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Supplement early Pimsleur w/ MT? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| BobbyE Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5058 days ago 226 posts - 331 votes  Speaks: English*, Mandarin | Message 1 of 14 24 July 2010 at 9:36pm | IP Logged | ||
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I am on unit 15 in Pimsleur I Spanish. I really want to do more than what the lessons are providing. Would it be a bad idea to supplement Pimsleur with Michel Thomas lessons? Also, a friend has Rosetta Stone and Tell Me More's Spanish, would it be worth it for me to borrow one or the other?
Note: My intention is to finish Pimsleur I-III and then move to Platiquemos and Assimil. Edited by BobbyE on 24 July 2010 at 9:58pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| alang Diglot Senior Member Canada Joined 7032 days ago 563 posts - 757 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish | Message 2 of 14 25 July 2010 at 5:12am | IP Logged | ||
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My opinion is do not use MT yet, as the students and MT are not native Spanish speakers. Have your ears used to native speakers first. I do not recommend the RS or TMM Spanish software at all. A Pimsleur IV is coming out in November this year, so it might be good to finish the series, just to practice speaking and gaining the frequent vocabulary usage. Platiquemos is also L.A. Spanish and formal usage. The dialects are also varied from the L.A. world. Assimil is Castilian from Spain, so be ready to hear a different dialect, than what you will be accustomed to with Pimsleur and Platiquemos. MT might be o.k. somewhere in your Pimsleur usage. If you are going to use a book for various methods similar to MT, then I highly recommend Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish. All the basics to use for L.A. Spanish except the familiar form. The more important part would be to speak with native Spanish speakers, to try out the knowledge gained. Have fun! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| BobbyE Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5058 days ago 226 posts - 331 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin | Message 3 of 14 25 July 2010 at 7:51am | IP Logged | ||
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Thank you much for the reply.
I start work next week with many native speakers of Spanish. This is the main reason I want to supplement pimsleur. You do not recommend any supplementation? I can be patient though too. Also, I don't know if it will help, but I just got a bunch of Spanish movies this English subtitles. If it doesn't help, at least it will be interesting to see non-hollywood movies. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Paskwc Pentaglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5488 days ago 450 posts - 624 votes Speaks: Hindi, Urdu*, Arabic (Levantine), French, English Studies: Persian, Spanish | Message 4 of 14 25 July 2010 at 10:12am | IP Logged | ||
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For the most part, I agree with what alang wrote.
While I'm not a big fan of MT, I don't think using more than one course at a time will hurt you, especially since you seem eager for more material and seem to have some free time. If MT suits you, go ahead and add it to your regular regime. Otherwise, do multiple lessons of Pimsleur each day or do Assimil in conjunction with Pimsleur. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Elexi Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5376 days ago 938 posts - 1839 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 5 of 14 25 July 2010 at 1:37pm | IP Logged | ||
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If MT suits your learning style, my view is that MT is great when used before Pimsleur (to me this is the best start, as I consider Pimsleur I-III+ as nothing other than very basic practice drills) but is also good when alongside Pimsleur 1. You need the grammatical knowledge that MT teaches and you either get that from a grammar book, a Teach Yourself book from the 1950s or Pimsleur. Having used all three - I find MT the quickest way to assimilate the grammatical structures of a language.
I personally wouldn't worry about the non-native speaker criticism - this is an oft repeated mantra but, based on my own experience of using MT for 5 languages, I fail to see how 12 hours of learning what is essentially a grammar course from a German/Polish teacher is going to negative your ability to speak the language. The best step you can take is to can download the first CD free from the MT web site - that way you can tell if you like the method. Edited by Elexi on 25 July 2010 at 1:38pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| BobbyE Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5058 days ago 226 posts - 331 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin | Message 6 of 14 25 July 2010 at 7:04pm | IP Logged | ||
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I did the majority of MT Mandarin Foundation with Harold Goodman, and I liked the style and how it made memorization and grammar so easy, but I quit because the slow pace became boring. However, I think things would be different now that I have a little bit more drive and interest.
I will try doing both programs and see how I like it. And I've also had my doubts about software. I'm really excited to try Assimil because that really sounds like my learning style. After my first paycheck, Assimil will be mine! Edited by BobbyE on 25 July 2010 at 8:05pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| michaelmichael Senior Member Canada Joined 5068 days ago 167 posts - 202 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 7 of 14 26 July 2010 at 2:23am | IP Logged | ||
I would imagine that learning mandarin must be hard, how much quicker could the pace be ? I'm very close to finishing MT advance for french, and I just wish that i had it earlier. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| johntm93 Senior Member United States Joined 5138 days ago 587 posts - 746 votes 2 sounds Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish | Message 8 of 14 26 July 2010 at 2:42am | IP Logged | ||
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I quit Pimsleur at lesson 16 of Spanish and moved to MT, I don't regret it. Try it and see if you want to switch or just use it as a supplement.
Stay away from Rosetta Stone. As far away as possible. Start Assimil now. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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