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Your favorite language program? | ||
Tags: TellMeMore | Fluenz | Living Language | Colloquial (program) | DLI | Linguaphone | Teach Yourself | Platiquemos | Rosetta Stone | Michel Thomas | Listening-Reading (L-R) | Pimsleur | Language Program | FSI | Assimil | Book | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| Wanabe Triglot Newbie United States Joined 4339 days ago 18 posts - 21 votes Speaks: English*, German, Spanish | Message 297 of 376 11 January 2013 at 7:45pm | IP Logged | ||
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German - Class Room, High School with Bavarian native speaker, immersion - in country for 3 years, Class Room 3 Semesters College.
Latin Variant Spanish - Pimsleur Gold on unit 3 At present, I really like Pimsleur though this is my first experience with it. Yes it has a smaller vocabulary but if you believe the advertisements there is an emphasis on the operative portions of the language that will at least, hopefully give you the tools to learn more as you go. For me the best thing is that the program seems geared for those with a verbal learning style. With Rosetta Stone, I found it difficult to sit in front of the computer for the time necessary to master the lesson. My plan at present is to go back to the program after I complete Pimsleur in order to expand my vocabulary and develop reading skills. I recently purchased FSI German too as a review for this language but have yet to recieve or work with it. I've seen that others on this thread have been combining Pimsleur with FSI, for those who do do you feel this brings you to a level high enough to test and certify? Edited by Wanabe on 15 January 2013 at 7:42pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| mahasiswa Pentaglot Groupie Canada Joined 4435 days ago 91 posts - 142 votes  Speaks: English*, French, Spanish, German, Malay Studies: Arabic (Egyptian), Persian, Russian, Turkish, Mandarin, Hindi | Message 298 of 376 11 January 2013 at 8:34pm | IP Logged | ||
Between 12 December and 25 December I studied Russian all day. I started with both Pimsleur and Assimil and by day 4 quit using Pimsleur. Well, I've had success. Beyond the few Skype calls I've had, I recently ran into an old friend from my German class who happens to be Russian and we had a chat and set up a coffee date in Russian for me to practice in more detail with her, although the idea to set up a coffee date certainly sounds more like Pimsleur's method ('Pimpsleur'), I owe my accent entirely to Assimil for assimilating stress, lax vowel sounds, and consonant clusters when Pimsleur did it too slowly for me to recognize the proper combinations of consonant clusters between other, irrelevant clips of audio. Nevertheless, Pimsleur has helped me with my Egyptian accent in Arabic. I remember that first glorious month when nobody (at the Arabic-speaking potluck night) expected me to have any vocabulary nor accent and yet I spoke with a lovely accent that the learners were envious of and the native speakers were happy to hear! In short, I concur, to say one method delivers a better method to acquire a good accent seems impossible to say because of the nature of language learning. It is possible to pick up a good accent using neither of these courses and people have in the past and will continue to do so in the future, so at the end of the day it simply matters whether you want to go at a slow pace or a fast pace. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Spinchäeb Ape Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 4473 days ago 146 posts - 180 votes Speaks: English*, German | Message 299 of 376 18 January 2013 at 8:15am | IP Logged | ||
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I learned German by majoring in it at a major university and then by going on exchange to Switzerland and Germany. This was in the 80s. I just used the text books and cassettes for the classes. I also had a friend from Switzerland mail me cassettes of radio shows that he recorded for me. This was pre-internet. No podcasts or web pages were available. I don't know if any of the materials I used are available today. I did not use Pimsleur, which actually was around then.
I'm now learning French. This time I'm learning a language on my own. I started in Rosetta Stone, which I found somewhat useful, but lacking. I found I don't agree with their "learn everything intuitively" approach. I'm not against intuitive learning. I just prefer to combine it with rational study. I therefore bought two grammar books, Essential French Grammar by Seymour Resnick and French Grammar and Usage by Roger Hawkins. The former is a small book that covers just the basics. The latter goes into much more depth. If I had paid for Rosetta Stone, I would be piping hot mad. It has some value, but it's not worth the price they ask for it. I got it for free because a family member bought it and then let it collect dust for almost a year. When he tried to sell it on Amazon, his sale was shut down due to copyright restrictions -- this even though it's a legitimate copy of the program! He's the one who was furious. In any event, he gave it to me if I promised to use it, which I have. RS has some value. It's kind of fun to see pictures and learn words in context. I feel like it's a partial solution. It builds vocabulary. I just didn't feel like it got me going with conversation skills quickly enough. Pimsleur, on the other hand, has. I love the way it makes you think! It teaches you how to say some things, then based on that, it makes you figure out how to say other things. I also like the spaced repetition where they teach you expressions and then move on; then they come back and reinforce what you've previously learned. I think it's a great program for learning how to SPEAK, and only speak, a language. It has some exercises with written things, but they're inadequate for learning how to write in the language. I use Pimsleur when I'm out and about, driving, working out, etc. with a tiny MP3 player. I found a transcript of a couple Pimsleur lessons and I wish I could find the whole set somewhere. If you've run across someone who has transcribed it, please let me know. I've been using Google Translate to figure out how to write the things they say in the lessons. I also really like Rocket French. Like Pimsleur, it puts you right into conversations. It uses some spaced repetition like Pimsleur, though IMO not quite as effectively. What I do prefer in RF over Pimsleur is it includes transcripts of all the conversations. I like this because I simply memorize many of the conversations. I used to do acting and so I'm using to learning my lines. I find memorizing full conversations instills the grammar and idioms into my brain. RF also includes workbooks where they take you in baby steps through the grammar, and it includes tests and keys so that you can correct them. I find that useful. The course also includes some basic flash card software that's kind of fun. Another thing I do is use the Language 8 web site. There you write things in the language you're learning and a native speaker comes along to correct it. In turn, you correct the work of someone else who's learning your native language. It's been a huge help since this time around I don't have a teacher to ask questions of. I'll learn something in my grammar book and then try it out on Language 8. It's been a God-send. The one thing I'm not doing that I really should is having regular conversations with native speakers. At the university we had this in the form of a weekly conversation hour, and of course during class time. I'm going to ask at the local university if they have such a thing. If anyone here knows how I can find a Skype friend or Skype group for French conversations, please let me know. In general, I hate Skype and don't even have it on my computer, but I would install it if it meant I could practice French. I've also tried Tell Me More. It was fun. I thought it was not a good program for starting as a beginner, but had value on an intermediate level. 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| aspie.sharaf Tetraglot Newbie Denmark Joined 4371 days ago 21 posts - 39 votes Speaks: Danish*, English, Serbo-Croatian, Dutch Studies: Persian, German, Russian, Arabic (Written), Turkish, Thai, Polish, Bulgarian, Pashto, Urdu, French | Message 300 of 376 19 January 2013 at 8:44pm | IP Logged | ||
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1) Assimil
2) TY 3) Pimsleur 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Nuuskamuikkunen Triglot Newbie Finland Joined 4319 days ago 21 posts - 43 votes Speaks: Finnish*, Polish, English | Message 301 of 376 05 February 2013 at 2:49pm | IP Logged | ||
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Assimil.
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| TexDeuce Newbie United States Joined 4684 days ago 6 posts - 7 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, French | Message 302 of 376 16 February 2013 at 7:49pm | IP Logged | ||
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Here is my gameplan for right now. A little background, I have studied Spanish from elementary through
college so I already have a foundation in the basics. I have also learned every word and sentence off of the first level (3 CD's) of the Learn in Your Car Series. I have started with Living Language Platinum Basic-Advanced, for a couple reasons. I already have a base in the language, and it covers grammar and vocab. It is a nice overall course that has 3 textbooks, 9 audio CD's, mobile apps, an internet forum where they answer any questions, an online course that reinforces what you learn in the book, and e tutoring. The e tutoring is awesome because you get to speak to a live tutor and go over wherever you are at in the course. They are 30 minute sessions with no more than 3 people in the session with you. It is amazing and for the price you get a lot with this course. Living Language will be my primer, because the advanced level really only gets you to a early intermediate or so. While doing this course, I am listening to Pimsleur Unlimited Spanish 1-4 in my car. I drive an hour round-trip to work everyday, so I will get a minimum of an hour with Pimsleur everyday. When I finish the Living Language textbook/audio cd's and online course, I will move onto FSI Spanish levels 1-4. This will be where the learning gets intense, I really want to burn this FSI course into my brain. While doing the FSI, I will be finishing Pimsleur in my car. After Pimsleur I will finish the intermediate and advanced Learn in Your Car Spanish sets. I presume I will be listening to Pimsleur and LIYCS well into the FSI course. What I listen to in my car after that I am not sure but open to suggestions. I wonder if I should take another course while using FSI. I'm not sure on that right now. I am thinking about doing the Michel Thomas course intermittently with the FSI course. That might be an option. I am also doing vocab and grammar flashcards and reading Spanish easy reader books. When I am finished with this leg of my Spanish learning journey, I should have completed the entire courses of: Living Language Pimsleur Michel Thomas Learn in Your Car Spanish FSI What comes after this I don't know, I will have to determine my level of Spanish and go from there. I think understanding a native speaker talking at a rapid pace would still be difficult, so these courses are really just the beginning. Edited by TexDeuce on 16 February 2013 at 7:59pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Gala Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 4553 days ago 229 posts - 421 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Italian | Message 303 of 376 19 February 2013 at 6:23am | IP Logged | ||
One option could be to review the audio from the FSI units you've already completed. I find FSI a bit too intense for driving on the first listen to any given lesson, but the drills that I've already (or nearly) mastered are fine. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| NMW Newbie Netherlands Joined 4490 days ago 36 posts - 46 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Dutch | Message 304 of 376 21 February 2013 at 2:40pm | IP Logged | ||
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A lot of people here seem to rate the TY courses, but I found them a bit dull and not too useful. I prefer Assimil and Hugo ... in 3 months.
Oh and Michel Thomas was a great introductary course. Edited by NMW on 21 February 2013 at 2:41pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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