|
 |
FSI Spanish and the pause button | ||
Share with:
| ||
 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| Valy Newbie France Joined 4148 days ago 39 posts - 47 votes Speaks: French* Studies: English, German, Spanish, Mandarin | Message 1 of 8 13 February 2013 at 9:05am | IP Logged | ||
|
Many members here have already gone through or are currently working on Basic FSI Spanish. I'd like to
know if you pass all the drills without using the pause button before moving to the next lesson. I can do some drills without a pause, especially the substitution drills, but for others, especially when you have to translate sentences, I fail. If I don't use the pause button, I feel in a hurry and words merely don't come out. With the pause button, I feel confident and make few mistakes. Should I go a few lessons back (I'm on lesson 15) and do all the drills perfectly within the time FSI audio gives me or can I continue without bothering. Am I going to hit a wall if I don't master perfectly each lesson ? 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| dbag Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4822 days ago 605 posts - 1046 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 2 of 8 13 February 2013 at 10:28am | IP Logged | ||
|
You won't hit a wall, but I don't think you will get the full benefit of the course if you don't make sure that you can do all the drills without using the pause button. The best thing about FSI is that it helps develop automaticity.
If you stop using the pause button as a crutch, eventually your mind will be able to process the information in those drills instantly. Having said that, I see you list your native language as French? Perhaps that's why you find the translation drills difficult? (having to translate through 3 languages?) So personally I would avoid using the pause button at all costs, as you run the risk of using it for the whole course, but if you wean yourself off of it now, you won't find you keep needing it later on. The other option is to use the pause button initially, but make sure that you can do the unit properly before moving on. Good luck with the course, it can be a real slog at times but it's well worth it in the end. 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| grunts67 Diglot Senior Member CanadaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5102 days ago 215 posts - 252 votes Speaks: French*, English Studies: Spanish, Russian | Message 3 of 8 13 February 2013 at 1:16pm | IP Logged | ||
I second that. I just started the FSI course in Spanish and I got difficulties with any kind of translation. It's normal. Your brain has to translate from English-French-Spanish. My hypothesis is if you do it enough, it will come out as fast as an English speaker but you (and me) might need a little more drilling. Also, I guest your next language if you use something similar while learn and go through it faster be faster as your brain while be train to do 3 way translation. I have remark that I find it tiring those kind of drills. Take pause (5 minutes) every now and them. Don't be in a rush and try to enjoy it. Best of luck 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| VanamoVenlo Diglot Groupie Australia Joined 4142 days ago 42 posts - 58 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: Finnish | Message 4 of 8 13 February 2013 at 1:52pm | IP Logged | ||
|
I'm also currently working through FSI (Finnish) at the moment and I just this week tried to go back and "redo" the lessons that I had already done before progressing to the next lesson as a kind of revision and I found myself starting to avoid FSI altogether. Today I progressed on with the next lesson and I'm feeling really good about it. I would say to keep up the forward momentum and if you hit a wall, revise the part of the wall that you've hit, not everything. Or revise and progress at the same time. I really feel that keeping forward momentum is really important.
When it comes to the drills, I usually cover the answer key before starting and carefully read the instruction and look at the example. Then I begin. If you cannot go through all the drills without pausing, then go through it while pausing. When you finish the drills then then rewind immediately afterwards and go through it again without pausing. So basically doing the drills twice. Once with pausing and once without. Otherwise, at the next set of drills, try to get through one drill without pausing and then pause. Then move through trying to get through two and then pausing and slowly building up. If you're having a French-English-Spanish translation delay, before starting the drill it might help to cover the answer key and just get a little familiar with the sentences first. I'm not sure, but I don't think that would affect the process. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Valy Newbie France Joined 4148 days ago 39 posts - 47 votes Speaks: French* Studies: English, German, Spanish, Mandarin | Message 5 of 8 13 February 2013 at 2:29pm | IP Logged | ||
|
Thanks to you all. I did lessons 3 to 5 this morning, and I managed to do them without any pause (after
several times for some drills though). So, I might be able to the next ones too. I'll continue this review but I think I also need to go further in order to enjoy this language trip. I'm going to try a two-wave approach : mastering the lessons a fews days or weeks after having discovered them for the first time. Tomorrow could be then lesson 16 and 6. It's the first time I study a language through another one which is not mine and it probably needs some more training. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| luke Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 7005 days ago 3133 posts - 4351 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Esperanto, French | Message 6 of 8 13 February 2013 at 7:02pm | IP Logged | ||
|
My goal is to do the FSI drills effortlessly without the pause button. The question is, how to get there? My experience has been that the drills have to be repeated many times over many different days (seperated by weeks or months or years). I have a goal for a drill, and that goal becomes more lofty over time. It's generally always something that is attainable if I am not too tired or haven't been studying too long. Here are some examples of goals that become more advanced:
1) Can do the drill with pause button and get most of the answers correct. 2) Can do the drill using the pause button less and get all of the answers correct. 3) Can do the drill without the pause button and get all the answers correct after repeating the drill more than once. 4) Can do the drill correctly the first time without the pause button. 5) Can do the drill correctly the first time without the pause button and not only give the answer, but also shadow the answer in the recording. 6) Can do the drill correctly the first time without the pause button and not only give the answer, but also shadow the answer in the recording and it's all automatic. I do not recommend having the highest level goals the first time through, but when one backs up occasionally for review, the "goal" can be a bit higher than you set for yourself previously. I agree that forward momentum in the course is important as well. I wouldn't suggest setting the highest level of goal above before moving on. My goal is about automaticity, rather than memorizing the drill. E.G., if you know the answer before the question is asked, you've memorized the drill. That's not necessarily bad, but it's not the goal for a drill. (Perhaps it is though for the dialogues). I try to stop doing the drill before I memorize it. It was only very occasionally that I purposely remorized a drill because it was so difficult otherwise. I can remember using the crutch of memorization with a few drills, but that was rare. Edited by luke on 13 February 2013 at 7:19pm 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| kujichagulia Senior Member Japan Joined 4647 days ago 1031 posts - 1571 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Portuguese | Message 7 of 8 14 February 2013 at 1:16am | IP Logged | ||
|
Nothing new to add except that I do drills in DLI Portuguese Basic without the pause button, and it does help you with automatic responses.
2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Valy Newbie France Joined 4148 days ago 39 posts - 47 votes Speaks: French* Studies: English, German, Spanish, Mandarin | Message 8 of 8 14 February 2013 at 2:48pm | IP Logged | ||
|
Luke, I like the way you learn in many waves, effortlessly. I did lessons 6 and 7 without pauses and quite
easily this morning. I will use this training method and will come back many times on lessons with upper goals each time while going forward with easier goals. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
If you wish to post a reply to this topic you must first login. If you are not already registered you must first register
|  | 
Printable version
|
| Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization. |
