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Does Assimil (’with ease’ level) reach B2 | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| Muz9 Diglot Groupie Netherlands Joined 5524 days ago 84 posts - 112 votes  Speaks: Dutch*, English Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written), Somali | Message 1 of 33 14 December 2009 at 7:30pm | IP Logged | ||
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Hi folks,
I just borrowed Assimil Spanish 'with ease' version from my local library after reading the positive reviews on this site. But I was kind of astonished by the level it claims you could reach (B2). Isn’t this a bit far stretched or is there some truth to it? I would like to hear your opinions.  Edited by Muz9 on 14 December 2009 at 8:11pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| kerateo Triglot Senior Member Mexico Joined 5646 days ago 112 posts - 180 votes Speaks: Spanish*, English, French Studies: Italian | Message 2 of 33 14 December 2009 at 8:15pm | IP Logged | ||
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My personal opinion is that it depends of you. If you make this book the central part of your life, read, hear and shadow every lesson about a hundred times (we're talking about three hundred hours total...) and after that you are able to translate every lesson from English to Spanish correctly without even reading one time before the translation... then you will be not in B2, but very close to C1, and to make that small step you only need to read and read.
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| Muz9 Diglot Groupie Netherlands Joined 5524 days ago 84 posts - 112 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written), Somali | Message 3 of 33 14 December 2009 at 8:31pm | IP Logged | ||
Well, that sounds very promising! But I am a bit wary about the claim as the book isn’t that big in the first place and only covers 100 something small courses. Is Assimil really that effective compared to other methods? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| fanatic Octoglot Senior Member Australia speedmathematics.com Joined 7146 days ago 1152 posts - 1818 votes Speaks: English*, German, French, Afrikaans, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Dutch Studies: Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Modern Hebrew, Malay, Mandarin, Esperanto | Message 4 of 33 15 December 2009 at 12:59am | IP Logged | ||
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I have written this countless times before on this forum.
I studied German using Assimil German without Toil, spending around 20 minutes to 40 minutes a day (broken up into periods of 5 to 10 minutes at a time) and learnt the language quite well. I had zero knowledge of German when I began and Assimil was my only resource. I travelled to Germany and got a job doing technical translations from English to German. I taught in a German school for a year and I did quite a lot of public speaking and conducted training sessions. Assimil gave me what I needed to understand and to make myself understood. I was able to ask the meanings of words and expressions not covered in the course. The course is thorough and teaches a large and useful vocabulary and covers the grammar quite well. I passed an exam at Goethe Institut with an almost perfect score. I have Assimil courses in around a dozen languages. Assimil is better than many courses costing a thousand dollars or more. That small book covers a wealth of information. Assimil is the most effective method of learning a language that I know. The recordings are entirely in the target language so you learn to think in the language and you get much more information per hour's listening. And, the method is better. You learn at breakneck speed for the first fifty lessons, not worrying whether you remember all the new words because you will be revising them every day. Used correctly, you will learn the language quickly and enjoy the experience. 29 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Paskwc Pentaglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5677 days ago 450 posts - 624 votes Speaks: Hindi, Urdu*, Arabic (Levantine), French, English Studies: Persian, Spanish | Message 5 of 33 15 December 2009 at 1:10am | IP Logged | ||
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What I love about Assimil is that you can compress the course to as little as two or
three weeks. Coming away from a compressed regimen, your recall may be lower than if you had done the five month regimen, but you can make up for it by doing it once over. 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| fanatic Octoglot Senior Member Australia speedmathematics.com Joined 7146 days ago 1152 posts - 1818 votes Speaks: English*, German, French, Afrikaans, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Dutch Studies: Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Modern Hebrew, Malay, Mandarin, Esperanto | Message 6 of 33 15 December 2009 at 1:18am | IP Logged | ||
I think this idea fits in well with the Assimil philosophy, and also what I teach in my own book. Work through the course at breakneck speed (first wave) and then follow up with a more leisurely pace, doing one lesson per day. Except that after working through the course once in three weeks I would be inclined to do the first fourteen lessons on the first day in my second run. I will actually try this for a new Assimil program I have. I like the idea. 7 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Infinitive Newbie United Kingdom Joined 5468 days ago 4 posts - 5 votes Studies: German | Message 7 of 33 15 December 2009 at 8:44pm | IP Logged | ||
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I asked a similar question here recently, you may find some of the responses posted there useful.
http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?T ID=18219&PN=1 I'm still quite inexperienced with Assimil, but what I can say is that after doing one lesson per day for a month and a half in German With Ease, with no prior knowledge of German, I am at level A2, approaching B1. From this experience of my own and what I have read of others B2 is achievable, so long as plenty of revision of older lessons is done. I would suggest getting hold of a grammar book and bilingual dictioary too though, sometimes the explanations inside the Assimil book aren't enough to satisfy one's curiosity. Edited by Infinitive on 15 December 2009 at 8:45pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| ChiaBrain Bilingual Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5808 days ago 402 posts - 512 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish* Studies: Portuguese, Italian, French Studies: German | Message 8 of 33 29 December 2009 at 12:00am | IP Logged | ||
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how can you assertain what level you are at?
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