Achieving Success in Second Language Acquisition (Books, Literature & Reading) Language Learning Forum

Achieving Success in Second Language Acquisition
Tags: Language Acquisition Theory \| Book
Language Learning Forum : Books, Literature & Reading

18 messages over 3 pages: 1 2 3 Next >>

Arekkusu
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Message 9 of 18

09 May 2011 at 8:33pm | IP Logged

volapuk49 wrote:

I shall be giving a public presentation in a few weeks before a group of Russian speakers with a question follow-up . I will know the subject matter of the presentation but not the details of how it will be expressed.

This after a total of exactly 117 hours of instruction from him.

Russian native-speakers refuse to believe that I haven't studied the language for many years. I have never visited any Russian speaking territory.

It is the method.

It is phenomenal.

117 hours of instruction... How many total hours of study does that mean for you? If you did 2 2-hour sessions per week with him, that would still be 7 or 8 months. Unless he is working with you as a volunteer, I'm also guessing you have spent several thousands of dollars studying with him. I suppose that implies that he is very good, but if it's his method that's so good, as you say, I'm not sure why you need to continue to pay for lessons when you already know the method.

Oh, you forgot to add Russian among the languages you speak in your profile.
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Splog
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Message 10 of 18

09 May 2011 at 9:35pm | IP Logged

Several months ago, volapuk49 contacted me (having seen some of my youtube videos) and
suggested I would enjoy Boris Shekhtman's method.

Soon after, I bought a book by Shekhtman which outlines his method in quite some
detail. It is not the book mentioned earlier in the thread. Rather, it is
How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately and it
is wonderful.

From this book, I received reassurance that many of the things I was doing were
helpful, but also that I was missing a great many things too. It has rounded out my
language learning. It is a book I highly recommend.

If Boris Shekhtman's teaching is as good as his book, then he must be a magnificent
teacher.
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garyb
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Message 11 of 18

10 May 2011 at 12:09pm | IP Logged

That looks interesting, I'll look into it. Does anyone know what the difference is between the material covered in the two books? "Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately" is half the size (in terms of number of pages) and a quarter of the price of "Achieving Success", so would I be right in thinking that the latter is a bit more comprehensive?
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Ari
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Message 12 of 18

10 May 2011 at 12:31pm | IP Logged

The (first-mentioned) book is availible in the Kindle Store. Might buy it for my iPad. There's also another book by Shenkhtman called "Developing Professional-Level Language Proficiency".
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Splog
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Message 13 of 18

10 May 2011 at 2:57pm | IP Logged

garyb wrote:

That looks interesting, I'll look into it. Does anyone know what the
difference is between the material covered in the two books? "Improve Your Foreign
Language Immediately" is half the size (in terms of number of pages) and a quarter of the
price of "Achieving Success", so would I be right in thinking that the latter is a bit
more comprehensive?

The "Achieving Success" book is a general text of language learning, and is written by
authors from different backgrounds.

The "Improve" book is completely different. It focuses on Shekthman's method. It has much
less general theory, and much more detail on a step-by-step approach to becoming more
conversationally fluent.
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garyb
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Message 15 of 18

10 May 2011 at 4:06pm | IP Logged

Splog wrote:

Thanks... now I want both books :P But "Improve" sounds like it'll offer me more bang for my buck at the moment, especially since conversational fluency is my main goal and like most people here I've probably read more than enough learning theory. I'll probably order it, and if I like it I'll investigate "Achieving Success".
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patuco
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Message 16 of 18

11 May 2011 at 1:09am | IP Logged

I haven't read any of these books and I must confess that reading through this thread makes me want to buy them all.

However, my main problem would be actually carrying out any advice given. So, in my case, if I were to buy the books, I'll probably still carry on much as I'm doing now, except that I'll be out by £50.

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