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Assimil - level B2 in 5 months possible? | ||
Tags: CEFR Language Levels | Assimil | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| Infinitive Newbie United Kingdom Joined 5471 days ago 4 posts - 5 votes Studies: German | Message 1 of 16 09 December 2009 at 8:29am | IP Logged |
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Assimil say of the With Ease courses:
Available for more than 40 languages, Assimil's flagship series enables beginners to acquire an average vocabulary of 2,000 to 3,000 words*, learn the basic grammar rules, and gain a command of everyday conversation. The With Ease Series takes you to Level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The text for CEFR level B2 is: Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialisation. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options. A 100 lesson Assimil course will take 150 days, or 5 months to complete. I have known of people spending years studying languages without even approaching levels of B2 in them. My question is, has anybody actually reached such a level after only 5 months of 15-30 minutes a day following a With Ease course? Is it advertising bluff, or is this really a great method? 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Sprachprofi Nonaglot Senior Member Germany learnlangs.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6473 days ago 2608 posts - 4866 votes  Speaks: German*, English, French, Esperanto, Greek, Mandarin, Latin, Dutch, Italian Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written), Swahili, Indonesian, Japanese, Modern Hebrew, Portuguese | Message 2 of 16 09 December 2009 at 9:37am | IP Logged |
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I think the main issue is that people can't actually do a new lesson every day because of time needed for review etc. Also, some Assimil courses have only half the amount of lessons. Finally, due to different course writers, some courses cover significantly more grammar, vocabulary and situations than others. For a better estimate of how good your chosen Assimil course is, look for the indicators on the new prints - on the cover it will say "Level A1 to B2" or something, and some only mention B1 or A2 even.
I do believe that the courses that say they're made for level B2 will actually lead you somewhere around there. Otherwise people could just look at an official B2 exam and see what grammar or vocabulary or situations have not been taught in Assimil. That's the beauty of the CEFR. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| fanatic Octoglot Senior Member Australia speedmathematics.com Joined 7149 days ago 1152 posts - 1818 votes Speaks: English*, German, French, Afrikaans, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Dutch Studies: Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Modern Hebrew, Malay, Mandarin, Esperanto | Message 5 of 16 09 December 2009 at 10:13am | IP Logged |
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I completed Assimil German Without Toil in six months and I managed quite well in Germany. I didn't use any other learning material but I did practise speaking with German friends. I managed the grammar quite well and just mumbled when I wasn't sure which form of the article to use.
I sat an exam with the Goethe Institute and got a near perfect score. I would say using the course for half an hour a day was equivalent to five or six years of school. 17 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Sprachprofi Nonaglot Senior Member Germany learnlangs.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6473 days ago 2608 posts - 4866 votes Speaks: German*, English, French, Esperanto, Greek, Mandarin, Latin, Dutch, Italian Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written), Swahili, Indonesian, Japanese, Modern Hebrew, Portuguese | Message 6 of 16 09 December 2009 at 10:14am | IP Logged |
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It should be on the cover of recent editions. For example http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/images/3896250221/sr=8-1/qid =1260349252/ref=dp_image_text_0?ie=UTF8&n=299956&s=books&qid =1260349252&sr=8-1 or also http://assimil.com/descriptionProduitDetail.do?paramIdProdui t=2656¶mIdMethode=2656. This marks a movement by many European self-study language course publishers to include this kind of indicator, at least in Germany. A recent survey in Dussmann revealed that the most of the courses and several grammars and easy readers prominently displayed a CEFR indicator.
1 person has voted this message useful | |
| staf250 Pentaglot Senior Member Belgium emmerick.be Joined 5700 days ago 352 posts - 414 votes Speaks: French, Dutch*, Italian, English, German Studies: Arabic (Written) | Message 8 of 16 09 December 2009 at 12:03pm | IP Logged |
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Assimil IS really a good method. May I ask some DESIRE for the language to learn.
1 person has voted this message useful |
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