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HSD’s Attempt at learning German | ||
Tags: German | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Gemuse Senior Member Germany Joined 4074 days ago 818 posts - 1189 votes  Speaks: English Studies: German | Message 17 of 23 21 November 2014 at 6:42pm | IP Logged | ||
It's not just you. Assimil has a big jump around lesson 20. More time needs to be spent per lesson. Up till lesson 20 is just the warmup. Welcome to the main assimil program. This point would be a good time to start Hugo German in 3 months (the first 7 chapters or so). Very good explanations, and a very good exposition (after lesson 7 is another matter). The book is quite inexpensive. All of us at HTLAL who have tried it have liked it. PS: You've been doing each Assimil lesson twice, yes? The second pass being the next day, before you do the next lesson? Edited by Gemuse on 21 November 2014 at 8:54pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| HSD Newbie United States Joined 3667 days ago 10 posts - 12 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German | Message 18 of 23 21 November 2014 at 7:45pm | IP Logged | ||
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Glad to hear that, because as I said...it has been rough! No, I've not been doing a second pass. That is a good idea, I'll give it a go tonight. I'm checking out Hugo German in 3 months and have found a few used copies for only $4, but I doubt they have the CD. Do you think it'd still be worthwhile? To guarantee the CD with the book increases the price quite a bit on Amazon.
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| Gemuse Senior Member Germany Joined 4074 days ago 818 posts - 1189 votes Speaks: English Studies: German | Message 19 of 23 21 November 2014 at 8:48pm | IP Logged | ||
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The original Assmil Without Toil book recommended doing a second pass as I outlined. I have found that tip to be very useful. In addition, the second pass the next day will be easy, giving you the feel good feeling that is essential for long term endeavors.
For Hugo, the CDs are totally optional. I actually have the CDs but I listened only once, for like 30 minutes. Assimil audio+Hugo text complement each other very nicely. For Hugo, make sure the version is the one with the author Sigrid Martin. I have this version (all the versions with the same author should be the same) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0789495538 Edited by Gemuse on 21 November 2014 at 8:49pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| HSD Newbie United States Joined 3667 days ago 10 posts - 12 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German | Message 20 of 23 21 November 2014 at 9:01pm | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks, Gemuse! I snagged a used copy for $4.14, I look forward to checking it out! Who knows, maybe I'll be lucky and get the disc with it. I've been doing the Teach Yourself series on my lunch break at work, but maybe I'll dive into Hugo during that time as well.
I think tonight I'll do the 2 Assimil lessons. I don't plan to work retroactively from 20 (even though I could use the repetition), but we'll see where I end up. I'm intending to get a new PC in January, so once I get a webcam setup I'm setting that my goal to find a conversational partner online. I am sure I'll still be a train-wreck by then, but it is serving as a decent incentive to develop as much as possible. Thanks for all your support and input on this thread, I'm excited to check out the Hugo series. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Gemuse Senior Member Germany Joined 4074 days ago 818 posts - 1189 votes Speaks: English Studies: German | Message 21 of 23 25 November 2014 at 4:23am | IP Logged | ||
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To accelerate using the learners dictionary well, read up on the two past tenses:
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~german/Grammatik/SimplePast/Simple Past.html It is like "see, saw, seen". The reason being, verbs from these tenses are used in example sentences, and it helps if you know what is going on. Mastery of the verbs will come with exposure. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| HSD Newbie United States Joined 3667 days ago 10 posts - 12 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German | Message 22 of 23 25 November 2014 at 6:26pm | IP Logged | ||
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Thank you, Gemuse! That looks like an excellent resource. I am going to read it thoroughly on my lunch break today. I just got the notice that my Hugo text has shipped as well, so hopefully that will come in prior to Thursday (when I'll have 4 days without work...much progress to be made!).
My German is making some progress, but I've recently had a minor setback. I was in an auto accident, and without my car I haven't been able to do my Pimsleur while driving to work. I've been doing the lessons in the evenings, which means the time for Assimil is on hold. Once my routine normalizes I'll probably back up a couple lessons and resume from there. This morning I held my first conversation in German! The language partner was very patient, but we held a very basic conversation in German for over 30 minutes (where are you from, do you have pets, what are your hobbies, etc). It was a big confidence booster, and also helped me to seek out vocabulary. For example, when asked about hobbies I didn't know how to say chess. I kept notes on the flow of the basic conversation and intend to look up some new words for future use. It was a great experience, though! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| HSD Newbie United States Joined 3667 days ago 10 posts - 12 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German | Message 23 of 23 04 December 2014 at 10:45pm | IP Logged | ||
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My German studies continue, but my time per day has taken a hit. Fortunately, I've still made it a priority to work a little every day. I have completed through lesson 27 of Pimsleur and just completed lesson 2 of the Hugo book. Another big thank you for the Hugo recommendation, it feels much more approachable than my Teach Yourself text. I still have not resumed Assimil, but I'm getting the bug to dive back in. I still butcher the grammar, but when I observe it I get a feeling that it doesn't feel as foreign as it originally did. Once I am able to move Pimsleur back to my commute I will pick up the Assimil again, and hopefully be able to push through the confusion.
I am halfway through Numbers on DuoLingo, so I've been introduced to a pretty good amount of vocabulary (with much farther to go). I've tried a couple tutors on italki, and had good experiences in both cases. Still, I haven't found a tutor that I feel would really make enough impact to justify spending the limited funds I have set aside for this. I recently watched episode 2 of Extra, and feel like I understood 75%+ of what was being said! I'm going to watch another episode today to give myself a chance to practice listening. I'm still translating German-to-English in my head on a very literal basis, but I'm trying to break the habit (and there are times when I hear simple German conversations that I no longer need to think about, as it relates to word-for-word translation). 1 person has voted this message useful |
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