Language Transfer

[Seneca]

Btw, just saw in the newsletter that Complete Greek has finally been released!

http://www.languagetransfer.org/complete-greek

Why so surprised? We live in the world of George R.R. Martin, Robert Jordan, and that BBC team creating Sherlock. Who knows, perhaps even Complete Arabic will be out before the Winds of Winter, as that is my standard for "waiting too long".

As Cainntear mentioned, it only took 6 years to complete I listened to the original Greek course when it first came out and stuck it all the way through even though i had no intention of studying Greek because i enjoyed it so much. I dunno, i've only ever touched the old Greek course, don't know how the other courses are, but i thought the Greek course was amazing. I like these audio courses because i can do them while walking outside. That's also why i like the FSI and Glossika courses, i find it's much easier to concentrate when i'm walking and also when outside of the house and free from the distractions there.

Anyway, i haven't started the new course yet but i'm hoping to once i've finished the Glossika Cantonese course early next month.

Did you finish Glossika Cantonese on time, and have you had a chance to listen to the new course yet?

[crush]

I've still got two weeks (14 days) left, so not yet. But i've been wanting to and your post just pushed me to it, so i'll download the course tonight and put it on my mp3 player.

[Random Review]

As far as I can see (but TBF there's often a lot I can't see from here in China ) Mihalis hasn't announced the results of the vote yet, but a look at his dashboard suggests that after last year's disappointment with Intro to French, this year's vote is very, very good news indeed for both LT and language learners!

[Cavesa]

1. I think he is trying really hard to set the rules the correct way, so that the Arabic learners finally get their full course. They have had bad luck several times already. I hope the Complete Arabic wins this time. And I would like Mandarin to be second, or something other interesting and not that much covered. Too bad Hebrew won't be it. If it was, Language Transfer would be covering the whole Mediterranean, except for the BCSM, and Albanian, which would be awesome choices for the next round

2.Well, after seeing the last few monthly updates, it is pretty clear that German will be finished sometime after Complete Klingon. My German is stagnating and rotting, but the course is still unlikely to be finished before I am beyond that level.

[Xmmm]

Stupid question, but how are these courses meant to be used anyway?

I did the italian and the turkish and it was all very well ... but they are five hours long and then you are done and unless you immediately go out speaking you either lose it, or you catch up to what you learned via other methods anyway. Or at least that's how it worked for me.

Do people do the course more than once, or take notes? Or is it just a way to audition a new language?

I also did part of SSiW and the difference with that course is that it's extremely intense. And I think it is designed for A2 welsh learners to activate their welsh and run out into the street and start talking in welsh.

But language transfer is not nearly as intense as SSiW so I am missing the point ...

[crush]

I don't really see the point of the intro courses, to be honest. The complete courses seem really well made though. They cover a lot of the grammar and provide a good introduction to make more advanced and intensive materials much more accessible. I think the introduction courses are essentially just an incomplete complete course.

I also hope the Arabic course gets finished, though I'd prefer a Cantonese course to Mandarin. Have you done any of the courses other than Spanish or Greek? I'm not sure how the courses for languages he doesn't speak well already are organized.

Btw, I thought I updated my post already, but apparently it didn't save. I'm up to file 20, so a couple hours into the new Greek course. It's still early to comment on the course as a whole, but so far I'm really enjoying it and is recommend it, especially if you enjoy the MT method. The recording quality of the audio hasn't improved any, but it seems to cover quite a bit and is still really enjoyable. I've been trying to stick to 30-40 minutes, but I could easily spend more time on it.

[Seneca]

I don't really see the point of the intro courses, to be honest. The complete courses seem really well made though. They cover a lot of the grammar and provide a good introduction to make more advanced and intensive materials much more accessible. I think the introduction courses are essentially just an incomplete complete course.

I also hope the Arabic course gets finished, though I'd prefer a Cantonese course to Mandarin. Have you done any of the courses other than Spanish or Greek? I'm not sure how the courses for languages he doesn't speak well already are organized.

Btw, I thought I updated my post already, but apparently it didn't save. I'm up to file 20, so a couple hours into the new Greek course. It's still early to comment on the course as a whole, but so far I'm really enjoying it and is recommend it, especially if you enjoy the MT method. The recording quality of the audio hasn't improved any, but it seems to cover quite a bit and is still really enjoyable. I've been trying to stick to 30-40 minutes, but I could easily spend more time on it.

Does this Greek course have a review at the end? I noticed only some MT courses have review cds, and it would seem to be a big plus for LT if all their complete courses offered that.

[crush]

Does this Greek course have a review at the end? I noticed only some MT courses have review cds, and it would seem to be a big plus for LT if all their complete courses offered that.

Not that i know of, SSiW does and you're right, it is really nice, especially when you come back to the course after a long hiatus. But for these basic courses, i don't think it's really that necessary, i honestly doubt you'll be speaking and understanding everything once you get through the course and will have to go on to other materials anyway. But perhaps we could send it in as a suggestion, making a couple points throughout the course to review all the material covered up to that point.

[Daristani]

For those who've been using the Language Transfer materials, I see that the creator, Mikhalis, has just made a plea for more financial help so that he can keep going; evidently, a number of people have promised to help out but have not followed through:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q0_izr ... e=youtu.be

[Seneca]

For those who've been using the Language Transfer materials, I see that the creator, Mikhalis, has just made a plea for more financial help so that he can keep going; evidently, a number of people have promised to help out but have not followed through:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q0_izr ... e=youtu.be

That is an interesting video. The market can't sustain his vision. It is what it is. I feel bad as he had good intentions, but clearly that doesn't pay the bills.

It seems like he should've approached this in a different manner. Maybe a kickstarter where he got money up-front to produce certain things. I know the vision was to keep it free forever, but language learning for many people is a hobby or aspirational goal where it makes sense to only go for free materials at first. Pumping out videos for FIGS into an already saturated market was not smart if the production costs weren't paid for up-front.

Those needing to know a language for work, for example, are probably more liable to pay for "proven" methods or possibly to attend courses paid for by their employer. It is a shame, but it seems that wanting to run a charity for this particular niche in the world was never going to be sustainable long-term.

Oh well. I don't mean to seem like a hater. I respect that the man tried to bring his vision to fruition. Even if he folds up shop, it seems there is a nice legacy to leave behind with what has been made. And it leaves it open for others with a better business acumen to carry the torch forward in the future if one is so inclined.