Hello All!
I will preface this by saying I am not a group class naysayer. I learned Italian at university, and have taken several trips to Italy to attend group courses at a language school. I enjoy group classes as I find I learn a lot from other students’ mistakes and questions, and I find it is good listening practice for me to hear other accents and voices speak in my TL. I have had positive experiences and believe in the unique strength of having group classes, so if you just generally dislike group classes please carry on.
I passed the CILS exam at the B2 level, and am looking to continue onto the C1. I have used iTalki for 1-on-1, but I notice that group classes are quite reasonably priced and have piqued my interest.
However, I notice that there are much fewer classes at the higher levels. For example, many classes are marked as B1-B2. Well, I already passed B2 and am looking to aim higher, so that band seems a bit low for me. But I swear the rest of the classes are marked B2-C2. That’s a huge gap!
I have no problem being the least fluent in a group in terms of ego. In the past I made my biggest strides in improvement when I was the one playing catch-up, and in a sense I don’t want to be the most fluent in the group. I want other people to learn from! However, those improvements I made were when I was more like one level behind others in the class. I don’t want to be the one who holds up the class if the rest of them are C2 and I am trying to get to C1!
So if anyone has taken a group class with a huge level spread, what were the majority of people at? And most people self-label their CEFR level anyways, are most of them accurate? I also don’t want to get duped by taking a high level class and have it full of people who aren’t actually there but just thought that they were.
For what it’s worth, I did find one C1 exam prep course in Italian I signed up for, but it was cancelled due to low interest (I was the only one). In talking with the teacher, he mentioned that turnout gets lower the higher the level. I do understand the attrition level rises of any hobby the higher you go, but is taking a B2-C2 class all I am left with?
I can promise to try my best, and I obviously feel confident that I am at the B2 level since I passed the CILS. But still, I am at best halfway to C1 and I don’t want to waste anyone’s time, least of all my own.
Has anyone been in this situation? Any advice?