10 messages over 2 pages: 1 2
Cainntear Pentaglot Senior Member Scotland linguafrankly.blogsp Joined 6013 days ago 4399 posts - 7687 votes Speaks: Lowland Scots, English*, French, Spanish, Scottish Gaelic Studies: Catalan, Italian, German, Irish, Welsh
| Message 9 of 10 16 January 2010 at 1:55pm | IP Logged |
BartoG wrote:
If a review says the program is good for beginners and advanced students alike [...] I immediately discount it as a sales pitch. |
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But then what about on the very rare occasion that this claim is true?
Just this month I did a beginner's course in French even though I was already fairly competent in the language (I took it for five years in high school, got an A in my final exams and could hold down a conversation in the street or in a pub without too much trouble (just with some gaps).
I did the course in question because I knew from doing the same course in Spanish that it would address those gaps, and I would certainly recommend it to other students at a fairly advanced level. In fact, I was still actively recommending the Spanish course to my classmates halfway through studying degree-level Spanish, and at the same time recommending it to any friends or acquaintances who wanted to learn Spanish.
Quote:
Contrariwise, if a review explicitly indicates that a book or program is not for a certain type of student but is better suited for a different type of student, [...] it increases the odds that the reviewer has thought through how the program goes together, not just whether it worked for him/her. |
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That also worries me.
What does it mean? It means that the course isn't brilliant.
Now if the course isn't brilliant, did the reviewer learn successfully because of the course or because of himself?
To put it another way: some people know how to learn, others need to be taught. If a course only works for some people, there's a risk that this is the people who know how to learn -- which means the course doesn't really "teach".
1 person has voted this message useful
| Kugel Senior Member United States Joined 6540 days ago 497 posts - 555 votes Speaks: English*
| Message 10 of 10 17 January 2010 at 8:16am | IP Logged |
One can spot fake reviews by noticing a lack of good reasons about the program itself. Sounds simple, but you
would be surprised on how idiotic some of these reviews are: "I was able to speak to natives after completing the
program...blah blah blah blah. I didn't feel like I was studying because it was so fun...blah blah blah."
When I read I review I want to read about the the actual program, not the reviewer. If enough accurate details and
good reasons are given, then obviously the chances of a legit review increase.
1 person has voted this message useful
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