Tutescrew wrote:I am looking for some audio-only learning material for my commute times. There does not seem to be much beginner material in that format, although I may not be looking in the right locations. Any suggestions?
Another possibility is
Pasporto al la Tuta Mondo. This is actually a video immersion course, but it can be turned into an audo-only course. Here's how I did it:
I bought the videos, which includes a CD/DVD with transcripts of all the vidoes as well as a group of exercises for all the lessons. Those don't HAVE to be used to get a lot out of the course.
Convert videos to mp3s. The videos are all on youtube. There is at least one free good youtube to mp3 converter on the net, but I forget which one it is. (If the website tells you you have out of date software and need to install an update, just close the browser and search for a different youtube to mp3 converter.
Then, you can optionally split each 27 minute lesson into smaller parts if you want. I split each lesson into 4 mp3s.
1) Intro remarks.
2) The first 1/2 of the play for the lesson.
3) Second 1/2 of the play.
4) Closing remarks, which are in Esperanto and may emphasize a grammar point or two.
Parts 1 and 4 are about 2-5 minutes each. Parts 2 and 3 are about 8-10 minutes each. This was convenient for my attention span and the length of trips I tend to take.
Then listen and possibly shadow the audio. That was my main learning method with the course. The videos are very helpful and I do recommend watching them at least once before listening to the audio. It will help you understand what you're saying.
Overall, this course is fantastic. The whole series, 15-16 lessons is about 8 hours. The story is like a soap opera or situation comedy. For me, it didn't get boring, although I watched and listened to it many times. Part of what keeps it interesting is that each time through, you get a bit more than the previous. So, similar to my suggestion of "waves" for Jen Nia Mondo, I would do the same with this course. The course progresses, so it may be hard to understand exactly why the actors are doing what they are doing at first, but as your Esperanto improves, it just gets funnier and you appreciate it more.
Note, this course is 100% immersion. The videos are entirely in Esperanto, but it is designed for beginners. At times I would go to the transcript or the dictionary to get a better understanding. In and of itself, this makes for a multi-track method.
Also, since the course is a bit of a behemoth, you can come back to it later in your studies of if it ever gets too hard or too dull.
A lot of pedagogic thought went into it.