Le Baron wrote:emk wrote:But my larger point is that any course where the course creators were accountable for producing results should be a good bet. For example, any intensive language school which can point to clear results on challenging, independent tests would be fine.
But doesn't this actually point to the need for those instructors and that learning environment? I mean I can get the same written recipe and instructions for making chocolate-orange cheesecake, but it doesn't mean I'll make the same version as a chef.
(As it happens my chocolate-orange cheesecake is quite excellent. Even if I say so myself. )
The point is none of us have access to those instructors and their learning environment, but we do have access the the pretty comprehensive courses with extensive audio that they use (or I expect used to use, as I would guess they've updated the courses they use in their classrooms). Whatever you say about the dated nature of those courses, the still hold a huge amount of potential for students. The few who have worked through them have mostly said it was a huge benefit. I've completed about a third of the French course and I definitely felt it was worthwhile.
But now that I've read your post, what I really want access to is your chocolate-orange cheesecake!