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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| Thunter2 Newbie Germany Joined 3328 days ago 3 posts - 3 votes Speaks: English | Message 1 of 2 04 April 2015 at 6:03pm | IP Logged |
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I've learned the whole new Assimilbook with 77 Lesson.
First I did the passive than the active wave. However in the end it seemed more like memorizing the lessons. When I went to Egypt I was full of joy and wanted to speak Arabic. Apart from some phrases I was unable to communicate in that language. It's really frustrating. Furthermore I can understand almost everything in Assimil, but when I try to watch television, which is in standard Arabic, I can only understand a few words. Another thing is grammar. I really tried to understand the grammar, but in the end it seemed more like reading it because I felt obligated to do it. Here my question Has anybody learned Arabic only with Assimil and could speak at least A2? (If someone learned another course like Hebrew or Hindi, with grammar that's completely different, he is also welcomed to give a comment). Now I'm asking my self if it's my fault or if the method doesn't work that well, with completely strange languages. I learned Chinese with Assimil, and can speak it, however in Chinese there is almost no grammar. Edited by Thunter2 on 04 April 2015 at 6:05pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Speakeasy Senior Member Canada Joined 3851 days ago 507 posts - 1098 votes  Studies: German | Message 2 of 2 04 April 2015 at 11:51pm | IP Logged |
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Hello Thunter2,
WELCOME First, allow me to extend my personal welcome to you in this Forum. While I have not studied Arabic, I have used the ASSIMIL method for German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish and, to a limited extent, Polish and Russian. So, while I cannot respond to all of your questions, I can offer the comments below. I trust that others will comment on their own experiences in learning Arabic either with Assimil or with some other method. ARABIC: DIFFICULTY Some years ago, the FSI (U.S. State Department, Foreign Service Institute) evaluated the degree of difficulty of several languages from the point of view of an average English speaker. The languages were grouped into five categories (I through V) in terms of difficulty, the last category being the most difficult. As an example, German was evaluated as a Category II language, whereas Arabic was evaluated as a Category V language. Here is a LINK to one source of the ratings: Language Difficulty. Perhaps ASSIMIL offers sufficient material for attaining a CEFR level of A2-B1 in Arabic, I simply do not know. However, I suspect that achieving a fairly good understanding of a Category V language based on the study of Assimil alone might be a little unreasonable. Hopefully, other Forum Members will comment on this aspect. ASSIMIL: NOTES ON GRAMMAR I am a great fan of the Assimil materials for the languages that I have studied. I enjoy the variety of the short dialogues and exercise sets. For me, when taken in the aggregate, they function in a manner similar to sentence pattern drills. However, while I appreciate the NOTES for the small gems of information on colloquial use that are absent from many other methods, I find that their presentation of GRAMMAR is very weak. I find that what is presented in the individual Lesson Notes is often correct in itself, in the limited context of the specific sentence or dialogue. However, I find that the way the material is presented does not lead to a clear understanding of what can be a rather complicated point of grammar. Accordingly, since Arabic grammar is reputedly quite difficult, from the point of view of an English speaker, relying on Assimil to develop a sound understanding of Arabic grammar is something akin to encountering a "perfect storm", meiner Meinung nach. I recommend that you seek some other source for an explanation of Arabic grammar. LEVEL ACHIEVED WITH ASSIMIL VERSUS WATCHING AND UNDERSTANDING TELEVISION Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that one can actually attain a CEFR level of A2 to B1 using Assimil Arabic. According to the FSI ratings of language difficulty, achieving this level would require the investment of upwards of 2,000 hours of intensive study for an English speaker. At the end of such a programme, the student would have acquired a vocabulary of approximately 2,000 common words. Would this be sufficient for truly understanding the "average" television programme in Arabic? I suspect not. I suspect that the sheer speed of conversation would be an imposing barrier to understanding. Other barriers would include the individual speakers accents, the use of colloquial expressions, and the inclusion of culturally-specific references, to name just a few. Perhaps one would be able to follow a "slow news" broadcast; but an average TV programme? Hmm... Edited by Speakeasy on 04 April 2015 at 11:52pm 5 persons have voted this message useful |
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