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A question about the Teach Yourself Books | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| Expugnator Hexaglot Senior Member Brazil Joined 5171 days ago 3335 posts - 4349 votes  Speaks: Portuguese*, Norwegian, French, English, Italian, Papiamento Studies: Mandarin, Georgian, Russian | Message 9 of 14 24 January 2014 at 8:52pm | IP Logged |
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I never write down in books. As a matter of fact, I usually skip exercises which don't
consist of translating into the target language. If there aren't any of those, I just don't do exercises at all. If I ever do any exercises, it's definitely on a separate notebook. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5014 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 10 of 14 24 January 2014 at 10:38pm | IP Logged |
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I learnt to treat textbooks differently from books. With some exceptions (for really beautiful and colorful and expensive ones), the textbooks are just a tool to put a mass of knowledge into my brain. The examinator will torture my brain to get every bit out of it and the condition of the textbooks will not interest him/her.
So, I write in my textbooks, I highlight in them, make notes etc. and I am not ashamed. Especially when it comes to exercise books. But I do buy second hand books whenever I can, to lower the overall costs and I believe I often save more than had I gotten a pristine book and resold it in non-writen condition. I used to sell old textbooks as well. Yeah, we not-millionaires are a bunch a weirdos :-) but I don't since I needed some back some time ago. It's a kind of a superstition now. Yeah, the arguments with reviewing the exercises later and too small script and spaces, those are more than valid for sure. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Luso Hexaglot Senior Member Portugal Joined 6066 days ago 819 posts - 1812 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, French, EnglishC2, GermanB1, Italian, Spanish Studies: Sanskrit, Arabic (classical) | Message 11 of 14 25 January 2014 at 2:22am | IP Logged |
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This is highly cultural. When my parents went to school, their textbooks were beautiful expensive hardcover specimens that were valid for a bunch of years. There had been a war recently, and although my country did not participate, the prevailing spirit was that things had to last.
There was a second-hand market for school books, and people covered them with paper: first it was plain, then it became decorative. Some were even very artistic. Nowadays there seems to be a revival of some of those practices, even though they seem to be more design-based than economy-driven: the fact is that I see a lot of ladies reading books with a sort of cushioned outer cover, apparently made of tissue. Maybe it's a design trend, or maybe they're reading novels à la Shades of Grey. ;) Anyway, writing on books is still very much frowned upon, and mine is a very conservative society. On the upside, it's also very solidary, and there are many impromptu "banks for school manuals", where people can trade their children's school books. If you don't have books to trade, sometimes you can get them for free. In the end, we are taught not to write on books. I never do, but I write on manuals (Tangram, Aspekte, Contatto, etc.). When my colleagues see that (in ink) I get reproachful looks. The prevailing tendency is for people not to damage them, but not to sell them either. Go figure. I recycle parts of my manuals. Normally I keep the grammar bits at the end and carry them with me on trains, the tube, etc. Hey, it's not like there's a second-hand market for that here, right? Books in Portuguese I give at a post office, and they send them in bulk to schools in Lusophone Africa. P.S.: This is off-topic, but whenever there are book fairs in places like Cabo Verde or São Tomé e Príncipe (usually sponsored by Portuguese entities), they tend to last, not the few weeks (or whatever) they are supposed to, but rather a couple of hours, since people rush to buy whatever they can get their hands on. Edited by Luso on 25 January 2014 at 3:43am 4 persons have voted this message useful | |
| renaissancemedi Bilingual Triglot Senior Member Greece Joined 4363 days ago 941 posts - 1309 votes Speaks: Greek*, Ancient Greek*, EnglishC2 Studies: French, Russian, Turkish, Modern Hebrew | Message 12 of 14 25 January 2014 at 7:15am | IP Logged |
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Same as Luso, I was tought not to write on books.
With one notable exeption. Our ancient greek manuals are so written with pencil that you can't find a clean page. Because the method was to note on the text, verb, object, subject etc. You can sell your books, but mostly they go from friend to friend. Or they are given to libraries, orphanages etc. As for language books, mine are written, with pencil. Unless there is no room for writing, so I use a notebook. Lately I bought a double board (blackboard and whiteboard) to use for the drills and excercises, because I am dealing with too many languages and I can't stand all the paper around me anymore. It's very practical. I'll write down an essay or story, but not the usual exercises. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| luke Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 7210 days ago 3133 posts - 4351 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Esperanto, French | Message 13 of 14 25 January 2014 at 11:06am | IP Logged |
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I tend to write in books I study. That's what I was taught. Make notes, underline and circle important points, use a highlighter, write definitions in the book, etc.
2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5014 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 14 of 14 25 January 2014 at 1:39pm | IP Logged |
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I think I found a great compromise between selling and keeping (text)books, which doesn't prevent me from fully using them (including writing inside). I have quite a library (considering my small appartment and that I'm really not a millionaire) and I lend books to friends, including the expensive textbooks for medicine and books in other languages. I borrow books at times as well but I lend more. I am not in real pressing need of the money now, thanks god and my family, but I feel the books are to be read and used and not just catching dust. And my friends usually don't mind at all that some of the textbooks were transformed into colouring books, they can keep them the whole semester or year they need without any late return fees. :-)
And my books are still usually in better condition than the library ones (and there are some in my bookshelf that are hard or impossible to get in the libraries). I've even read a categorisation of library textbooks somewhere... I'd need to find the article (it was really funny) but it included cathegories like "salad", "books with useful notes for the exam", "books with screams of despair" and so on. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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