iguanamon wrote:I can't talk specifically about the German course, but as one who has used two DLI courses for language-learning in Portuguese aqnd Haitian Creole, I find them to be highly useful despite their age. The DLI Portuguese Basic Course dates from the 1960's and even has a unit with a conversation about passenger ships and a lot of "out of date" vocabulary. I agree with speakeasy. Underlying this debate is the concept of how a learner uses a course. To me, when I use these old resources, it's about overall usefulness. I go into it fully aware of the age of the material. Because my learning philosophy incorporates other resources and modern, native material early on, I become aware of what is common and typical in current language. If a learner solely, or very heavily, depends on courses, then that's where outdated language and patterns become more of an issue. because they are relying on courses for almost everything.
Personally, I wish I could get hold of modern courses with even half of the thoroughness of the DLI courses I have used.
All of this.
Before moving to Germany I used FSI (and MT & ASSIMIL and some awful thing). Yes, all the criticism about the age of the course and the shifts in language are true and some of it is "out of date". But even so, the format and presentation are still highly useful.
I've yet to meet any L2 speaker that has only used a single resource to learn a language. Nor have I met a German L2 speaker that
only speaks with German from the 50's.
And using this course I learned a lot of vocab that wasn't particularly immediately useful (embassy, matches, cigarettes) but was quite amusing to my kids as I walked about asking "Where is the embassy? Dear lady, do you have matches?"
However, I'm also of the option that any advanced speaker of language that wishes to be able to manage various spoken register or literature or other cultural artefacts should have some grounding in the history of the language.
If you are not instantly aware the second you communicate with the locals that there are some shifts in the use of language by regionalisms, register and situation -- well, I can only ask, under what rock have you been learning any language?
For most languages, and particularly for the FIGS, I'm going to assume that the learner is planning to interact with modern native material at sometime (preferably soooooon
) and the minor issues raised in the German FSI course are going to be drowned out rather quickly.
Finally, as an L2 speaker of a language, the instant you open your mouth, it generally is apparent that you are a foreigner and any out-of-date expressions are more likely to be taken as charming.
This particular focus on the minor issues in this material vs the real value of the layout/method is almost like taking exception to listening to modern German TV (like "Dogs of Berlin") because if I only used that I'd spend my time using terrible racist and/or misogynistic slang. In general, the educated learner knows to consider the voice of the material being used.