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Post Pimsleur German III Suggestion? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Questions About Your Target Languages |  | |
| dleewo Groupie United States Joined 5760 days ago 95 posts - 131 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: German, Mandarin | Message 1 of 9 20 March 2009 at 3:43am | IP Logged | ||
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I've always wanted to learn German and I decided towards the end of last year to go for it. To help motivate me, I've planned a 2-week vacation in Germany at Thanksgiving.
I'm just 5 lessons away from completing Pimsleur III and I'm looking for a suggestion as to what to do next. I have just about 8 months left and my goal is to be as fluent as possible. While It would be nice to be able to read and write German, my main goal is to be able to speak as fluently as possible....if I could have my wish, it would be to know enough to do all my communicating in German while I'm in on vacation. I know I need to start to listen to things like German radio and watch German TV, but I tried that a few times recently and except for picking up the odd word hear and there, I can't understand anything. I figure I need to study a bit more, or at the very least, really expand my vocabulary. My options include (based on what I have): - FSI German I & II - Living Language Ultimate German Basic-Intermediate and Advanced - Assimil German with Ease - Michel Thomas I have actually tried 1-2 lessons from each of the above while doing Pimsleur, but I had a hard time progressing so I figured I would finish Pimsleur first and then try one of them again. I just bought BYKI Deluxe so I plan to use that simultaneously to help with vocabulary. I'm "leaning" towards doing FSI German, but I'm open to suggestions. Derek 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| VityaCo Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 7023 days ago 79 posts - 86 votes 1 sounds Speaks: Russian*, Ukrainian*, English Studies: Spanish, Japanese, French | Message 2 of 9 22 March 2009 at 3:13am | IP Logged | ||
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Hi dleewo.
I started my French with Pimsleur and after Pimsleur I I found that some grammar injection will help in the overall study of the language. First I looked at the Barron's aka FSI course ( I have them both, I bough the Barron's edition long time ago, before the FSI courses appeared on line for free). It looked for me the same as Pimsleur, but more complicated, kind of a memorization drill. Then after I tried a couple colloquial courses; one was ”Just Listen...” and I found them somewhat a different format. After I looked at the Assimil course, I found it so easy, only about 10 -12 sentences in a lesson, the grammar is injected on the regular basis in the text, as needed, not somewhere in the end of the chapter. The Assimil course has 113 ( French) lessons with about 100 different topics on every day situations for a duration of 4 month. I think if you study the Assimil course you will be very much prepared for the two week vacation. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| arbigelow Tetraglot Groupie Canada Joined 5824 days ago 89 posts - 95 votes Speaks: English*, FrenchC1, German, Spanish | Message 3 of 9 22 March 2009 at 12:12pm | IP Logged | ||
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For passive vocabulary, I would really recommend the Assimil course. But since you're mostly looking for active use, FSI would probably be the best route. Of course, you could do both courses simultaneously; I find they compliment each other well.
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| J-Learner Senior Member Australia Joined 5972 days ago 556 posts - 636 votes Studies: Yiddish, English* Studies: Dutch | Message 4 of 9 23 March 2009 at 10:55pm | IP Logged | ||
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Pimsleur German Plus? :D
Seriously now...... Get a course book (+CDs) so you can develop your reading and writing. It will also develop your speech and understanding. A good grammar will work wonders if you work at it slowly and carefully analyse what they are telling you. Basic German: Grammar and workbook is a very good one that I've started using. There is also an intermediate book on offer. Another suggestion is to do some immersion. Some music, movies without subtitles, etc. Don't feel despondent if you barely understand, because it is simply to get your brain used to the language in a fluid way, i.e. The way it is spoken in everyday life. (I watched the roughly 500 episodes of DB and DBZ and I found it helped me a lot. I am sure there would be people around here who are willing to help. I wish you well in your studies, dleewo. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| dleewo Groupie United States Joined 5760 days ago 95 posts - 131 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Mandarin | Message 5 of 9 23 March 2009 at 11:43pm | IP Logged | ||
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I can certainly watch movies and TV, but I figured if I didn't understand anything except for the odd word I would just be wasting my time. I figured that time may be better spent trying to learn more...say do another course, and _then_ try some immersion.
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| J-Learner Senior Member Australia Joined 5972 days ago 556 posts - 636 votes Studies: Yiddish, English* Studies: Dutch | Message 6 of 9 26 March 2009 at 3:45am | IP Logged | ||
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That's one idea. Here's another: do a little immersion here and there while doing your course.
That's what I'd do, but you'll have to make up your mind and run with it. Both ways are quite valid and will bring results. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Crush Tetraglot Senior Member ChinaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5807 days ago 1622 posts - 2299 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Mandarin, Esperanto Studies: Basque | Message 7 of 9 01 April 2009 at 7:05am | IP Logged | ||
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You might also find that you can make out more of what they are saying in German with English subtitles, perhaps because you spend less time trying to translate the individual words in your head. Maybe you could watch a movie (or TV show) once with subtitles and again without? I can't really say as I haven't crossed this hurdle yet either, but I do feel I am getting closer and closer simply by watching a lot of different movies/TV shows. As a side note, it's been my experience that the voices in cartoons are generally clearer than those that aren't animated (with "real people").
Also, I am interested to know your final opinion on whatever course(s) you end up settling on! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Rout Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5654 days ago 326 posts - 417 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Spanish Studies: Hindi | Message 8 of 9 08 April 2009 at 1:52am | IP Logged | ||
Yeah, I'd say FSI and Assimil work well together, although I've also found the FSI is great for an overall review of the language if you edit it down. Where can I get these episodes in German!? =D 1 person has voted this message useful |
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