Now that O is in school, I've somewhat halfheartedly been trying to look for a job. I say that my search is half-hearted because, realistically speaking, it's necessary to know at least some Swedish in order to get a job here unless you are a scientist like my husband, or in business or IT, or willing to work behind the scenes in a factory, hotel, restaurant, etc (and even then you probably need to know a little Swedish). Jobs for school teachers require certification, even in private schools, and besides, the international schools are looking for someone with a working knowledge of Swedish as well. It makes sense. I'm living in Sweden, after all. Several weeks ago I found one advertisement for a job as a copy editor at a video game company that did not require Swedish, but I think it was pretty clear from my application that I know nothing about video games. I was politely informed that I had not been selected for an interview. I'm slowly sending out copies of my CV to different schools in the hopes that they might need a tutor or assistant teacher, and that certification will not be necessary for such a job.
In the meantime, the only thing I can really do to improve my prospects is learn Swedish. I began my classes about three or four weeks ago through a program called SFI, or Swedish for Immigrants. These classes are completely free and you can actually receive a cash bonus if you pass the final exam within a set period of time. At the moment I'm feeling pessimistic about being able to get my hands on that money, but who knows. Anyway, I had to trek down to the headquarters and take a placement test to determine which class I would be attending. (There are levels A-D, and the ultimate goal is passing the 3D exam.) I waited with my number for about 20 minutes, was called into an office, a Swedish man asked me a question in Swedish, I looked at him blankly, he repeated in English, "Do you speak any Swedish?" and I told him, "No." That was the extent of my evaluation. Imagine my surprise when I was placed into Class 3C. Apparently A is for people who have had no schooling at all, B is for people who have had some schooling and C is for people who have completed high school. Presumably D is for people who already know a little Swedish.
The class has been better than I expected, though it is a little strange to feel as though I'm back in high school again. Roll is taken, recess is held (the class is three hours long), people quickly form cliques. We practice dialogues in pairs, introducing ourselves over and over again, talking about our daily schedule to practice telling the time as well as using different verbs, and we have even enacted doctor/patient scenarios to learn the parts of the body and various ways to describe illnesses and pains.
Our class could be the basis for a really bad '80s sitcom. There's the kooky, middle-aged hippie teacher who insists on broadly acting out or drawing every vocabulary word, and who pigeon-holes her students. (When I told her I'd have to miss a couple of classes, she asked if I was going to China. I told her that I wasn't actually from China despite my Chinese name, to which she responded, "Oh, were you adopted in Sweden?" Hmm, adopted at the age of 33? Or adopted as a child yet having to learn Swedish from SFI instead of within my hypothetical Swedish family?) There's my classroom partner, a waitress and part-time nanny from Poland who has ambitions of getting her MBA, who also looks like she could be a model. We are the only two in the class nerdy enough to consistently choose seats right in the center front row. I don't know enough about everyone else in the class, but they're from all over (Colombia, France, Turkey, Serbia, Russia, Czech Republic, China--real China) and I'm sure they all have interesting back stories. Wasn't there a show just like this about adult immigrants learning English?
I do think I'm learning a lot in the class, plus there is the added bonus of thinking about pedagogical techniques as I observe the teachers. Seeing how things are done here could be useful if I ever manage to get a job teaching language again.
I remember a show, but it featured a great deal of laughter at the stereotypes of foreigners. That's what we do when we are more than a little nervous that they are better at us. The French might have brilliant food, so we like to laugh at their consumption of snails and horses.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like just the sort of class for you at various levels: to learn the language, to watch the presentation techniques of the tutors, and to comprehend the difficulties that those around you are having. After all, it's probably been a long time since you started out with a completely different language.
And naturally you have positioned yourself in the best place in class, you know all the techniques for getting the most out of the experience. And, as you have said, you have a strong competitor in O, he's got even more learning techniques on high alert. Hope you enjoy it!!