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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| DrX Newbie Ireland Joined 3319 days ago 18 posts - 21 votes Speaks: English* | Message 1 of 24 08 April 2015 at 6:05pm | IP Logged |
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Hi,
I'm sure this has been discussed elsewhere but probably in many fragmented threads but I'd like to ask for help in finding courses for a number of languages. Users can chip in with what they consider the best for any of the below listed languages. So I hope to create a single list here of the best materials. So I wondering what you guys consider the best courses that ACTUALLY work. I find the most recent courses produced to be pretty much garbage (i.e. teach yourself). I find the old Hugo simplified series to be the best, with imitated pronunciation and numerous helpful drills. So I'm probably looking for something like that. Any good programmed instruction courses. (History: I have all the Michel Thomas courses and I have used some pimsleur) I hear the FSi courses are good for drills. Anyone know which are the best and which are the most reliable sellers. I prefer to have a paper copy. I'm sure I can get the audio online. French German Spanish italian Arabic Chinese Japanese Polish Portugese Greek Hindi Russian Dutch Latin Swedish Norwegain Danish Icelandic Hebrew Irish Chip in with what you can! Thanks 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 4808 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes  Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 2 of 24 08 April 2015 at 8:29pm | IP Logged |
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Well, I'd recommend using the g-search function and looking into logs.
In general, I think you are unlikely to find an answer most people would agree on, especially as it is difficult to agree on the definition of "a course that works". What do you mean? Most courses won't take you from zero to fluency by themselves, if that is your definition. Are you looking for courses that cover the most or rather those that just teach well whatever it is they teach? For exemple, I think Pimsleur is good at teaching you the really basic things but expecting it to take you any further than that is naive, in my opinion. Does it mean it works by your definition or not? Really, I could continue the list for a while. Some courses are already reviewed on our wikia as well. I'm sorry if I've just replied something different than you have expected. I just think you'll get faster and more complete answers by reading a bit on the forum and asking more specific questions. 7 persons have voted this message useful | |
| ericblair Senior Member United States Joined 4510 days ago 480 posts - 700 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 3 of 24 09 April 2015 at 5:11am | IP Logged |
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It seems unlikely you will be studying all 20 at once. Why not pick the ones you are most
interested in to start with? With ones like French or German, you could probably spend a year reading all the electronic ink spilled on here about those two. 4 persons have voted this message useful | |
| rtickner Diglot Groupie AustraliaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 3317 days ago 61 posts - 95 votes Speaks: English*, GermanB2 Studies: French, Spanish | Message 4 of 24 09 April 2015 at 6:03am | IP Logged |
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I've obtained decent results with Michel Thomas and Hugo's * In Three Months courses in French and German, though was never able to get into Assimil, which many here regard quite highly.
What appeals to one may not appeal to all. Spend a few evenings trying a few different methods, and you will soon gravitate towards a subset that works for you. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| flydream777 Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 6290 days ago 77 posts - 102 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, French Studies: German, Russian, Portuguese, Mandarin, Greek, Hungarian, Armenian, Irish, Italian | Message 5 of 24 09 April 2015 at 6:41am | IP Logged |
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I don't think the Teach Yourself courses are garbage at all (especially not the Urdu one).
3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Kc2012 Diglot Groupie South Africa Joined 4272 days ago 44 posts - 65 votes Speaks: English*, Afrikaans Studies: Dutch, Mandarin, Russian | Message 6 of 24 09 April 2015 at 6:53am | IP Logged |
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Hi so from my experience with the languages I've studied/are studying.
Russian: The new Russian Assimil course is great in my opinion. Chinese: New Concept Chinese (printed in Beijing) and Basic Chinese a grammar and workbook. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| iguanamon Pentaglot Senior Member Virgin Islands Speaks: Ladino Joined 5061 days ago 2237 posts - 6731 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Creole (French) | Message 7 of 24 09 April 2015 at 1:25pm | IP Logged |
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In my time on HTLAL I have seen how many learners can waste a lot of time looking for the "best" courses. It seems to be about finding something in which to put one's faith. At the end of the day, NO course will lead you to a high level of proficiency in a language. A course of action will.
People's learning styles differ and vary so much that what may be the "best" course for one may not be the best course for someone else. Assimil, FSI, TY, Hugo, Linguaphone, etc., all have good courses and some that are not so good. No matter how lauded an individual course may be, it may not be for you individually. All have been written about ad-infinitum here on the forum and are only a search away from investigating. Any "master list" of the "best" courses for all languages is bound to leave out nuance and caveat. That's what the forum is all about. Just try to make an authoritative declaration on HTLAL about a subjective opinion and there will be an inevitable response of dissent to follow. Opinions about language-learning are legion and mine is just one in the chorus, and just that- an opinion (based on my own experience). Some courses are indeed better for me than others. Some courses are better for others than for me. The best course of action is to choose one (or two) and get started, now. Don't depend on any course to do all the heavy lifting for you. Start building a foundation upon which you can build a language. Edited by iguanamon on 09 April 2015 at 3:01pm 13 persons have voted this message useful | |
| James29 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5174 days ago 1265 posts - 2113 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French | Message 8 of 24 09 April 2015 at 3:09pm | IP Logged |
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The following course sequence is guaranteed to work (get you to a solid intermediate level where you can easily jump into native materials) for Spanish on 30 minutes a day after about 18 months:
Pimsleur 1 and 2 Michel Thomas 1 twice Assimil Spanish With Ease Michel Thomas 2 twice Second active wave with Assimil FSI 3 persons have voted this message useful |
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