<p>I go to a regional campus of my state university (connecticut). They do not offer German here, but I have been studying it in my free time. When I enter the main campus next year, I want to be able to skip the elementary classes (the first two semesters) and enroll directly into the third intermediate german class.</p>
<p>I was just wondering if anyone could give me a rough estimate of how difficult these classes typically are. How orally proficient do I have to be? How well do I have to be able to read German? Currently my productive skill of speaking is far weaker than my passive skill of understanding. Is this typical or a consequence of my independent learning? </p>
<p>Thanks for any info you may have that will give me an indication of how third semester language course are conducted.</p>
<p>I don't think you'll be able to test into an intermediate class if you're only studying German in your free time. You really learn a lot more in class than you can on your own if you don't have fluent speakers to practice with. </p>
<p>I'm not trying to be discouraging. It might be really good to take earlier German classes, to solidify your understanding. And most people are much better at listening/reading than writing/speaking - that's very typical.</p>
<p>Just a very rough guess from my experience in French. You should be able to read simple stories and news articles, perhaps with a little vocab trouble that you can figure out from context. You should be comfortable with conjugating all the basic tenses and familiar with the rest. You should be able to conduct a conversation about everyday topics like what you like and dislike, your family, your school classes and your day.</p>
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Currently my productive skill of speaking is far weaker than my passive skill of understanding. Is this typical or a consequence of my independent learning?
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<p>This is normal, regardless of whether you self-study or are taking a class.</p>
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I don't think you'll be able to test into an intermediate class if you're only studying German in your free time. You really learn a lot more in class than you can on your own if you don't have fluent speakers to practice with.
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<p>That's not necessarily true, even minus the fluent speakers. I would venture to say the opposite is more often true when the learner is sufficiently motivated. In language classes there is usually only one fluent speaker with whom you rarely get individual time. Even fast track language courses move extremely slowly given the time you spend in class. I would only suggest language courses if you lack the motivation to keep up with studying completely on your own. Also important is the method you use to study. </p>
<p>The difficulty of the classes depends upon your university and your language level. Maybe you can talk to someone at the department and ask them for a placement test.</p>
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I would only suggest language courses if you lack the motivation to keep up with studying completely on your own.
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<p>Just speaking from my personal experience, regularly being exposed to a fluent speaker and practicing conversation skills even with non-fluent students is instrumental in learning a language.</p>