Hi!
My problem is that the book doesnt show me a clear answer. The book says that I must listen then listen + repest then compare translations and reading the notes then doing the exercises. And that’s it. And they doesn’t talk about whether should I force myself to memorize to words and sentences , or whether should I continue to the next lesson (I mean whether am I ready to step to the next lessons).
So a little bit confusing. What the heck should I even do during the course? Just listen-read-repeat or memorize everything?
I started the assimil using this^^ method but I am still confused and the top of that I forget everything without memorization. For example when I was at lesson 3 I already forget what the lesson1 taught me, the words, the situations…etc.
I am new to language learning and am also using assimil Italian as part of my studies. I think that the idea of assimil is that simply through exposure to the language you will start to learn the words without actively trying to memorise them. Although I have found the spaced repetition system on here and also http://ankisrs.net/ useful. It allows you to make your own flash cards that you can then use on your smart phone. I have found one of the best sources of advice on how to go about learning to be a guy called Luca Lampariello http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb0iPPl49_g on youtube, he speaks many languages and used Assimil to learn most of them. My sense, although I don’t have much success to back this up, is that worrying too much about learning new words does not help you to learn them. Luca in another of his videos recommends a back and forth translation method for learning initially.
you said: “the idea of assimil is that simply through exposure to the language you will start to learn the words without actively trying to memorise them” → will the words repeating themselfs? or just one and done ? If they would come out later also, that would be great help to refresh those. I don’t know yet this because I am only at leesson 7.
I am using assimil to study Italian and am at around lesson 33. I find that they do repeat the key words often enough to pick them up although I can by no means remember all of the words. I think that once you are about half way through (at least in the course I have) they encourage you to revise older lessons as well as study the new ones. I guess we will both find out how effective it is to learn this way! Are you studying English? I mistook the Hungarian flag for an Italian flag which is why I posted a video in Italian, sorry! I visited a friend in Budapest once, lovely city. Maybe oneday I will learn Magyar.
I am starting to use it for Russian. I put the text into LingQ from the book and read it with LingQ. It is really good. Does anybody know where I can get the text online so that I don’t have to type it up? It is rather difficult without a Russian keyboard.
EdSouthgate:
"I mistook the Hungarian flag for an Italian flag which is why I posted a video in Italian, sorry! "
no problem, maybe you just made an other goal for me : to learn italian
“Are you studying English?” I don’t have any directed study on it , but I read a ton english text on the web.
"Maybe oneday I will learn Magyar. " go for that!
ColinPhilipJohnstone:
What is the sense to put in LingQ? It is not the same as to read from your assimil book? I am new here so I don’t know yet all the fuctions of this site. Maybe I am missing something.
The reason to put the Assimil stuff into LingQ would be that I could study it using all the advantages of the LingQ reading interface, and the iLingQ app. These include instant translations of words, instant access to flashcards with Google TTS, word lists, the ability to review the texts on my phone, and highlighting. None of these are easily available in the book version (except for the highlighting, which won’t be as good since the words will not be dehighlighted when I have learned them).
@CPJ: “…Does anybody know where I can get the text online so that I don’t have to type it up? It is rather difficult without a Russian keyboard.”
I don’t know if there’s any (legal) source where you’d find it online. But if you buy the Assimil CDs with MP3 files (as opposed to regular audio CDs) I’m pretty sure that you get the text from the lessons in digital format too. At any rate, I know for a fact that you get digital texts with the MP3 discs for Assimil’s Turkish Course. I imagine it’d be the same for other languages too?
That’s too bad - they obviously don’t do it for Russian then.
(But you do have the MP3 CDs, right, and not the regular audio CDs? These are two different options - and my Turkish discs with texts are definitely the MP3 ones.)
