How to use FSI courses (Language Programs, Books & Tapes) Language Learning Forum

How to use FSI courses
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Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes

tsam laiuep
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Message 1 of 7

26 January 2010 at 12:03pm | IP Logged

I've completed Pimsleur German I,II,III and started FSI and am now up to Unit two.
However, the lack of instruction confuses me a bit. Supposing you do one unit a week, do
you do all of the exercises a day? And if not, which exercises should you do the most
often? Also, is one unit per one week too quick? It'd be good if someone can post their
"FSI schedule" :P Sorry for all the questions but I'd really like some answers.
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jeff_lindqvist
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Message 2 of 7

26 January 2010 at 1:32pm | IP Logged

I quote myself:

I don't remember exactly where I read about the actual study hours per day, but somehow it must have been in either FSI German vol 1 or 2 since German is the only language I've studied with the FSI method. From the FSI Units thread:

jeff_lindqvist wrote:

What one has to take into account is that the courses were developed for diplomats (right?), emphasize memorization, repetition (outside the class, se below) to the point of overlearning and so on. "The time required to cover each section in this way will differ widely depending on the size and the ability of the class."

So, originally it was assumed that you had access to a tutor, and studied with this material in class - possibly for several hours a day - to the point where you had fully internalized the material and could respond immediately, with the same ease and at the same speed as a native speaker. I think I read that the suggested time was one week per unit, i.e. 12 units in 12 weeks, and obviously 24 units in 24 weeks (about six months).

Whether you read along as you listen or not is up to you. I haven't used the transcript at all, since my listening skills are already OK (i.e. I hear what they are saying in the lessons).

I don't find it necessary to memorize everything, although the instructions probably suggest it (i.e. "fully internalize")

As soon as you feel somewhat comfortable with the dialogue(s) you can go on the exercises. For some of the drills it is a good idea to have the PDF in front of you, while for others it is sufficient to have skimmed through the grammar section.
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DaraghM
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Message 3 of 7

26 January 2010 at 1:48pm | IP Logged

One of the huge advantages about using FSI now, as opposed to when it was created, is you don't need to sit in a language lab. I tend to completely overlearn the material, so it'll take me about a week if the unit is Spanish, and several weeks if it's Russian or Hungarian. I find the best way to use it, is without looking at the printed page. This forces you to answer in your head, which aids when conversing in the language. I read the associated PDF's several times, as some of the audio can be a little tricky to discern, and also for the grammar explanations.
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irrationale
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Message 4 of 7

26 January 2010 at 11:57pm | IP Logged

My FSI Spanish schedule was;

1) Listen and repeat dialog (without looking at PDF)
2) Read notes and skim over grammar
3) Master all drills until I can answer every drill (or about 95% at least), without thinking. I would do around 1.5 hours of drills a day, in sets of 15 or 20 minutes. You should not look at the PDF while doing the drills.
4) Activate the taught grammar structures in real life with a native.
5) Go through the reading.

Besides the reading, unless I needed a grammar hint I rarely looked at the PDF. FSI Chinese is totally different, so I don't know about the other courses.

Edited by irrationale on 26 January 2010 at 11:58pm
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Breogan
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Message 5 of 7

27 January 2010 at 4:30pm | IP Logged

I used to take a tape per day when I was doing FSI French, 20-30 minutes of listening and/or drills.
After that I read the implied recording texts and grammar points.
Obviously it took me far more than a lesson per week, but it helped me a lot with my French studies. Sometimes, depending on the weight of grammar, this average ratio could be either increased or decreased between half tape and one.

If you had more time, you could try two tapes per day; but I think that more would be too boring and with too much grammar to be acquired by your brain in such a little time.

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tsam laiuep
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Message 6 of 7

28 January 2010 at 6:57am | IP Logged

Thanks for the response guys! They're really great. If you don't mind me asking, do you learn the vocabulary in the finder's list first? Because I'm pretty sure it'd be way easier
and I'll understand what's been said, rather than listening to words that I don't understand, especially when you're not using the pdf, because you can't see the English
equivalents.
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elvisrules
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Message 7 of 7

28 January 2010 at 7:25am | IP Logged

For vocabularily with FSI I:
1) I thoroughly read the vocabulary list for the lesson
2) Listen to the recording without looking at the PDF
3) If I can't remember what a certain word means, then I'll glance at the PDF

As I know Dutch and French, there are few German words which I don't recognize from cognates, so it is easy for me to remember them after a read. You might have to spend more time working on the vocabulary in 1).
I think it's important to have a fairly good grasp of the vocabulary before you start the drills for that lesson, that way you can concentrate on grammar and automation.

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