eido wrote:That's a bit odd indeed. You'd think they'd have more examples than that. But I find, with my many explorations of texts (and courses) meant for the learning of language, that time is hard to learn from a book. It's much easier to learn from the Internet (which we wonderfully have access to nowadays) where there's the possibility of there being language tutors and exchanges and exercises to help you along. I know I always do better with practical application. Maybe you're the same way. I think the number seems accurate if you're ambitious or know a related language.
The number of examples wasn't so much of a problem as the lack of any kind of initial exposition/explanation. Schaum's sorted me out. Going through this textbook is only one part of what I'm doing, and I get plenty of practical application separately too, so it's not really a problem; I just thought that this was a bit of a flaw with the book's design.
In relation to the number, my reaction to it remains that it is a wild underestimation, primarily based on (1) what is in the official RFL B1 exam syllabus (and hence in courses designed to prepare you for that, whether or not you end up taking an exam); (2) the time I've invested to date compared with where I am now; and (3) the intensity of the time I've invested - I've not been in the country, true, and don't treat it as my full-time job by any means, but I've had a lot of 1:1 instruction and studied on my own, both in ways I'd consider to have been very efficient and effective. I wasn't commenting on what could be achieved in different hypothetical situations - because I think the pro and contra arguments of such a discussion have already been aired quite fully elsewhere, and agreement is never possible