A-LM Series by Harcourt, Brace & World Center

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KCAIV
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Joined: Thu May 13, 2021 4:43 pm
Languages: English (N), French (B2), Spanish (B2)

Re: A-LM Series by Harcourt, Brace & World Center

Postby KCAIV » Thu May 13, 2021 5:08 pm

I'm looking for first edition ALM French Levels 2 and 3 and Spanish Levels 1-3 (student books). I"m also looking for the corresponding Spanish levels 2 and 3 practice record sets and French level 3 practice record set. In my previous confusion, as others have noted, I managed to erroneously obtain second editions of French level 1, French level 2 (2 copies), French level 3, Spanish level 1, and German (don't ask) level 1 (all student books), so they are for sale at my cost (about $25/each plus shipping).
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KCAIV
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu May 13, 2021 4:43 pm
Languages: English (N), French (B2), Spanish (B2)

Re: A-LM Series by Harcourt, Brace & World Center

Postby KCAIV » Sat May 15, 2021 7:32 pm

To clarify: First editions are copyright 1960-3 or so. That's what I'm looking for. Second editions, which seem to be far more common, are copyright 1969-70+.
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nsmith930
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Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2022 12:50 am
Languages: German (thru level 3), Spanish (through level 4)
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Re: A-LM Series by Harcourt, Brace & World Center

Postby nsmith930 » Wed Jun 29, 2022 1:14 am

I was fortunate enough to attend grades 4 through 6 in Wiesbaden, Germany, at Aukamm Elementary School from 1964-1967; my dad was an USAF lt. col. We studied German in each grade, and in Grade 6 used what I assume is part I of the AL-M German I text book (I am pretty sure we did not go through the entire AL-M German I course). For our last class, we had to memorize the Basic Dialog, which was a paragraph or 2 rather than a conversation between 2 or more people. I have retained most of it 55 years later, but I would love to make sure I am remembering it right (and it is driving me crazy that I may not be).

If anyone has the coursebook from either 1961 or 1963 (I am assuming the former) with a chapter including the dialog that begins "O, schon viele Geste! Dort sitzen Sie, essen Kuchen und trinken Kaffee. Und Mutter will immer das wir vorspielen. Wir hassen das! Es ist so peindlich, under wir haben immer Lampenfieber!...usw.-- if you could respond with a copy of just the page with the dialog, I would be very grateful. I was just in Zurich and Berlin, and the exposure to the language brought all of this rushing back -- not to mention my memories of "Trink, trink, Bruderlein, trink!" and "Osterhaas, komm doch bald. Komm heraus aus seimen Wald."

Thanks in advance,
Nancy
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mlm
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Joined: Sun Jun 18, 2023 6:13 pm
Languages: English, French (B2), Spanish (B2), German (B2), Italian (beginner)
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Re: A-LM Series by Harcourt, Brace & World Center

Postby mlm » Sun Jun 18, 2023 6:44 pm

Thanks for the valuable information and forum about this remarkable method for learning languages.
I started with both Spanish and French in the 6th grade (almost 60 years ago) and loved the ability to be speaking and hearing the language from the beginning of the course. This led directly to fluency and credible accents acquired over 4 years of both languages.
Without these, I would never have had a successful career as an international lawyer including 2 years working in Paris and 20 years traveling all over Latin America to advise clients in Spanish.
The grounding in how to learn a language also helped me when tackling German and Italian in college, albeit based on less effective methodologies.
My high school also offered A-LM German and Russian, both of which were popular with students hoping to become scientists and winning the Space Race. This seems unthinkable today when students rarely have foreign language offerings in high school and no requirements in college.
My husband took A-LM Spanish in high school at the same time I was starting it in the 6th grade but he hated every minute of it.
We still chuckle when recalling key aspects of the dialogs such as "Donde queda la biblioteca" and the prospect of "albondigas" for lunch.
It remains a joy to remember these language courses, the extraordinary teachers who led them, and how they sparked my lifelong enchantment with language and communication.
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polllyglot
White Belt
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Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2022 10:40 pm
Languages: Latin, French, English
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Re: A-LM Series by Harcourt, Brace & World Center

Postby polllyglot » Mon Jun 19, 2023 11:24 pm

Thanks a lot for the comprehensive post! Despite the fact that for some languages are there are a lot of resources available in English and it causes a form of noise which makes it hard for us to decide which of them to use, those who know how to deal with the urge will find a way to integrate as many resources as possible whilst keeping the balance.
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Dieter Schmidt
White Belt
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2020 5:10 pm
Languages: French, Spanish, a little Italian, and am studying German.
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Re: A-LM Series by Harcourt, Brace & World Center

Postby Dieter Schmidt » Thu Jan 25, 2024 11:37 pm

nsmith930 wrote:I was fortunate enough to attend grades 4 through 6 in Wiesbaden, Germany, at Aukamm Elementary School from 1964-1967; my dad was an USAF lt. col. We studied German in each grade, and in Grade 6 used what I assume is part I of the AL-M German I text book (I am pretty sure we did not go through the entire AL-M German I course). For our last class, we had to memorize the Basic Dialog, which was a paragraph or 2 rather than a conversation between 2 or more people. I have retained most of it 55 years later, but I would love to make sure I am remembering it right (and it is driving me crazy that I may not be).

If anyone has the coursebook from either 1961 or 1963 (I am assuming the former) with a chapter including the dialog that begins "O, schon viele Geste! Dort sitzen Sie, essen Kuchen und trinken Kaffee. Und Mutter will immer das wir vorspielen. Wir hassen das! Es ist so peindlich, under wir haben immer Lampenfieber!...usw.-- if you could respond with a copy of just the page with the dialog, I would be very grateful. I was just in Zurich and Berlin, and the exposure to the language brought all of this rushing back -- not to mention my memories of "Trink, trink, Bruderlein, trink!" and "Osterhaas, komm doch bald. Komm heraus aus seimen Wald."

Thanks in advance,
Nancy


OK, here goes!

Title: INGRID UND DIE GÄSTE

Paragraph 1: O, schon wieder Gäste! Dort sitzen sie, essen Kuchen une trinken Kaffee! Und Mutter will immer, dass wir vorspielen. Wir hassen das. Es ist so peinlich, und wir haben immer Lampenfieber. Die Leute wollen unsre Musik doch gar nicht hören, sie sind nur höflich.

Paragraph 2: Aber Mutter ist stolz auf ihre musikalischen Kinder. Da ruft sie uns schon ins Wohnzimmer und stellt uns ihren Gästen vor. Wir werden ganz nervös. Susi spielt jetzt auf ihrer Violine; sie hat erst drei Monate Unterricht. Das glaubt ihr jeder, aber alle klatschen.

Paragraph 3: Nun klimpert Hans auf dem Klavier. „ Die Mondscheinsonate ” , sein Paradestück. Der arme Beethoven! Hans hat kein grosses Talent. Vater spielt es viel besser. Und bald komme ich dran. Ich bin auch keine Nachtigall, und ausserdem habe ich Schnupfen.

Paragraph 4: Hans ist fertig; alle applaudieren. Jetzt muss ich singen. Hans begleitet mich auf dem Klavier. Es ist Grossmamas Lieblingslied. „ Du bist wie eine Blume . . . ”
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