The end of last week marked a significant milestone: we achieved 25% completion of our 44-week Burmese language course.
Early in week 10 our class had received unfortunate news: we would be dropping from two teachers down to one for budgetary reasons.
Since the class began in early September, our group of four students had been split into pairs, each assigned to one of two teachers. For the first two hours each day, both pairs would meet in their assigned teacher’s office, and then we’d switch, spending the next three hours with the other teacher.
My schedule started with two hours of “script and sound” (which later evolved into reading practice), followed by three hours focused on speaking, with a lunch break in between. The other pair of students followed the reverse schedule. We never mixed up or combined the pairs, even when a student was out sick.
When I learned one of our teachers would be leaving, I felt sad. Each teacher had their own strengths. I saw both of them as important to our long-term success. It was helpful to get their separate takes on things, and to have another native speaker’s voice to improve listening comprehension.
But the next FSOs preparing to depart for Rangoon would not fill positions with an active language designation. Therefore they were not assigned language training and would depart ahead of us. No additional Burmese language students negated the need for two teachers; FSI typically maintains a 1:4 teacher-to-student ratio.
Therefore our teachers and their supervisors began making arrangements to consolidate the two Burmese classes, including finding an actual classroom five people could fit in and retooling some of our curriculum.
I was a little surprised we hadn’t just started out as a foursome, if this was to be the eventuality. But I also understood one class would not have been a guarantee other changes wouldn’t occur.
For example, during FSI Russian 10 years ago we’d changed teachers at least twice, and towards the very end of our course the Russian Department had also redistributed students among available classes based on progress and needs.
During FSI Spanish five years later I can remember at least three or four shuffles of classrooms, teachers, and students too. Each change shifted the classroom dynamic in ways that were initially awkward or confusing, but ultimately OK and often even fun.
The only guarantee is that things will change, and then change again. And that’s before you even go to Post!
Week 11 in Burmese class passed so quickly it almost didn’t seem to happen. From a federal holiday on Monday to a professional development-focused day on Wednesday to our biweekly regional Area Studies class on Thursday: we were only in Burmese class on Tuesday and Friday.
On Friday speaking felt rusty, to say the least, despite my independent study. We honored the departure of our outgoing teacher with a small gift and donut breakfast.
As we left that day, I reflected on it feeling like ‘the end of an era.’ This was truer than I could know just then. But putting things in perspective, I reminded myself that — during the next year and a half — I could have two or even three international PCS moves, a new home, a new job, and a totally new environment. And if I could deal with that, I could also deal with new classmates and a shift down the hallway.
Collecting Postcards 
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