I'm not against apps. There are so many apps now that promise you fluency. Some of them are really good. I've used many apps because my husband doesn't like to speak English to me (His Chinese is not even good).
But I always get a high streak or guess the correct answer but when I am trying to order a burger and a drink in Boston, the shinny buttons and sounds from the app don't help me.
What a streak measures
Five minutes. Alone. Tapping the right answer.
My husband calls is "recognition". I don't know what that means. I can always just guess the right answer because I think i know the word and the sentence maybe fits. The apps also don't ask me any questions or challenge me. So I'm happy just pushing and repeating vocab even though I forget it quickly.
What group classes gives you
- People notice when you're gone. An app sends a notification. A classmate or teacher says, "Where were you last week?" Only one of those pushes you to answer.
- Mistakes stop being scary. By week three, nobody is a stranger. You stop protecting your face and start talking.
- The conversation remembers. Your teacher knows you had a project that you were working on and he asks how it went.
- Follow-up questions. People ask "Why?" normally. That's the question that makes you think in English.
Group classes and Tutors
With a new tutor every time, you start over. Your name, your job, your hobbies. "Fine, thank you, and you?" It's always practicing the same thing. In my group classes, week 10 starts where week 9 ended. That's where real conversation happens.
