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A Champ Elyse review? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| Cheeky chica Groupie England Joined 5962 days ago 70 posts - 75 votes  Studies: Spanish, Japanese | Message 1 of 11 10 October 2008 at 9:32am | IP Logged |
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I was looking at the Champ Elyss website (I forgot how to spell it) as I want to improve my Spanish. It's expensive, especially with all those add-ons, so I'm hoping that somebody can give just a brief review of it, please. I'm particularly interested in how useful the 'add-ons' are. I listened to the audio sample on their website, and it seems a little like Assimil (listening to audio while reading the transcript).
If I'm wrong here, please tell me! Thanks. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Rollo the Cat Groupie United States Joined 6040 days ago 77 posts - 90 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, Russian, Ancient Greek | Message 2 of 11 10 October 2008 at 6:56pm | IP Logged |
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I have the Italian version--Acquerello.
It is not like Assimil because they have real world articles and interviews, spoken at a normal pace. It is also more advanced than anything I have heard on an Assimil course. There are limited translations, usually of colloquialisms and there are notes in English explaining cultural points, but almost all of the text is in the target language. The articles are usually interesting. I like to order back issues and select the ones I want rather than order the subscription. The add ons are not worth much to me. the study guide is useless but may be of interest to teachers. The audio flashcards are ok, but I could do without them. The orice seems high but considering it is audio and text, it isn't that bad. Consider that an Italian langaueg magazine, imported from Italy, costs me about $15 without any audio. Acquerello costs about $30 and has text and audio. I would definitely try an issue and see for yourself. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| josht Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6452 days ago 635 posts - 857 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: French, Spanish, Russian, Dutch | Message 3 of 11 10 October 2008 at 8:43pm | IP Logged |
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I ordered a one year subscription (5 issues) of Schau ins Land, the German version of the audio magazine. The quality of the material is very good, but I stopped ordering it after I realized that I could get pretty much the same thing online for free. Deutsche Welle offers podcasts with full transcripts, as well as definitions of tricky words and constructions; in other words, all I lose by using Deutsche Welle are the English notes in the back of the magazine, which, while interesting, don't help me with my language learning.
So, I'll vouch for the quality of the program, but I won't vouch for the sense in actually buying it. At least with the major languages, you can usually find podcasts with full transcripts, which is essentially what you're paying for with the Champs Elysees programs. If you can get it for free, why pay such an exborbitant price? Of course, perhaps you won't be able to find anything that suits your needs or wants in the podcasting department, at which point you should certainly check out the Champs Elysees stuff. But do search out free alternatives first, because I'd wager you'll find something. :) 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| tryna36 Triglot Groupie United States Joined 6075 days ago 56 posts - 58 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish Studies: Russian | Message 4 of 11 11 October 2008 at 1:09am | IP Logged |
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I have to agree with Josht. With so many free material available, I am not sure if it's worth the price to subscribe to Champs-Elysees. Spanish NewsBites is one of my favourite place to visit, http://www.spanishnewsbites.com. Check it out and see if it meets your needs.
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| jmlgws Senior Member Canada Joined 7108 days ago 102 posts - 104 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, German, Spanish, Mandarin | Message 5 of 11 26 October 2008 at 8:30am | IP Logged |
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I would echo many of the comments here. I have the French Champs-Elysees, and "Voces de Espana" from the CE group, though never subscribed to the Spanish audiomagazine. Their stuff is high quality, probably a bit pricey. My favourite audiomagazine is
Punto Y Coma, this is pretty cheap especially if one buys only the online version (need to print out their PDFs, but otherwise the same). There is also Notes in Spanish, more Spanish conversations than an audiomagazine, but quite good. Finally there is Think Spanish, same sort of thing, perhaps a bit easier level, a bit pricier though, also more of a "Latin American" accent (vs. primarily a "Continental Spanish" accent for PYC, NIS, and the CE Spanish publications). For free resources, you could try just downloading podcasts from any Spanish website, but you might not get transcripts. One additional place that has Spanish transcripts (and other languages) is GLOSS. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| LtM Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5866 days ago 130 posts - 223 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish Studies: German | Message 6 of 11 09 November 2008 at 6:35pm | IP Logged |
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I’ve been a long-time subscriber to both Champs-Élysées and Puerta del Sol, with a 6-month stint of Schau ins Land thrown in as well. When my current subscriptions run out, I’ve decided (reluctantly) to not resubscribe, simply because of the expense.
However, as has been noted above, I’ll readily admit that the quality of these publications is first-rate. If money is no object, they’re definitely worthwhile. They’ve got great cultural information, current vocabulary, a variety of regional pronunciations, and, what I will miss the most: extemporaneous conversation in the form of unscripted interviews. This last feature is invaluable, since so much of what is available for language learning, whether online or textbook-based, is entirely scripted. Listening to these totally unscripted conversations (complete with transcriptions) is a great way to hear the “real language”, complete with interruptions, pivots in mid-sentence, and current colloquialisms. The conversations are at native-level speed and intensity, and they’re a great way to get practice in “real” listening comprehension. The add-ons are a mixed bag. In theory they’re a great idea, but I’ve found that I just never had the time to work through the study guides, so I stopped them a long time ago. The Spanish audio cards are useful, though. The good thing is that nowadays you can get a lot of really useful material on the internet for free, in the form of podcasts, etc. One of my favorites is http://ssl4you.blogspot.com/ Another one is at http://www.spanishpodcast.org/ Finally, there’s an excellent radio program podcast called “Un idioma sin fronteras” from Spain. Each podcast is 20 minutes long and is focused on various aspects of the Spanish language: http://www.rtve.es/FRONT_PROGRAMAS?go=111b735a516af85c8a1bd4 3233f1e700dc113adac078268651d7f221b9fe5a21253392edb92ae7e436 ec4e225ed540a969802f85fb7b06a0b4332a5b6ca92eeb9b3191d1dcbc1e 87053c7386711c218e3b270c1ca10fd327 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| NJMaverick Newbie United States Joined 6161 days ago 34 posts - 36 votes Studies: English*, Portuguese | Message 7 of 11 24 November 2008 at 7:50am | IP Logged |
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Would any of you consider CE a good subscription option after finishing Pimsleur German 1-3? I am already plotting my next step after I finish the Pimsleur series.
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| josht Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6452 days ago 635 posts - 857 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: French, Spanish, Russian, Dutch | Message 8 of 11 24 November 2008 at 9:08am | IP Logged |
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While I didn't finish Pimsleur German, I did use it for a time, and if the rate of progression is similar throughout the course, I'd say that Schau ins Land would still be above your level after finishing all of Pimsleur. I'd recommend you go with Assimil or another text after finishing up; Schau ins Land doesn't really pull any punches, and if all you've done is Pimsleur, I think you'll find yourself swimming in a lot of complex grammar that you don't understand.
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