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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| LeftHanded Matt Newbie United Kingdom mattnotley.co.uk/gui Joined 4795 days ago 4 posts - 6 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 1 of 6 12 October 2011 at 12:39pm | IP Logged |
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I've searched these forums, but found it a bit difficult to find a specific answer.
I am learning Spanish. I already have a decent vocabulary due to my best friend being Spanish, but I am very much of a beginner level and am unable to converse at all. My friend has gone away for a year (very sad :( ) and I have decided to surprise her upon her return by having much improved. I have started with FSI Programmatic Spanish. I'm about 4 lessons in, and I was just wondering what methods people used to find success with it? The first couple of lessons were quite simple, by the 3rd and 4th I was struggling to remember things. Is the intention to repeat the lessons several times over? How fast should I be moving through it? Also, what level can I expect to reach with FSI's programs? It's very hard to get an indication of what the end result will be from the first few lessons. One thing I find essential with learning is having written text too, so I find myself following along with both the student and instructor books. I have tried Pimsleur before, and the lack of any written material caused me to struggle greatly. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Crush Tetraglot Senior Member ChinaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5867 days ago 1622 posts - 2299 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish, Mandarin, Esperanto Studies: Basque | Message 2 of 6 14 October 2011 at 10:51am | IP Logged |
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I haven't done the Programmatic course, so I can't comment on that specifically, but yes the idea is generally to repeat each lesson several times (I went through the BASIC Spanish course, and repeated on average each Unit 6-8 times). I think the Programmatic course isn't as thorough (it wasn't finished), so I'm not exactly sure how far it will take you. The BASIC course however will take you to a point where (once you start communicating/immersing yourself in the language) you'll be able to quickly and easily communicate. I did about 2-3 units a week studying 3 hours a day with the BASIC course, though some prefer to go about it more slowly and do one unit a week, studying 1-2 hours a day.
You'll definitely need a lot more vocabulary to comfortably read in Spanish, but you should feel comfortable communicating. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| LeftHanded Matt Newbie United Kingdom mattnotley.co.uk/gui Joined 4795 days ago 4 posts - 6 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 3 of 6 14 October 2011 at 11:28am | IP Logged |
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Thank you very much for your reply.
I'm up to Unit 6 of Programmatic 1, do you think it would be worth changing over to Spanish Basic 1 at this point? I'm actually quite enjoying what I've done so far, so I think I would like to stick with it. 6-8 times is a lot! I've been listening to most units twice, and also using Anki on my phone to create flash cards and drill myself with the dialogues for each unit as I go. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| orine Newbie GuyanaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4792 days ago 1 posts - 1 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Portuguese | Message 4 of 6 14 October 2011 at 5:22pm | IP Logged |
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I am a newbie on this site, but i find it very interesting . I have started to learn Brazilian Portuguese, using Pimsleur (have almost completed Level ) and enjoying it. I know from the post when you finish all levels of Pimsleur you are still a beginner and with this in mind i have download FSI Progamatic Portugues.
I know the FSI have a language rating system from 1 to 5, can anyone say how far or how advanced this program is. Just wondering at what leve i will be at if i complete the FSI program. My goal is is to be fluent in this language. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| iguanamon Pentaglot Senior Member Virgin Islands Speaks: Ladino Joined 5264 days ago 2241 posts - 6731 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Creole (French) | Message 5 of 6 14 October 2011 at 5:42pm | IP Logged |
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Welcome to the forum, @orine! It's good to see someone else from the English-speaking Caribbean learning Portuguese! You might want to look into DLI (Defense Language Institute) Portuguese DLI Portuguese as well, all the books and audio are available here for free. I am using it to supplement my learning through conversation/language exchange and reading. I already speak Spanish, so it's not that big of a leap for me.
Some people find the learning to be dull and boring with lots of drills but I find it to be quite useful in reinforcing what I've learned and making things more automatic. I especially like the dialogs in DLI. The dialogs have built-in pauses and you are asked to be the first speaker and then, afterwards, the second speaker. It's like having a conversation except there's no possibility of correction. Do you live near Georgetown? Are there any Brazilians there with whom you can practice Portuguese? Edited by iguanamon on 14 October 2011 at 5:47pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Crush Tetraglot Senior Member ChinaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5867 days ago 1622 posts - 2299 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Mandarin, Esperanto Studies: Basque | Message 6 of 6 14 October 2011 at 8:53pm | IP Logged |
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I know some companies that sell the FSI Programmatic course offer levels 3 and 4 of the Basic course as incentives, so if you want it may be possible to continue with the other two levels. I'm not sure how they overlap, but it might work (and in my opinion, the last two levels are what sets the FSI course apart, as most other courses take you somewhere between the first and second level). I say that if you are enjoying it, stick with it. I don't know where exactly it'll take you though, maybe someone here who's finished it can shed some light.
With regards to the programmatic course, I think it's broken down into smaller chunks. The Basic course has 55 Units total, whereas the Programmatic (according to the FSI language courses site) has 45 in the first two of four planned levels. So it may not be necessary to repeat them that many times, I don't know. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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