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Assimil a load of rubbish?? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| Kleberson Diglot Senior Member Great Britain Joined 6212 days ago 166 posts - 168 votes  Speaks: English*, Portuguese Studies: Italian, Russian, Arabic (Written), Mandarin | Message 1 of 92 07 April 2009 at 6:28pm | IP Logged | ||
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I used Supermemo to learn EVERY sentence in Assimil Italian with Ease. It was a very painful task, so painful it used to actaully make me feel sick after drilling too hard.
While I have gained good knowledge of Italian syntax and what not through this method, my language ability is still dreadful. I went to Italy, and while I could communicate basically, I still even struggled with that. I could not say what I actually wanted to say, after MASTERING the ENTIRE book. I know the obvious answer is add more sentences from other sources, but after all that effort I was expecting more. Is Assimil overrated? What alternatives are out there that will actually allow me to progress to a deep understanding of Italian?? Thanks for any advice Edited by Kleberson on 07 April 2009 at 6:29pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Juan M. Senior Member Colombia Joined 5693 days ago 460 posts - 597 votes | Message 2 of 92 07 April 2009 at 6:53pm | IP Logged | ||
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I'd say your method is to blame, not Assimil. If language were something you could learn by heart, computers would make excellent translators.
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| portunhol Triglot Senior Member United States thelinguistblogger.w Joined 6046 days ago 198 posts - 299 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: German, Arabic (classical) | Message 3 of 92 07 April 2009 at 6:54pm | IP Logged | ||
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No single language learning method is sufficient to bring you to a solid intermediate level. Not a class, not a tutor, not a grammar book, not a dictionary, not a teach-your-self course like Assimil nor anything else will be, in and of itself, enough. You need a combination of these things.
That said, I personally find the Michel Thomas series (of which there is an Italian course) to be very good at getting one to speak the target language and get a real handle on how the language works so as to be able to come up with your own sentences that will meet your needs and end up being understandable. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Kleberson Diglot Senior Member Great Britain Joined 6212 days ago 166 posts - 168 votes Speaks: English*, Portuguese Studies: Italian, Russian, Arabic (Written), Mandarin | Message 4 of 92 07 April 2009 at 7:04pm | IP Logged | ||
Can you justify this? Because if you learn the entire course by heart, surely it's better than knowing only a few of the sentences and remembering only a little of the explanation. Regards 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Alkeides Senior Member Bhutan Joined 5942 days ago 636 posts - 644 votes | Message 5 of 92 07 April 2009 at 7:25pm | IP Logged | ||
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Assimil wasn't meant to be used in that way, if you want to use an SRS, following the Alljapaneseallthetime.com/antimoon method, i.e. massive exposure to any media for native speakers is the most optimal way of learning.
Assimil might be alright for the first few thousand words and the basic grammar, but the point of the SRS is to memorize sentences you find useful or interesting, not to memorize every single sentence in the course. Edited by Alkeides on 07 April 2009 at 7:26pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Kleberson Diglot Senior Member Great Britain Joined 6212 days ago 166 posts - 168 votes Speaks: English*, Portuguese Studies: Italian, Russian, Arabic (Written), Mandarin | Message 6 of 92 07 April 2009 at 7:29pm | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks, and I agree. However, I emailed Assimil and they claimed that the course would take you to a B1 level of fluency???
I'm not aware how fluent this is, but considering the final stage after this is a "C", it should be quite good, and I didn't get it from this. Regards Edited by Kleberson on 07 April 2009 at 7:30pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| brian00321 Senior Member United States Joined 6392 days ago 143 posts - 148 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German | Message 7 of 92 07 April 2009 at 8:02pm | IP Logged | ||
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Have you checked ProfArguelles' old Assimil thread? I find shadowing
tremendously helpful to break through the basic communication stage. I've tried remembering the Assimil sentences too(review-only) through SRS software, and I also have to admit that it's pretty ineffective. It's a great tool to assimilate syntaxes for online chatting, but that's about it. Edit: Forgot to include the link. http://how-to- learn-any-language.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=22 Edited by brian00321 on 07 April 2009 at 8:03pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Kleberson Diglot Senior Member Great Britain Joined 6212 days ago 166 posts - 168 votes Speaks: English*, Portuguese Studies: Italian, Russian, Arabic (Written), Mandarin | Message 8 of 92 07 April 2009 at 8:08pm | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks brian00231, useful reading.
Instead of starting another thread, can someone tell me where I can get thousands of Italian sentences for FREE online with English translations? Thanks 1 person has voted this message useful |
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