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Assimil

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ericblair
Senior Member
United States
Joined 4709 days ago

480 posts - 700 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: French

 
 Message 273 of 278
29 August 2013 at 7:46am | IP Logged 
Random review, do you have any experience with the older-style Linguaphone courses of
either 30 or 50 lessons? I'd be curious how someone that has completed one of those and
an Assimil compare the two!
1 person has voted this message useful



sillygoose1
Tetraglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 4634 days ago

566 posts - 814 votes 
Speaks: English*, Italian, Spanish, French
Studies: German, Latin

 
 Message 274 of 278
30 August 2013 at 2:42am | IP Logged 
I don't think the advanced Assimil will get anyone to B2. It's definitely great to solidify the material from the first course and will maybe get you to a strong B1.
1 person has voted this message useful



Random review
Diglot
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 5781 days ago

781 posts - 1310 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish
Studies: Portuguese, Mandarin, Yiddish, German

 
 Message 275 of 278
30 August 2013 at 7:40am | IP Logged 
ericblair wrote:
Random review, do you have any experience with the older-style Linguaphone courses
of
either 30 or 50 lessons? I'd be curious how someone that has completed one of those and
an Assimil compare the two!


Not as my main method. I have ued the 30 lesson Spanish course as a supplement and plan to use the 30
lesson German course in the same way. If the Spanish one is typical, they are good courses. A little less
convenient than Assimil due to lack of a transation on the facing page, but that's no big deal. They're not
as fun as Assimil, though. Assimil lessons are genuinely interesting and enjoyable in themselves.
Language learning should be fun. Linguaphone isn't really much fun. Good courses all the same, I think. I'll
have a think and get back yo you with anything else that occurs to me.


Edited by Random review on 30 August 2013 at 7:41am

2 persons have voted this message useful



Elexi
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 5563 days ago

938 posts - 1840 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: French, German, Latin

 
 Message 276 of 278
30 August 2013 at 9:57am | IP Logged 
Personally, I would disagree that Linguaphone isn't fun. If one can associate with the
characters, in the way one does with a soap opera or radio drama, a Linguaphone course
is fun. Maybe not the flippant fun of a classic Assimil, but fun all the same.

I think in the round I prefer Linguaphone - here are my reasons:

The lessons are longer and less flippant and so allow for a richer demonstration of
colloquial vocabulary than Assimil.

The new words are set out as a list at the start of each lesson making flash card
production easier.

I like the fact that one has raw L2 text with no translation in the course book - so
one can encounter the language first without peeking.

My method, after listening to and grasping the text, is to listen to the audio and
pause at the end of each line so I can read the more comprehensive grammatical and
idiomatic analysis of the sentences in the handbook.

The exercises, being written and oral FSI style drills, add more than the Assimil
translation and fill in the blanks exercises.   

I feel that Linguaphone, despite its age, has more relevant vocabulary than Assimil.

In saying that, that is not to knock Assimil - Assimil courses have taken a good few
hours of my life over the years and Assimil is still my 'go to' method of choice.

Edited by Elexi on 02 September 2013 at 7:33pm

7 persons have voted this message useful



ericblair
Senior Member
United States
Joined 4709 days ago

480 posts - 700 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: French

 
 Message 277 of 278
31 August 2013 at 10:32pm | IP Logged 
Interesting. It sounds like Linguaphone would work more as a total package program for
many people who dislike the open-ended setup of Assimil.
2 persons have voted this message useful



luke
Diglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 7203 days ago

3133 posts - 4351 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish
Studies: Esperanto, French

 
 Message 278 of 278
07 May 2014 at 7:30pm | IP Logged 
fanatic wrote:
Here is the story of Assimil and Alphonse Chérel as taken from the Assimil website:

Born in Rennes, France in 1882, Alphonse Chérel created the Assimil concept in 1929.
He moved on to England and acquired English.

At the age of 46, he decided to make use of his vast experience in self-taught language learning and invented an original calendar on which each page a short lesson in English appeared with a humorous cartoon. The principle of the daily lesson, short and amusing was born!

In 1929, the first Assimil method - Anglais sans peine - (English With Ease) sprang to life.


Now we see how English has become the dominant world language... It all traces back to that first course...


8 persons have voted this message useful



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