in 2008,2011, and 2016.
In my dance academy I used French in all of the ballet classes.
In the nineties I learned a great deal from my two French foreign exchange students, Two of my daughters became fluent in French by living and working abroad and we have managed to maintain our fluency. I have never studied nor lived abroad. I am grateful to all of my college professors who have shared their knowledge with me all of these years. I am also grateful to my penpal/friends in France who continue to help me. This is my first year to teach AP.
I was a ballet major at the University of Utah 1965 and all the terminology was of course French. I chose French as my minor and began classes with Madame Camille Lamoureux at the University of Utah. With my southern Texas accent most of the students suggested I learn to speak English first prior to a foreign language. :) I developed a passion for the beautiful French language and continued my studies throughout college and earned a teaching certificate in 1970. I continued my studies at Texas Woman's University with Madame Germain Stuart (from Pau, France). I was fortunate to continue my studies at University of Texas at Arlington, 1991. I had another excellent professor in 2008,20011, and 2016.
IIn my dance academy I used French in all of the ballet classes.
In the nineties I learned a great deal from my two French foreign exchange students, Two of my daughters became fluent in French by living and working abroad and we have managed to maintain our fluency. I have never studied nor lived abroad. I am grateful to all of my college professors who have shared their knowledge with me all of these years. I am also grateful to my penpal/friends in France who continue to help me. This is my first year to teach AP.
I attended a bilingual school from K-6 grade where we had Spanish for 3 hours of the day, grammar, reading, writing, vocab, etc. I lived in Miami, FL where I spoke Spanish on a (near) daily basis.
A combination of 2 study abroad experiences, one year living in Ecuador and then sealing the deal by marrying a Peruvian and speaking Spanish DAILY. :)
I was hired to teach Spanish in the early 90's but didn't really speak it ... surrounded myself with Music , periodicals and UNIVISION. Sought out opportunities to practice with native speakers.
A combination of a study abroad program in France followed by completing my BEd in the French language. Three of the 4 years were in an Anglophone university so it took a lot of persistence to maintain my proficiency.
No proficient based classroom for me. Study abroad & 3 more years living abroad did it for me.
It was a combination of high school Spanish, cheesy Spanish love songs (José Luis Perales, anyone?), college & lots of TL reading, and study in Spain.
Definitely a mixture. I studied Spanish from 7th-12th grade in a system that was not very proficiency-based and got "good enough" to pass the AP test. But it wasn't until I met my Colombian girlfriend (now my wife) in college and began speaking with her family in Spanish at their home in the same city. The "in-town-study-abroad," as I like to refer to it, was incredibly beneficial as I found myself doing all kinds of things around the house (cooking, hanging out, doing carpentry projects) using the target language. Best of all, this experience wasn't over after a semester or even a year like a typical study abroad! When my daughter was born 10 years after my wife and I started dating, we decided to speak only Spanish at home (quite a change, since we had only spoken English to one another before that!), and you can probably imagine how this has benefited my language skills since then.
Mixture of public school, college and study abroad.
It was a real mixture for me. Immersion is my number one answer, but that came from a combination of context-based classes conducted in the language (culture, literature), being abroad in tourist and study settings, leading teacher workshops in the target language, writing essays for applications in the language, and just plain teaching in the language (including preparing for lessons by reading and listening to authentic materials as well as grading students written and oral presentations)