tuffy Triglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 7040 days ago 1394 posts - 1412 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, German Studies: Spanish
| Message 1 of 7 12 December 2005 at 2:01pm | IP Logged |
In february I will start with Platiquemos.
Then I will have finished Pimsleur I hope (90 levels and maybe plus).
How long does it take to learn 1 unit or level in Platiquemos when you're used to Pimsleur in 1 or max 2 days? If I start in february, will I know some Spanish by december? Enough for GOOD conversations?
Of course it depends on the person and I don't learn very fast. But I am highly motivated and spend 2 or 3 hours at least on learning/listening.
I'm just curious if december next year will bring me closer to normal REAL (deep) conversations. And how close?? And what is a normal tempo I should aim for in Platiquemos. 1 unit per week? Or don't I have top reach level 8 for great Spanish? 6 or 7 would be fine too???
(Plus Pimsleur of course.)
Edited by tuffy on 12 December 2005 at 2:02pm
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luke Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 7211 days ago 3133 posts - 4351 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Esperanto, French
| Message 2 of 7 12 December 2005 at 2:49pm | IP Logged |
Once you finish Pimsleur, Platiquemos should be a great next step. From reading your posts, you seem to be somewhat analytical and like to see the things written out. Platiquemos is perhaps better for the visual learner, since the recordings and explanations are all written out. I'd encourage you to finish Pimsleur first, since that is a good introduction to the language.
I've generally gone at the pace of 1 unit per week, but have taken several trips back for review. So, in the end, I've taken about 2 weeks per unit on average. For me, I think if I spent more time with the book, I would learn faster, but that's a piece of my own advice that I haven't taken yet. Perhaps that will be a New Year's resolution.
Whether you do one unit per week, or one unit over 3 weeks, you can make a lot of progress over the course of a year. I'm about 1/2 way through Platiquemos. If I focus, I can understand Spanish TV news and commercials pretty well. If I'm willing to re-read a few times, I can get the gist of adult written language like newspapers and books. Everyone is different. I know a girl who understands TV much better than I do. She watches and enjoys several telenovelas. I can speak better than she can though. I don't know what learning program she is using though. If your goal is to speak Spanish well, Pimsleur and Platiquemos should put you firmly on a path towards success.
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tuffy Triglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 7040 days ago 1394 posts - 1412 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, German Studies: Spanish
| Message 3 of 7 12 December 2005 at 3:39pm | IP Logged |
Thanks Luke! That's uncouraging stuff to read!
Maybe I sometimes seem a bit nervous about the whole thing. But that's only because I must know Spanish for this wonderful person I've met...! Coincidentally she is very busy with work and personal things so she hasn't much time for a relationship yet. So that gives me about a year to learn Spanish :-)
Anyway, if you understand normal Spanish tv then you sure are where I want to be :) I hardly understand anything, only loose words.
And if you speak even better than understand, then you must certainly be able to have normal conversations already I gues. That gives me something to look forward to. And it will be nice to have the text laying before me, not having to search and type :)
Muchas Gracias!
p.s. this is certainly a great forum!
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ElComadreja Senior Member Philippines bibletranslatio Joined 7244 days ago 683 posts - 757 votes 2 sounds Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Portuguese, Latin, Ancient Greek, Biblical Hebrew, Cebuano, French, Tagalog
| Message 4 of 7 12 December 2005 at 4:08pm | IP Logged |
Continuing Pimsleur is debatable. I would say as soon as you can understand several of those dialogs, and can pronounce new words decently, then move on. For me, this is/was around lesson 8. Ask someone that speaks Spanish to listen to you reading something. You don’t even have to know what it means. Get their opinion.
The thing about Platiquemos is that you’re done when you’re done. I would say if you have a steady job at least a week (they will get faster at some point). Me, I was on summer vacation with nothing better to do & crammed in 2 lessons a day starting at about lesson 6. Also, plan to routinely review earlier sections.
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mike245 Triglot Senior Member Hong Kong Joined 6978 days ago 303 posts - 408 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Cantonese Studies: French, German, Mandarin, Khmer
| Message 5 of 7 12 December 2005 at 5:32pm | IP Logged |
ElComadreja wrote:
Continuing Pimsleur is debatable. I would say as soon as you can understand several of those dialogs, and can pronounce new words decently, then move on. |
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I haven't used Pimsleur Spanish, but the Mandarin program has been really good with helping internalize word order, intonation patterns, etc. I've noticed that, at least with FSI German, there is more emphasis on speaking words as fast as you can (in order to sound "native" fluent) than actually modeling good intonation and pronunciation. With German, the result has been that I've sometimes mangled up my pronunciation while working with the tape trying to get the words out fast enough.
Pimsleur is slow, but I think especially for a newbie to a particular language, the slow pace really allows the language to sink into long-term memory and become more familiar.
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Sir Nigel Senior Member United States Joined 7110 days ago 1126 posts - 1102 votes 2 sounds
| Message 6 of 7 12 December 2005 at 9:10pm | IP Logged |
tuffy wrote:
what is a normal tempo I should aim for in Platiquemos. 1 unit per week? Or don't I have top reach level 8 for great Spanish? |
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Given the rate at which you study, about 3-4 days per lesson would get you to a decent level of proficiency within your time-frame, also that's without rushing. According to Platiquemos's proficiency scale, by about level 6 you are at an FSI 2. You should be able to take part easily in basic conversations with people and also start to understand more advanced topics.
Personally, I can cover a unit in one day, however that takes at least an hour and sometimes I don't feel like doing it for that long so I break it up into smaller parts until I complete it.
You'll also have to set your own method of completing the units. Don't try to be 100% perfect, but aim for understanding as much as you can. About halfway through the course, it's helpful to progressively review older lessons again to ensure you don't forget things. I think some ways people review the lessons are on some other topic here.
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Andy E Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 7109 days ago 1651 posts - 1939 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, French
| Message 7 of 7 13 December 2005 at 2:42am | IP Logged |
I'd just like to reiterate some of the earlier comments with the caveat that - as you already know - everyone learns at their own pace. Some units you will progress faster on, some will be more difficult
There are 55 units so if you target 1 per week that should see almost to the end by December of next year.
Regarding whether you should continue with Pimsleur, since you already have Platiquemos why don't you take a look at the first few units (especially Unit 3) and see how it goes.
The first two focus on pronunication with Unit 3 introducing the main format that's retained for the other units. That will tell you if you're ready or not.
Andy.
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