Spanish - Study Plan Suggestions please (Specific Languages) Language Learning Forum

Spanish - Study Plan Suggestions please
Tags: Michel Thomas \| Study Plan \| Pimsleur \| Beginner \| FSI \| Assimil \| Spanish
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Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages

16 messages over 2 pages: 1 2

Emerald
Triglot
Senior Member
United Kingdom
languagedabbler.blog
Joined 6245 days ago
316 posts - 340 votes

Speaks: Hindi, Gujarati*, English
Studies: Spanish

Message 9 of 16

27 April 2010 at 11:59pm | IP Logged

Robsolete,

Thank you. I will check them out.
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TerryW
Senior Member
United States
Joined 6357 days ago
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Speaks: English*

Message 10 of 16

28 April 2010 at 9:02am | IP Logged

Emerald wrote:

I really liked FSI German, which was drills, so if Programmatic is similar then I won't mind drilling.

You probably did the FSI Basic for German? The Basic courses are very different than the Programmatic, which are not drill-based, but literally numbered step-by-step: "Listen to this, Say that, Repeat this" etc.

The "tapes" for Lesson 01, 02, and 03 of Programmatic are only about 20 minutes each. Why not spend an hour by going here and you'll see exactly what they're like:

FSI Spanish Programmatic 1

Open the "Student Text" pdf link (you def have to follow along the manual for each step in Programmatic courses, not good for listening in the car, like Basic drills can be), start the "Tape 1" mp3. Maybe you'll think it's so dumbed-down that it's silly, but you will learn good pronunciation.

Spanish spelling and pronunciation are ridiculously regular, so once you know the rules, you're golden.

BTW, Programmatic 2, which I haven't done but will "someday," is supposed to be excellent for learning Subjunctive tenses.

Emerald wrote:

I have started Michel Thomas, and currently on Disc 2, so do you think Pimsleur would be more beneficial to do alongside it or FSI Programmatic?

I really like Pimsleur, but since it's an all audio course, and MT is all audio, you won't know how to spell (which again, is very regular and easy to learn). For visual-based people (like me), I really like seeing the words as they're pronounced, so it gives you a lot of practice in reading. If I don't see the words, I make up phonetic spellings in my head, which can't be good

Emerald wrote:

I guess if FSI would really benefit before MT, I can stop with MT for now. I will have to think about that.

The Programmatic individual lessons are all pretty short, you can probably do it alongside MT, or knock out a lot of the lessons and go back to MT.

Emerald wrote:

With Assimil - I have only got the audio (got it cheap on library sale), and I have been trying to find the book to buy but I can't seem to find it.

Amazon US has "Assimil Spanish With Ease" paperback only version for $27 and used from vendors for $15, Rob is correct, "Using Assimil" is a followup to "With Ease," and more advanced.

Emerald wrote:

My concern with not doing more than one course at a time was just in case different techniques hinder each other.

It's not bad to stay focused on one course at a time, and it's not bad to do 2 at once for variety. I think Pimsleur says "don't use other courses while using the tapes," but I don't think there is any problem if you use it with something else. If you plan on doing Pimsleur 1, 2, and 3 "alone," only doing one 1/2hour tape per day, it will take you 3 x 30 = 90 days, which is a big chunk of time if you only have X months as your goal.

Edited by TerryW on 28 April 2010 at 9:06am
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noriyuki_nomura
Bilingual Octoglot
Senior Member
Switzerland
Joined 5340 days ago
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Speaks: English*, Mandarin*, Japanese, French^C2, German^C2, Italian^C1, Spanish^B2, Dutch^B1
Studies: Turkish^A1, Korean

Message 11 of 16

28 April 2010 at 9:07am | IP Logged

My strategy learning a language is always - first Pimsleur (to get an initial feel/exposure to the sound of the foreign language), and then move on to the textbooks available in this language, since I am a big fan of listening to the CD(s) that often accompany these textbooks. And so far, they work for me...but of course, it helps alot to do lots of grammar practices, and if possible, use any opportunity to use the language.

So far, I have used the books (Spanish A1/A2) from Digital Publishing, and I enjoyed listening to the lively dialogues recorded in the CDs..

Edited by noriyuki_nomura on 28 April 2010 at 9:10am
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Emerald
Triglot
Senior Member
United Kingdom
languagedabbler.blog
Joined 6245 days ago
316 posts - 340 votes

Speaks: Hindi, Gujarati*, English
Studies: Spanish

Message 12 of 16

28 April 2010 at 9:54pm | IP Logged

TerryW wrote:

The "tapes" for Lesson 01, 02, and 03 of Programmatic are only about 20 minutes each. Why not spend an hour by going here and you'll see exactly what they're like

I tried FSI Unit 1, and have decided to work on it alongside MT. Having to use the text while listening is bit of an hindrance, but I can do MT during my commute and FSI at home. I think the drilling method would certainly be useful.

TerryW wrote:

I am quite a visual person too, so I have got a script of MT recording, which I use to make sure I get the spelling right. It also comes in handy for writing practice.

Thank you for your comments, Terry. It's give me food for thought, and I am working on finding the most efficient means for me.
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Emerald
Triglot
Senior Member
United Kingdom
languagedabbler.blog
Joined 6245 days ago
316 posts - 340 votes

Speaks: Hindi, Gujarati*, English
Studies: Spanish

Message 13 of 16

28 April 2010 at 9:55pm | IP Logged

noriyuki_nomura wrote:

So far, I have used the books (Spanish A1/A2) from Digital Publishing, and I enjoyed listening to the lively dialogues recorded in the CDs

Thank you, noriyuki. I will keep them in mind.
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GauchoBoaCepa
Triglot
Senior Member
Brazil
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Speaks: Portuguese*, English, Spanish

Message 14 of 16

29 April 2010 at 4:01am | IP Logged

try brushing up on your listening skills.......despite you don't catch some words properly it's good to get used to the sound of them.

www.delicast.com

Edited by GauchoBoaCepa on 29 April 2010 at 4:02am
2 persons have voted this message useful

Emerald
Triglot
Senior Member
United Kingdom
languagedabbler.blog
Joined 6245 days ago
316 posts - 340 votes

Speaks: Hindi, Gujarati*, English
Studies: Spanish

Message 15 of 16

29 April 2010 at 11:54pm | IP Logged

GauchoBoaCepa wrote:

try brushing up on your listening skills.......despite you don't
catch some words properly it's good to get used to the sound of them.

www.delicast.com

Thanks for the link. I love it. I practice by listening skills by listening to Harry
Potter at the moment, but I will also use the Spanish channels on here to change things.
1 person has voted this message useful

JohnCalvin
Newbie
Joined 5321 days ago
3 posts - 3 votes

Message 16 of 16

07 May 2010 at 2:23am | IP Logged

TerryW wrote:

Your proposed materials are all good recommended courses (except maybe
the MT Language Builder and Vocabulary courses which may not be necessary considering
all the others) and the order is fine.

You may want to branch out and do any 2 of them at once to hold interest.

I would recommend that you do the FSI Programmatic 1 course even before MT Foundation
(guess I'm too late for that suggestion if you started), since it *really* breaks down
pronunciation, and many Forum people complain about Michel T.'s pronunciation not being
very good. If you get a good grounding in pronunciation before MT, that shouldn't be a
problem.

The FSI Programmatic courses are step-by-step, and in lesson one they really make sure
you can hear the accented syllable difference between PApa and paPA (like 1,000
unnecessary times), vowel sounds, etc.

Although it does start out really simple if you are good with languages, it does pick
up the pace pretty quickly. It's (legally) free online, so if you don't like it, just
drop it. Or if you really like it, maybe do Programmatic 2 right after.

The FSI Basic Spanish courses are a good choice to do after all of the others, because
they are somewhat tedious, and will take up quite a bit of time if you do all 4 of
them. They are big on drills, which I like but many people don't. They have a high
"dropout rate" reported here, from boredom, tediousness, etc., but if you complete them
you'll be in great shape Spanish-wise.

Totally agree with the above. It's free! It works and you can supplement. Also, read
How to Learn Any Language by Barry Farber. Guess what - it's online for FREE. Here is
the link.

http://fliiby.com/file/13933/1crrbpbirj.html

I am using a lot of his ideas and they work. It makes learning the language much more
enjoyable.

Also, I set goals for myself. For instance, with FSI, I want to learn 3 units a week.
But if I don't, SO WHAT? I make sure I learn the material before moving on.

¡Diviértete!

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