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Assimil - 1st or 2nd generation? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Lessons in Polyglottery |  | |
| Juan M. Senior Member Colombia Joined 5932 days ago 460 posts - 597 votes  | Message 1 of 14 06 March 2009 at 10:15pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Good afternoon Professor. Hello everyone.
As I hope to begin learning French soon, I ordered and just received an Assimil French Without Toil book. Following Professor Argüelles' advice from his video review, I looked for a 2nd generation version of the course, which were said to have been released in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and selected one listed as being printed in 1971. Upon receiving it however, and even though it was indeed printed in that year, it looks just like the 1st generation course featured in the Professor's review. I was wondering if the Professor or anyone else could please take a look at it and confirm which generation it belongs to: Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3 Photo 4 Photo 5 It looks quite thorough and I am very happy to have obtained it. It seems much more substantive than today's kind of material. If it turns out however to be a first generation course as I think it is, it would be useful if we could find a more accurate way of distinguishing the different generations of Assimil courses than by their print date alone. Thank you very much for your advice. Bye. Edited by JuanM on 06 March 2009 at 10:41pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| ribas Pentaglot Newbie Brazil blogmarceloribas.blo Joined 5893 days ago 37 posts - 48 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, English, Spanish, French, German Studies: Italian, Mandarin | Message 2 of 14 16 March 2009 at 6:30pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Your book is identical to my "Frances sem esforço", a brazilian edition which was printed in 1972, but mentions 1958 as the date of the copyright. I have studied the first 29 lessons and I think it is very effective, parsque je comprend beaucoup de choses en français.
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| Juan M. Senior Member Colombia Joined 5932 days ago 460 posts - 597 votes | Message 3 of 14 23 March 2009 at 4:07pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Seemingly there is no interest about this matter, but let me just add that I also received a 1970 copy of L'italien sans peine, and it is just like the one pictured above.
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| ProfArguelles Moderator United States foreignlanguageexper Joined 7289 days ago 609 posts - 2102 votes | Message 4 of 14 24 March 2009 at 6:11pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Sorry for missing this when you first posted, Juan. From the photos, it looks to me like yours is most likely a first generation edition. The real test of that is whether or not the first part of the book at least consists of a connected narrative of a language learner's trip to the country. If so, then you have in your hands a most useful, interesting, and thorough method from which you will learn a great deal. Given the closeness of Spanish and French, you may not need more than this one method to gain a fair footing, which will be very much to your advantage if reading is your goal; if it is conversation, however, you will need to be sure to get a more contemporary supplement as well.
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| Rout Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5745 days ago 326 posts - 417 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Spanish Studies: Hindi | Message 5 of 14 08 April 2009 at 10:50pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Jaun, your book is identical to my GERMAN WITHOUT TOIL book from 1966 but with a CW date of 1958. I'm thinking in photo 2 where it says "Paris 2(e)" it stands for second edition? When I looked at the professor's first edition on his series review they were nearly identical in outward appearance but differed completely in content so this must be the case. In any form, they are truly excellent books! I just wished the English pharases lined more even like the new books. Hope you enjoy it. Do you have the recordings?
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| Juan M. Senior Member Colombia Joined 5932 days ago 460 posts - 597 votes | Message 6 of 14 10 April 2009 at 12:13am | IP Logged | |||||
From skimming through the book I cannot really tell whether it features an ongoing story. I guess that in order to clear up the mystery of the Assimil generations we'll have to wait until I actually begin with French, which won't be until I take my German up to the point where I can comfortably read Der Spiegel, perhaps six or eight months from now. As for French, indeed as a Spanish speaker I can already read in it for the gist. Combined with Rosetta Stone V3 and the French channel TV5Monde, and followed perhaps by Mauger's Cours de langue et de civilisation françaises along with a good grammar, this Assimil course will provide me a satisfactory foundation. My principal motivation is being able to read literature and scholarship in French, but I also wish to develop the other competencies to the full.
My L'italien sans peine from 1970, whose appearance is identical to that of the French course pictured above, also states "2e" on the title page. I wonder what it means. My guess is it's a revised edition of the first generation course. As you say though, the content could be entirely different while the presentation remained the same. They are truly very nice little books either way, and I was lucky to obtain copies in excellent condition for very little each, no more than 15USD including shipping. About the recordings, no I don't have them. I haven't ever seen them listed either. Bye. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| maaku Senior Member United States Joined 5607 days ago 359 posts - 562 votes Speaks: English* | Message 7 of 14 25 November 2009 at 8:50am | IP Logged | |||||
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Juan, your book is identical to my 1940's edition, which also says (2e). So if there is a 1st edition, it must be pretty old.
I'm bringing this post back from the dead because I'm curious if anyone knows if there was an update between Juan's 1971 copy and the "New" Assimil... series put out in the 80's? Specifically, I own 1954 and 1971 printings of German without Toil and the content is identical as far as the audio is concerned. However the 1971 edition has much more, and more entertaining illustrations, extending it by a full 50 pages in length. Anyone know if a similar update ever happened to French without Toil? 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Rout Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5745 days ago 326 posts - 417 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Spanish Studies: Hindi | Message 8 of 14 25 November 2009 at 9:16am | IP Logged | |||||
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I own both French Without Toils and they seem to have the same content except for the update in currency and photos.
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