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Unofficial Michel Thomas courses project | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| Chris Heptaglot Senior Member Japan Joined 7122 days ago 287 posts - 452 votes  Speaks: English*, Russian, Indonesian, French, Malay, Japanese, Spanish Studies: Dutch, Korean, Mongolian | Message 81 of 97 11 October 2011 at 5:04pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
If you want to know why you forgot everything, listen to Dan Lee Dimke's 'Immersion Protocol'. As for memorising formulae, dates in history etc., you can't compare this with language study because you don't have time to go through a conscious process with language testing, which you might have in a history exam. Language may start out as 'facts' to learn (vocabulary, grammar, idiom etc.), but to success at language it needs to become an unconscious habit, and that requires understanding and a lot of drilling and practice. You can't really 'cram' a language at all. Having said that, a well-formed mnemonic should last you a life-time if you want it to. Edited by Chris on 11 October 2011 at 5:05pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Random review Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5784 days ago 781 posts - 1310 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Portuguese, Mandarin, Yiddish, German | Message 82 of 97 12 October 2011 at 4:58am | IP Logged | ||||||||
I wrote that post in a bit of a hurry: I didn't mean to give the impression that all I did was cram- I did plenty of legitimate learning as well! I was merely agreeing with the quote that cramming now seems like cheating to me too.
Of course, but you can cram for a language EXAM. I did pretty well (I got a 2) in my Standard Grade French (roughly = B at G.C.S.E) and yet cannot speak any French! Please note (because it's important) that I'm not saying I speak it badly, or speak only a little; I don't speak it! Lest anyone think this is a flaw in the Scottish education system my youngest sister (who has lived in England since she was about 4) got a similar result in her German G.C.S.E and doesn't speak German.
Of course, and I too used plenty of mnemonics (Trigonometry, names of hydrocarbons etc) in perfectly legitimate ways that I still recall: sine = opp/hyp cos = adj/hyp tan = opp/adj; methane = 1C, ethane = 2C, propane = 3C, butane = 4C etc. Again I gave the wrong impression, I merely meant to claim as illegitimate my use of them when cramming. Edited by Random review on 12 October 2011 at 5:00am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Chris Heptaglot Senior Member Japan Joined 7122 days ago 287 posts - 452 votes Speaks: English*, Russian, Indonesian, French, Malay, Japanese, Spanish Studies: Dutch, Korean, Mongolian | Message 83 of 97 12 October 2011 at 7:40am | IP Logged | ||||||||
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I hope my post didn't come across as abrasive, because that wasn't my intention. I wrote it in a hurry too.
I don't agree that cramming is cheating. If you have to know a certain amount of information for a test, then does it really matter how you got it into your head, even in the short term, as long as you can use it in the exam? This may reveal a flaw in exams in general. GCSEs are heavily geared towards exam technique rather than language testing. They are a very poor indication of genuine language skills. Edited by Chris on 12 October 2011 at 7:43am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Neil_UK Tetraglot Groupie United Kingdom Joined 5263 days ago 50 posts - 64 votes Speaks: English*, German, Esperanto, Welsh Studies: Polish, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, Japanese, Scottish Gaelic, French | Message 84 of 97 21 October 2011 at 6:10am | IP Logged | ||||||||
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Thanks very much for all your replies. I've been very busy of late, and as such haven't
had time to reply here or to do anything regarding this project. I think setting up a Wiki page is worthwhile. Also, that 'Language transfer' project looks really good. They say that it's going to be based on/inspired by the Michel Thomas Method, so perhaps I'll contact them and see if we can team up and do something together. I'll keep you all posted on what happens in due course. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Crush Tetraglot Senior Member ChinaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5866 days ago 1622 posts - 2299 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Mandarin, Esperanto Studies: Basque | Message 85 of 97 21 October 2011 at 9:45am | IP Logged | ||||||||
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Neil, I'm about to finish the last track (13 minutes) of the first course for Greek, and if you like MT I definitely recommend it. I'd say that more than "inspired by" it IS an MT course, only with one student instead of two. Personally, I feel like I've learned a lot. Some of the vocabulary is hard for me to remember, though as the words get repeated throughout the course difficult words are starting to stick. The next Greek course is supposedly in the works (ie. being recorded).
Just so you know, there already are two courses available: English for Spanish speakers and Greek for English speakers. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Neil_UK Tetraglot Groupie United Kingdom Joined 5263 days ago 50 posts - 64 votes Speaks: English*, German, Esperanto, Welsh Studies: Polish, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, Japanese, Scottish Gaelic, French | Message 86 of 97 21 October 2011 at 10:27am | IP Logged | ||||||||
Interesting stuff. I'd very much like to learn Greek, so I'll check out their Greek course. The thing is, there is already an official MT Greek course, though, so I wonder why the people at that site felt the need to make another, unoffical, Greek course? I would've thought it'd be more worthwhile for them to concentrate on languages that are not currently in the MT range. That said, I do appreciate their efforts and I'm not complaining. It will be interesting to see what other languages they add to their range in the future. Edited by Neil_UK on 21 October 2011 at 10:29am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Cainntear Pentaglot Senior Member Scotland linguafrankly.blogsp Joined 6012 days ago 4399 posts - 7687 votes Speaks: Lowland Scots, English*, French, Spanish, Scottish Gaelic Studies: Catalan, Italian, German, Irish, Welsh | Message 87 of 97 21 October 2011 at 12:32pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
Well, first up, you can only teach languages you know something about. Secondly, the clue's in the name: The Cyprus Project. The primary goal seems to be to try to encourage bilingualism in Cyprus with the aim of better integrating the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. OK, so they're not going to achieve that with just a Greek course for English speakers and an English course for Spanish speakers, but I suppose they're working within certain limits. You've also got to start somewhere, and English is a good way to spread the word quickly... Edited by Cainntear on 21 October 2011 at 12:33pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Crush Tetraglot Senior Member ChinaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5866 days ago 1622 posts - 2299 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Mandarin, Esperanto Studies: Basque | Message 88 of 97 21 October 2011 at 4:53pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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The person who seems to be the sort of leader behind the project speaks English, Spanish, and Greek very well, so that might be another reason for the chosen languages.
Here's a little more info: http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/investment/language-transfer-ed ucating-freely-433 1 person has voted this message useful |
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