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Which programs to begin Spanish (again)? | ||
Tags: Language Program | Spanish | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| zekecoma Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5344 days ago 561 posts - 655 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish | Message 9 of 14 26 May 2011 at 7:41pm | IP Logged | ||
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I have the 80's version of Assimil Spanish with Ease. It has 109 lessons, but if you do
both waves you do each lesson twice so 218 total. Though I have only done like 6 lessons so far. While the new recent version of Spanish with Ease doesn't have the Using Spanish which supposedly takes you to C1. There is the old version of it. But I don't know if it is any good or not. I never did the Platiquemos course as I don't like FSI. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| tractor Tetraglot Senior Member Norway Joined 5453 days ago 1349 posts - 2292 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, Catalan Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 10 of 14 26 May 2011 at 9:04pm | IP Logged | ||
I used the Linguaphone (European) Spanish course when I learnt Spanish some 20–25 years ago, but I haven't used Assimil Spanish nor Platiquemos. However, I have gone through Linguaphone German, Assmil German with Ease and Assmil German without Toil and I'm about half way through the corresponding French courses. I'd say Assimil and Linguaphone take you to more or less the same level. Their approaches are a little bit different though. Assimil is more fun. Linguaphone gives more thorough grammar explanations. The language is a bit more formal in Linguaphone. The audio is entirely in the target language in both courses. (I am referring to the generation of Linguaphone courses first published in the beginning of the 1970s and consisting of the following books as well as audio: lessons, handbook, written exercises, oral exercises. There're 30 lessons in each course, and each lesson is divided into three "parts". I'm not familiar with their other offerings, such as "All Talk" or PDQ.) 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| chrisphillips71 Groupie United States Joined 5236 days ago 64 posts - 86 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 11 of 14 27 May 2011 at 12:21am | IP Logged | ||
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I am currently on lesson 26 of Platiquemos and highly recommend it. There is no doubt
that it is hard work, and if you are less than completely enthusiastic about the language, it is probably boring. But I love it. During the week, I am in my car 1:15 to 1:30 every day, and every day I listen only to Platiquemos. Also, if I drive anywhere (sans family) I listen to Platiquemos. Funny thing is, I no longer complain about driving long distances alone and time goes by quickly. I think that the best part of Platiquemos is the constant drilling, which is helping internalize Spanish and improve my ability to produce Spanish without having to consciously think. Right now I am working on pronouns, something I find very difficult and counterintuitive. I can't imagine trying to learn pronouns using only a book. Platiquemos (or something like it) seems to me to be the only way. By the way, I also have Assimil. I like it, and it is good for vocabulary, but if I had to choose, I would take Platiquemos. Good luck with you studies. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| dbag Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5022 days ago 605 posts - 1046 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 12 of 14 28 May 2011 at 1:27pm | IP Logged | ||
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I have only really just began with Platiquemos, but I am loving the drilling as well.
I am surprised at how addictive it is, sometimes I find after an hour long drive, I actually dont want to get out of the car. There have been times this week when Ive sat in the car for an extra 10 minutes or so, finishing drills. Thats why I say I wish I had started with this course much earlier on in my studies. There are a lot of posts on this forum about fsi, which I think put a lot of people of even trying the course. Yes, it is a mountain to climb, and yes its too early to say wheter I will stick with it. But I think if you get into a rhythymn of learning a language, it becomes a hard habit to break. If you get to the point when you wouldnt dream of missing a days study, then why not go all the way? @ Original Poster: Have you any idea which courses your going to try? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| varjakpaul Newbie United States Joined 4928 days ago 22 posts - 20 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, Spanish, Mandarin, Persian | Message 13 of 14 30 May 2011 at 7:11pm | IP Logged | ||
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I did acquire LSLC (Learning Spanish Like Crazy) Levels 1 & 2 and it does seem very much like the Pimsleur Method (which is usually among my standard arsenal when starting or restarting to learn a foreign language). But, yeah, the marketing of LSLC is annoying. I still have it, when and if I want/need to return to Spanish.
I used Michel Thomas (MT) Basic for Mandarin and liked that, as it taught sentence structure (and tones!) in a painless way. Don't know if one would need it for Spanish though, since sentence structure does not seem to me that big of an issue in Spanish/English as compared to Mandarin/English. And I absolutely cannot stand the sloooooooooooow rate of speech that the MT Method used, at least for Mandarin. I mean totally unlifelike, so it wouldn't suffice at all as decent oral input. Assimil looks interesting. Maybe someone who has used it can distill the method and make it (the method) known, so that those who can't shell out bucks could possibly benefit. Some people love Florenz, but the pricing on that is ridiculously high. I never heard of Platiquemos and what drills it uses, so I couldn't comment other than it sounds worth looking into. And, yeah, Rosetta Stone is not very useful or time-effective, since it doesn't seem to teach conversational (Spanish, French, Russian, You-name-it) but tries to teach grammar and random vocabulary with photos. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| dbag Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5022 days ago 605 posts - 1046 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 14 of 14 30 May 2011 at 7:35pm | IP Logged | ||
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@varjakpaul
If you do a search on this site for Assimil, You will find a wealth of information. Yes, Platiquemos is well worth looking into, I've not really seen much which even comes close in terms of content. It is well worth doing a search for a thread called : "Assimil vs U.S language programs", which was started by the original creator of this site. I regard this thread as a highly important document for people interested in teaching themselves languages. It discusses the Assimil Spanish and Platiquamos programs at great length, and you will find all you need to know about both programs within its pages. Im sure you will find it interesting! Edited by dbag on 30 May 2011 at 7:36pm 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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