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Assimil | ||
Tags: Shadowing | Polyglottery | Alexander Arguelles | Reading | Language Program | Learning Technique/Method | Assimil | Book | Grammar | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| creeper Newbie Germany Joined 6930 days ago 24 posts - 23 votes 1 sounds Speaks: English | Message 41 of 278 27 August 2005 at 3:45pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Assimil Arabic uses Arabic script with transliteration. Edited by creeper on 27 August 2005 at 3:45pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Mick Newbie United States Joined 6805 days ago 8 posts - 11 votes | Message 42 of 278 07 September 2005 at 11:42am | IP Logged | |||||
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Assimil audio may be the highest quality of all language materials minute for minute but how can you expect to learn a significant amount of vocabulary in only a few hours of recordings? Yes there is quite a bit of written material but you can't develope effective comprehension skills through the written word. If one were to master the Assimil program in a given language how well would he score on the government test of proficiency? Fsi can bring you to a 3+ which is superior. I was trained in Vietnamese on the Fsi method. I had two instructors, a native English speaker who was fluent in Vietnamese and a native Vietnamese speaker who was fluent in English. My training was several hours per day every day. My instructors' methods were quite intense! I have since used Ms. Jordin's program to learn Japanese on my own while living in Japan for a time. That program was patterned after Fsi. I am now embarking on French for fun and I find it and the culture quite interesting. I am thinking of trying Assimil. I can't really say anything about it till I have tried it. Yes people have different learning styles, but one should be able to adapt himself to any learning situation. One must also keep up skills or risk losing them. I have lost some in Vietnamese and Japanese that I have been trying to regain lately. Edited by Mick on 07 September 2005 at 11:44am 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Seth Diglot Changed to RedKing’sDream Senior Member United States Joined 7005 days ago 240 posts - 252 votes  Speaks: English*, Russian Studies: Persian | Message 43 of 278 08 September 2005 at 2:18pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Great feedback, Mick.
Was most of your training in Vietnamese drill-orientated? Do you think someone could gain comparable skills through using the FSI tapes for Vietnamese? 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| czech Senior Member United States Joined 6975 days ago 395 posts - 378 votes Studies: English* | Message 44 of 278 08 September 2005 at 9:50pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Please describe the method in detail, Mick. I have always wondered how FSI operated at their classes and I realize that we have some members now who have been there.
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| Janelle Newbie United States Joined 6808 days ago 21 posts - 21 votes | Message 45 of 278 09 September 2005 at 1:01am | IP Logged | |||||
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Yes this sounds very interesting. I am working through Pimsleur Spanish right now and may consider Fsi afterwards. I will probably go ahead and buy it, though some have said they would not buy materials till they are actually needed. I think that if I have it and can look at the pretty packaging it will further inspire me to finish Pimsleur. Edited by Janelle on 09 September 2005 at 1:08am 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| fanatic Octoglot Senior Member Australia speedmathematics.com Joined 6927 days ago 1152 posts - 1818 votes Speaks: English*, German, French, Afrikaans, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Dutch Studies: Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Modern Hebrew, Malay, Mandarin, Esperanto | Message 46 of 278 09 September 2005 at 2:18am | IP Logged | |||||
Why not? The construction of the Assimil courses actually make it easier. There is no speech or instruction in your own language. You are listening to your target language the whole time and thinking in your target language. It makes revision much easier and more pleasant. You can review your last week of lessons in ten minutes or so without having to listen to boring drills and explanations. You get more vocabulary than with other programs with 30 cassette tapes.
I did tests with Goethe Institut after completing Assimil German and scored extremely well on the test. I review both the written and spoken word with Assimil. Assimil language courses are the most efficient method and the most pleasant method of learning a language. The major argument in their favour - they work. After two months of Assimil German I was speaking with German friends and after three months I was quite fluent. After three months of Pimsleur it appears you only have a very basic vocabulary. I can't compare all of the programs available but Assimil is the best I have seen. I have learnt 9 languages with Assimil. 13 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| geranio99 Heptaglot Newbie Spain Joined 6805 days ago 26 posts - 32 votes Speaks: Catalan*, Spanish, FrenchC1, EnglishC2, GermanC2, Italian, Romanian Studies: Russian | Message 47 of 278 09 September 2005 at 5:50am | IP Logged | |||||
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Fanatic,
I am aware of your preference for Assiml over other methods. Be careful in stating that Assiml is the best and most efficient method, because it is only an opinion, what worked for you may not work for everybody, as different people have different learning styles. I rate Assimil quite high, but I personally like combining different methods, in fact and at the very beginning of learning a language, I start several times using a different method each time and I must recognize that it is very beneficial (at least I use three different methods when starting learning a language, mainly Assimil, Colloquial and Teach Yourself): each method has its own explanations, diffirent authors, what you do not understand or assimilate using one method maybe you do after using another. That is my experience. By the way, fanatic, do you know the Language Book Centre, located on the first floor of Abbey’s Bookshop at 131 York Street, opposite Sydney’s historic Queen Victoria Building? Geranio 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| fanatic Octoglot Senior Member Australia speedmathematics.com Joined 6927 days ago 1152 posts - 1818 votes Speaks: English*, German, French, Afrikaans, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Dutch Studies: Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Modern Hebrew, Malay, Mandarin, Esperanto | Message 48 of 278 09 September 2005 at 7:15am | IP Logged | |||||
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I actually agree with you and I advocate your approach in my book. I recommend that you use at least three textbooks or courses to learn a language, mainly for the reasons you give. It also makes the learning process more varied and interesting. If I have the Assimil language course I will usually make it the primary method of learning the language, but not always. Mowimy po polsku has been my major course for learning Polish with Assimil helping. Also, my primary courses for learning Russian came from Russia. I used Assimil as a back up.
I do know the bookshop in Sydney. I am not often in Sydney but I like to call in when I am there. I may be promoting my book there shortly. There are several excellent foreign language bookshops in Melbourne. How do you know the Sydney bookshop? 1 person has voted this message useful |
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