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Assimil Chinese With Ease | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| bsam20 Newbie United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6012 days ago 1 posts - 1 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Dutch, Mandarin | Message 1 of 2 31 March 2013 at 10:51pm | IP Logged |
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Has anyone here followed Assimil's Chinese with Ease program to the end, both books and passive and active waves? I'd be very interested to hear what level was reached and how that worked out in interactions with native speakers.
At the moment I'm about half way through the course and enjoying the progress a lot, but am already starting to think about what might be a good follow on step from Assimil. Any advice from people who've trodden the same path would be much appreciated. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| FamusBluRaincot Triglot Groupie Canada Joined 5348 days ago 50 posts - 114 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish, French Studies: Mandarin, Italian | Message 2 of 2 01 April 2013 at 11:45am | IP Logged |
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I worked through the entire course years ago-French/Chinese. I thought it was a great course with a unique
approach which seemed strange to me at first, but which I grew to appreciate. I used lots of other material before and while I did the course, including the entire Pimsleur. I made it a point to be able to repeat all the sentences out loud without looking at the text, and with understanding of course. When I had finished the course, I thought I must be at an intermediate level. Looking back that was naiive on my part. Even with all the other material I had worked through, I didn't have close to the necessary vocabulary to carry on any kind of meaningful conversation. If I remember right, all of Pimsleur and Assimil together didn't even give me the colours, body parts, basic household objects. Also, Mandarin vocabulary does not match up at all well with English vocabulary-you have to go through a huge mass of material to be confident of the range of meaning and usage of the words. My advice would be this-fill up your Ipod with every beginner type course you can find and work your way through them. They will all have different vocabulary, and you will reinforce sentence structures that you already know. Avoid anything with excessive English, and non-native speakers-(you might make and exception for Serge Melnyk though) After that, I highly recommend that you buy the IMandarinpod DVDs from the beginning. They are a bargain, and contain several thousand substantial lessons. Search through them for the easiest ones to start with. I'm sorry to say that I think the earlier lessons had better teachers than the latest ones, but they are all good. Cslpod also has loads of lessons at the beginner level (which I didn't use and so can't comment on), and the intermediate level. The early intermediate lessons feature a brilliant teacher, who sadly seems to have gone. While good for what they are, Cslpod doesn't have the wide range of subject matter that IMandarinpod does. I really didn't like the Chinesepod lessons below the advanced level, and purged them from my Ipod. I know Ari really likes them though, so go figure. As far as native speaker material goes, well, you are probably years away from being able to understand a contemporary adult audio novel, but maybe you could start with Goldilocks and the Three Bears and work your way up? You can find thousands of this type of story for audio download at Chinese sites. You will need a program like Jaksta and possibly Emule or Amule. You can also finds hundreds of non-fiction lessons for children, teaching things like science and geography. If you haven't already done so, I think it is hugely important that you find a native speaker and have them check your pronunciation of some of the material you have learned. I know a large number of people who have tackled Mandarin, and without exception, they have atrocious pronunciation. What's more, many of them are singers and musicians who pride themselves on their good ears, and are convinced they are pronouncing it correctly. A native speaker can tell you what you are doing wrong before the bad habits get ingrained. I think it is best to wait a long time before trying to engage in any free conversation, though obviously many members of this forum would disagree with that statement. Edited by FamusBluRaincot on 01 April 2013 at 11:49am 5 persons have voted this message useful |
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