LANGUAGES IN LOCKDOWN - THE PAINS, JOYS AND STRUGGLES
K. COLDWELL have been even more of an issue than they are for every other subject in the school. Learning a language is difficult enough when you aren’t talking to the class over an intermittent internet connection, while trying to string together a sentence using the subjunctive without being interrupted by your family, and, frankly, I can’t say I ever wished for that to be a part of my Spanish learning experience (the interruptions and the failing signal, not the subjunctive). These problems pester us on a daily basis, in all subjects, I’m sure, but languages are uniquely challenging as they’re pretty much the only subjects where a back and forth conversation
I’m sure this magazine is crammed full of articles about the quarantine, and its every possible angle, so when I was asked to write one, I thought I’d pick a topic many could relate to – the struggles of studying A-level languages in lockdown. In a subject which essentially revolves around communication, the communication barriers introduced by online learning 39
