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Is Assimil Chinese with Ease any good? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| COF Senior Member United States Joined 5613 days ago 262 posts - 354 votes  Speaks: English* | Message 1 of 11 15 March 2009 at 4:32pm | IP Logged | ||
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I've been wanting to learn Mandarin for a while, and the Assimil method is highly interesting, albeit a bit weird at first. I've looked through the Assimil Chinese book in French, and I don't quite understand the theory, although many people swear by it.
It seems the first few lessons presents you with a dialogue in Chinese, then a French (or whatever base language) translation. It doesn't really talk about grammar and actually says "You should focus on pronouncation and memorization rather than trying to work out the structure of the sentences" or words to that effect. I don't get how you can pick up vocabulary when you don't actually know the structure of what you're saying, so you don't know what means what. It's all very confusing. So, 2 questions really. How good is Assimil Chinese with Ease and upon completion what sort of level would one be at? And secondly, how does the Assimil method work in general, how much grammar is focused upon? Thanks 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
 jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6691 days ago 4250 posts - 5710 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 2 of 11 15 March 2009 at 6:00pm | IP Logged | ||
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Each lesson has grammar notes in the margin. There is also a summary every seventh lesson. You get the original text in Chinese characters as well as pinyin, an English translation and a literal word-for-word translation (however, this isn't the case for French, German and Spanish). Thus, you will know exactly what means what.
Example: 老王的姐姐有孩子吗？ Lǎo Wáng de jiějie yǒu háizi ma? Has Wang's older sister got children? old Wang possessive sister have child interr.? 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| ChristopherB Triglot Senior Member New Zealand Joined 6098 days ago 851 posts - 1074 votes 2 sounds Speaks: English*, German, French | Message 3 of 11 18 March 2009 at 5:32am | IP Logged | ||
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In addition to what Jeff_lindqvist has said, it should also be noted that both volumes are actually quite simplistic and I don't think they would bring you to a particularly high level. Of course, they are for this reason great for getting basic literacy down and learning to comprehend simple sentences, especially if you enjoy transcribing/scriptorium but compared with Linguaphone's offering (which I very much recommend, though be prepared as it is very heavygoing and thorough), it's a little disappointing overall, considering what other Assimil courses have been like, ie. Spanish with Ease or Le Suédois sans Peine. Edited by ChristopherB on 18 March 2009 at 5:34am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Welltravelled Diglot Groupie United Kingdom Joined 5644 days ago 46 posts - 72 votes Speaks: English*, French | Message 4 of 11 20 March 2009 at 12:02pm | IP Logged | ||
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I've considered learning Chinese with assimil.
How well does it really teach you the grammar though? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Juan M. Senior Member Colombia Joined 5681 days ago 460 posts - 597 votes | Message 5 of 11 20 March 2009 at 8:56pm | IP Logged | ||
Where can one get these Linguaphone courses in print? 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| vikramkr Diglot Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5851 days ago 248 posts - 326 votes Speaks: English*, Portuguese | Message 6 of 11 14 July 2009 at 8:35pm | IP Logged | ||
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Here is the link to purchase Linguaphone's Mandarin course.
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| jpxt2 Triglot Groupie United States Joined 6513 days ago 46 posts - 52 votes Speaks: English, Spanish*, French Studies: Mandarin, Catalan, Portuguese, German, Italian | Message 7 of 11 15 July 2009 at 2:01am | IP Logged | ||
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Having seen the two volumes of Assimil Chinese, I can confirm that they will not take you to a very high level at all when all is said and done.
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| goosefrabbas Triglot Pro Member United States Joined 6150 days ago 393 posts - 475 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish Studies: German, Italian Personal Language Map | Message 8 of 11 15 July 2009 at 2:45am | IP Logged | ||
You might want to look on eBay or Abebooks or DealOz if you don't mind having used materials. I certainly don't mind paying less for it. :) 1 person has voted this message useful |
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