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LearningSpanishLikeCrazy (LSLC) w/ FSI | ||
Tags: Fake Reviews | LSLC | Platiquemos | Pimsleur | Reading | FSI | Book | Grammar | English | Spanish | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| luke Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 7208 days ago 3133 posts - 4351 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Esperanto, French | Message 33 of 193 15 April 2005 at 5:01am | IP Logged | ||
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LSLC has another website and a $97 deal for the
download version of FSI Programmatic Spanish Volumes 1 and 2 with the textbook and instructors manual in pdf. http://www.fsiprogrammaticspanish.com/ So this offer is without the "FSI quick start" and "learning spanish like crazy" lessons, which are similar to pimsleur in format, that they offer on other websites. IMHO, the two programmatic spanish courses are the most effective part of what LSLC offers. FSI Programmatic Spanish is not designed to be used "on the road" and "away from the book". An alternative would be Barrons Mastering Spanish I and II, which for the most part can be used away from the book. So if you can only sit down for 1/2 hour a week to study but spend several hours in your car, Barrons is a better choice. If you can sit down for an hour a day, I like the Programmatic course. Both are useful and complementary. I compare these two courses because the price point is similar, and the level of mastery they take you to is similar as well. Edited by luke on 15 April 2005 at 5:22am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Jasel Newbie Joined 7164 days ago 16 posts - 16 votes Speaks: English* | Message 34 of 193 19 April 2005 at 11:32pm | IP Logged | ||
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Wow this has certainly been alot of reading, lol. I have to admit I was pretty intrigued (and skeptical) but from what I've been reading and going over it seems like it's worth the price. My question is I've been learning Spanish for quite a while in school (like 8 years) so I know the basics but I never really worked with it and got a strong grasp of it. I'm not all to good at speaking it orally and still have a hard time comprehending native speakers and television/radio in Spanish. One thing that concerned me is that someone said that this is not for people who are intermediate or advanced in Spanish. I definitely wouldn't call myself intermediate but I think I'm pretty much past being a beginner. I guess what I'm really wondering is at my current level should I buy this product? From what I've been reading here it mostly seems to be positive feedback on the product but not to much info on the overall context.
[edited for spelling] Edited by Malcolm on 22 April 2005 at 3:10pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Platiquemos Hexaglot Language Program Publisher Senior Member Panama platiquemos-letstalk Joined 7165 days ago 126 posts - 141 votes Speaks: English*, German, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish | Message 35 of 193 22 April 2005 at 12:09pm | IP Logged | ||
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Hello, all. I'm Don Casteel, "author" of Platiquemos. First, my congratulations to M. Micheloud for a wonderful site. There is more information here to enable comparison of courses than anywhere else I've found on the net. I intend to link prominently to this site from the Platiquemos site, even though it might cost me some sales ;-)
I'm on the "Crazy" site here, so I'll make a few comments about "Crazy". First, Mr. Jackson or whatever his name is informs us that he's "fluent" in Spanish as a result of his having discovered the miracle cure. "Fluent" is a meaningless term. People call themselves "fluent" who couldn't get a cup of coffee in a restaurant. I'd like to know what, if any, his tested proficiency by either the ACTFL or FSI tests is. Mine is S-4, R-4+ in Spanish; I've also got tested scores in four other languages. (If you want to know more about language proficiency, visit www.platiquemos-letstalk.com. The "Crazy" website is nothing but a long sales spiel. I recently received a comment from someone who had downloaaded our samples that the Platiquemos site isn't very sales oriented. I took that as a compliment. Of course I want to make sales; I also want to help people learn Spanish in any way I can. The Platiquemos site has jokes (with translations and explanations), music (with transcriptions an translations), and a whole lot of reading material, also with translations and notes on cultural references, unusual uses of the language, etc. By the way, the voice of Consul Harris on the audio is me (I thought it useful to include a good Spanish-as-a-second-language speaker, as well as the fact that I really have been the American Consul in Monterrey, Mexico; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Guayaquil, Ecuador. Some have also noted that the audio seems to be cut and pasted. Well.....it is. I thought including more different voices (and accents) was important, and on my budget, the only way to include 17 voices was to cut and paste. I could also self-servingly say that it's more authentic: in real life, you're unlikely to have many conversations with people who recorded their voices in a studio. Background noise, some hesitation in speakin are normal--and I presume you want to learn normal Spanish. While accessing this site, I ran across a Pimsleur ad: Learn to Speak Spanish in 10 Days. That makes me so mad I could chew nails and spit bullets, as we used to say in the 101 ABN. My e-mail is don@platiquemos-letstalk.com, and I welcome any criticism short of questioning my mother's marital status at the time of my birth. Saludos all, and another thank you to M. Micheloud, in whose honor I'll sign with my French name Dondald du Chastel de Blangerval (changed to Casteel in the early 18th century for obvious reasons) 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| jradetzky Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom geocities.com/jradet Joined 7210 days ago 521 posts - 485 votes 1 sounds Speaks: Spanish*, EnglishC2, GermanB1 | Message 36 of 193 22 April 2005 at 1:49pm | IP Logged | ||
Do you know the official Spanish language tests and diplomas by the Instituto Cervantes of Spain? What level (inicial, intermedio, superior) would the "Platiquemos" course enable a learner to reach? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Platiquemos Hexaglot Language Program Publisher Senior Member Panama platiquemos-letstalk Joined 7165 days ago 126 posts - 141 votes Speaks: English*, German, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish | Message 37 of 193 22 April 2005 at 3:20pm | IP Logged | ||
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I've heard of them, and just looked over their website. I find it very confusing, and the fact that they only have 3 levels means to me that you can't tell much from the results. The Interagency Language Roundtable test (known as FSI by most) has 10 levels, each described in detail. From what I could gather from Cervantes, they describe the test very well, but not what the results mean. If you're an American, it's better to stick with ACTFL (which is available to anybody for a fee) or FSI (only available to Govt. employees), I think.
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Platiquemos Hexaglot Language Program Publisher Senior Member Panama platiquemos-letstalk Joined 7165 days ago 126 posts - 141 votes Speaks: English*, German, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish | Message 38 of 193 22 April 2005 at 3:26pm | IP Logged | ||
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A P.S. to my previous reply. Cervantes seems to slight spoken Spanish (10-15 minutes from a 2 or 3 hour test), which makes it impossible to compare with either FSI or ACTFL. To achieve a 3 (minimum professional competence) on the FSI test, they don't care whether you can read Cervantes and write about Don Quijote or not. They care about whether you can carry on an intelligent conversation in your professional field, and can read the pertinent literature with a high degree of understanding. To me, comparing the Cervantes superio with FSI 3 is like comparing a BA in Spanish with FSI. They're just not comparable. However, I've met very, very few people with BA's in Spanish who could actually function in the language. Remember, this is only my opinion.
2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| heartburn Senior Member United States Joined 7210 days ago 355 posts - 350 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 39 of 193 22 April 2005 at 4:40pm | IP Logged | ||
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Welcome Mr. Casteel!!
I'm currently using Platiquemos, and I really like it! I particularly like the the way that it fosters "automaticity." It wasn't until I started using Platiquemos that I realized how important that is and how it's something that Pimsleur really doesn't help with. I think you tried to tell me that on the phone once, but now I understand what you meant. There are several threads related directly to Platiquemos that might be more relevant than this one. Platiquemos, Platiquemos versus Barrons FSI, and especially Comparing various editions of FSI Spanish where I tried to answer some basic questions about Platiquemos. You might want add your dos centavos. I noticed that you joined a few days ago. I'm glad you decided to join the conversation. Edited by heartburn on 22 April 2005 at 4:42pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| jradetzky Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom geocities.com/jradet Joined 7210 days ago 521 posts - 485 votes 1 sounds Speaks: Spanish*, EnglishC2, GermanB1 | Message 40 of 193 22 April 2005 at 5:38pm | IP Logged | ||
The Cervantes Diplomas comply with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages developed by the European Union. This framework is made up of six levels (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2), where C2 is total proficiency in the language. Some well-know international language examinations such as Cambridge's English, France's DELF and DALF, and Germany's Goethe are also in compliance with the framework. I was thinking globally, in which case I think it is better to stick to internationally-recognised language examinations. You may have quick a look at the Common European Framework here (website of Cambridge Examinations) or here (complete text from the European Union's website). 1 person has voted this message useful |
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