Assimil - Current generation vs the older With Ease and Without Toil versions

[cc05]

So I'm a long time beginner in Spanish. I've played around off and on with apps and other things and have recently decided to get serious and tackle an actual structured course. I've long seen Assimil recommended for self study and figure that would be a good place to start alog with the other main resource I'm using mentioned down below. The main question I have is which version of Assimil to pick (I'm learning Spanish). I'm assuming my choices would be the current version (2014/2017 I believe), the 80s With Ease version, and the earlier Without Toil version (I believe it''s from the 50s maybe). Any opinions or advice on which to start with?

Just for some added details, I was blessed to get a copy of the 1970s Linguaphone course, which I recently started and am loving. I'm only a couple lessons in, but it's been great. I was a little nervous about dated language, but a friend of mine swears by the series and convinced me to take a look. I really like much more detailed the Linguaphone course is than the currently Teach Yourself book I initially considered started by abandoned when I picked up Linguaphone. I figure Assimil would be a nice compliment. I bring this up to say that I don't mind courses being older if the quality is there since I'll get plenty of current vocab from native materials when I get more advanced. I'm a little iffy on the Without Toil series being a bit too old, but I will consider if it seems like it's worth it.

Anyways I've really enjoyed a lot of the discussion I see here and I look forward to any feedback the community has on my question. Thanks all!

[bolaobo]

I've tried most versions and I prefer the 50s one. The other ones were too slow and boring for me, and I felt like I was being treated like an idiot. The 80s one is especially bad, at least at the beginning. I didn't get to the later lessons.

The 50s version assumes you're a French native speaker, and the difficulty curve is adjusted accordingly. It introduces the imperfect in like lesson 2, if I remember correctly. There might not be enough grammatical explanation if you don't know a romance language but I'm sure a determined learner could succeed.

Based on my experience, the old version of Assimil is the best for most languages, besides Arabic and perhaps Italian which seems to have a really fleshed-out 2nd generation course. The courses were "dumbed down" over the years, with a slower pace, more filler, less content, and generally an overabundance of notes and review lessons. I would highly recommend doing the original 50s version for Spanish but you might have to look up some grammar specifics elsewhere. It's less of an issue if you're pairing another course alongside it because you will get reinforcement.

[Le Baron]

Just for some added details, I was blessed to get a copy of the 1970s Linguaphone course, which I recently started and am loving.

Just complete the Linguaphone course. If you've already started it and are enjoying it, this is what will aid learning. They are thorough and encourage aural/oral work alongside an understanding of key grammar/vocabulary. No need to think about Assimil unless the Linguaphone was not working for you.

One of the biggest issues is people starting courses and not finishing them. Complete it and go from there.

[einzelne]

I would go through their 50s course. You can always pick up relevant words/expression via contemporary graded readers and unadapted materials. I must say that I hate last Assimil editions. They dumb everything down and quite often their dialogues look like a very lousy attempt at the surrealist exquisite corpse game. This is a typical dialogue from from their Swedish course:

S01 : Dansar du, Gustav? (Do you dance, Gustav?)
S02 : Nej, jag har puckelrygg. (No, I have a hump.)
S03 : Varför går du på diskotek då? (Why do you go to to night clubs then?)
S04 : Jag är diskjockey. (I'm a DJ.)

[iguanamon]

...No need to think about Assimil unless the Linguaphone was not working for you.
One of the biggest issues is people starting courses and not finishing them. Complete it and go from there.

The best course is any course that a learner will actually finish !

I find Assimil to be lacking in several aspects. While it is a good course, I find it is not adequate in grammar explanations and exercises/drills. I am not a fan of the "grammar light" approach. Some people are . I have found their courses to be lacking in sufficient repetition. I also dislike the unnaturally slow audio. Many, many people disagree with me. To each their own.

[PeterMollenburg]

...No need to think about Assimil unless the Linguaphone was not working for you.
One of the biggest issues is people starting courses and not finishing them. Complete it and go from there.

The best course is any course that a learner will actually finish !

This is worth reflecting on. However it depends on your situation. If you have many hours free each day, or at least sufficiently surplus time to fit in another course, then doing two courses at once might be indeed worthwhile.

However if you only really have enough time each day for the one course, you could risk spreading yourself too thinly over too many resources and not complete either of them.

So, to summarise... enough time to do two courses a day, then go for it. Not enough time, reconsider for the reasons Le Baron points out...

...However, if you are prone to getting bored you could use a second course to keep your momentum moving along. Can't handle yet another day of Linguaphone, have a play with Assimil until you're ready to return to Linguaphone or you could alternative each day (or each hour if you have a good deal of time as mentioned earlier).

Using two courses could kill your momentum, but it could help you keep going too, so choose (the number of courses you use) carefully according to your personality and the time you have or the situation you might find yourself in (I can't take another day of Linguaphone, for example). Good luck!

[Le Baron]

When doing a course there are always those dips from familiarity and a bit of boredom. It tends to make you want to wander and maybe even find a different course; mistaking the learning humps for 'no progress' and not realising that no matter what course you do it has learning obstacles.

It might be best to scratch that itch with the many diversions now available. A little play with a Spanish online app, or a few cartoons or something else just to stretch the ache out of one's neck. But then to go back and finish the course. They are made to be finished. The final parts aren't just padding and so often all the gems at the end are missed. Quite a lot of people only do 1-3 of e.g. Pimsleur. I did the complete German 1-5 and even though I was sick of it by 3, it was in 4-5 where I got the best use.

[cc05]

Thank you for the feedback, especially regarding balancing courses. I do have around 1-2 hours most days a week to dedicate to language learning, and I do find that I have an easier time with motivation if I'm doing 2-3 different activities vs just working on one at a time. As mentioned above, it is a good way to keep motivation up when I am getting bored of one specific course or activity.

I don't plan on adding much more at this time other than Linguaphone and an Assimil course. I do have a lifetime sub to Babbel I bought a while back, but I have that for times where I feel like doing a bit of Spanish but I'm not able to sit down with a book.

Also, does anybody else have any feedback on the 1980s Spanish With Ease? I have seen some recommendations to tackle Spanish Without Toil, but I haven't seen a lot of mention about the 1980s With Ease course. I was hoping for a bit more feedback on the 80s course before I decide which Assimil course to go for.

Thanks again all for the thoughtful and detailed responses.

[tractor]

I see nothing wrong with doing two courses in parallel, if you have time for both. However, it’s much better to finish one course than to do only the first few lessons of ten different courses.

[bolaobo]

Thank you for the feedback, especially regarding balancing courses. I do have around 1-2 hours most days a week to dedicate to language learning, and I do find that I have an easier time with motivation if I'm doing 2-3 different activities vs just working on one at a time. As mentioned above, it is a good way to keep motivation up when I am getting bored of one specific course or activity.

I don't plan on adding much more at this time other than Linguaphone and an Assimil course. I do have a lifetime sub to Babbel I bought a while back, but I have that for times where I feel like doing a bit of Spanish but I'm not able to sit down with a book.

Also, does anybody else have any feedback on the 1980s Spanish With Ease? I have seen some recommendations to tackle Spanish Without Toil, but I haven't seen a lot of mention about the 1980s With Ease course. I was hoping for a bit more feedback on the 80s course before I decide which Assimil course to go for.

Thanks again all for the thoughtful and detailed responses.

I didn't like the 80s one. I would use one of the newer ones before I used that.