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Does Assimil work? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| James29 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5373 days ago 1265 posts - 2113 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French | Message 9 of 21 20 April 2012 at 2:35am | IP Logged |
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Assimil's Italian With Ease is available on Amazon (with CDs included) for $32.97.
I used Spanish With Ease and I think it took me to a B1 level... I think the key is to do a second (or even third) active wave. Assimil is a great program. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| DaraghM Diglot Senior Member Ireland Joined 6149 days ago 1947 posts - 2923 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French, Russian, Hungarian | Message 10 of 21 20 April 2012 at 10:13am | IP Logged |
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I recently got Italian with Ease direct from Assimil. It's the same course from the early nineties and the currency used is the Lira. The course is slightly drier than the other courses, but learning tourist vocabulary is what I actually need at the moment.
The main criticism I'd have with the English base course is that its explanations are based on the French course. This means that the use of verbs such as "fare" in weather and time expressions aren't explicitly explained since the French verb "faire" is used in a similar way. If you're familiar with French or Spanish this shouldn't be a problem, but I think they should've explained this in the English course. The translations are better in the Italian course then the Spanish With Ease. From an English speaking perspective, I think French with Ease is their best. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| dandt Senior Member Australia regarderetlire.wordp Joined 4622 days ago 134 posts - 174 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, French | Message 11 of 21 20 April 2012 at 11:50am | IP Logged |
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I've been thinking of getting assimil after reading lots on here about it. Hoping to pick up a 2nd hand one
cheaply somewhere, but I won't hold my breath. While looking on eBay I thought someone here might be interested... it's a 1949 assimil book! http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VINTAGE-BOOK-SPANISH-WITHOUT-TOIL -ASSIMIL-A-CHEREL-HARDBACK- 1949-/140740276414?pt=Antiquarian_Collectible&hash=item20c4c 630be#ht_4370wt_1002 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| garyb Triglot Senior Member ScotlandRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5205 days ago 1468 posts - 2413 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, French Studies: Spanish | Message 12 of 21 20 April 2012 at 12:14pm | IP Logged |
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I'll just echo what others have said. It works - there's a reason why it's so popular
around here. It's mostly enjoyable, covers a good range of topics, and the dialogue and sentence based format seems to be a lot more effective than conventional vocabulary and grammar lists. It's a great "bridge" to guide you from the beginner to the intermediate stage, after which you'll be much more ready for conversations and native materials. But the B2 claim isn't realistic. It just seems to be the standard for language course marketing to have some ridiculous claim - Michel Thomas and Pimsleur both imply that you'll be fluent after working through their courses, while anyone who's done them will tell you that, while very useful, they really only teach the basics. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Antisrcen Newbie Canada Joined 4606 days ago 10 posts - 13 votes Speaks: English* | Message 13 of 21 20 April 2012 at 6:04pm | IP Logged |
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Thanks everyone, I did end up ordering the course. I also bought an Italian Bible that's
close to the English NIV translation.. 1000 pages of translating material for $40. (but of course I won't be learning how to say "cell phone" or "bus stop" :P) 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| willcouchman Newbie United Kingdom Joined 6346 days ago 23 posts - 26 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, German, Spanish | Message 14 of 21 21 April 2012 at 7:30am | IP Logged |
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Antisrcen - Sir Richard Burton, the Victorian explorer and polyglot, said that translating the gospels was
instrumental in his system for learning languages, so great idea. I'd start with the Gospel of John, as grammatically there is nothing simpler in the New Testament. Will. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| fanatic Octoglot Senior Member Australia speedmathematics.com Joined 7144 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 15 of 21 21 April 2012 at 8:31am | IP Logged |
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Certainly, Assimil works.
I have more than a dozen Assimil programs and I love them (with possibly a couple of exceptions). I learnt German with German Without Toil, from zero knowledge, spending no more than 30 minutes a day, and that was broken up into three or four chunks. After learning for five or six months we travelled to Germany and I got employment at Ericsson doing a technical translation (hard work) and was able to converse with everyone. I had to learn a technical vocabulary but sat in classes to learn digital electronics and logic circuitry. Assimil gave me the tools to ask for explanations for anything I didn't understand. I gave lectures in German and taught in a German school. I found Assimil more than adequate for my needs. 10 persons have voted this message useful | |
| onurdolar Diglot Groupie TurkeyRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4650 days ago 98 posts - 147 votes Speaks: Turkish*, English Studies: Italian, German | Message 16 of 21 23 April 2012 at 9:08pm | IP Logged |
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I have Italian with Ease and reached only 20th lesson yet so i can't really comment on
reaching which level however i can say it is really worth the money spent on considering the price. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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