My Class

As you know, this year I have got new classmates. Before I started in this new group, Group 1, I have heard stories about the people there. Some of my previous classmates were in Group 1 before they switched. They told me that they didn't like the group because the people there were very noisy and chatty. They told me that there are many Arabs in the class and they like to speak Arabic to each other.

Having been in this group since January, I would say that they are a chatty bunch. They do speak Arabic in the class a lot. A lot of the times, it's because they are trying to help each other understand what was being taught. That's totally fine. I do that as well. I some times ask my English-speaking friends to explain some words to me and vice versa.

However, they do like to chat a lot about other things as well. And they are loud. It's perfectly fine to chat about other stuff during the breaks but sometimes, when we are discussing something in Swedish, they would speak to each other too, but in Arabic. Worse is when they do that when the teacher or someone else is talking. I find it very distracting. I want to hear what is being said in Swedish since I am bad at listening, so I would try to strain out the other voices. The teacher doesn't really shush them. I really hope that they would. The two usual teachers that we have are too nice to ask them to be quiet but I really hope that they would realize that only one person should speak at a time, preferably in Swedish, and that the rest should respect the person who is talking.

Having said that, it's good that I have friends that speak Arabic. First of all, they welcomed me very warmly, especially when they find out that I'm Muslim. They would come over and talk to me during the breaks. I am also sitting with two other Arabic ladies. They are chatty and they would talk to me all the time. That's good since I can practice my Swedish with them. They don't speak a word of English so Swedish is the only way for us to communicate.

After three months of school, I wouldn't say my Swedish is getting very much better. But I am getting more and more comfortable at speaking it. At first, I would not say much since I'm very conscious of my bad Swedish. Plus, I don't know many words to begin with. But my teacher says its fine to make errors. We are all learning and the only way to get better is to practice it. So, as I learn more and more about my group mates, I am practicing my Swedish. It's still quite bad and I am so slow when I speak it since I have to stop and remember the correct words, but hey, it's a start.

I still have a long way to go so I will practice it more. It's one thing to read Swedish books and do the grammar exercises. To apply what I've learnt, is another. I just need to be a bit more thick-skinned and speak in my bad Swedish more. Luckily no one has laughed at me yet. Hopefully, soon I would be able to speak more confidently and correctly.