Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Sprechen Sie Deutsch?
Apparently, the answer for me is a resounding "NEIN!"
Even after a year of undergraduate study and most of a summer working either practicing German, living and studying in Germany, or translating German texts, I failed the history department's German language proficiency examination.
I haven't had the chance to examine the paper yet or discuss my failure with the professor who issued the exam this year. And it's not essential that I pass the exam, as I did pass the required two last year in Spanish and French. (FRENCH for crying out loud! A language I knew even less about than German when I started studying it!)
Nevertheless, I remain particularly bitter about the results, which basically suggest my month in Munich was a waste of time and money. (I almost wonder if future blogging about my trip will only serve to embitter me further.) And although I can retake the test in the spring, as general exams and research papers start ramping up, I will have even less time to prepare.
I don't particularly want to resign myself to failure here. Maybe my errors were purely stylistic, in which case it might be possible to pass without significant study during the winter. Otherwise, I'll just do my best to take the reading course offered here every summer since I really do want to learn German. Hopefully, I won't fail that too.
Apparently, the answer for me is a resounding "NEIN!"
Even after a year of undergraduate study and most of a summer working either practicing German, living and studying in Germany, or translating German texts, I failed the history department's German language proficiency examination.
I haven't had the chance to examine the paper yet or discuss my failure with the professor who issued the exam this year. And it's not essential that I pass the exam, as I did pass the required two last year in Spanish and French. (FRENCH for crying out loud! A language I knew even less about than German when I started studying it!)
Nevertheless, I remain particularly bitter about the results, which basically suggest my month in Munich was a waste of time and money. (I almost wonder if future blogging about my trip will only serve to embitter me further.) And although I can retake the test in the spring, as general exams and research papers start ramping up, I will have even less time to prepare.
I don't particularly want to resign myself to failure here. Maybe my errors were purely stylistic, in which case it might be possible to pass without significant study during the winter. Otherwise, I'll just do my best to take the reading course offered here every summer since I really do want to learn German. Hopefully, I won't fail that too.
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