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Hugo’s In Three Months: Which One?

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CSIII
Newbie
United States
Joined 5048 days ago

8 posts - 9 votes
Speaks: English*
Studies: Italian, Spanish, Arabic (Written)

 
 Message 1 of 8
28 August 2010 at 6:08pm | IP Logged 
I've been an frequent viewer of Prof. A's Youtube videos. Thanks you Prof. A. for taking the time to help us understand the different language programs.

I have a question pertaining to his video in which he discusses the Hugo's In Three Months courses.

I understand the 1970s (dark blue or black cover; book & cassettes) courses have more literature in the target language and are overall very good.

The 1980s (colorful cover displaying cultural items; book & cassettes) started to get a bit "phrasey" but still very good.

Prof. A also states that the newer versions on CD (probably late 1990s-2000s) are also good. I deduce that they are probably more "phrasey."

Are the CD versions (book and CDs) of the Hugo's In Three Months courses worth getting (have as much info as the earlier course) or should I stick with the cassette (1970s/1980s) courses?

Edited by CSIII on 28 August 2010 at 6:27pm

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arturs
Triglot
Senior Member
Latvia
Joined 5030 days ago

278 posts - 408 votes 
Speaks: Latvian*, Russian, English

 
 Message 2 of 8
28 August 2010 at 7:38pm | IP Logged 
Don't know about the CD editions, but I have 3 "In three months" books:

- Japanese by John Breen
- Spanish by Isabel Cisneros
- Italian by Milena Reynolds

I bought Japanese and Spanish some time ago and will start them soon, but I have gone through the "Italian in three months" and I can say that it was very good for a person like me, who was able to say only "Boungiorno" in Italian. Of course it's not a complete thing, because I didn't have the audio materials to them, but it gave me some vocabulary, conversational phrases and grammar in a good way, there are also some writing exercises. These books are a very good for a starter especially about the grammar - somehow these books tend to be less intimidating in giving you grammar.
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Cainntear
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Senior Member
Scotland
linguafrankly.blogsp
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Speaks: Lowland Scots, English*, French, Spanish, Scottish Gaelic
Studies: Catalan, Italian, German, Irish, Welsh

 
 Message 3 of 8
28 August 2010 at 7:52pm | IP Logged 
Ignore Prof A. As a lifelong language learner, he likes books that have more words and rules in a short space than the average beginner can psychologically handle.

A book that he likes will be impossible for either you or me.
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Elexi
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United Kingdom
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Speaks: English*
Studies: French, German, Latin

 
 Message 4 of 8
28 August 2010 at 9:20pm | IP Logged 
He is also in error if he states that the 70s Blue coloured series of '... In 3 Months' are any different textually to the modern versions. They are exactly the same text just typeset differently. The chapters have been re-divided so they now fit the 3 months of study format (i.e. 12 weekly lessons) and each chapter begins with a 'what you should be able to achieve' summary. The typesetting now make colour division (white and grey) between dialogue and grammatical tables. I suspect that the difference is because Hugo were taken over by Dorling Kindersley in the 80s and their editorial style was different. Although the format is better, I think the old blue books were somehow a bit more stylish, but that is a matter of aesthetics, not content.

The recordings are also the same, save the introductory links in the recordings have had the English public school style narrator removed (I always found this a charming feature of Hugo) in favour of a native speaker (who is speaking English).

Although I own the 5 of the '... in Three Months courses' I have never used one but their focus on grammar tempts me - I have used Advanced French (in its 'Blue' book form of 'Taking French Further') and found it really excellent. Does any one have any opinion on the three month courses as I am thinking of using the German one soon.

Edited by Elexi on 28 August 2010 at 9:21pm

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tracker465
Senior Member
United States
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355 posts - 496 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: German, Spanish, Dutch

 
 Message 5 of 8
29 August 2010 at 4:54am | IP Logged 
I did not even know that those courses were available on CD! Last summer I worked through and browsed a lot of the Dutch course, and I found it to be worth while. The course provides some necessary phrases, grammar points, vocabulary as well as a nice amount of translation exercises. IMO, these are much better than the new TY books.
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DaraghM
Diglot
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Ireland
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1947 posts - 2923 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish
Studies: French, Russian, Hungarian

 
 Message 6 of 8
30 August 2010 at 4:01pm | IP Logged 
I recently completed Hugo's French in 3 months. I found this course very useful, and a lot more practical than some Teach Yourself courses. The courses are very grammar focused, which I tend to prefer now. I don't like wading through lots of dialogues with little explanation about usage. The Hugo course will teach your to manipulate the language, and not just parrot sentences.
4 persons have voted this message useful



re4lover
Groupie
Egypt
Joined 5196 days ago

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Speaks: Arabic (Egyptian)*
Studies: English, Russian, Modern Hebrew, Aramaic

 
 Message 7 of 8
30 August 2010 at 9:09pm | IP Logged 
I agree with DaraghM about his opinion about Hugo series
I'm now studies from Hugo's Russian In 3 Months and I find it very useful , the course focus also on grammar (which is the most difficult part in Russian ) and givin' more Phrases and words which are very important and useful too , also giving Exercises that you need to find the self-confidence about the language
I hate too some courses that based on just some phrases without any useful grammar , just use it for accent and gaining some vocabulary but the main course is Hugo for it's amazing grammar and useful expressions

Edited by re4lover on 30 August 2010 at 9:14pm

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stout
Senior Member
Ireland
Joined 5130 days ago

108 posts - 140 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: French

 
 Message 8 of 8
03 September 2010 at 8:30pm | IP Logged 
I agree with the previous threads that the Hugo In 3 Mths courses are very good indeed
for beginners to intermediate learners like myself.I am studying with Hugo French in
Three Months course at the moment and I like and enjoy the course very much.

It has a good mixture of grammar and convervation and it gives the beginner and
intermediate learner a good solid foundation of the target language.I bought the
2003 Hugo French In 3 Months version with the textbooks and 3 CD's for about
40-45 euro.Good value indeed.It certainly beats Rossetta Stone any day.

I recommend in buying the whole package.That's textbook with the CD's added and not
just the textbook on it's own.

The Hugo in Three Months courses are the business...Pretty good courses indeed...



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