Tiny Bubbles

Today marked the first day of language orientation and the associated tests about your learning style.

Hence the tiny bubbles...I filled in a lot of them today (not as many as I could have...I opted against taking the Myers-Briggs AGAIN, since I took it in A-100 and again this past year in leadership training and several times before that...yep, I am still an ENTJ. So let's just not waste that application form, which apparently costs 10 bucks a pop. My gift to the taxpayers).

The orientation part was a bit dull, useful only in terms of the introductions of the staff for any of us who are NOT starting our first language course at FSI. Yep, I already know what the scores stand for and how the progress tests are done. But I am sure the new students found that helpful.

The second part of orientation, which is with our language's LTS (can't remember what that acronym stands for...language something supervisor I think), was slightly more useful, as it answered the burning question of where to we hand in our time sheets. I mean really, I love my job, but I'm not coming if you don't pay me. I also got to meet the two other folks who will be in my class (a huge relief because at one point, I thought I would be spending the whole 44 weeks alone!).

As for the rest of the non-Myers-Briggs bubbles, I did re-do them, despite having done them six years ago, the last time I started language training. Those bubbles will tell me what my learning style, and I'd bet that hasn't changed either.

I have "thin boundaries," meaning I will absorb stuff from whatever method you use to teach me. I think it helps me as a language learner (along with the help I got from my granddad teaching me German when I was a kid - Thanks, Granddaddy!).

I like the idea behind them testing for learning styles. The idea is that they figure out how you learn best and either adapt the training to your style to the degree they can or they help you adapt yourself to the training they offer.

I didn't notice much when I took language before. Seemed to me that the training wasn't changed at all, and I wasn't told how to adapt to it...though to be fair, I never felt the need to go to them and ask for help with either. Maybe they do if you go ask. But it seemed mostly to me to be an interesting exercize in self-awareness but not much more useful than that.

And some of the questions made me worry they were checking on our mental health and not our learning style..."do you have trouble telling the difference between your dreams and reality?" "do you have trouble when you first wake up knowing you are awake?" No...I just have trouble BEING awake. I know I AM awake, I just want to go back to sleep.

So anyway...maybe they will use it more if I asked for assistance. Or maybe I will once again not ask. Because I already know my teacher is great...spies in previous classes sing her praises.

Tomorrow we begin some actually language study, which I am happy about, at 7:40 am, which may kill me.