<p>The time has finally come where I am studying abroad for a 3 week immersion program, but as I relish in this wonderful experience, I'm facing some anxiety relating to my courses here, so I'd appreciate any advice. </p>
<p>Basically, here's the problem: I was placed in the second-highest level (upper-intermediate) and am completely in over my head. I've only been studying French for 2 years, but apparently I did well enough on the placement test to be placed this high. I've learned the basics of most of the grammar we're going to cover over the remaining two weeks, but I have a very limited vocabulary and so find it hard to speak at the level that my classmates can speak. Additionally, I'm finding it hard to understand the things my teacher and classmates say, but since I already know the grammar in the level below mine, my teacher wouldn't let me switch classes.</p>
<p>I know it's just a silly summer class and that it won't make or break my future, but I can't help but feel so anxious and nervous. I had what felt like a panic attack in the middle of class the other day because I didn't understand what my teacher was saying. I had to go cry in the bathroom and everything. I constantly feel sick and nervous, and I just feel so tense and worried all of the time. I KNOW it's just a 3 week class and that the worst scenario is that I'll fail the course and won't get any credit for it, but I still freak out and worry. I just can't stop it!</p>
<p>Here's a big plus, though: I'm here with 5 other students and one of my French professors from my home university. One of the students is also in the same class as me, so she's been trying to help me the best she can. My professor has also been extremely kind and supportive and has been trying to help me with my anxiety, but admittedly there's only so much she can do to calm me down and make me feel less nervous.</p>
<p>I'm having absolutely no feelings of homesickness because I like and get along with every person here. The issue is just the anxiety in class, and I don't understand it. Does anyone have any idea on how I can talk myself out of being so obsessively worried? I've been going out and having a good time with my friends, but I feel myself pushing off my studying because I'm frozen and terrified to fail.</p>
<p>Would it be possible to move down a level? You’re experiencing exactly what my niece ran into her first semester of college-in the same language, too. She was a top student, not used to failing and in the end decided it was better for her psyche to drop a level than not learn at a pace she could manage. FWIW she took the upper course at a more appropriate time and aced it and went on to become a French teacher (and math, and Spanish, but that’s another story). If you’re completely missing some of the lessons because you can’t understand them, you’re not i the right class.</p>
<p>I mean, I’m not COMPLETELY missing them, but I’m definitely not understanding as much as I should be understanding. It’s too late to switch since it’s only a three-week course, and both my teacher here and my professor from my own uni convinced me to stay at the higher level. My friends are in the lower level and I do already know what they’re learning, but I literally just can’t speak as well as an upper-intermediate student should speak. </p>
<p>I am learning a lot in this class, but it’s just really, really hard on me, both academically and emotionally. My professor told me its’ better to be challenged and that getting through this will make all my French classes back home much easier, but I just don’t know how to get myself through it.</p>
<p>What has worked for me (admittedly in different situations) is having a strategy when anxiety starts to get too much - taking deep breaths and telling myself a mantra that is supportive but accurate. Something like “I’m doing the best I can, I tested into this class and even if I don’t do as well as I’d like, I am learning a lot.” This is the approach I’d take if you can’t move into a lower level class, which does sound like it would be the best situation. Try to enjoy your time in abroad!</p>
<p>Since you expressed that you cannot go to the lower class, you ought to try to make the best of it. Your professors all seem to believe that you could catch up. They might be right. </p>
<p>Regarding the vocabulary, ask all your professors to share the contents of the classes/discussion in advance. This should alllow you to review the words and make sure you understand them when used in class. Further, it might be an issue of accents or speed of the conversations. Try to “forget” English and listen only to local conversations in French – only local channels on TV, only speak French to friends and hosts, etc. Think how little kids jump in and learn a new language by sitting in front of the TV and NOT worry about mistakes. </p>
<p>It’s okay if you have an accent or have to speak in a roundabout way (because you don’t know the right word, lacking the vocabulary). I know how you feel and it can be embarrassing if you let it. Try to let go of the self-consciousness and force yourself to talk to the other students and the professor (I know - far easier said than done). The more you talk the more you will pick up the vocabulary. </p>
<p>It sounds like you’re not as bad or hopeless as you think you are. You’re likely very capable but maybe you’re not the best student in the class? In any case, you’re on the right track - it’s only three weeks; you learned a very valuable lesson about yourself. I’d call this trip a success.</p>
<p>Think about foreign folks you may have run into in “real life”. Don’t you feel very supportive of them as they try to make a sentence for you? I think most folks are like that. As a previous poster said, just try your best, use whatever words you can to get to your meaning, and people will generally work with you. Best of luck!</p>
<p>“This too shall pass”. And pretty quick since it’s only 3 weeks! And you’ve got friends to boot! So enjoy it for the experience that it should be. There’s more to travel abroad than the classes. They bumped you up to the higher class–now it’s their fault. Relax.
See if someone will review the class with you afterwards to make sure you get all the salient points so you don’t miss anything earth shattering. And just so’s you know–very little is earth shattering in a 3 week time frame.</p>
<p>I get not understanding what’s going on though–it’s stomach turning at times. But you are NOT in a do or die situation here–so take some deep breaths and ENJOY your limited time. You will absolutely KICK yourself down the road for having spent precious time worrying about this. </p>
<p>Is there any way you can record the classes so you can listen to them again later at your leisure? It’s really hard to follow along in real time when it’s a language you don’t know. </p>
<p>You might also talk to the teachers and explain that you want to be sure you don’t miss any important information, and ask if things like required assignments can be communicated via writing, not just verbally in class.</p>
<p>I think you are probably trying to translate in your head as they are speaking. Instead of doing that, try just listening to them. I had 3 years of Spanish when I was in a total immersion situation for a week. By the end of that week, I had stopped translating and just started thinking in Spanish. This is likely to happen to you if you can relax. </p>
<p>Thank you all so much for the advice! I really appreciate it. I will definitely try to employ the positive mantras and will try to think more in French. I think I probably am doing a lot of translating in my head, so I’ll work on amending that.</p>
<p>I’m having a hard time with the whole “enjoying your life” part, though… I just turned down an offer to hang out and everyone is freaking out. I went out last night and I feel like I just need to decompress. I know a big part of studying abroad is going out and enjoying the city and the life, but what if you’re just not that kind of person? At home I don’t go out all night, every night, so why would I do it here? I just sincerely enjoy being by myself sometimes.</p>
<p>Well, stick to your guns about decompressing.</p>
<p>I think there is a special kind of anxiety that most of us feel when surrounded by conversation in another language that we cannot fully grasp.</p>
<p>Are you paying for this program? Did you pay for airfare? I really think the teachers were wrong in not letting you drop down a level . How many days has it been? I think you should try again to drop down. A feeling of mastery is important before you move on to another level. I honestly think this is wasting your opportunity, and possibly an expensive one at that, but that’s just an opinion.</p>
<p>If you can’t so be it. But realize it is not your fault: the placement was not your decision.</p>
<p>If you have never done immersion classes before it can be a bit like jumping into a cold lake! Take a breath, accept that you will not understand everything. Ask questions when you feel really lost, but sometimes just accept the gap and that you do not have a complete understanding. Try to fill in the gaps with context. Write down the words you do not understand and look them up later. If you can buy a tape recorder and tape the class it can be very helpful. My DD did that in her university class in her time abroad. It helped her to be able to go back and listen again to what she had missed.</p>
<p>Try to stay in French outside of class as much as possible. It does make it easier. </p>
<p>My DD’s first immersion class in HS found her with a whole bunch of native speakers who were verbally quite fluent. However, they were at her level because her grammar, writing and reading were better than many of the native speakers who had never read or wrote in the language spoken at home. It was hard, because the inability to speak fluently is very public, while the reading and writing is more private. </p>
<p>Don’t worry so much about everyone else. Get as much extra help as you can, and be patient with yourself.</p>
<p>Lots of good suggestions here. I just want to say, glad you made it there, and share what helped me- and that I told with my own girls: when you can’t say what you want to, say what you can. </p>
<p>The idea to record is great- in addition to working on the message, you tune your ear. Best wishes.</p>
<p>Being in a new environment abroad is wonderful, but is also stressful. Some people need more alone time to recharge between social activities. Do what feels right to you. If it sounds like this description fits you, when you have time you might be interested in this book -
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain. I found it very enlightening.</p>
<p>Agree -lots of wisdom here. Sometimes it helps to ask yourself “what if the worst thing happens?” What would it mean? By wrapping your head around that, it can be liberating in terms of anxiety. Few things like this are really life and death, though I do understand the anxiety of beng in over your head. The other thing to ask is what can I gain from being here and what can I learn from the experience of being anxious. Maybe it even helps that you articulated your fears here. We all have these moments. Try not miss what is working about this situation because of concerns that may or may not come to pass. </p>
<p>Some people have an ongoing propensity for levels of anxiety that they find disproportionate to the situation. It can get in the way and there are lots of ways to address it that are highly effective (including exercise, meditation, hobbies, therapies and medication). Not saying that this applies to you, just putting it out there in case it is relevant to someone. Anxiety can be situation specific and/or a “wiring” issue. Most people have it at some point and learning coping strategies that work for you are worthwhile. Just asking the question, as well as seeking out the support of your peers and professors tells me you are figuring out how to navigate it and be pro-active. That’s a valuable skill set. All the best! </p>
<p>Ah, I didn’t catch that it’s such a short program. It’s too bad you weren’t placed differently to begin with. But since it doesn’t impact your GPA in school, do try to absorb what you can (I bet it’s more than you think) and see the sights on YOUR timetable-other people are not you. </p>
<p>FWIW, if you’re used to being the top student who GETS everything and has top grades all the time, it can be a real glass of ice water in the face to realize that isn’t always going to be possible. It can add to the anxiety of the class and the new setting and make things seem worse than they really are. Find the solution that works for you and try to enjoy the time you have in the program. Perhaps you’ll find a good middle ground.</p>
<p>They are probably freaking out about you not wanting to go out because they know you’ve been anxious and stressed. Try explaining, with a smile, what you did here – that you don’t go out every night at home and you just don’t have the energy for it, you need some down time to recharge your batteries, etc. Extroverts really don’t understand us introverts because going out with friends isn’t draining for them the way it is for us. They think if you’re alone in your room you must be depressed.</p>
<p>These immersion/study abroad programs can be wonderful experiences, but they can also be mega-stressful, as you are finding. I had a very difficult time in Paris when I was in college. It’s not just the language barrier – it’s living in a different country with different customs and so on. Even the toothpaste for sale in the stores is unfamiliar. You don’t realize how much of a strain it puts on you until you experience it. I happen to be spending 2 weeks abroad with my family right now, and even though everyone here speaks English and my relatives are here to translate if need be, I still feel the strain of constantly coping with the unfamiliar. Some people (again, probably extroverts) find it nothing but exciting and fun, but some of us have a hard time. Don’t feel bad if you’re in the latter group. It doesn’t mean you’re a grump or that you’re ungrateful for the opportunities you have. </p>
<p>Hang in there! You will ultimately benefit a lot from this, especially if you’re majoring in French. Just don’t expect it to be the universally amazing experience it may have been sold to you as – it will be tough and challenging as well, but it will be good for you.</p>
<p>I went to France on my own after graduating from UT-Austin. I’d taken French for years, and thought I’d have no problem. I arrived to people speaking so quickly it might well have been Russian for all I knew. I tried not to panic, and at least it wasn’t for credit. But eventually I began to pick it up. DON’T use English as a crutch, just let yourself bathe in the language, and DON’T worry about the grade!! Just enjoy yourself, and though you don’t want to be a party animal, do try to get out there as much as possible. That’s how you learn.</p>
<p>By the time I left Paris after 7 months, I was dreaming in French. Your brain will resist at first, but eventually it will capitulate. Enjoy this time; I’m so jealous!!!</p>