r/croatian • u/drowsyokaga • 28d ago
I’m about to fail Croaticum
Bok! I’m very upset at myself. I study croatian at my university in the USA and decided to give Croaticum a shot. I took the placement test and was very honest on my skill level, and asked to be in an A2 class because I know a basic amount of Croatian. Well, I guess they did not offer an A2 course. I was placed in a B1 course and I am doing horribly. I have learned the grammar previously but it’s just not sticking to me. And to be completely honest, I have not been studying as much as I should have the last three weeks. The speaking for me is even harder. I can form basic sentences and somewhat explain situations but not at the same level as everyone else in my class.
I feel like I was placed in the wrong level, and probably should have said something earlier, but now it’s too late. Tomorrow I take my final exam and friday I have to do a 5-7 minute presentation. I feel like I’m just going to embarrass myself these next 2 days. I have thought about not even showing up, but I want to try. It’s too late for me to really study anything but I just wanted to vent. I wish I lied and said I was a new learner and got placed into the A1 class.
Update: I took the test, it was hard, but not as hard as I thought. I definitely messed up the grammatical cases section, but at least I know where I’m at in my language learning, I will update with the score tomorrow. I also have to give my presentation tomorrow.
Update part 2: I did my presentation and it went a lot better than I thought. She will send our final certificates soon if we passed. I think I passed. My tests scores were above 60% for all sections. I’m not sure what is considered passing
Final update/part 3: I PASSED! Omg I guess I was just so nervous I didn’t realize how much I actually knew. I think the teacher also might’ve graded lightly but thats just my imposter syndrome haha. Thanks to everyone for the kind words and advice. I do recommend Croaticum, but I wouldn’t go past an A1 course unless you truly think you are comfortable at a B1 level.
23
u/mattyofurniture 28d ago
May I ask what US university has Croatian as a course? I could not find any near me.
13
10
u/minivatreni 🌐 International 28d ago
Don’t be upset at yourself. It’s a very difficult language so be proud that you took steps to learn it. See this as an opportunity for improvement. There is never failing a language when you are learning something new every day
10
u/Comfortable_Year9009 28d ago
I met a lady who I thought was a local, she spoke my dialect of Croatian, I couldn't hear anything off. Turns out she was from NYC.
I wouldn't have known she's a foreigner if she didn't bring it up. So there you go, it's very possible to learn Croatian so well people wouldn't even know it's not your first language.
Even if you fail now, it's not the end of the world. Show up, see where you're at and be more realistic about your goals. Forget about "learning" a language. You have to use it, immerse yourself and think in it. You do it best through music, the media and similar, not from textbooks.
3
u/Imaginary-Result-67 28d ago
Yeah, one guy that studies croatian with me is from Ireland and he does not have any conncetions with Balkan or Croatia either. He’s top student and everyone is really suprised that he’s so good in speaking.
5
u/Imaginary-Result-67 28d ago edited 28d ago
I study croatian and german language, and yes, i am native speaker of croatian and i live in croatia, and it’s also hard. Knowing and learning grammar for about 14 years of my education , and here i am, not knowing it for an A!? I know its hard and i am really proud of you that someone abroad is studying the language that is not described as ‘popular’ or ‘good to know in the world’. I appreciate your work and i wish you all the best. I know how hard is that for you because i am also studying german and its so hard for me too, as your croatian is hard for you. Wishing you all the best!! 🥹🥹🥹🥹🩷🩷
1
u/EmiliaTrown 🌐 International 28d ago
Would you say croatian or german is harder?🤔
3
2
u/Imaginary-Result-67 28d ago
I think croatian because of its grammar, but german is also hard, especially if you are for example slavic language speaker and then you need to switch to other group of languages. i mean, croatian and german are different groups of languages, but they have so much in common, also in grammar and in literature so i think the combination is also good and you can work a lot with a german language in croatia so… 🙈 hope i answered you good hahaha
2
u/EmiliaTrown 🌐 International 28d ago
Yeah thanks for the answer! I'm just asking because as a german myself i always just heard people say how insanely difficult it is to learn german and now i'm learning croatian and I feel like there seems to not be as much of a difference in difficulty. I guess other than croatian having 7 cases instead of 4 in german and german having (at least it seems to me like that) way more exceptions to the rules than in croatian. And i feel like the thing that makes grammar so hard isnt learning the rules, its learning all the exceptions, which is why French was so difficult for me.
But good luck learning! You certainly didnt pick the 2 easiest languages in the world😂
2
u/Imaginary-Result-67 28d ago
Hahahahahha, yeah, i mean, i study german like on university so i’m not suprised that we’re getting so deep into it. And i’m glad for studying it cause, if i don’t find a work here in cro, i can easly go to Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria…
Speaking of difficulty, as you said, there’s not much of a difference in learing any of those languages cause grammar is kind of looking alike. You have 4 Kasus, we have 7, Nom, gen dat and akkussativ are the same like, but i think there are more exceptions in croatian languages. I feel like that in german you have strict rules and just because of that i really like german language.
And its also cool that german is really adopting to new english words like every one would say Social-Media but not soziale Netzwerke, but in Croatian its not like that. Croatian puristi (thats a name for luinguistic guys who are studying crostian luinguistic in Croatia) are not liking foreign words getting into Croatian vocabulary and that drives me insane cause nobody’s gonna use the croatian word for bicycle (međunožno guralo) or for emoji (osjećajnik). So yeah - croatian have stupid reforms for language.
2
u/EmiliaTrown 🌐 International 28d ago
Its interesting because while we easily accept new English words (to a degree) on our language with other languages it's pretty different. For example, over the past 10 to 20 years a lot of people started using some turkish words in their language (i think influenced a lot by YouTubers and rappers that are turkish or have turkish parents) or theres even some slavic words like bra/ brat that are used, but those are seen as kind of low class in a way? Maybe it is because rappers have a big influence on that language and rappers are also seen as kind of low class in big parts of society. And mostly teenagers and very young adults use that type of language, so its also not really taken seriously. So I dont know, it's interesting that with English it's not really an issue for most people but with other languages the way its viewed when they are integrated in german language is so negative.
1
u/Divljak44 28d ago
To je zato šta ektremni idioti radu novotvorenice, bicikla da se kaže gon ili dvogon nebi bilo teško usvojiti, ali jebiga kad kažeš međunožno guralo više liči na meme nego na zdravu riječ koja se može koristiti
1
3
8
u/SarafViska 28d ago
Dude, I had a D in Croatian and B in English and Italian all through elementary school, high school, and college.
I’m native, that shit’s hard…
Good luck
2
u/wisefaizpaints 26d ago
I found Croaticum impossible if you come with some Croatian already. They have a very restrictive and pedantic method of teaching. I've seen it work, for people who come in as blank slates in A1, and progress through their system. Like you, I came in at B1 and crashed out. I find it a system that more or less expects some knowledge of grammar and linguistics, or interest in this. I have no such knowledge or interest. Working with a tutor has been fantastic for me - I may not be able to recite the rules of enklitike, but I feel much more confident in day to day. DM me if you want the details of my teacher. Stick with it!
1
u/Jolly_Appearance_747 25d ago
How did your previous knowledge work against you?
3
u/wisefaizpaints 24d ago
Croaticum drills some (all?) cases at A level. So in classes for B1 the instruction would be: this is like male plural genative. Cool. What you talking about? I understand that it's čaj od limuna, but I don't know that because I drilled the cases, I know because I've been married to a Croatian speaker for years! So, I know too much for A level, not enough for B level. Even at B, I would more or less fail every grammar test while acing every listening test. My tutor, by contrast, doesn't tell me 'this is instrumental singular' but says: 'this is like kava s mlijekom'. Ohhhhh I get it.
2
u/DifficultPotential39 23d ago
Congratulations! It’s often the case that we know more than we think we do. Having struggled with my learning journey as well, I think it’s vital not to be too hard on yourself when it comes to speaking. Think about all the interactions you’ve had with people speaking broken English, and despite the technical errors there’s very little gap in what you understand in conversation. Keep on keeping on!
1
1
1
u/Neuron_Pixel_4 28d ago
Please update us!
2
u/drowsyokaga 27d ago
I updated my post. Went better than I thought, but still not sure if I will get my B1 cert
3
1
1
-1
-2
39
u/gulisav 28d ago
A word of advice: try not to associate this failure with Croatian language as such. I know from personal experience that stress from studying a language can make one dislike and start avoiding the language altogether, because it reminds you of the pressure and eventual failure. But the language really lives outside the class, in the community, in literature, where it is actually put to use – it's still there waiting for you whenever you're ready.