Question about OSU online German course

[babybryte]

I asked about a German class the other day, and several people recommended OSU online German class.  I looked it up and I think it looks good.  I told my son about the website saying that he would have to do a phone call with the instructor once a week to practice his German.  He is terrified of doing that!! 

 

So I wanted to ask if someone could tell me more about the phone call once a week.....how long is the phone call?   Is it every week?  Is it as bad as my son is imagining it to be?  LOL!!

[ssexton]

My son was worried about that, too! But, he actually enjoys his tutoring sessions. He has David as his tutor, and he's funny and enjoyable. Not intimidating at all. The tutoring sessions last from 20 mins to half an hour once a week. They are wonderful motivation for getting the work done during the week, because he doesn't want to have to tell his tutor he hasn't accomplished much since their last session.

 

The call-in speaking tests, on the other hand, have caused my student some anxiety.  :) But, all-in-all, it's been fine--he's managed and even been stretched a little out of his comfort zone.

[babybryte]

Excellent!   Thank you so much for sharing!  :) 

[Greta]

My daughter was really nervous about that too, because she's so shy. She was terrified the first time! But she quickly came to love it! She says the tutors are really helpful and encouraging. And even when she ran into a concept that was really challenging for her, that she really struggled with, the tutor gently helped her through it, and made her feel less embarrassed about it. Initially, she did not want to do the tutoring part of the course at all. Now, she says it's one of the best parts of the program.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

It depends a lot on the tutor on the other end.  I've heard good things about David. 

 

We weren't as consistent as I wish we'd been on the calls, and we often had a different person.  I also found that my kids were quite willing to say they had no questions and hang up after five minutes.

 

I started asking the kids to have a couple grammatical questions to ask for clarification on.  I also talked to the tutors and told them if they ran out of questions, to please have conversation practice until the end of the session.

 

But I agree that it shouldn't intimidate.  Everyone we've dealt with has been quite helpful and pleasant.

 

[ssexton]

Sebastian, I guess it does depend largely on the tutor.

 

David is the only tutor we've had over the last two years (unless he's been ill or away on vacation.) My son isn't naturally talkative, but David's never let him off the hook that easily. ;)  Even when my son has dropped the ball and hasn't completed much work since the last session, he's found something to work on for the duration of the call. I wonder if you can request a specific tutor when you call to set up tutoring sessions? Might be worth a try. I do think that developing a relationship with one specific tutor during the course of his studies has been very helpful.

[Running the race]

My sons hate talking on the phone, but the skype sessions didn't bother them. The sessions seemed to last about 15 minutes. I think your kids get out of them what they put into them.

[Cleopatra]

It completely depends on the facilitator that you get.  My dd had Carla and she is excellent but if she got anyone else, it was pretty much a waste of time and sometimes the facilitator would make errors, so it was certainly frustrating at times.  If you have a facilitator that isn't good, make sure you push to get someone competent.  It's so important for the child to get speaking practice and this is, for most of us, the only way available.  Your son should be uncomfortable speaking, at least at first.  This is a good thing.  If he's pushed out of his comfort zone, that means that he's learning.  My dd is hesitant to speak German, even though she understands it very well and needs a push to get her going.

 

After finishing German II, I'd say that OSU German is an excellent course.  It definitely has its frustrations and both my dd and I have wanted to call it quits numerous times, but the bottom line is that it teaches them fluency and comprehension much better than an open-and-go curriculum.