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Assimil versus US language programs

 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes Post Reply
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Lucky Charms
Diglot
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Japan
lapacifica.net
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 Message 73 of 184
21 December 2005 at 10:31pm | IP Logged 
fanatic wrote:
I do find, reading the posts, that Pimsleur, in spite of the glowing reports, seems to come short in actually teaching the language. There seems to be a complaint that after spending six or seven hundred dollars and working upo to the highest level, that people still find they are not very fluent in the language.


It seems to me that the only real advantage to Pimsleur is that it is clear-sounding and gets you into the habit of good pronunciation. If I am not too familiar with the pronuciation/tonality of a target language (e.g. Chinese or Italian), I would probably borrow Pimsleur I from the library, practice some shadowing with audio materials online, then move straight on to FSI or Assimil. If I am very familiar with the pronunciation, as I am with Spanish, I would probably opt to skip out on Pimsleur completely. So it seems that Pimsleur gives a good, solid foundations for the other more comprehensive (and less costly!) programs out there, but I agree with you -- Personally, I see no real point in continuing through to Pimsleur III.
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patuco
Diglot
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Gibraltar
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 Message 74 of 184
22 December 2005 at 12:08am | IP Logged 
fanatic wrote:
We learn differently and I know that everyone else won't agree with me, but the bottom line for me is, if it works for me and I find I have learnt the language very well through Assimil, then I am satisfied with it. It has done the job.

You've hit the nail right on the head!


fanatic wrote:
Also, I don't like drills. They just seem like hard work, but that is how Pimsleur seems to me, and FSI type courses even more so.

Me too! I really do think that it depends on your learning style. It would be interesting to be able to verify this and correlate learning styles with course(s) used.


fanatic wrote:
I find Assimil easier to work with because you can learn in five or ten minute chunks through the day. You don't have to spend half an hour at a time like Pimsleur.

Even though I've got quite a few Pimsleur courses, I actually find that just sitting there for half an hour listening to someone drone in my ear puts me to sleep, even though I should be saying the odd sentence here and there. Despite this, I like Pimsleur because it serves as a nice introduction to the language, especially for ones which have pronounciations far removed from any that I might be used to. However, that's the extent of it's capabilities and once you achieve an "ear" for the language, you should move on to another more comprehensive course.
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fanatic
Octoglot
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Australia
speedmathematics.com
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 Message 75 of 184
22 December 2005 at 12:36am | IP Logged 
I bought the Quick and Simple Pimsleur Mandarin course because I only wanted the basics while I was in Singapore. I found it did the job that I wanted but I would not use it to study Chinese seriously.

You can get a sample of lessons for 21 languages at www.sybervision2000.com. They are not high quality but give a good indication of the method. They are in real audio format.

I have downloaded them all from the website. It is a way to try before you buy.

You can download all of the Audio for Assil French at http://laurentboss74.nanoweb.info/learnfrench.htm

The text is in Russian which won't help much if you don't speak Russian but the audio is entirely in French.

Edited by fanatic on 22 December 2005 at 12:40am
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Farley
Triglot
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United States
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 Message 76 of 184
22 December 2005 at 1:08pm | IP Logged 
Lucky Charms wrote:
   
fanatic wrote:
I do find, reading the posts, that Pimsleur, in spite of the glowing reports, seems to come short in actually teaching the language. There seems to be a complaint that after spending six or seven hundred dollars and working upo to the highest level, that people still find they are not very fluent in the language.

It seems to me that the only real advantage to Pimsleur is that it is clear-sounding and gets you into the habit of good pronunciation.


I agree, I also think that Pimsleur does a good job covering the basic vocabulary you need to know cold. If you can rent them or borrow them they are not bad. I have problem with $500+ for about 500+ words.

zorglub wrote:
I actually do not know how I would have liked Assimil without Pimsleur first.


I tried Pimsleur French first and hated it and then turned to Assimil New French with Ease and loved it. The only problem I found with Assimil French was the pronunciation support. I finished the passive wave of Assimil and then started Pimsleur again, and to my surprise, I found it easy and enjoyable. It is a nice build up to complete the active wave of Assimil.

patuco wrote:

fanatic wrote:
Also, I don't like drills. They just seem like hard work, but that is how Pimsleur seems to me, and FSI type courses even more so.

Me too! I really do think that it depends on your learning style. It would be interesting to be able to verify this and correlate learning styles with course(s) used.


I find my learning style more in line with the Assimil approach. I think that both Pimsleur and Assimil are designed for certain learning styles and for that reason provoke strong responses, positive or negative, from people who try them. It is interesting to read the comments on this forum, and reviews on Amazon, of the proponents and critics of both methods. It seems that no one has a neutral opinion of either method, people love or hate them.

This is just my speculation, but it seems that Assimil is intuitive-global and Pimsleur is intuitive-sequential. Strong global learners will get the most out of Assimil.

See here for the description of global-sequential.

Edited by Farley on 22 December 2005 at 1:13pm
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Sir Nigel
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 Message 77 of 184
22 December 2005 at 1:44pm | IP Logged 
Farley wrote:
I tried Pimsleur French first and hated it and then turned to Assimil New French with Ease and loved it. The only problem I found with Assimil French was the pronunciation support.


I had the same problems with Pimsleur French at first, after completing the Michel Thomas courses and some Rosetta Stone, I found it easier to complete Pimsleur.

I think Assimil is quite good. I'm still in the passive stage, but it has helped to add some useful vocabulary that wouldn't have been covered in Pimsleur or FSI as they are too formal.
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fanatic
Octoglot
Senior Member
Australia
speedmathematics.com
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Speaks: English*, German, French, Afrikaans, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Dutch
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 Message 78 of 184
22 December 2005 at 3:01pm | IP Logged 
Farley wrote:

I find my learning style more in line with the Assimil approach. I think that both Pimsleur and Assimil are designed for certain learning styles and for that reason provoke strong responses, positive or negative, from people who try them. It is interesting to read the comments on this forum, and reviews on Amazon, of the proponents and critics of both methods. It seems that no one has a neutral opinion of either method, people love or hate them.

This is just my speculation, but it seems that Assimil is intuitive-global and Pimsleur is intuitive-sequential. Strong global learners will get the most out of Assimil.

See here for the description of global-sequential.


Thank you for the link. I just completed the test and I find my replies correspond with your analysis of Assimil learners.

I am strongly reflective 7, intuitive 9, visual 7, and global 7. This would certainly explain why I like the approach by Assimil.


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Farley
Triglot
Senior Member
United States
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681 posts - 739 votes 
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Speaks: English*, GermanB1, French
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 Message 79 of 184
22 December 2005 at 5:22pm | IP Logged 
fanatic wrote:
Thank you for the link. I just completed the test and I find my replies correspond with your analysis of Assimil learners.

I am strongly reflective 7, intuitive 9, visual 7, and global 7. This would certainly explain why I like the approach by Assimil.


Thanks for the response! One could also assume that this explains why some people don’t like Assimil. My father’s copy of Assimil French with Ease (1960) described their method as “intuitive assimilation”. I think that is a good name for the method.

Back to the original question of the topic: How effective is Assimil? Assimil’s effectiveness depends on your aptitude and skill for “intuitive assimilation”.


Edited by Farley on 22 December 2005 at 8:26pm
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