Automatic Language Growth (ALG)

[reineke]

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[romeo.alpha]

A survey of people working as professional interpreters would show that 80% of them graduated from less than five universities in the world.

Which 4, 3, 2 or 1 universities were they?

[zenmonkey]

Reasonably good overview of the thoughts behind ALG and some of the limits and criticisms of the method.



Note, I personally remain dubious about the value and time-cost of this method.
But I do think some of the logic behind it makes sense.

[german2k01]

With the ALG approach were adult students able to read books easily later on?
Did anyone here actually try this method to see its efficacy in practice?

[zenmonkey]

Did anyone here actually try this method to see its efficacy in practice?

Here is one person's observations.

[german2k01]

I read that comment but in my humble opinion, 800 hours are not intense enough to see its true magic listening for 3000 hours is recommended based on my observation. I am nearing this mark. The original method advocates for 2000 hours approximately.

https://algworld.com/alg-levels-and-how-we-view-them/

Very interesting article. Why speaking is early harmful?

https://algworld.com/why-speaking-is-ha ... g-program/

That's how my subconscious is working in German. I think about an idea and the whole sentence appears on my subconscious radar and all I have to do is to say that thing. I suppose I should keep listening every day for the next year or so to further solidify the language.

[zenmonkey]

I read that comment but in my humble opinion, 800 hours are not intense enough to see its true magic listening for 3000 hours is recommended based on my observation. I am nearing this mark. The original method advocates for 2000 hours approximately.

https://algworld.com/alg-levels-and-how-we-view-them/

Very interesting article. Why speaking is early harmful?

https://algworld.com/why-speaking-is-ha ... g-program/

That's how my subconscious is working in German. I think about an idea and the whole sentence appears on my subconscious radar and all I have to do is to say that thing. I suppose I should keep listening every day for the next year or so to further solidify the language.

If you are speaking, you aren't really using this method. You're basically using immersion.

By the way, when I first started studying German I too had a vocabulary that was very formal. The issue for me was the material I was using was from the 60s and intended for diplomats. My kids certainly laughed at my "Gnädige Frau, Ich würde gerne Streichhölzer kaufen. Könnten Sie mich zur Botschaft verweisen."

3000 hrs is what? 2 years of 4 hrs of listening every day without speaking?

I think I have Dr. Brown's 1988 book somewhere, but not sure if it is here or in storage in France. Will have to look.

[german2k01]

3000 hrs is what? 2 years of 4 hrs of listening every day without speaking?

Yes, exactly. I started speaking around 2600 but in a very limited way(not on a regular basis) and whatever I spoke sentences they just appeared subconsciously. Before that mark, I did not speak at all. I observed a very silent period where I listened in German several hours a day. Like 6-8 hours a day. I still listen a lot every day. Also, I did not read anything in German without its corresponding audio. Based on how my subconscious mind is behaving I feel like building a very strong sound system in my head when automaticity is achieved I think 4000 hours of listening is optimal and I am shooting for it. Let's see how it goes.
It might all well be an immersion approach but what they said at the end of the article speaking sentences without conscious effort after observing a silent period of certain hours like (finishing 10 levels) they are not making it up.

[Beli Tsar]

3000 hrs is what? 2 years of 4 hrs of listening every day without speaking?

Yes, exactly. I started speaking around 2600 but in a very limited way(not on a regular basis) and whatever I spoke sentences they just appeared subconsciously. Before that mark, I did not speak at all. I observed a very silent period where I listened in German several hours a day. Like 6-8 hours a day. I still listen a lot every day. Also, I did not read anything in German without its corresponding audio. Based on how my subconscious mind is behaving I feel like building a very strong sound system in my head when automaticity is achieved I think 4000 hours of listening is optimal and I am shooting for it. Let's see how it goes.
It might all well be an immersion approach but what they said at the end of the article speaking sentences without conscious effort after observing a silent period of certain hours like (finishing 10 levels) they are not making it up.

As Zenmonkey says, the obvious question here is the time-cost. Doubtless the method can work well, but 3000-4000 hours of listening is an awful lot... Using more normal methods in German you could get a surprisingly long way with a tenth of that...

[german2k01]

As Zenmonkey says, the obvious question here is the time-cost. Doubtless the method can work well, but 3000-4000 hours of listening is an awful lot... Using more normal methods in German you could get a surprisingly long way with a tenth of that...

Agreed. Depends on your end goals. You might be right with your assessment of the method but one thing I have noticed is that your speaking/pronunciation is highly tied to strong listening skills. And this silent period of listening simply avoids you adding extra sounds from your native tongue. It allows you to register the correct sound system of your target language. For example, I am going to graduate from university in the next year. I am going to communicate with native Germans in a professional setting so getting understood when speaking is an advantage.

Since I have time listening to German all day long due to this lockdown getting it right is my first priority that's why I am heavily focusing on listening and less on speaking. And, of course, some learners like to approach their language learning holistically and I am not sure how well they can get away with their pronunciation by following those language learning methods in half the timespan.