After the whole saga of getting our Carte de Séjour (CDS), I got stuck in an obligatory French lesson for 280 hours. The only good news is that it is free! But that is all...280 hrs translates to 7 hr/day for 3 days/week for 2.5 months. If I'm absent without a medical certificate or reasons related to OFII, I'll have to replace the hours that I've been absent, this is why there are many people in the class who have been there for aeon.
Good things never come free. When I finally got my CDS, the interviewer decided that I should go for the free lessons before giving me the form to test my understanding of the language. She commented that I write well, but still offered the course to me on "goodwill", which I regretted accepting. After which, I spent another half a day at another place to take an evaluation test. The examiner told me that I have a good level of French, but the highest level that they can give me is DELF A1, and advised me to ask the teacher if I can take the test ASAP since I'm already ready for it. Question no. 1: Why send me for it when there isn't a need to?
If you think that the evaluation test is to place you in a class of your level, then you are very wrong....EVERYBODY goes to the SAME class!!! From someone who does not even know alphabetisation to DELF A1 and A2. In my class, there is an average of 25 people in a classroom of 30 sq metres. Question no. 2: Why do I need to go for an evaluation test when the same class takes in all levels?
The curriculum is random, but I could pick up new things to learn in snippets. This is fine if I've got nothing better to do in the day, but I really hope to speak the language well within the 1.5 years that I'm here, and this is a little inefficient in my opinion. On the other hand, I do think that the teachers in these classes are formidable to be able to handle a class of varied personalities and learning abilities.
Here in France, I find that Murphy's law is much more rampant, perhaps due to the uncertainties in everything. I was told to take the DELF A1 written examination on the 24 October, and have the oral exam on another day, which is a floating date likely to be in the same week as the written paper. I would be receiving a convocation letter to confirm the dates, which was just 2 weeks before the dates of the exam. We met "Murphy" again when we have to go to Amsterdam on the week after the written exam for a conference. And yes, the oral exam turned out to be a week after the written paper instead. Surprises make France romantic isn't it? Bienvenue en France!
So what happens if I can't make it on a date that they have not informed in advance? There is no contact whatsoever in the letter, and it was written that no changing of dates is allowed. Brilliant! This is what our government should learn to do, send a mandate and leave no contact. Why should we even have a customer service hotline to receive all sorts of requests and complaints?
The curriculum is random, but I could pick up new things to learn in snippets. This is fine if I've got nothing better to do in the day, but I really hope to speak the language well within the 1.5 years that I'm here, and this is a little inefficient in my opinion. On the other hand, I do think that the teachers in these classes are formidable to be able to handle a class of varied personalities and learning abilities.
Here in France, I find that Murphy's law is much more rampant, perhaps due to the uncertainties in everything. I was told to take the DELF A1 written examination on the 24 October, and have the oral exam on another day, which is a floating date likely to be in the same week as the written paper. I would be receiving a convocation letter to confirm the dates, which was just 2 weeks before the dates of the exam. We met "Murphy" again when we have to go to Amsterdam on the week after the written exam for a conference. And yes, the oral exam turned out to be a week after the written paper instead. Surprises make France romantic isn't it? Bienvenue en France!
So what happens if I can't make it on a date that they have not informed in advance? There is no contact whatsoever in the letter, and it was written that no changing of dates is allowed. Brilliant! This is what our government should learn to do, send a mandate and leave no contact. Why should we even have a customer service hotline to receive all sorts of requests and complaints?
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