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How do you actually use Assimil? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| Tomtas Newbie United Kingdom Joined 3865 days ago 3 posts - 3 votes Studies: French | Message 1 of 8 27 April 2014 at 9:09pm | IP Logged |
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Dumb question perhaps but I've just got French with Ease and the instructions aren't particularly thorough. The idea
seems to be for the "passive wave" that I listen to the audio, read the French text, read the English translation, repeat until I can understand the French text and audio without the translation. Then read the notes and do the exercises. Is that right? Thanks! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| BAnna Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 4620 days ago 409 posts - 616 votes  Speaks: English*, German, Spanish Studies: Russian, Turkish | Message 2 of 8 27 April 2014 at 9:10pm | IP Logged |
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The best instructions I've found were on this blog:
How to use an Assimil course 6 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6595 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 3 of 8 27 April 2014 at 11:43pm | IP Logged |
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That seems good but you don't need to understand the French text before you've read the notes and done the exercises. Definitely don't memorize the translations. The goal is to understand without translating AFTER you've done the lesson, not from the beginning. Also understanding without translating and understanding without a translation are not the same thing. The ultimate goal is the former.
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| ikinaridango Triglot Groupie United Kingdom Joined 6123 days ago 61 posts - 80 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese, Italian Studies: German, Polish | Message 4 of 8 06 May 2014 at 12:48pm | IP Logged |
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If this is your first experience learning a language by yourself, particularly with a method whose instructions are as nebulous as those contained in many Assimil courses, you may feel that you are embarking on a journey into somewhat uncharted territory--I know that that's the way it was for me at the beginning.
The instructions referenced in BAnna's link are probably the most cogent I've come across in an Assimil text, and essentially mirror the approach I took when I first started using Assimil. Over the years I've tweaked my approach here and there, and instead listen to the whole course several times, first silently to get the pronunciation, then shadowing as I listen, before graduating to shadowing while reading the teaching language, and then shadowing while reading the target language (in your case French). I no longer attempt to break the course down in terms of chapters, but rather time spent listening to (and shadowing) the audio provided. Essentially I have taken inspiration from the method outlined in the first post of this (very long) thread: http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?T ID=22&KW=shadowing I would simply encourage anyone new to using Assimil or similar methods to try not to worry too much, not to expect miraculous results and not to be afraid to tinker a little while trying to determine what way of using the material works best for you. This process of learning how to learn is, I feel, invaluable in and of itself, and will certainly help you in the future should you choose to go on to learn more languages. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| yantai_scot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4800 days ago 157 posts - 214 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German | Message 5 of 8 06 May 2014 at 1:44pm | IP Logged |
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I'm using the method outlined on BAnnas link. This is my first Assimil course, indeed
the first language I'm concertedly learning on my own. I felt that by following the 'official' instructions the first time round, I couldn't go wrong. If it didn't work so well, I wouldn't have the doubt that I should have followed that advice the first time wrong and potentially misused 5 months of learning time or that I've wasted my money. I find this method manageable. I have a thick ring bound notebook by my bed with my mp3 player and pen. I do the listening/reading/repeating then finished up with the written exercises which help me pinpoint any misunderstandings. First thing in the morning after breakfast works for me. I'm now at lesson 41 of the first wave, so I'm almost 1/3 of the way through both phases. I'm using the German with Ease. I do also use the Hugo Complete course alongside it. Do choose another course of your own choosing to study in parallel. Things will dovetail at funny times. This will help your confidence. But don't stretch yourself too thin. Think 2 courses running at once. The biggest thing I've learned from Assimil is that its not a waste of time to go back to the beginning to sweep up the missing bits you've dropped. I now intend to go back to the start of my Hugo in 3 months book for revision while carrying on with my Hugo Advanced textbook. Any other learning is native materials with the emphasis on enjoyment. Good luck with it!! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4907 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 6 of 8 06 May 2014 at 2:25pm | IP Logged |
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Reviewing is very useful. Once I "finish" my lesson for the day, later on I listen to
the audio again a couple times. I also listen to a series of past lessons from time to time. Other people review the past 5 lessons or so. I also find it is helpful to do some focused previewing. After finishing today's lesson, I have found it useful to put tomorrow's lesson on a loop and listen to it 5-6 times. You begin to understand a lot of it already. But more importantly, you are left wondering about some of the words you heard. Coming to a learning task with questions already in your head is a good way to ensure you deepen your learning and retain it better. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Lykeio Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4242 days ago 120 posts - 357 votes | Message 7 of 8 06 May 2014 at 5:01pm | IP Logged |
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Find a table and clean it. Is it clean? good. Drape a flag of a country that uses your
TL in some form over the table. Take a chalk and demarcate four lines which intersect like an equilateral cross. On the eastern most plane place the book. This represents your hopes and incipient skills in the language rising like the sun. In the west place a native language to tl dictionary. This represents the setting of a language for a new one. In the southern most plane place a work translated from tl to l1. In the north do the reverse. This represents the movement from reliance on your l1 to newfound competence. Now play the CD's from start to finish as you stand there legs akimbo and arms askew basking in glory and repeat the following "my....tailor...is....rich,...my tailor is rich" until you begin to feel the magic working. Finally sink to your knees, lift with reverence the vinylclad book and turn to the first page. Read the instructions and follow them, perhaps check out HTAL.com if you have further queries as the site has an amazing backlog of info or perhaps even the wiki. Your mileage may vary and I'm unsure if you must follow ALL these instructions but it is worth a shot. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| fireballtrouble Triglot Senior Member Turkey Joined 4522 days ago 129 posts - 203 votes Speaks: Turkish*, French, English Studies: German | Message 8 of 8 06 May 2014 at 5:21pm | IP Logged |
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1) I hide the TL page, I first read the dialog in source language and imagine the scene.
2) I listen to the dialog several times, TL still hidden, I try to repeat sentences. 3) I read dialog in TL while listening to it again and again. 4) I study the explanations below, compare texts focus on the new words of the day. ... x ) I listen to 10 previous lessons and read dialogs in TL. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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