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Platiquemos- How do YOU use it? | ||
Tags: Platiquemos | FSI | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| Durazno Newbie United States Joined 4489 days ago 10 posts - 10 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 1 of 4 03 March 2012 at 12:14am | IP Logged |
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I wanted to start a discussion to see if there are people out there who have used Platiquemos effectively in different ways than the program intended.
I am almost finished with Level 1 and I find a few aspects to be a little tedious. Sometimes I find memorizing every exact word that is said in the dialogue at the beginning of each unit difficult. I learn the vocabulary, understand what is being said, but I suppose I am not very good at memorizing the exact script, sort of like an actor memorizing lines. A lot of times I'll say something very close to the correct phrase, but it is not exact. I also have the same problem with the conversation stimulus sections at the end of each unit. Also, the response drills where the answer to the question isn't uttered at the beginning seem a little weird. It seems that the first few questions give a 50% chance of guessing which answer is correct. Although, I suppose this doesn't matter as it is the correct grammer point that is most important to understand. I have found the lesson points in Level 1 to be quite easy because I already have some experience with Spanish learning in the past. I took a few years of classes in High School and a lot of the information has been retained. I have decided to resume my Spanish study about a month ago and went through the Foundation and Advanced Levels of Michel Thomas. I loved the MT course. I remember hearing Michel Thomas say that language learning isn't about a contest of speed and that having time to think before answering is important. On the contrary, it seems that speediness is the point of the Platiquemos drills. I want to commit myself to completing a program to get further towards my goal of reaching fluency. I'd love to hear from some people out there who have completed Platiquemos and who might have some advice for me. Is there anyone who has completed the program and felt that it was effective, but did not do it exactly how it was intended? Also, when is a good time to review units. After each level? Also, did anyone out there move to a different program after having tried Platiquemos? As a side note, this is my first post of a discussion and I absolutely love this forum! Edited by Durazno on 03 March 2012 at 12:14am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| James29 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5174 days ago 1265 posts - 2113 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French | Message 2 of 4 04 March 2012 at 12:49am | IP Logged |
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Hi, welcome to the forum. FSI/Platiquemos is a great course. I am 3/4 done with the course and I think it is great! I started when I was at a low B-1 level. I think it would be tough to start as a beginner. As an intermediate I think it is awesome for tying everything together.
In terms of how I use it; I do each lesson twice. I simply read through the dialogue and say it outloud a couple of times. I also check any words I do not understand. I usually read the footnotes too. I then simply turn on the audio and go through it. I usually consult the book quite a bit on the first run through the audio. I then read the grammar sections when I am done with the audio. The next day I basically do the same thing for the second time with each lesson, but I try not to consult the book during the audio. Then I move on to the next lesson whether or not I have "mastered" the lesson. I do not do anything with the conversation stimulus or the reading sections. If I ever go through the course again I may try the conversation stimulus and reading sections, but now I simply do not have enough time. In terms of your specific questions, I have only done 3/4 of the course and I can definitely say it is incredibly effective. The "weakest" parts are with listening comprehension and total amount of vocabulary, but that is not really why I am doing the course so I don't mind. In terms of reviewing lessons, my suggestion is to try to press through it as best as you can do. I would try to figure out how many times you need to do each lesson in order to feel fairly confident (not perfect) with it and then keep up with that pace. For example, do every lesson three times or four times or five times, etc and don't review. The future lessons have built in review sections. I have read some people's logs that say they wish they had not done so much review during the first half of the course. It is true, of course, that you simply may need to review if you get to a point where you feel you hit a wall. In terms of following up FSI/Platiquemos with another course, that may be a good idea if you have not done any of the other comprehensive courses (like Assimil, Linguaphone, etc). I did Assimil before FSI and I am very glad that I did it... I am certainly not an expert and I am sure there are plenty of others that will have some great advice for you. Good luck. Edit: in terms of using FSI in non-conventional ways, I have only used it as stated above. However, I have thought of doing a few other things. For example, as a review I was thinking of just going through the dialogue sections one after another after another. I also have a hard time with the response drills and I was thinking of taking the audio and cutting out all the response drills and making one big audio CD of just response drills and do the same with the text so I have just a short course of response drills. Finally, I was thinking that it would be very cool if there was Spanish audio and English translations of all the reading sections. Edited by James29 on 04 March 2012 at 12:53am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Durazno Newbie United States Joined 4489 days ago 10 posts - 10 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 3 of 4 04 March 2012 at 4:38pm | IP Logged |
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Thank you very much for your reply. This gives me a lot more confidence in pushing through Platiquemos.
I think going through the text first is a great idea. Especially because I remember a few times just listening to the audio and hearing a word that wasn't exactly what I thought it was. For example, sometimes the audio will say an adjective that I thought was singular simply because the audio didn't emphasize the "s" at the end of the word. Of course, this might have something to do with the audio quality. I suppose the next step would be trying to find another comprehensive course. Perhaps my local library has some that I can sample. Do you think one could go through Platiquemos without doing a different comprehensive course beforehand? I'd dislike jumping back and forth between programs and would love to commit to one, finish it, and then move on to the next. I have no idea at what level of competency I am. If I had to guess I would say low-Intermediate. I can usually say most of what I want to say to native speakers, but conversation is slightly difficult. Sometimes I understand a native newspaper article, sometimes I don't. The same with T.V. and radio. Although, I do find that sometimes I think in Spanish. I work as a tour guide and sometimes instead of saying "We are going to cross this way." I'll think "Vamos a cruzar por aqui." Also, I've had a few lucid dreams in which I was speaking/practicing Spanish with people. It was quite interesting. I'll stop before I go too off topic.. Any road, thanks a lot for your input. It'l be very helpful to me. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| James29 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5174 days ago 1265 posts - 2113 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French | Message 4 of 4 04 March 2012 at 5:10pm | IP Logged |
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I also try to do one course at a time and finish it before moving on. I often get a number of little side things going, but I always try to stick to working through one major course at a time... so that is what I suggest (simply because it has worked well for me).
I like the idea of going through Assimil (or something like Living Language Ultimate) first because it is more fun than FSI/Platiquemos and being at a higher level when starting FSI makes FSI go much faster and lets you focus more on grammar and speaking rather than vocab. That being said, there are numerous people who have worked through FSI right from the start with amazing results. In fact, I think it is a more comprehensive course and would take you further than the first Assimil course so if you can get through it you will end up at a great spot/level. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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