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Lightweight Learning Material Thread ?!

 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages Post Reply
11 messages over 2 pages: 1 2  Next >>
cordelia0507
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 5838 days ago

1473 posts - 2176 votes 
Speaks: Swedish*
Studies: German, Russian

 
 Message 1 of 11
19 May 2009 at 7:49pm | IP Logged 
This is not a serious thread, it's just for mentioning ways in which you can learn with little effort... or to make fun of the learning material (let's face it - some of the 'plots' in the beginners books can be very silly.... )

It would be fun to hear if you've come across something out of the ordinary and what your comments are.
-------------------------------
Well I just downloaded something off the internet over the weekend: It's really a very good, high quality production by German TV, to teach regular viewers Russian.

The name of the program is "Russisch bitte!" and the plot is that a regular German family (including grandpa) decides that they all want to learn Russian (as one does...!). Luckily they meet a bilingual woman who teaches Russian and the lessons begin. For comic relief the Finnish actor Heikko Kinnunen (he's famous!) is participating.

I've only watched two episodes of 30 or so, but Heikko is now on his way by train from Helsinki to Leningrad (it's 1990...), after learning about 100 words of Russian... Will he manage to order dinner on the train? And what will happen at passport control on the border?? I can hardly wait!

There is plenty of music by some famous Russian artists of the 1980s, like Sofia Rotary and Alla Pugatjova! Plus silly songs made up for learning purposes...

Plus the family is so super-cheesy that it's like a comedy to watch it... ! And the teacher looks like she is on prozac.   BUT - I learnt some new words alreadg while watching this... (if this series sounds interesting, pm me and I'll send you the link..)
------------------------------

Are you using any amusing material?



Edited by cordelia0507 on 21 May 2009 at 8:33pm

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Tupiniquim
Senior Member
Brazil
Joined 6083 days ago

184 posts - 217 votes 
Speaks: Portuguese*
Studies: English, Russian

 
 Message 2 of 11
19 May 2009 at 8:20pm | IP Logged 
.

Edited by Tupiniquim on 31 July 2009 at 11:18pm

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Hencke
Tetraglot
Moderator
Spain
Joined 6894 days ago

2340 posts - 2444 votes 
Speaks: Swedish*, Finnish, EnglishC2, Spanish
Studies: Mandarin
Personal Language Map

 
 Message 3 of 11
19 May 2009 at 8:22pm | IP Logged 
That looks and sounds very good. As it happens, I have been toying with some fledgling intentions towards Russian myself and I'd be interested in the link.

It's Heikki by the way and he is indeed famous in Finland. I didn't know he was known in Germany too.

Still on the subject of Finland, and certainly lightweight, why not brush up your English a little with Stockings and Knickers or some ping pong from the course Practical English in Practice.

Edited by Hencke on 19 May 2009 at 8:42pm

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phouk
Diglot
Newbie
Germany
Joined 6038 days ago

28 posts - 48 votes
Speaks: German*, English
Studies: Russian

 
 Message 4 of 11
19 May 2009 at 10:36pm | IP Logged 
For Russian, I can also recommend Beginning Russian through Film
(especially the Eralash comedy episodes)
and Goodbye,
Summer
.
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Hencke
Tetraglot
Moderator
Spain
Joined 6894 days ago

2340 posts - 2444 votes 
Speaks: Swedish*, Finnish, EnglishC2, Spanish
Studies: Mandarin
Personal Language Map

 
 Message 5 of 11
21 May 2009 at 8:23pm | IP Logged 
I'm disappointed that this thread didn't get off the ground as it were. I would have thought it was one of those "rocket subjects" that reach fifteen pages of posts in ten hours flat, as some other hot-topic ones have done in the past.

There must be quite a few language learning materials out there that are good for a laugh, either to laugh _with them_, if they have managed to successfully build a sense of humour into their scripts, or _at them_ if they have failed. Please rack your brain folks, I'm looking forward to more of these references.

Still about that "Practical English in Practice" referenced above, I have actually seen those "Stockings and Knickers", and "Excuse Me" (at the end of the ping-pong one) clips retransmitted on a TV show by Clive James in the UK, must have been around 1987 or thereabouts. He introduced them with, "Here is the funniest man in Finland etc. etc.".

He also played a few clips from an English language course produced in one of the Eastern-block countries, Checkoslovakia if memory serves, where a couple of extremely serious, dressed-up and stuffy program hosts went on, in a correct but stiff and artificial-sounding English accent, about everybody being everybody's friends: He is our friend, she is our friend, they are our friends too etc. Clive managed to put quite a funny spin on that by hinting at how everybody had better be their friends in those countries, or else ... ;o).

I'm not sure if Clive James is still around but I used to be a big fan of his sense of humour.

Edited by Hencke on 21 May 2009 at 8:25pm

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Spanky
Senior Member
Canada
Joined 5956 days ago

1021 posts - 1714 votes 
Studies: French

 
 Message 6 of 11
21 May 2009 at 9:32pm | IP Logged 
Hi Hencke,

I was not familiar with Clive James but looked him up just now following your post, as he sounded pretty interesting - despite the obvious considerable disadvantage of his being Australian (there, I add that just to try to generate the sort of "fifteen pages of posts in ten hours flat" attention you refer to in other recent threads - need to offend someone somehow to generate controversy, and no one has been picking on the Aussies for a while).

It sounds like Clive is alive and well and still broadcasting, and there is mention made of some of his older stuff being available on Youtube and some free iTune podcasts as well.

His wikipedia blurb notes the following: "James is able to read, with varying fluency, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Latin, Ancient Greek, Russian and Japanese."


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Paramecium
Tetraglot
Groupie
Germany
Joined 5712 days ago

46 posts - 59 votes 
Speaks: German*, English, French, Russian
Studies: Japanese

 
 Message 7 of 11
22 May 2009 at 12:10am | IP Logged 
"Russisch bitte" is one of this typical language learning programs which run in Germany at the educational television channel Bayern-alpha. Together with this course were two books of Langenscheidt, where you will find all the dialogs of the course and many additional exercises and grammar explanations. When I started to learn russian I used this course and improved very quick. In later episodes there are mostly natives speaking and also Heikki surprisingly starts very quick to learn russian very well. I can recommend this program to everybody who is able to understand German. I think you will not find the books at a shop anymore, but you can download them at uz-translations.net

By the way:

* fortunately the stupid family disappears after the 11. episode
* the show is just an German adaption of the finish version (thats why Heikki calls the German host Olga Barbian with the name Astid)
* Heikki Kinnunen isn't famous in Germany at all
* there are also famous russian actors in this course like Александр Белявский (Nikolai Saizew) and Анатолий Соловьев (Juri Petrow)

cordelia0507 wrote:
Will he manage to order dinner on the train?


:-D Seemes you never was in such a train in russia.

Edited by Paramecium on 22 May 2009 at 12:14am

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TheBiscuit
Tetraglot
Senior Member
Mexico
Joined 5923 days ago

532 posts - 619 votes 
Speaks: English*, French, Spanish, Italian
Studies: German, Croatian

 
 Message 8 of 11
23 May 2009 at 3:50pm | IP Logged 
Spanky wrote:
It sounds like Clive is alive and well and still broadcasting, and there is mention made of some of his older stuff being available on Youtube and some free iTune podcasts as well.

His wikipedia blurb notes the following: "James is able to read, with varying fluency, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Latin, Ancient Greek, Russian and Japanese."

Good to hear he's alive and well. I remember him from when I was a kid - he must be about 90 by now. It's one of those things I'd dread watching again though as they're never as good 15 years later.


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