Roi d'Étre et de Néant

After trying to get an appointment last week with an advisor for the Language Department and being told to email the new advisor and after doing so receiving no email, and upon asking today if there was a chance I could have an appointment for sometime this week being told flat out no without anyone even looking to see if there was room, I am thoroughly done with the language department.


Not only that, but me and my partner for my French conversation final(yes, we have partners) worked from 11 to 1pm today working on this ridiculous final, I've found that I am not just really pessimistic when it comes to this class, no-no! I'm apparently not the only one who thinks this class does little to nothing to improve conversation skills. What it does do, however, is teach one how to put a set of pre-formed sentences together to create a mock conversation. That's why when I speak to native speakers I feel so awkward because I'm not speaking...it's my textbook...Its me, as my Roman art prof might say, regurgitating phrases that have no meaning. Mindless conversing--and that's exactly what it sounds like.

Throughout this class the thing that's got me each time on presentations was me battling with the fact that, apparently, my idea of a Conversation course is actually conversing, and conversing, to me, requires a certain amount of spontenaity that, for instance, being given a subject/scenario a head of time(say weeks) that one must prepare and speak about, having already formed every sentence, every phrase, every reaction before hand, does not provide. That being said...My embarrasment that my friend who never speaks English was able to have a better conversation in that language than I could in French, which I practice speaking two times a week is well founded. Everything in that class was made to be rehersed, with a specific time limit, a specific topic, a specific structure for each presentation, a specific addition to each presentation that must be present...all of it so structured and thought-out beforehand that the very thing that makes a conversation a conversation is phased out. What are we left with? Regurgitations and actions meant only to gain a high grade that essentially means nothing because one hasn't improved at all in the area which he or she was in the class to improve in the first place! What we learn, essentially, is to not think on our toes but figure it out a head of time...which doesn't work when one needs something other than advice about a roommate, the metro, or opinions about where to travel for the weekend.

What a waste of money...It's sad I couldn't push through this ideological conflict I was having throughout the semester and just do the work the way I needed to in order to get an A, but it so annoyed me that I lost interest entirely in a class...resulting in a wonderful B. I can't stand classes where I walk away thinking: "I could have just bought the book and went through it alone."

This makes me realize the conversation class I took at the Allience de Française Houston was ten times better than this because, although the subject of each session was specific and I was in a level too high for me to participate, we were allowed to just talk to one another and let the subjects come and go...we were actually conversing. I wish I'd waited to take that class.



Now, I've got a problem. My study abroad program and courses has been approved by the Art department and the SA office, but not foreign language. I wanted, since the deposit is non-refundable, to find out which French course would transfer over before I pre-register...all I needed...was for her to look at the courses and say ok! I'm on the border with this people...on the border. I finally find a beautiful program and FORL switches advisors(and I loved the old one...so helpful!)...I've got a feeling in my gut this woman will be difficult. Please....please no.