BeaP wrote:SpanishInput wrote:I'd love to watch "Brutally honest" reviews of popular language courses, made by native speakers who could comment on how the course is teaching you artificial phrases and omits common word and phrases.
I've thought about this as well, especially after reading some pages from a Hungarian textbook with my husband, and rolling with laughter for 30 minutes. I admit that I became really worried after that experience, and questioned everything I'd learned up to that point. But later I thought that maybe I was too critical. I can't believe that all textbook writers are simpletons or low-level non-native speakers of the language.
Maybe the acquisition of certain structures is more important at the beginning levels. After that you'll use authentic materials anyway (CEFR coursebooks are already loaded with them), and you'll polish your style to something less artificial. Hopefully.
Correct. Not all learning materials are meant to be phrasebooks. Certain structures are also important, no matter how abstract, at the early stages of learning.
Luckily, one can use both a phrasebook and a grammar method (as advocated for by people like Barry Farber & Moses McCormick). Anyone who thinks any single source is sufficient for full mastery of a language is falling for a marketing gimmick. It is well established that you need to use multiple resources. So if a course is omitting too many "common words and phrases" in lieu of grammatical explanations then...you can get those from a phrasebook, tutor, conversation, TV, immersion, etc.