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Dutch: Assimil or Linguaphone?

  Tags: Linguaphone | Dutch | Assimil
 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes Post Reply
11 messages over 2 pages: 1 2  Next >>
eccodandini
Newbie
United States
Joined 5526 days ago

21 posts - 22 votes
Speaks: English*

 
 Message 1 of 11
14 July 2010 at 7:02am | IP Logged 
Hi everyone, I'd like to start learning Dutch and I've narrowed my options down to either the Assimil or the Linguaphone course. I've had two successes with Assimil and one not-so-success. It seems like there are a few duds among the generally good line, so I'm wondering if anyone who has used Assimil for Dutch can tell me if they found it to be a good program, and if they have used Linguaphone as well, if they would suggest it over the Assimil. Thanks much!
1 person has voted this message useful



fanatic
Octoglot
Senior Member
Australia
speedmathematics.com
Joined 7174 days ago

1152 posts - 1818 votes 
Speaks: English*, German, French, Afrikaans, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Dutch
Studies: Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Modern Hebrew, Malay, Mandarin, Esperanto

 
 Message 2 of 11
14 July 2010 at 7:56am | IP Logged 
I recommend the Assimil Dutch program. I have it and I like it. It is a lot cheaper than Linguaphone and I think it is easier to use. They are the two courses I would recommend for learning the language. I have a copy of the old Dutch Linguaphone but I haven't used it.

I had already learnt some Dutch on my own before beginning Assimil. I found it definitely got me used to sentence construction and using the language in the passive stage because I used to mix it with German. Assimil really helped there.
3 persons have voted this message useful



Chris
Heptaglot
Senior Member
Japan
Joined 7149 days ago

287 posts - 452 votes 
Speaks: English*, Russian, Indonesian, French, Malay, Japanese, Spanish
Studies: Dutch, Korean, Mongolian

 
 Message 3 of 11
14 July 2010 at 8:20am | IP Logged 
What about Colloquial Dutch?

Out of interest there are two Linguaphone Dutch courses, the old style, and a newer one.
1 person has voted this message useful



Elexi
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 5593 days ago

938 posts - 1840 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: French, German, Latin

 
 Message 4 of 11
14 July 2010 at 1:57pm | IP Logged 
Both - If you can get the Linguaphone from a library or second hand, that is. The Assimil Dutch is one of Assimil's better courses but I would personally start with something a bit more forgiving like Colloquial. I did the Michel Thomas Method courses first and found them very useful alongside Colloquial as a starter course.
1 person has voted this message useful



vonbladet
Newbie
Netherlands
Joined 5444 days ago

1 posts - 1 votes
Speaks: English*

 
 Message 5 of 11
15 July 2010 at 8:33am | IP Logged 
I used Assimil Dutch (the French edition) when I started learning Dutch, and it was great.

I haven't used Linguaphone, or Colloquial or any other self-study books; the rest of the time I had Dutch textbooks as part of classes.
1 person has voted this message useful



flydream777
Triglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 6519 days ago

77 posts - 102 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish, French
Studies: German, Russian, Portuguese, Mandarin, Greek, Hungarian, Armenian, Irish, Italian

 
 Message 6 of 11
16 July 2010 at 3:30am | IP Logged 
Just curious, what was your "dud" Assimil course? I'm kind of overall disappointed with the new "Le Russe" but I'm not sure if I'd say dud. What was yours?
1 person has voted this message useful



Chris
Heptaglot
Senior Member
Japan
Joined 7149 days ago

287 posts - 452 votes 
Speaks: English*, Russian, Indonesian, French, Malay, Japanese, Spanish
Studies: Dutch, Korean, Mongolian

 
 Message 7 of 11
16 July 2010 at 12:13pm | IP Logged 
Don't underestimate 'Colloquial Dutch', or treat it as a 'starter course' as such. The recorded conversations make no concessions to the learner the way other courses do - they reflect the way Dutch people talk. I would imagine a complete beginner at language-learning would find it rather hard-going.
1 person has voted this message useful



eccodandini
Newbie
United States
Joined 5526 days ago

21 posts - 22 votes
Speaks: English*

 
 Message 8 of 11
16 July 2010 at 2:33pm | IP Logged 
flydream777 wrote:
Just curious, what was your "dud" Assimil course? I'm kind of overall disappointed with the new "Le Russe" but I'm not sure if I'd say dud. What was yours?


Arabic.


2 persons have voted this message useful



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