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What level will course X take me to? | ||
Tags: CEFR Language Levels | Language Program | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| fanatic Octoglot Senior Member Australia speedmathematics.com Joined 6957 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 1 of 9 12 August 2011 at 9:53am | IP Logged | ||
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After thinking about some of the posts asking this question and counting the number of words taught in various courses I have come to some conclusions.
Some courses teach a huge vocabulary but the methods are not good. Some teach a small vocabulary but use excellent methods to do so. Some of my favourite courses are the Lewis Robbins Language For Travelers series. They teach fewer than 1,000 words for some languages but they give an excellent foundation for learning the language. I completed Italian For Travelers in less than two weeks and was able to converse on a basic level with Italian friends and colleagues. It also enabled me to travel through Italy and get by. The course gave me something to build on. It taught the basics, the important nouns, verbs and prepositions that enabled me to put sentences together. The method was excellent with plenty of feedback and exercises. It taught no grammar and had no explanations. It taught the language with a colloquial and literal translation. The courses have 18 lessons each consisting of 20 sentences. That is a total of 360 sentences and around 1,000 words. Each word is chosen for its usefulness. You learn a lot of sentence constructions. I think the courses are superior to many which teach 2,000 words or more. I would also recommend Synergy Spanish which teaches a limited number of words but gives you the tools to use them to form your own sentences. Both Lewis Robbins and Synergy Spanish use the forms, I want (would like, need) to see, to go, to eat, to travel, to leave, to sleep using I want with the infinitive. 11 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| JimC Senior Member United Kingdom tinyurl.com/aberdeen Joined 5358 days ago 199 posts - 317 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 2 of 9 16 August 2011 at 4:18pm | IP Logged | ||
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Will have a look at the Lerwis Robbins if it uses similar style to Synergy. Have to agree with you on the quality of Synergy. It teaches a great deal of structure to help you begin speaking fluently.
Jim 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4720 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 3 of 9 16 August 2011 at 5:05pm | IP Logged | ||
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Do the Lewis Robbins and Synergy courses have audio? No matter how good a course is, if it doesn't have audio, I couldn't use it. For one thing, I need a lot of help with pronunciation. And I like to listen to course CD's while commuting.
EDIT: I've searched through Amazon.com and .co.uk and couldn't find any Synergy courses. The only Lewis Robbins course I could find was the Italian course. I'm learning French, and I'd like to supplement my studies with a phrasebook (+CD), for when I visit. Can anyone recommend a good one? Edited by Jeffers on 16 August 2011 at 5:17pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| dleewo Groupie United States Joined 5629 days ago 95 posts - 131 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Mandarin | Message 4 of 9 16 August 2011 at 5:29pm | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks for the info. Being a sucker for language courses, I just ordered a used copy of German for Travelers from Amazon.com for $14 including shipping
@Jeffers the description says it comes with 3 LPs. I don't have the ability to play LPs, but I thought I would mention it to you as you asked about audio 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4720 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 5 of 9 16 August 2011 at 5:46pm | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks dleewo. The problem was that his name is spelled "Robins", not "Robbins". Fanatic, you do like the old courses!
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| JimC Senior Member United Kingdom tinyurl.com/aberdeen Joined 5358 days ago 199 posts - 317 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 6 of 9 16 August 2011 at 7:26pm | IP Logged | ||
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Here is a link to Synergy Spanish. I admit this is an affiliate link. I can assure you
though that I became an affiliate because I like the course so much, not the other way around http://www.synergyspanish.com/? hop=jimc888 Use this link if you object to the fact that I would earn something if you decide to purchase. http://www.synergyspanish.com Jim 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| James29 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5186 days ago 1265 posts - 2113 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French | Message 7 of 9 16 August 2011 at 10:34pm | IP Logged | ||
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How useful is Synergy Spanish for intermediates? My impression is that it is a really great program, but is only really for beginners.
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| dbag Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4833 days ago 605 posts - 1046 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 8 of 9 17 August 2011 at 12:15am | IP Logged | ||
I have completed several synergy Spanish lessons. It is a really cleverly designed course, and probablly deserves far more attention than it gets. I would say though, that for internediates its probably not worth the time. I doubt you would learn anything new, as it only teaches a very small vocabulary. It would be a great course for thosse going on holiday to a Spanish speaking country, or those just starting out. If I could go back in time I would use it before both Pimsleur and Michel Thomas. In fact, it reminds me very much of Margaritas Magic Key. I wonder if the synergy / brick verb concept outlined in the course would work with other languages? Edited by dbag on 17 August 2011 at 9:11am 1 person has voted this message useful |
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