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Old vs new Assimil programs | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| ProfArguelles Moderator United States foreignlanguageexper Joined 7255 days ago 609 posts - 2102 votes  | Message 1 of 14 19 May 2005 at 1:50am | IP Logged | ||
Seth, I just checked the Assimil site and it appears as if they have unfortunately completely discontinued their older Russian method, supplanting it with their vastly inferior new one. Really, this new one ('Le nouveau Russe sans peine' by Vladimir Dronov et al, 70 lessons, 590 pages) was so terrible that I gave it away. The old one, in contrast (by A. Chérel et al., 100 lessons, 520 pages) is really a dream method. You should still be able to find it somewhere in a used bookstore. It was available longer in German, but it originally came out in French, and may have been translated into Spanish, Italian, or Dutch. If you know Russian decently already, you can certainly simply use the tapes and the Russian side and ignore the translations and notes, that obviously not if you are using this to begin learning the language. Edited by administrator on 22 May 2005 at 1:28am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Seth Diglot Changed to RedKing’sDream Senior Member United States Joined 7223 days ago 240 posts - 252 votes Speaks: English*, Russian Studies: Persian | Message 2 of 14 21 May 2005 at 2:05pm | IP Logged | ||
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Ardaschir,
I see "Le nouveau..." But if you select German as your native language you can still order "Russisch ohne Muehe," I believe. Is that the same thing? Thanks. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| ProfArguelles Moderator United States foreignlanguageexper Joined 7255 days ago 609 posts - 2102 votes | Message 3 of 14 21 May 2005 at 8:41pm | IP Logged | ||
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Seth, when I check their page, I find that what they are now offering is not simply "Russisch ohne Muehe" (which is what you want) but "Russisch ohne Muehe heute" (which is how "le nouveau" is rendered in their updated German courses). I know that they continued to offer the former in German after the latter was published in French, but they probably discontinued it after it was translated. Again, look at the authors, the number of lessons, and the number of pages to be sure. You might try writing directly to them or to their US distributor (I believe it is Europa Books in Chicago) and asking if they have any of the old methods left in stock. Good luck.
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| fanatic Octoglot Senior Member Australia speedmathematics.com Joined 7145 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 4 of 14 24 May 2005 at 5:37am | IP Logged | ||
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It might be a good idea to check with ebay. I have bought several old Assimil course books that I needed and was unable to buy from Assimil. You can often pick them up very cheaply.
Also, try Amazon.com used books for old Assimil courses. I also prefer the old Assimil courses. I do have the new French and Dutch courses as well as the old. The old courses were friendlier and they didn't repeat every sentence for the first seven lessons. When I listen to the recordings of the new programs I simply skip the first week's lessons and review from lesson eight. The new French course has been rerecorded at a natural speed without the repetition and is available from a Russian website. I have downloaded their version from the web. The website is: http://laurentboss74.tripod.com/learn_french/sommaire1.htm That will help in reverse because the language taught is French and the explanations are in Russian. Edited by Malcolm on 07 July 2005 at 9:22pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| zack Tetraglot Senior Member United States Joined 7208 days ago 122 posts - 127 votes Speaks: German*, English, Spanish, French Studies: Mandarin | Message 5 of 14 31 May 2005 at 3:59pm | IP Logged | ||
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I occasionally see the 1982 edition of `French without toil' for sale. But each of them with only 3 (rather thhan the usual 4) cassettes. At first I thought there was a tape missing but after seeing this several times I start to wonder if maybe for this edition they fit all the audio material on 3 tapes. Has anyone seen this edition and knows whether it comes with 3 or 4 tapes?
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| jradetzky Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom geocities.com/jradet Joined 7206 days ago 521 posts - 485 votes 1 sounds Speaks: Spanish*, EnglishC2, GermanB1 | Message 6 of 14 31 May 2005 at 4:17pm | IP Logged | ||
I have an old Assimil three-cassette set titled "Deutsch ohne Mühe" in a green case and I have the newer Assimil "El nuevo alemán sin esfuerzo" (new German with ease) both the book and the 4-cassettes. The two versions are different, with the green one containing 108 (or so) units against 100 units in the new one. I have been looking for the book to the green edition, but to no avail, therefore I started making the transcriptions myself. I also have the old "English without toil" on 4 cassettes in a red case. I'd like to see whether it also differs from the "New English without toil". Where have you seen the French 3-tape set? I bet in comes in a blue case. I'd like to have it as part of my collection of vintage Assimil. Edited by jradetzky on 31 May 2005 at 4:21pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| fanatic Octoglot Senior Member Australia speedmathematics.com Joined 7145 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 7 of 14 31 May 2005 at 7:25pm | IP Logged | ||
Yes, all of the old Assimil programs came with three cassettes. I have the old German, Italian and Spanish 3 tape sets. The other old programs came with records which I recorded onto cassettes. I notice that with the 4 tape programs the tapes are shorter. They repeat each sentence in the first week's lessons and then run through the whole lesson once again which makes 3 times, which I find very frustrating. I haven't bothered to edit the tapes, I just don't review the first week's lessons because the repetition is too painful. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| jradetzky Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom geocities.com/jradet Joined 7206 days ago 521 posts - 485 votes 1 sounds Speaks: Spanish*, EnglishC2, GermanB1 | Message 8 of 14 31 May 2005 at 7:33pm | IP Logged | ||
About how old? I ask you because I want to buy the books for the cassettes I have and would like to know the editions (1946, 1957, 1967, 1979, 1982) to choose from. What "other old programmes" are you referring to? Does anyone know how often does Assimil update their courses' contents? Edited by jradetzky on 31 May 2005 at 7:35pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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