There has been a lot going on the past few days.
First, the weather. Wednesday and Thursday both had about 4 inches of snow per day.
I still need to get the studded tires on my bike. It isn’t too bad to get around, but I am going a slower pace, especially around the corners.
The last few days have been full of reviewing my preparations for my teaching this morning. The course is Introduction to the Old Testament. This was my first time teaching in the class room with about 20 students. I was pleased with how it went and the engagement of the students.
I had put all the PowerPoint slides into both Swedish and English. I explained at the beginning that my Swedish is only that of a beginner, so I used Google Translate to help. However, I know that Google Translate is far from perfect. So, I asked for a volunteer to make corrections on a hard copy of my slides. And at times, we would have discussion on the language which would help me, but also engage reflective learning as the students would have to think more carefully through the language that is used. There was a bit of collective conversation about some translation questions, and the students were tracking with my spoken English. I did try to use a little more basic vocabulary as well as speak clearly and slowly. They were doing amazingly well with this.
However, one student arrived late because an early train had been cancelled. She didn’t hear the discussion. At a break, she made a gracious offer to help with reviewing the Swedish because there were some problems. I thanked her, and will plan to take her up on a review of the slides before class. And I did let her know that I was aware of my language limitations and so some students were helping by correcting the Swedish on the hard copies.
But other than the rough Swedish on the slides, the class discussions went really well. I sense that the key points were grasped. For example, the students could now define for you “minimalist” and “maximalist” perspectives on Old Testament historiography, because at the end of the session, they had to turn to a conversation partner and each articulate a definition to the other. They had an introduction to the Documentary Hypothesis. Then in partners, they skimmed Genesis 6-9 looking for the different names of God, which illustrated a bit of the observations that stimulated the hypothesis in the first place. There were some great questions demonstrating some insightful thinking.
I have spoken some Swedish these days with some patient conversation partners. One of the Johannelund student (but not my student) conversation partners talked with me on Thursday. I worked on asking questions, which are difficult for me due to the change of word order. I also spoke some Swedish during coffee breaks with staff. I think my coworker, Anna, was a little concerned that I wasn’t learning Swedish, because she didn’t hear me speak any. I think she at least heard some of my improvement, but we both realize there is a long way to go!
I realize this also when I’m in a Swedish-only lecture. There was a seminar on Wednesday that kept me struggling to track what was being said.
Unfortunately, my teaching was on Friday morning, so I couldn’t attend my Swedish class at the university. I will work through the lesson as much as I can on my own.
I’m on my own now, as Anya is out with the youth group. So, I finished up the laundry and keep pushing ahead on my Swedish, “litet i taget” (little by little).
With blessings,
Beth
I think your approach to both your teaching and language learning within the context of the classroom is a good way to go. Your openess about it all will create a classroom atmosphere that will pay off in the future. Patience, uffda. . .