Hi again Carmody,
The forward by Laurence Wylie...
Well, it can be a fascinating topic- how we use much more than language to communicate- body language, heat, proximity between individuals, facial expressions, shrugs, glazes, eye movements etc. But is there something you wanted to discuss specifically? I don't currently find it all that fascinating to be perfectly honest. I'm more intrigued by the French verbal language than the use of body language and how it differs from culture to culture. Perhaps like others really enjoy reading books, where I prefer courses, I prefer to observe unconsciously mostly the body language of others than to study it, discuss it in detail per sé... sorry if that dissapoints. Perhaps you agree, and i've just misunderstood. Not sure..
Carmody wrote:Peter
Thank you very much for your guidance re the FIA course work; it is much needed and greatly appreciated.
How successful did you find the course? It aims at elementary and intermediate college level proficiency. Did you do the entire course, and if so what were its strengths and weaknesses?
Your list of languages suggests you are a real polyglot, while I confess I am not. However, I do find it important to be very efficient in my language learning efforts. For any book, methodology or class I take I always try to evaluate it in terms of Ratio of Time Spent to Information Learned. By keeping that Ratio in mind I am able to see if the time invested is worthwhile. Do you have a sense of the efficacy of Ratio of Time Spent to Information Learned for the FIA course?
Thank you again.
If you want fast results I wouldn't use it. It's for those who want a comprehensive introduction to French. I think to get there faster, do shorter courses, but if you want a comprehensive one as well that's more efficient, then throw in FSI or DLI French to get you used to producing all kinds of French sentences in all kinds of various accepted sentence order.
For fast results for a beginner i'd use Assimil New French with Ease in concert with another course like Hugo French in 3 Months which is very pragmatic and goes straight to the main points. If you can add audio courses while travelling to and from work (you're retired?) or some other frequent trip, use Pimsleur in my opinion. Those three courses will get you past the basics quickly- one course for enjoyment/immersion, one for grammar (hugo), one for pronunciation (if you have room- in those wasted travelling moments). And if you want something for drilling then FSI, DLI or perhaps Glossika. FIA's downfall is it's comprehensive nature. It's a fantastic course but i'm not so sure it will provide efficient results.
However in my first use of the course, it was the first French course I'd tried and I went through to lesson 26 (half way), and at that point I was able to hold some lengthy conversations with French people on basic topics, but I made a point of understanding 99% of the course- i went over and over and over the videos, and I did use a bilingual dictionary despite the advice to the contrary. It did immerse me well however. Sometimes English based courses such as all those I mentioned above do not really leave you thinking in French by default necessarily, whereas French in Action can indeed have one thinking in French, not in English then translating in your head.
It really depends on what kind of learner you are. At the end of the day it may not matter so much what course(s) you choose or other materials, but how often you study, how diligent you are at sticking to a regular routine and how motivated you are. Finally, after doing FIA or something similar to the alternative route I've metnioned above, I'd be adding 1 or 2 advanced courses while introducing native material more and more- this is not that path I took mind you.
Edit: I definitely don't see myself as a polyglot, but perhaps that's a matter of perspective. A Dutchman likely wouldn't see me as one, but a monolingual Aussie might... all in all I speak my native language (English) plus decent French but not quite advanced I'd say, and a rather light sprinkling of a couple of two other languages, that doesn't fit my image of a polyglot, but thanks all the same.
Oh and you're welcome (sorry, you did say thank you). I am not an efficient learner really, so perhaps i'm not the best person to look to for advice, but I do have experience with courses.