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Assimil’s Modern Greek Course | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| matthewmathieu Newbie United States Joined 4905 days ago 14 posts - 19 votes | Message 1 of 12 25 April 2011 at 4:54am | IP Logged | ||
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I've read mixed reviews on Amazon.fr for Le nouveau grec sans peine. Has anyone here used it, and if so, is it
recommendable? I have used Assimil for five or six languages and the courses have all been wonderful, but I'd like to find out more about the Greek course before spending the money. I appreciate your feedback. Best, Mathieu 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Sprachprofi Nonaglot Senior Member Germany learnlangs.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6255 days ago 2608 posts - 4866 votes  Speaks: German*, English, French, Esperanto, Greek, Mandarin, Latin, Dutch, Italian Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written), Swahili, Indonesian, Japanese, Modern Hebrew, Portuguese | Message 2 of 12 25 April 2011 at 12:42pm | IP Logged | ||
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I have used it and liked it. I knew some Greek beforehand though, so most of it was
review for me. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| JW Hexaglot Senior Member United States youtube.com/user/egw Joined 5907 days ago 1802 posts - 2011 votes 22 sounds Speaks: English*, German, Spanish, Ancient Greek, French, Biblical Hebrew Studies: Luxembourgish, Dutch, Greek, Italian | Message 3 of 12 25 April 2011 at 7:45pm | IP Logged | ||
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I haven't used it but you may want to check out this free course which I have used and really like:
http://www.kypros.org/LearnGreek/ I did about half of it before getting pulled off on other more important (at least for me) language pursuits but I definitely plan on going back to complete it in the near future as it really builds your skills in the language in a nice progressive manner. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Luk Triglot Groupie Argentina Joined 5120 days ago 91 posts - 127 votes Speaks: Spanish*, English, French Studies: Italian, German, Mandarin, Greek | Message 4 of 12 26 August 2011 at 10:56pm | IP Logged | ||
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I bought it recently and so far so good. I really enjoy the Assimil method.
One thing I'm doing is, every 7 lessons, I try to do the second wave, so it'll stick better. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| shadad Pentaglot Newbie VenezuelaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6442 days ago 38 posts - 41 votes 3 sounds Studies: Arabic (Levantine), Spanish*, English, French, Italian, Portuguese Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, German | Message 5 of 12 05 September 2011 at 7:50am | IP Logged | ||
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I'm using it. I'm on the 34th lesson. It's not really "sans peine" but it's quite
effective and so full of content that I do believe it takes you to B2, if you survive the whole book. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Steffen Newbie Germany Joined 4756 days ago 27 posts - 63 votes Studies: German* | Message 6 of 12 13 September 2011 at 11:51am | IP Logged | ||
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I am currently using this course (the German edition) and must admit that I am really underwhelmed. If
you are a connoisseur of elaborated grammar lingo and meaningless example sentences, this might be your cup of tea, but otherwise I strongly advise against this course. It strikes me as remarkably dull and unimaginative. I should mention though that I have not gone very far into it. I am completely new to Greek and by now have reached lesson six - within three weeks of daily practice. The progression seems somewhat dubious. For example, lesson 44 consists of 24 sentences, whereas lesson 58 consists of only 6 (slightly longer) sentences. The course has not stimulated any enthusiasm in me, on the contrary, I had to struggle to keep up my initial enthusiasm for the Greek language and culture. I am not new to the Assimil method, and this course is neither as light-hearted nor sophisticated nor witty than any of the other six or eight courses I have come across. However, the worst thing is that Assimil seems to distrust its own methodology here, namely to teach grammar and vocabulary in the context of lively and meaningful sentences. Here is a rough translation of the first sentences of lesson six: 1. The person is there, I can see him/her. I can see the person. 2. The people are there, I can see them. I can see the people. 3. The door is closed, I am opening it. I am opening the door. 4. The doors are closed, I am opening them. I am opening the doors. 5. The window is open, I am closing it. I am closing the window. 6. The windows are open, I am closing them. I am closing the windows. There are, of course, grammatical points to illustrate, but I doubt that they can't be taught in a more stimulating context. This is surely not the kind of "lively dialogue" which you buy an Assimil course for. Edited by Steffen on 13 September 2011 at 12:24pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Random review Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5568 days ago 781 posts - 1310 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Portuguese, Mandarin, Yiddish, German | Message 7 of 12 13 September 2011 at 2:06pm | IP Logged | ||
That's very disappointing, I want to learn Greek some time in the future. I wonder if there might be an earlier (and better) edition with French as a base language (by the time I get to Greek I should have learnt French). Have any Francophones got a copy of an older edition that they can compare with what Steffen wrote above? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Sprachprofi Nonaglot Senior Member Germany learnlangs.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6255 days ago 2608 posts - 4866 votes Speaks: German*, English, French, Esperanto, Greek, Mandarin, Latin, Dutch, Italian Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written), Swahili, Indonesian, Japanese, Modern Hebrew, Portuguese | Message 8 of 12 13 September 2011 at 8:47pm | IP Logged | ||
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I liked Assimil Greek and I think it's one of their better books - but then, I already
knew enough Greek to skip the first 20 lessons or so and recognize a lot from the others as well. That lesson he quoted is the only one like that and I was astonished by it, too. The rest are usual Assimil quality. You shouldn't spend so much time on each lesson. Part of the Assimil method is that you move on quickly no matter what, because future lessons (and of course the summary after every 7 lessons) will clarify things. Edited by Sprachprofi on 13 September 2011 at 8:47pm 3 persons have voted this message useful |
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