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Is Assimil Chinese with Ease any good? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| FadedStardust Diglot Newbie United States Joined 5396 days ago 19 posts - 30 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin Studies: German, Dutch | Message 9 of 11 19 July 2009 at 9:35am | IP Logged | ||
Lesson One in Mandarin Chinese: don't focus on grammar until you can actually speak the language. Yes, that sentence seems to make no sense, I know, but "that's how Chinese works" (get used to that phrase if you're at all serious about the language). 9 times out of 10 you'll be told "don't ask why, just memorize it, it'll make sense later all on it's own," and eventually it does, too. I'm not saying this to scare you off; I love Mandarin and hope that any/everyone can get as much joy from it as I do, but Chinese isn't like any other language you've ever learned before. You need to learn how to look at it differently than what you've learned before. That being said, Chinese grammar is idiotically simple in the beginning stages, you really don't have to think about it for a surprisingly long time into your study. It sound kind of like the Assimil book(s) use something close to the "traditional" Chinese textbook approach, which is a text/dialog followed by a vocab list and (maybe) any explanations in little boxes off to the side or at the very end (after you've already learned everything, hehe). If that's how it works, I say go for it! Even if you don't get to an overly high level,you'll be able to get at least the basics and then be able to move onto something else. And you can always get a separate grammar book if you feel you need to. Though you likely won't look at it until you're at least a few months into the language... Or you might.;) If you want a more linear series that takes you farther, you may want to look into the "New Practical Chinese Reader" series. These books will take you from knowing nothing to at least intermediate level, and they are widely used by both self-studiers and schools around the world. And they take up the extra room to cover grammar points (after the texts and vocab... you know, the useful parts). Whatever you decide: Good luck and don't be afraid to study Chinese Characters from day one (yeah, I said it!) they're not nearly as hard or scary as they look; they are actually surprisingly systematic. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| minus273 Triglot Senior Member France Joined 5554 days ago 288 posts - 346 votes  Speaks: Mandarin*, EnglishC2, French Studies: Ancient Greek, Tibetan | Message 10 of 11 09 February 2010 at 3:17pm | IP Logged | ||
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On the other hand, the language taught by Assimil (at least by the old Le chinois sans peine) is very, very idiomatic. If you learn to speak a language like this, no one would take you as a foreigner.
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| Wilco Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 6119 days ago 160 posts - 247 votes Speaks: French*, English, Russian | Message 11 of 11 09 February 2010 at 6:14pm | IP Logged | ||
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I think for Assimil to be useful, you really need to learn all of it by heart, every sentences and idioms.Just reading it might help getting used to the prononciation, but it won't get you far.
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