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Old Assimil - is it obsolete? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| Miuko Triglot Newbie Slovakia Joined 5397 days ago 22 posts - 24 votes Speaks: Czech, Slovak*, English Studies: German, French | Message 1 of 66 15 May 2010 at 4:56pm | IP Logged | ||
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Many people here love old Assimil Without Toil and I am not an exception. I would like to ask whether it is necessary to watch for some obsolete grammar or other things? I mean the editions from 1957 or so. I talk about French, German, Spanish and Russian.
Thank you for any help! 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| ashshea Newbie United States Joined 5378 days ago 19 posts - 19 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German | Message 2 of 66 15 May 2010 at 5:49pm | IP Logged | ||
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I found out that the old German wasn't too useful because it was written before the
spelling reform. Maybe others wouldn't mind this- but it drove me crazy! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| rlf1810 Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 6338 days ago 122 posts - 173 votes  Speaks: English*, German, Slovak | Message 3 of 66 15 May 2010 at 6:14pm | IP Logged | ||
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Cau Miuko,
I think the main reason people lean toward the old 'Without Toil' versions is because they are heavier on content. It might be worth it to work through one to get a good firm base and then maybe touch it up with a more modern course so you can compare the differences in expression. I myself have done this with both versions of the Assimil German course. -Robert 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| GREGORG4000 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5521 days ago 307 posts - 479 votes Speaks: English*, Finnish Studies: Japanese, Korean, Amharic, French | Message 4 of 66 15 May 2010 at 6:57pm | IP Logged | ||
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The 1950s version of Assimil Russian teaches a lot of stuff but it is really 50s and it will turn you into a 50s person if you are exposed to it for long enough.
2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| maaku Senior Member United States Joined 5572 days ago 359 posts - 562 votes Speaks: English* | Message 5 of 66 15 May 2010 at 7:58pm | IP Logged | ||
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Languages don't change that much over 50 years--even the spelling reform in German didn't bother me at all.
As rlf1810 said, it's about content. The old Assimil methods actually do what they advertise--teach you to read, speak, understand, and write the language fluently. That's rare these days. I've used the modern Japanese and Chinese Assimil texts.. which are pitiful compared to the classic 1950's editions in other languages. 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| BartoG Diglot Senior Member United States confession Joined 5445 days ago 292 posts - 818 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Italian, Spanish, Latin, Uzbek | Message 6 of 66 15 May 2010 at 9:07pm | IP Logged | ||
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When I'm looking through the old Italian without Toil, a lot of the dialogs feel like conversations with my (late) grandfather or like jokes he liked to tell. The content is definitely dated, if not the language. That said, a book that gives you your bearings in the language and well is better than a book whose content is modern but which doesn't stick. rfl1810 has this exactly right: Use an old course to get a foundation, then you'll know enough to polish things off with more modern but less well-constructed materials.
8 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| datsunking1 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5583 days ago 1014 posts - 1533 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: German, Russian, Dutch, French | Message 7 of 66 16 May 2010 at 9:34pm | IP Logged | ||
Do you have the old Italian without toil? It's so hard to find :( 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| TerryW Senior Member United States Joined 6355 days ago 370 posts - 783 votes Speaks: English* | Message 8 of 66 16 May 2010 at 11:52pm | IP Logged | ||
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Silly question I've been meaning to ask for a while, but I sure wasn't gonna start a new thread to ask it . . .
Is the word "TOIL" itself just about oboolete? Is it used much in the UK, because I sure don't hear it used in the U.S. I've on rare occasion heard of the name "Tillie the Toiler," and looking it up just now, I see it was a comic strip from 1921 to 1959. Then there's "Double, double toil and trouble," which I've heard, and am embarrassed to say that I just found out on a search that it's Shakespeare from MacBeth. (I thought it was 60's Disney!) I also remember an all-purpose cleaning product my mother used to use called "Lestoil" from the 60's, although on a search just now found that it's still out there. Anyway, any of you younger US or UK kids ever use the word "toil"? I'm an "old guy," more or less, and I can't say I've ever used it in my life ('til here). edits: The usual after-posting fixing-up & clarifying after re-reading. Edited by TerryW on 17 May 2010 at 12:01am 1 person has voted this message useful |
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