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Assimil | ||
Tags: Shadowing | Polyglottery | Alexander Arguelles | Reading | Language Program | Learning Technique/Method | Assimil | Book | Grammar | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| tractor Tetraglot Senior Member Norway Joined 5451 days ago 1349 posts - 2292 votes  Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, Catalan Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 233 of 278 05 September 2010 at 7:55pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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I meant compared to the original method. I think you should just try and see if your method works for you. If it
doesn't work as you hoped, you can always revert to the original Assimil method at a later point. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| S4Real Newbie United States Joined 6267 days ago 25 posts - 31 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 234 of 278 06 September 2010 at 4:12am | IP Logged | ||||||||
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Assimil Spanish has such a proper castilian accent that it's sometimes annoying to my already trained ear to Mexican Spanish in the US. It's like the difference between British English and North American English. If my pronunciation is excellent, couldn't I just record myself reading Assimil? Edited by S4Real on 06 September 2010 at 4:16am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| vexx Groupie Australia Joined 5216 days ago 81 posts - 82 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Latin | Message 235 of 278 06 September 2010 at 12:19pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
Okay cool, I'll just try it out then, as long as it's going to be as efficient as the normal way in the longrun then i'm fine! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Frieza Triglot Senior Member Portugal Joined 5351 days ago 102 posts - 137 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, EnglishC2, French Studies: German | Message 236 of 278 07 September 2010 at 1:59pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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After reading so many positive reviews, I've decided to purchase Assimil to supplement my German studies.
However, I'm not sure which one to get. I saw the Portuguese version of the New German with ease - O Novo Alemão sem Custo - for sale at a store. However, I checked their website and saw that there is a more recent version already (named «L'Allemand»), but only available in French and Italian for the time being. Both cost roughly €65.00 and claim to bring you up to B2 level. However, while the previous version comes with a book of around 400 pages and a total of 2h15 in audio, the new one's got nearly 700 pages and 3h of audio. Also, the older version says it should take 5 months to complete, while the new one sets the timeframe at 6-8 months. This makes me think that the latest version has got a lot more material. Has anyone here seen both versions and would be able to provide a comparison? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| staf250 Pentaglot Senior Member Belgium emmerick.be Joined 5695 days ago 352 posts - 414 votes Speaks: French, Dutch*, Italian, English, German Studies: Arabic (Written) | Message 237 of 278 07 September 2010 at 5:23pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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I'm using "L'Italien", the ultimate version for studying Italian. The latest version is using more recent Italian
words. On German I don't have experience. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Frieza Triglot Senior Member Portugal Joined 5351 days ago 102 posts - 137 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, EnglishC2, French Studies: German | Message 238 of 278 15 September 2010 at 7:55pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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I've got my hands on the "O Novo Alemão Sem Custo" book and it seems like, though printed in 2009, it corresponds to the 1986 French version. It's first lesson is called 'Im Café' and it's a dialogue between a customer and a waiter.
The latest version is from 2004 and the first lesson is named 'Viel Glück' and it's about us starting to learn German. I'm guessing it will be several years, if not decades, before this gets translated into Portuguese. It's actually surprising that a rather popular course like Assimil is lacking so much in regard to the languages it is available in. Much more obscure courses are available in several languages in their latest version. To those who have used Assimil based on a language other their own mother tongue, do you feel it is somewhat less effective because of that? In my case, French is my 2nd foreign language and unfortunately I don't use it much. And do you feel it would be better to mentally translate all the explanations, instructions and translations in French into your own language, in order to keep everything between your mother tongue and the target language? Or would it be better not to think in your mother tongue at all, rather fully embrace French as your base language for the course? On the other hand, do you think it would be beneficial to take two different versions of an Assimil course (the 1986 and 2004 in this case)? Jointly or complete one after completion of the other? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| tractor Tetraglot Senior Member Norway Joined 5451 days ago 1349 posts - 2292 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, Catalan Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 239 of 278 15 September 2010 at 9:19pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
Yes and no. I've used Assimil and a number of other materials in English. I have to spend a bit more time than if they were written in Norwegian. Sometimes I'm a bit uncertain about the exact meaning of an English word, and I have to look things up to be sure. Some of the grammar explanations are not always relevant to me as a Norwegian speaker because they deal with the differences between English and the target language.
Sometimes I do mentally translate it to my native language; sometimes I don't. This is something I do or don't more or less unconsciously.
I've already done it with Assimil German without Toil and Assimil German with Ease, and I'm doing it now with French without Toil and New French with Ease. I'm doing them at the same time. Edited by tractor on 15 September 2010 at 9:20pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Andy E Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 7101 days ago 1651 posts - 1939 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, French | Message 240 of 278 15 September 2010 at 9:39pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
No. I believe if you're strong enough in the source language - particularly in reading comprehension then there shouldn't be an issue.
The latter approach is the one I've taken. I have courses for both Spanish and French speakers and I can't recall ever translating anything into English.
I can't see a problem with either approach, although I've not tried the "jointly" one. I'm currently doing Assimil's German without Toil having previously gone through El nuevo Alemán sin esfuerzo. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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