Anyone else frustrated by OSU German Online ....??

[Cleopatra]

My dd was grade 6 last year and completed German I with OSU. She did very well (98%) and I felt her progress was excellent. At times we were frustrated by the lack of grammar instruction (they use a more immersion/inductive approach) but, overall, I was pleased.

 

This year (German II) is a whole different story. They've switched her over to their "new" program (I'm not sure how it differs from the old) and it is so confusing. I'm not sure if this is because of the switch, or the program itself, but I suspect the latter. Right now she is on the review section. She is supposed to be reviewing stories she learned last year but these stories have been changed or added to. She is getting frustrated because she did so much work last year to learn the original stories and now they are so different. Many of the questions she is getting deal with the new information and she feels she is having to learn extra when it is supposed to be review (I wouldn't have a problem with this if I thought it was beneficial but I don't think it beneficial at all).

 

I find, now that the German is getting more complex, the lack of grammar instruction is really beginning to be a problem. My dd is accustomed to grammatical rules (with her Latin, Greek, etc.) and the use of them, especially when she is stuck. With OSU, you often have no rules to use.

 

The skype sessions with the "teacher" have also been less than adequate. My dd connects with a student who asks her all the questions in English, tells her things that have never been taught in the material, and gets her to read over her answers on her worksheet which, as facilitator, I've already checked. There is no German conversation. I complained about the lack of German conversation last year and it got a little better but again, it's gone back to being abysmal.

 

Both of us are ready to pull out our hair and I'm on the edge of pulling her from the course. I enrolled with OSU mostly for the conversation/audio component and, this year, especially, feel like she's getting little benefit. I've phoned OSU a couple of times, asking for a phone call back. The first time I received an e-mail asking if I had a question (I do not want to take an hour writing an e-mail on a subject that can be covered in 10 min. on the phone) and the second, I am still waiting for a reply.

 

I am not happy. :angry:

 

Can anyone give me any feedback or encouragement? It is sorely needed ....:tongue_smilie:

[rieshy]

It sounds frustrating. My 12 yo is doing the OSU German 1 this year- so I'm interested to hear how it goes.

 

I'd continue to try to get in touch directly with Sabine if I were you.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Am I wrong in thinking that the weekly calls are done by German students? If you steered the phone time to German conversation last year, that info may not have been passed along to a new student (or they may have just forgotten). Can you begin each call by indicating that you've already checked the worksheets and would like the emphasis to be on conversation or checking comprehension of concepts in German?

 

I can't be of any help with the changes between German 1 and 2, since we're only in German 1 ourselves. However, from my experience with language study, it would not be unusual to review vocabulary or grammatical concepts without reviewing the exact stories or scenarios from a previous level. So you might be reviewing the concept of conjugating a verb but using a verb that is new. Or agreement between adjectives and nouns with new nouns and adjective vocabulary that still reviewed the concept of agreement in gender number and case.

 

I would also keep pushing for a returned phone call. On the other hand, you might get a response sooner if you do compose an email.

[Laura in CA]

My son is in German 3 right now, and although we've had our share of frustrations over the years (always promptly dealt with by Sabine when I've complained), I know of no other German program that even comes close to being as engaging and thorough, so I just supplement where it's unsatisfactory. For example, we have a Latin background, too; for grammar, we dip into my college textbook (Lohnes & Strothmann). I don't rely on the weekly Skype sessions for reinforcement, although it's awesome when my son gets Sabine or Eli, and I do know people who've asked for more conversation in German (it was easier when the program wasn't so popular). Since I'm fairly conversant in German, I talk in German with my son every day and go over the stories and conversations. If I didn't know German, I might look for a local German speaker to talk briefly with my son once a week (there are quite a few German and Austrian scientists in town, and the local high school has had a German exchange student the last few years).

 

The quality of the Skype tutoring does vary widely -- this year there's a new girl who said over and over, a few weeks ago during a lesson on opposites, "die Gegenteil." It made my skin crawl -- it's DAS Gegenteil!!! :banghead: Last year an earnest young man said, during the tutoring, "Ich gehe in der Kirche" :glare: I thought about mentioning this to Sabine, but she only has so much to work with, so I just vent to my son after the Skype session and counteract it at home ...

Edited September 28, 2011 by Laura in CA

[Cleopatra]

It sounds frustrating. My 12 yo is doing the OSU German 1 this year- so I'm interested to hear how it goes.

 

I'd continue to try to get in touch directly with Sabine if I were you.

 

Rieshy, I would be interested in what you think after your first year is over ...

 

Am I wrong in thinking that the weekly calls are done by German students? If you steered the phone time to German conversation last year, that info may not have been passed along to a new student (or they may have just forgotten). Can you begin each call by indicating that you've already checked the worksheets and would like the emphasis to be on conversation or checking comprehension of concepts in German?

 

I can't be of any help with the changes between German 1 and 2, since we're only in German 1 ourselves. However, from my experience with language study, it would not be unusual to review vocabulary or grammatical concepts without reviewing the exact stories or scenarios from a previous level. So you might be reviewing the concept of conjugating a verb but using a verb that is new. Or agreement between adjectives and nouns with new nouns and adjective vocabulary that still reviewed the concept of agreement in gender number and case.

 

I would also keep pushing for a returned phone call. On the other hand, you might get a response sooner if you do compose an email.

 

Sebastian, thanks for all your suggestions. I think part of my frustration is the amount of my time that is being taken up by phone calls to try to get their program to run like they claim it does. After my calls last year, the lack of German conversation was addressed but it was never corrected (my dd went from getting 0% conversation to 35% - still not adequate). I did finally connect with Sabine today. She did admit the student teacher was new and she promised to speak with her. She also took a look at the AP German course description and admitted that, if the student did not get adequate conversation in the levels leading up to it, they would be severely handicapped. Hmmm..... this did not make me feel better. We'll see how it goes .....

 

My son is in German 3 right now, and although we've had our share of frustrations over the years (always promptly dealt with by Sabine when I've complained), I know of no other German program that even comes close to being as engaging and thorough, so I just supplement where it's unsatisfactory. For example, we have a Latin background, too; for grammar, we dip into my college textbook (Lohnes & Strothmann). I don't rely on the weekly Skype sessions for reinforcement, although it's awesome when my son gets Sabine or Eli, and I do know people who've asked for more conversation in German (it was easier when the program wasn't so popular). Since I'm fairly conversant in German, I talk in German with my son every day and go over the stories and conversations. If I didn't know German, I might look for a local German speaker to talk briefly with my son once a week (there are quite a few German and Austrian scientists in town, and the local high school has had a German exchange student the last few years).

 

The quality of the Skype tutoring does vary widely -- this year there's a new girl who said over and over, a few weeks ago during a lesson on opposites, "die Gegenteil." It made my skin crawl -- it's DAS Gegenteil!!! :banghead: Last year an earnest young man said, during the tutoring, "Ich gehe in der Kirche" :glare: I thought about mentioning this to Sabine, but she only has so much to work with, so I just vent to my son after the Skype session and counteract it at home ...

 

Oh, Laura, how I envy you! I know a little German but not enough to have a natural conversation with my dd.

 

I think your point that OSU has become very popular is well made; with quick growth one usually sees problems (or shall we say, "growing pains"?) and I believe we're experiencing some of these now.

 

And thank you for mentioning the comprehensiveness of their program. It was originally one of the reasons I chose OSU German and one of the reasons I was impressed by it. I needed to be reminded of that! :001_smile: It is so hard to get a language program that has an aural and conversational component to it, as well as the reading/writing, yet OSU has managed to incorporate all, if not well, at least adequately (most of the time).

 

Okay, I'm going to take a deep breath, drag out my university German text, search for a German speaker and try to supplement to make this work well for us.

 

Once again, all your suggestions were much appreciated! :001_smile:

Edited September 28, 2011 by Cleopatra
Spelling

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Rieshy, I would be interested in what you think after your first year is over ...

 

 

 

Sebastian, thanks for all your suggestions. I think part of my frustration is the amount of my time that is being taken up by phone calls to try to get their program to run like they claim it does. After my calls last year, the lack of German conversation was addressed but it was never corrected (my dd went from getting 0% conversation to 35% - still not adequate). I did finally connect with Sabine today. She did admit the student teacher was new and she promised to speak with her. She also took a look at the AP German course description and admitted that, if the student did not get adequate conversation in the levels leading up to it, they would be severely handicapped. Hmmm..... this did not make me feel better. We'll see how it goes .....

 

 

 

Oh, Laura, how I envy you! I know a little German but not enough to have a natural conversation with my dd.

 

I think your point that OSU has become very popular is well made; with quick growth one usually sees problems (or shall we say, "growing pains"?) and I believe we're experiencing some of these now.

 

And thank you for mentioning the comprehensiveness of their program. It was originally one of the reasons I chose OSU German and one of the reasons I was impressed by it. I needed to be reminded of that! :001_smile: It is so hard to get a language program that has an aural and conversational component to it, as well as the reading/writing, yet OSU has managed to incorporate all, if not well, at least adequately (most of the time).

 

Okay, I'm going to take a deep breath, drag out my university German text, search for a German speaker and try to supplement to make this work well for us.

 

Once again, all your suggestions were much appreciated! :001_smile:

 

One easy and fun supplement: there are lots of kids videos available online and through iTunes. Look for Sesamstrasse and Die Sendung mit der Maus. Wissen macht Ah! is also good but might be a little advanced. Eine Mohre fuer Zwei has a couple of the characters from Sesamstrasse, but is one long program with a plot. Loewenzahn is a good show with lots about nature and how things work.

[Cleopatra]

One easy and fun supplement: there are lots of kids videos available online and through iTunes. Look for Sesamstrasse and Die Sendung mit der Maus. Wissen macht Ah! is also good but might be a little advanced. Eine Mohre fuer Zwei has a couple of the characters from Sesamstrasse, but is one long program with a plot. Loewenzahn is a good show with lots about nature and how things work.

 

Thanks so much for these suggestions! I sure needed them!

 

Even after speaking with Sabine last week, nothing changed this week. Sigh! There was still no German spoken with my dd and she is still getting quite alot of new vocabulary in the "review" chapters, which does not appear to have ever been taught. :confused: I'm beginning to wonder after level 1 (which we really enjoyed, BTW), if this program works best for people who have had some German; that way they perhaps have a knowledge of material that isn't taught and can intuitively pick it up, and they also have another person to rely on for the conversational aspect (ie. a parent)......??

 

This is getting so time-consuming and I'm really wondering if it is worth the aggravation.

 

Ah me! :tongue_smilie:

[rieshy]

I have a couple of a thoughts for you given your dd's grade.

 

 

My 7th grade daughter is doing level 1 this year. However she is not new to German. I lived in Austria as a teen and have been working for a couple of years getting back to conversational. We watch lots of German language movies, listen to lots of German language alternative music, the house is covered over in German language fiction. I sandwich German with English for at least an hour every day with all my children. Maturity wise my dd needed to do level one because this is her first ever non-mom class and it needed to be successful. Plus, by about chapter 3 or 4 she will be hitting grammar that she needs to do formally.

 

 

All that to say that I think this course would be somewhat confusing for someone with no background at your dd's age. From what I'm seeing the course is expecting some high school level problem solving and lots of memorization. Perhaps year 2 is even more of a jump and is too "mature" or perhaps your daughter is putting in the time one would expect of a 7th grader but not a 10th grader.

 

Or perhaps the new level two is just poorly planned:tongue_smilie:

[quark]

One easy and fun supplement: there are lots of kids videos available online and through iTunes. Look for Sesamstrasse and Die Sendung mit der Maus. Wissen macht Ah! is also good but might be a little advanced. Eine Mohre fuer Zwei has a couple of the characters from Sesamstrasse, but is one long program with a plot. Loewenzahn is a good show with lots about nature and how things work.

 

Wonderful suggestions. Thanks so much Sebastian!

 

We are using OSU's German I with my 9yo son. For the most part it's going well but we're only in Chapter 2 so far, may be too soon to tell. We tried the Skype sessions but were not covering enough ground fast enough for the sessions to be meaningfully long enough each week (and the instructors don't speak in German like I'd hoped) so we will wait till German III (if he still sticks to the program by the time we get there). I have a little German under my belt from college days so am able to help with pronunciation for now.

[KJB]

Just a plug for The Potter's School German courses if you decide to switch programs.

 

My daughter is in her third year of German study. The first year was taken from our Dept of Defense school in Germany. Last year and currently she has taken German from Frau Gilliam at TPS. The courses are excellent and you can add a conversation class in addition to the regular class which meets an extra 1.5 hours per week just for conversation.

 

We are really pleased with the courses. They are using the same books that my daughter used for her first year of study in Germany.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

When I called in last week, I spoke with the person doing our chat and told them that if the boys did ok with the worksheet checks, that I wanted the rest to be some conversational German or other German speaking review - even if they were struggling a little with it. We are only in German I and my kids do have some residual speaking ability, but I was also pleased that this call lasted longer and included more German.

 

As for the vocab, have you checked the facilitator content to see if there is a section listing vocabulary that is used for each lesson? I ask because I'm always finding stuff in the facilitator area that I didn't realize was there. Last weekend I finally found the notes that list what each day's assignment is supposed to be. I'd been relying on what was under the kids' login and missing a couple things.

 

If there isn't a vocab listing, then perhaps you could request one. Or ask for a list of vocabulary that should have been mastered at the end of German I. Or your dd can make a list of the new words and add them to her flashcards stack and learn them now.

 

I'm always running into new German words that I look at and wonder how I missed learning them after all these years. Language learning is time consuming. On the other hand, I've lived in Germany twice and done a couple other study trips there and really loved it. I wouldn't have enjoyed that nearly as much without having learned the language.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

FWIW, I did find some sections in the teacher pages that list the vocabulary needed for German 2.

 

Once you log into your proctor account, click on the course and then on content. Section 3 has a list of vocabulary, both by chapter and alphabetically. Section 4 has a file titled Booklet Alphabetical Vocabulary, which looks like it's the vocab for the booklet used in the review.

 

You might also want to go back to German 1 and print out the vocab list (either by chapter or alphabetical) to see if there was vocab from the previous years that she didn't pick up on or forgot over the summer. (I just discovered these files as a great guide for making flashcards and wasn't sure that you had seen them.)

[Guest OutOfLookingGlass]

This year (German II) is a whole different story. They've switched her over to their "new" program (I'm not sure how it differs from the old) and it is so confusing. I'm not sure if this is because of the switch, or the program itself, but I suspect the latter. Right now she is on the review section. She is supposed to be reviewing stories she learned last year but these stories have been changed or added to. She is getting frustrated because she did so much work last year to learn the original stories and now they are so different. Many of the questions she is getting deal with the new information and she feels she is having to learn extra when it is supposed to be review (I wouldn't have a problem with this if I thought it was beneficial but I don't think it beneficial at all).

 

The skype sessions with the "teacher" have also been less than adequate. My dd connects with a student who asks her all the questions in English, tells her things that have never been taught in the material, and gets her to read over her answers on her worksheet which, as facilitator, I've already checked. There is no German conversation. I complained about the lack of German conversation last year and it got a little better but again, it's gone back to being abysmal.

 

Hi All,

 

This is my first post on the forum - wanted to jump in and share my opinion about OSU german! DS is in german 4. He absolutely loves it! But he is also in high school and some of the content is really teen-oriented. Also - DS had elementary german at a local co-op a few years back, so he isn't jumping in cold.

Sabine has been really great about fixing issues, etc. Maybe you could talk to her about switching time slots to get a better TA.

[Cleopatra]

 

All that to say that I think this course would be somewhat confusing for someone with no background at your dd's age. From what I'm seeing the course is expecting some high school level problem solving and lots of memorization. Perhaps year 2 is even more of a jump and is too "mature" or perhaps your daughter is putting in the time one would expect of a 7th grader but not a 10th grader.

 

Or perhaps the new level two is just poorly planned:tongue_smilie:

 

My dd did have an introductory German course before she started German I. My dd picks up languages quite easily and I don't think German II should be that difficult for her. That said, your advice is probably bang on for when she gets to the higher levels. I know they require more writing and I think they would be easier for her to complete when she's older. If we stick with German II, my plan is now to have it cover 1 1/2 - 2 years. That will take off some of the pressure of having to navigate these recent challenges. :001_smile: I think the review portion of German II is poorly planned, at least for relative German newbies. I'll reassess when we reach Chapter 11.

 

We are using OSU's German I with my 9yo son. For the most part it's going well but we're only in Chapter 2 so far, may be too soon to tell. We tried the Skype sessions but were not covering enough ground fast enough for the sessions to be meaningfully long enough each week (and the instructors don't speak in German like I'd hoped)

 

With my dd, German I was relatively easy until we reached Ch 4-5. Then there seemed to be quite a big learning curve but my dd was able to scale it and she carried on. You may want to contact Sabine about the Skype sessions and request some German conversation, even if it's only basic. It will not only help your son practice, but the student administering the session will be forced to practice as well. Sabine read the AP German course description to me and the courses are supposed to be mainly about communication. Students really need to get speaking practice, especially for the upper levels (III & IV).

 

Just a plug for The Potter's School German courses if you decide to switch programs.

 

This is interesting. I had looked at the Potter's school but two things put me off. The first was the price and the second was the terrible German accent on the samples I listened to. I'm not sure if it's the same teacher on the samples who teaches the class. Does Frau Gilliam speak with a good German accent?

 

The time commitment at this point would probably be too much for us but it might work at a later date. Don't be surprised if you get a pm from me somewhere down the road! :001_smile:

 

FWIW, I did find some sections in the teacher pages that list the vocabulary needed for German 2.

 

Once you log into your proctor account, click on the course and then on content. Section 3 has a list of vocabulary, both by chapter and alphabetically. Section 4 has a file titled Booklet Alphabetical Vocabulary, which looks like it's the vocab for the booklet used in the review.

 

You might also want to go back to German 1 and print out the vocab list (either by chapter or alphabetical) to see if there was vocab from the previous years that she didn't pick up on or forgot over the summer. (I just discovered these files as a great guide for making flashcards and wasn't sure that you had seen them.)

 

After speaking with Sabine again, they have apparently added two new stories into the review to make the stories learned in German I flow better. Each of these new stories has new vocabulary. There is nowhere where they inform you of this and there are no lessons to teach the vocabulary; it is just thrown in. :confused: We were so confused because it is in the review section and we couldn't understand how my dd had missed learning these words in German I. Now we know that she hasn't missed anything and can compensate. Still frustrating ....:tongue_smilie: I did, however, get my dd's teacher changed and the one we have now is wonderful! ..... lots of German conversation! :D

 

Hi All,

 

This is my first post on the forum - wanted to jump in and share my opinion about OSU german! DS is in german 4. He absolutely loves it! But he is also in high school and some of the content is really teen-oriented. Also - DS had elementary german at a local co-op a few years back, so he isn't jumping in cold.

Sabine has been really great about fixing issues, etc. Maybe you could talk to her about switching time slots to get a better TA.

 

Ah, it's good to hear from a mom with a student in German 4! This is encouraging! After speaking with Sabine, I understand that these courses are really designed for communication, and to get a solid grammar portion I'm going to have to supplement. Now with deciding to take a year and a half to two years for German II, this will work and perhaps be fun!

 

Thanks again everyone for all your helpful input. I feel much better now than when first posting! :001_smile:

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Ah, it's good to hear from a mom with a student in German 4! This is encouraging! After speaking with Sabine, I understand that these courses are really designed for communication, and to get a solid grammar portion I'm going to have to supplement. Now with deciding to take a year and a half to two years for German II, this will work and perhaps be fun!

 

Thanks again everyone for all your helpful input. I feel much better now than when first posting! :001_smile:

 

One of the standard texts for German Grammar is "German in Review". New editions are typical college textbook high. But Amazon lists a "Textbook binding" edition that has inexpensive used copies available. The Third Edition or newer should be fine. Second edition would be before the spelling reform, so some words might be spelled differently.

[quark]

With my dd, German I was relatively easy until we reached Ch 4-5. Then there seemed to be quite a big learning curve but my dd was able to scale it and she carried on. You may want to contact Sabine about the Skype sessions and request some German conversation, even if it's only basic. It will not only help your son practice, but the student administering the session will be forced to practice as well.

 

Thank you for this helpful information!

 

 

Now with deciding to take a year and a half to two years for German II, this will work and perhaps be fun!

 

We will perhaps do the same for German I and II. My son dislikes writing components so it will give him time to mature in this area as well. It's a relief to hear another mom say she's going to spread it out. :)

[Maura in NY]

My 9th grader is highly motivated to learn German. He did one year of Spanish before this, and I could effectively teach either Spanish or French. I have absolutely no German background.

 

Ds was teaching himself with some online materials, and convinced me to let him switch to German for his 3 year high school language sequence. Many people have positive experiences with OSU, so we went with it for German I. My son likes some elements of the program (Sabine, the videos,etc.), but is frustrated by the pedagogical approach. In some ways it goes too slowly for him (introduction of new vocabulary), and in other areas he finds it confusing (grammar information is mostly presented by example, without spelling out the specific rules).

 

As far as the weekly tutoring call, the first 2 weeks he spoke with Sabine. For 3 weeks in a row after that, he was was told (by a student) that he shouldn't call unless he has questions. He never has questions that he can't figure out on his own, but I would like him to practice speaking. He felt like he was being told not to call.

 

Ds has a 98% average through chapter 5. He is doubling up on the lessons to finish by Christmas so that he can switch to something else for 2nd semester. I think we both had high hopes for this program, and are disappointed.

 

JMHO,

Maura

[Joan in GE]

For 3 weeks in a row after that, he was was told (by a student) that he shouldn't call unless he has questions. He never has questions that he can't figure out on his own, but I would like him to practice speaking. He felt like he was being told not to call.

 

This has never happened to us and we're on level II now (ETA Ds3 did through level III and never had that happen either)...I would call and ask to speak with Eli or Sabine about this as this doesn't seem like their policy that I know of.....

 

I'm sorry to hear about the dislike of the pedagogical approach.

 

We have bought books for conjugation of verbs and grammar - something I typically do for any language learning no matter the program. It is hard to get everything in one place and don't like to rely on just one approach. The main work mine have done though is with OSU and just use the other books as a reference...I want them to get used to looking at other German materials (part of "my" pedagogical approach I guess)...

 

Hoping you find something that is better for your son,

Joan

Edited October 19, 2011 by Joan in Geneva

[Cleopatra]

My son likes some elements of the program (Sabine, the videos,etc.), but is frustrated by the pedagogical approach. In some ways it goes too slowly for him (introduction of new vocabulary), and in other areas he finds it confusing (grammar information is mostly presented by example, without spelling out the specific rules).

 

As far as the weekly tutoring call, the first 2 weeks he spoke with Sabine. For 3 weeks in a row after that, he was was told (by a student) that he shouldn't call unless he has questions. He never has questions that he can't figure out on his own, but I would like him to practice speaking. He felt like he was being told not to call.

 

Ds has a 98% average through chapter 5. He is doubling up on the lessons to finish by Christmas so that he can switch to something else for 2nd semester. I think we both had high hopes for this program, and are disappointed.

 

JMHO,

Maura

 

Thanks for this, Maura. We have had some problems with the tutoring sessions as well. When my dd called in and they asked if she had any questions, when she said "no" they would say, "Okay, bye", and that would be it. :confused: I simply 'bothered' :D Sabine until we got someone capable. My dd has a wonderful student now, who is talking to her for 1/2 hour in German and giving her extra vocab to prepare her for the upcoming chapters. In this area (now), we couldn't be more happy!

 

However, you are right, the grammar instruction is very poor, not to mention often confusing and time-consuming. If we add some extra instruction, like Joan mentions, hopefully it will make it a little easier on my dd. While I don't feel OSU is an excellent all-around course, the area it excels in is the conversational-listening aspect, which is so hard to get with other programs. This is valuable enough that we're going to stick it out and see how it goes.

 

This has never happened to us and we're on level II now (ETA Ds3 did through level III and never had that happen either)...I would call and ask to speak with Eli or Sabine about this as this doesn't seem like their policy that I know of.....

 

I'm sorry to hear about the dislike of the pedagogical approach.

 

We have bought books for conjugation of verbs and grammar - something I typically do for any language learning no matter the program. It is hard to get everything in one place and don't like to rely on just one approach. The main work mine have done though is with OSU and just use the other books as a reference...I want them to get used to looking at other German materials (part of "my" pedagogical approach I guess)...

 

Hoping you find something that is better for your son,

Joan

 

I was hoping you'd chime in, as I noticed in other posts that your ds is taking German through OSU. Since you are language-saturated where you live and probably have more experience with language instruction, I'm glad to hear that you think OSU beneficial. In spite of wanting to find one program that does it all, the longer I homeschool, the more I end up mixing and matching. I like your pedagogical approach! :001_smile:

[Joan in GE]

However, you are right, the grammar instruction is very poor, not to mention often confusing and time-consuming. If we add some extra instruction, like Joan mentions, hopefully it will make it a little easier on my dd. While I don't feel OSU is an excellent all-around course, the area it excels in is the conversational-listening aspect, which is so hard to get with other programs. This is valuable enough that we're going to stick it out and see how it goes.

...

I was hoping you'd chime in, as I noticed in other posts that your ds is taking German through OSU. Since you are language-saturated where you live and probably have more experience with language instruction, I'm glad to hear that you think OSU beneficial. In spite of wanting to find one program that does it all, the longer I homeschool, the more I end up mixing and matching. I like your pedagogical approach! :001_smile:

 

I had to take an unexpected trip to the US due to family health issues so wasn't on much for awhile and now have to "recover" the time too.

 

Responses always make me re -examine myself/program to see how accurately I was portraying it...:)...I have to agree, Cleopatra, that I end up doing a lot of mixing and matching for a lot of subjects. But with this conversation I also wonder about differences in goals...

 

I'll try to be more detailed, as it is so hard to give information to people I don't know well, and even then...

 

First - I forgot to add an English German dictionary, though we probably use that more for additional things like when dd is trying to write a German letter to a German-speaking friend....then I've even gotten kids books and some easier story books from R & S as well as watching some "Tom" videos (click on filme der woche) (they are silly little stories that for some reason got them laughing and listening to German - not hi class lit - watch for some poss cult dif - eg use of rectal thermometer!) and other things found on the Bilingual board for exposure (though not really that much video for dd yet - she doesn't have that much free time that she's allowed to spend on videos)...(ETA - I got dd a couple of German films, and the older boys some other films, though I think now some of the subject matter is for more mature audiences).

 

Second - Both dc did Rosetta Stone I and most of II first - I know that is not high on the list of grammar serious language programs but to say they had that background.

 

Third - My goal for them is first for speaking, since that is one of the main goals in school here (for the French speakers learning German) for the lower levels, and if they had to take the tests here, they would have to do a lot of listening and understanding and speaking. For the higher levels it is literature analysis. So for me, having the base in conversational German prepares for the higher levels. But as I think about that now, maybe people in the US want more grammar-oriented studies and would then be frustrated...and it may be the way some children approach studies as well that is different.

 

Fourth - I did not know of any other program where they would get experience speaking with a person regularly apart from a personal tutor here which would cost what OSU costs for the year for 4 - 5 lessons...so it is extremely economical for us.

 

Fifth - I do plan to do another course at the end of the year, if she finishes OSU early, that has the vocab for the program the local school is using (just to expose her). So I'll be adding in more as we go along over the years as I'm planning that dd would go up to the AP level and then beyond.

 

HTH,

Joan

(ETA - search German on the Bilingual board and you will find lots of other resources)

Edited October 22, 2011 by Joan in Geneva
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