kanewai Triglot Senior Member United States justpaste.it/kanewai Joined 4887 days ago 1386 posts - 3054 votes Speaks: English*, French, Marshallese Studies: Italian, Spanish
| Message 65 of 331 21 March 2012 at 11:26pm | IP Logged |
Free Advice for Future Romantics!
If I were starting from scratch on a new Romance language this is how I would do it, based on what has worked for me this year:
Stage 1
overlap as needed:
1. Teach Yourself (just the first five to seven lessons). Estimated time: 10-20 hrs.
2. Michel Thomas Foundation. Estimated time: 15 hrs.
3. Pimsleur I and II. Estimated time: 30 hrs.
4. FSI Basic, Volume I. Estimated time: 75 hrs.
5. Assimil. Estimated time: 100 hrs.
I think this brings you to a solid A2 level, though a lot of people on HTLAL would say B1.
Stage 2
1. Michel Thomas Advanced (a.k.a. Perfect): 20 hrs
2. Pimsleur III. Estimated time: 15 hrs.
3. FSI Basic, Volume II. 75 hrs.
4. Assimil Perfectionnement. 40 hrs.
5. Immersion if possible.
This is where I'm at now, aiming for B2. I'll let you know if it works, or where it went wrong if it doesn't!
Stage 3: C Level
I have no idea.
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Hendrek Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 4880 days ago 152 posts - 210 votes Speaks: English*, Italian Studies: Persian
| Message 66 of 331 21 March 2012 at 11:45pm | IP Logged |
kanewai wrote:
Free Advice for Future Romantics!
Stage 3: C Level
I have no idea. |
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One key thing that I've found (not that I'm actually at a C level yet, though close in passive skills) is to more or less move completely out of the learning materials, and into the "using materials": meaning native materials. Podcasts, articles, movies, songs, books, conversation partners, etc.
3 persons have voted this message useful
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Quabazaa Tetraglot Senior Member United States Joined 5607 days ago 414 posts - 543 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, German, French Studies: Japanese, Korean, Maori, Scottish Gaelic, Arabic (Levantine), Arabic (Egyptian), Arabic (Written)
| Message 67 of 331 22 March 2012 at 12:52pm | IP Logged |
Yay bon voyage! :) Hope you have a great time, which I'm sure you will, and get to use
your languages often. Drop us a line occasionally :D
For me C level was all about practise, practise and more practise. Preferably with native
speakers in real immersion type situations as well as tons of written and audio input
aimed at natives. It also takes a very long time to progress from B2 to C1 and beyond, at
least to my satisfaction.
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kanewai Triglot Senior Member United States justpaste.it/kanewai Joined 4887 days ago 1386 posts - 3054 votes Speaks: English*, French, Marshallese Studies: Italian, Spanish
| Message 68 of 331 27 March 2012 at 12:07am | IP Logged |
Greetings from airport limbo. 30 hours in, 15 to go, and I'm putting Catalan on the shelf. I'm glad that I have
small familiarization with it, but realistically, I won't have much chance to use it, nor enough time to learn it
even to A1 level.
Whereas, I will need Italian, and I'm much further along.
There's a French / Arabic family on the same route who remind me of the Kardashians: they are all loud and
beautiful, and there are lots of them. And I speak enough French now to follow all their drama. It's keeping
me entertained.
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Gatsby42 Groupie United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4639 days ago 55 posts - 72 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish
| Message 69 of 331 27 March 2012 at 12:13pm | IP Logged |
kanewai wrote:
Free Advice for Future Romantics!
If I were starting from scratch on a new Romance language this is how I would do it,
based on what has worked for me this year:
Stage 1
overlap as needed:
1. Teach Yourself (just the first five to seven lessons). Estimated time: 10-20 hrs.
2. Michel Thomas Foundation. Estimated time: 15 hrs.
3. Pimsleur I and II. Estimated time: 30 hrs.
4. FSI Basic, Volume I. Estimated time: 75 hrs.
5. Assimil. Estimated time: 100 hrs.
I think this brings you to a solid A2 level, though a lot of people on HTLAL would say
B1.
Stage 2
1. Michel Thomas Advanced (a.k.a. Perfect): 20 hrs
2. Pimsleur III. Estimated time: 15 hrs.
3. FSI Basic, Volume II. 75 hrs.
4. Assimil Perfectionnement. 40 hrs.
5. Immersion if possible.
This is where I'm at now, aiming for B2. I'll let you know if it works, or where it
went wrong if it doesn't!
Stage 3: C Level
I have no idea. |
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Hey, I have a question about your post. For the first half, when you say "Micheal
Thomas Foundation", what do you mean? Like with Assimil, there seem to be multiple
books and variations of each pack. When you recommend Assimil, do you mean Assimil with
Ease, Assimil without Toil etc.
Also, I'm curious if any of you ever supplement with college text. I'm in class for
Spanish now and as a result, my main source of learning has been the course textbook.
With it, I'm already near A1; so with that in mind, would you still recommend all of
these in order to achieve A2?
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Kerrie Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Kerrie2 Joined 5393 days ago 1232 posts - 1740 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish
| Message 70 of 331 27 March 2012 at 1:44pm | IP Logged |
The Michel Thomas courses have different levels. The Foundation/Deluxe course (8 CDs), the Language Builder (2 CDs), the Vocabulary (5 CDs) and the Advanced (4 CDs). You can find them all over the internet, maybe at your library, and Amazon has them.
There are always different versions books and programs. With the Michel Thomas program, I don't think there is a difference (except between the different levels, of course.)
Many of the older Assimil texts are superior to the newer versions, but then you have the problem of finding corresponding audio. If you can find a copy of the older (Without Toil) book and audio to go with it, those are usually better. But they're not always easy to find (or affordable!).
As for textbooks, most of us here teach ourselves, without classroom learning. Most textbooks are geared to a classroom environment, with multiple students (and a native/fluent teacher). For self-learners, there are a lot more effective materials for most people.
Edited by Kerrie on 27 March 2012 at 1:46pm
3 persons have voted this message useful
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kanewai Triglot Senior Member United States justpaste.it/kanewai Joined 4887 days ago 1386 posts - 3054 votes Speaks: English*, French, Marshallese Studies: Italian, Spanish
| Message 71 of 331 27 March 2012 at 11:24pm | IP Logged |
If you're in a class, I would skip the Teach Yourself series. It's similar enough to a course boom. Michel
Thomas, Pimsleur, and Assimil hit from different angles, so any of them would be a good addition.
1 person has voted this message useful
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Gatsby42 Groupie United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4639 days ago 55 posts - 72 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish
| Message 72 of 331 28 March 2012 at 9:14pm | IP Logged |
Kerrie: Pretty much all the programs seem to be highly expensive. @.@ I already threw
down for my Pimsleur, but I'm not sure how many paychecks away I am for both Assimil and
Micheal Thomas. Suppose I'll cross that road when I reach it; thanks for the advice!
Kanewai: But not FSI basic? Either way, thanks.
1 person has voted this message useful
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