Thoughts on assimil advance? (Language Programs, Books & Tapes) Language Learning Forum

Thoughts on assimil advance?
Tags: Assimil
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Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes

20 messages over 3 pages: 1 2 3

michaelmichael
Senior Member
Canada
Joined 5285 days ago
167 posts - 202 votes

Speaks: English*
Studies: French

Message 17 of 20

01 August 2010 at 12:42am | IP Logged

tractor wrote:

michaelmichael wrote:

I'm not too concerned about the grammar, I have a lot of books that just specialize on
that. The vocabulary on the other hand is a bit of a concerned, I was hoping I could read newspapers and possibly
harry potter after completion.

I can read newspapers, although there are some words here and there that I don't understand. I have used other
methods in addition to Assimil though.

I guess more standard academic books, which are often terrible to start with, are probably needed to pass those final plateaus. I have the grammar "Bescherelle" and i am hoping one day that i will be competent enough to read "Le Bon Usuage" (The best book for french grammar out there ?).
1 person has voted this message useful

johntm93
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5355 days ago
587 posts - 746 votes

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Speaks: English*
Studies: German, Spanish

Message 18 of 20

01 August 2010 at 1:25am | IP Logged

magictom123 wrote:

Does anyone else have a reason for why they think that the quality
level has dropped in the new books.

I thought of a reason the other day, actually. It's because they're selling in market the consumers don't know much about. The average consumer knows at least a little about computers, so they can tell when they're getting sold a piece of junk vs. something decent. This isn't true with language learning. Most people don't do the research, and they know nothing about learning languages, so they go for what promises the quickest and best method (Rosetta Stone) and they avoid "harder" programs. They avoid things with good grammar explanations for things that can teach "effortlessly." Older programs, such as Teach Yourself, have become more like "phrasebooks" as Professor Arguelles puts it, because people want to know they're learning right away as opposed to learning the right way and not being able to mimic a couple of sentences at first.

Meh, this is just kind of my own theory. I hope I explained it good enough.
2 persons have voted this message useful

Guido
Super Polyglot
Senior Member
ArgentinaRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 6556 days ago
286 posts - 582 votes

Speaks: Spanish*, French, English, German, Italian, Portuguese, Norwegian, Catalan, Dutch, Swedish, Danish
Studies: Russian, Indonesian, Romanian, Polish, Icelandic

Message 19 of 20

01 August 2010 at 3:02am | IP Logged

I've bought nearly all the "Assimil advanced" books (except the "Using Spanish"). Here's a super short review of each book (4 = very good, 3 = good,
2 = bad, 1 = very bad)

1. Perfectionnement Allemand (56 lessons). Lessons content: 4, audio speed: 4, typography/distribution/visual impact: 4, grammar notes and grammar
lessons: 3. Overall: 4
2. Perfectionnement Italien (94 lessons). Content: 3/2, audio speed: 3, visual impact: 2, grammar: 3/2. Overall: 3/2 (3 if you like arts and fashion, 2
if you don't)
3. La pratique du Néerlandais (85 lessons). Content: 3, audio speed: 3/2, visual impact: 3, grammar: 3. Overall: 3
4. Inglés perfeccionamiento (63 lessons). Content: 1, audio speed 3, visual impact: 3, grammar: 1. Overall: 1 (the worst Assimil ever, believe me)
5. Francés perfeccionamiento (70 lessons). Content: 4, audio speed, 4, visual impact 4, grammar: 4/3. Overall: 4

This is just my opinion.
Hope it helps!

Guido.-

Edited by Guido on 01 August 2010 at 3:06am
8 persons have voted this message useful

michaelmichael
Senior Member
Canada
Joined 5285 days ago
167 posts - 202 votes

Speaks: English*
Studies: French

Message 20 of 20

01 August 2010 at 4:44am | IP Logged

Guido wrote:

Nice, high praise for the french one.

1 person has voted this message useful

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