sillygoose1 Tetraglot Senior Member United States Joined 4626 days ago 566 posts - 814 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, Spanish, French Studies: German, Latin
| Message 1 of 12 20 April 2012 at 2:16am | IP Logged |
Hello everyone,
I was thinking today that rather than waiting 5-6 months to finish one Assimil then start another, that I could instead be doing two at once. It then also occurred to me that this may cause mix ups.
Have any of you guys worked with multiple Assimil programs at once? Thoughts?
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Michael K. Senior Member United States Joined 5719 days ago 568 posts - 886 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Esperanto
| Message 2 of 12 20 April 2012 at 2:27am | IP Logged |
Yes, I tried 3 at once (Spanish, French, and German).
It lasted 3 days.
Don't do it. Be patient.
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sillygoose1 Tetraglot Senior Member United States Joined 4626 days ago 566 posts - 814 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, Spanish, French Studies: German, Latin
| Message 3 of 12 20 April 2012 at 2:30am | IP Logged |
Alright.
Thank you for the quick response!
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Michael K. Senior Member United States Joined 5719 days ago 568 posts - 886 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Esperanto
| Message 4 of 12 20 April 2012 at 10:35pm | IP Logged |
That being said, don't let me stop you from trying.
I had a lot of fun in those three days, but I couldn't keep it up. I was unemployed and bored back then, too, so time wasn't an issue.
I just think one language at a time is the best policy. If you get bored with it, go ahead and try another one, but don't get too carried away with it.
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geoffw Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 4678 days ago 1134 posts - 1865 votes Speaks: English*, German, Yiddish Studies: Modern Hebrew, French, Dutch, Italian, Russian
| Message 5 of 12 21 April 2012 at 12:36am | IP Logged |
I suppose the bigger issue here may be the "multiple languages at once" question that comes up on these fora all
the time? The best principle I've seen about that is that multiple languages at once is doable, but best done 1) after
having already gotten experience of succeeding at studying a first foreign language, and 2) when the languages are
at different levels, e.g. one beginner, one intermediate, one advanced. The more advanced, the less important this
is, but two beginner level languages can be difficult, especially in the same language family.
I don't think Assimil itself makes much difference in this analysis except that if you are working on identical source
texts it can cause extra interference. I had this happen when I tried to use multiple Pimsleur courses in succession,
and I would hear the prompt "ask her what time it is," e.g., and I would involuntarily start to answer in the wrong
language for which I previously had been trained to respond to that question. Since the voice on the tape was the
same too, that made it especially difficult, but that wouldn't happen with Assimil.
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Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 4999 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian
| Message 6 of 12 21 April 2012 at 8:47am | IP Logged |
Multiple languages at ones are doable, if you have the time. But it is generally
considered needed to 1.not be a beginner at all of them 2.do various activities in them
I guess you could easily burn out this way.
P.S. I hve a similar experience like Michael K. The Assimils were only two but it was
more than enough.
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Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6587 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish
| Message 7 of 12 21 April 2012 at 2:07pm | IP Logged |
See Kerrie's log :)
Believe it or not, I have zero experience with two Assimils at the same time. Despite the number of languages I'm learning :D
Will you also be starting a new language, or just a new Assimil? What's your level and what are your goals? Also, which are the languages in question?
I think ProfArguelles would often do several Assimil courses simultaneously... But he mostly just does shadowing and uses it for learning the pronunciation/intonation afaiu.
Edited by Serpent on 21 April 2012 at 2:07pm
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sillygoose1 Tetraglot Senior Member United States Joined 4626 days ago 566 posts - 814 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, Spanish, French Studies: German, Latin
| Message 8 of 12 22 April 2012 at 3:22pm | IP Logged |
Just a new Assimil. I don't really know my level for French, I'm halfway through New French and Linguaphone, but German is beginner level. I'm taking a German class and I'm going to pursue both in university I think.
I don't have any experience with German outside of the classroom because originally I wanted to focus on one at a time and I chose French, but I think by the time I get past beginner German it will be easier to learn both at the same time. It was a bad idea to take two beginner classes at the same time and I found out too late :3. My goals are C1 French by the time I graduate (Two more weeks until the end of my Freshman year) because I plan to study abroad, and B2 German.
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