Ben,
In the general atmosphere of negativity that always comes up this time of year, I’ve caught from my first and second year students the general perception that “Latin is easy.” Several students have said this to me personally and I’ve heard it whispered in various contexts as well. Of course this is always contrasted with how “hard” Spanish and French are.
I have explained a few times this year to all my levels that “if it’s easy, then I’m doing my job and you’re doing yours.” “That’s the point,” I say. “What’s the point of it being difficult? If it’s easy, then you’re actually learning!” This is all right in line with the whole concept of comprehensible input and the role of the affective filter, in my opinion.
I’ve got two questions:
1) Have you (and maybe other list members) ever experienced this?
2) I worry that the perception of “easy” is also sometimes tainted with “we don’t do anything in that class and we don’t learn anything.” Of course this is untrue, as all the assessment data I’ve collected this year proves, but should I be worried about that misperception and take steps against it?
James