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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
 jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6708 days ago 4250 posts - 5710 votes  Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 2 of 9 15 March 2008 at 6:27pm | IP Logged |
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With a few years worth of German (both in school and on my own) under my belt, I mostly go through each lesson once (maybe twice, but I don't want to repeat it so often that I _learn_ the actual drills). I've studied with FSI for a little more than a month (maybe seven weeks?) and have gone through through the first twelve units of level 1, and a few units into level 2. So, a little faster than one unit a week (as I remember having read in the preface/introducion). Basically the same tempo with FSI Chinese. I think I've done about ten units (the introductional lessons, module 1 and a couple of units from module 2) so far.
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| jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6708 days ago 4250 posts - 5710 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 4 of 9 16 March 2008 at 2:00pm | IP Logged |
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It's basically the same tempo for German and Chinese, i.e. I mostly go through each lesson once (and maybe twice). The Chinese course is arranged a little bit differently from the German - one or two comprehension tapes (after which I feel I already "have" the stuff they want to teach) and then pronunciation and drills.
So to answer your question, I pretty much go through each unit just once, but may do the occasional tricky lesson twice. I should probably add that I'm using other study material, plus the fact that I've done the two Assimil volumes. Edited by jeff_lindqvist on 16 March 2008 at 4:37pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Aras Groupie United States Joined 6557 days ago 76 posts - 83 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Ancient Greek | Message 5 of 9 16 March 2008 at 3:03pm | IP Logged |
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When I attempted to work through FSI German, I would go through each lesson once. I found that about a fourth of the vocabulary left my memory after only a few days, so when I revisit the course I plan to complete each unit twice unless I know all that it has to teach already.
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| jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6708 days ago 4250 posts - 5710 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 7 of 9 17 March 2008 at 2:16pm | IP Logged |
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As I have said repeatedly, I don't play the parts over and over - I may listen to some of them an extra time (if I find it particularly difficult).
As an example, unit 13 from FSI German has three parts, lasting 28:54, 27:38 and 29:11, so just under 90 minutes. There are generally more lessons in each unit of Chinese, but shorter, so about the same time there. There is a lot of silence throughout the lessons (enabling you to learn in real-time, so to speak). What one has to take into account is that the courses were developed for diplomats (right?), emphasize memorization, repetition (outside the class, se below) to the point of overlearning and so on. "The time required to cover each section in this way will differ widely depending on the size and the ability of the class." So, originally it was assumed that you had access to a tutor, and studied with this material in class - possibly for several hours a day - to the point where you had fully internalized the material and could respond immediately, with the same ease and at the same speed as a native speaker. I think I read that the suggested time was one week per unit, i.e. 12 units in 12 weeks, and obviously 24 units in 24 weeks (about six months). I have previous knowledge of German and don't feel like I "have to" listen to (for instance) the dialogue lesson several over and over. I "get" it the first time, although there is of course always room for improvement (e.g. pronunciation). Moreover, the diplomat vocabulary is something I don't want to spend too much time on right now. Regarding Chinese, I have some basic experience, and don't feel like I have to listen to the "Where was Mr Anderson born?"-type of dialogues more than once - but I may do the exercises/drills twice if I find the new grammar particularly difficult. I didn't say that it took me one week to DO a unit, but rather that I've done slightly more than one unit per week - depending on a lot of factors: on good days I can do a unit or two but on bad days I don't even do one lesson (or part). Edited by jeff_lindqvist on 17 March 2008 at 2:38pm 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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