Using near-peer role models for language learning
Some years ago I started going to evening classes to learn German. In the early stages of my studies, I frequently thought of two German speakers who I aspired to be like in my language ability. The first, Bettina, is a native German speaker in her fifties whose English level at the time was only elementary. She was always patient and generous in her efforts to converse with me in German, and despite my low level of German, our conversations were largely very rewarding. But I longed to have the language resources that she did as a native speaker. You’d think this might have motivated me to invest more in my German language studies, but sadly not.