Should I focus on learning language in "blocks" over the word for word method ? (Assimil, TeachYourself, etc)

At my current level I understand much misunderstandings can occur when translating word for word because context is needed for most of language. However, I am trying to get my head around the practicality or usefulness of methods like Assmil to learn common and timely phrases that I can be used at a moments notice to supplement my vocab growth. In conversations, in my target I may be able to use both common pre generated phrases or craft my own sentence on the fly. Thoughts?

You seem to be gathering enough material to write the definitive treaty on language learning! Will you share your collected works with us one of these days? We can all profit that way! :slight_smile:

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Para un estudiante que habla inglés, y que aprende un idioma latino, es posible traducir palabra a palabra. Sin embargo, no puede hacer esto todo el tiempo. Frases como “no tener pelos en la lengua” sueñan ridículosas en inglés y necesitas pensar un poquito para que las entiendas. Este es donde los libros pueden ser útiles.

Espero que me entiendas. No he hablado español desde hace mucho tiempo

I am happy to share…for sharing is caring…:slight_smile: One tidbit I know I surely use is that writhing is lethargic … When I write a question out that boggles my mind (usually my last resort)…I’m happy to find someone to “rescue me” but I’m even more excited If i find that I was able to rescue myself.

I’m having a hard time tying your question to Assimil, TY, etc. Are you saying they encourage people not to learn single words? That might be the case, but people often throw the rules out when they do a course, especially Assimil. It seems no two people do that course the same way.

Personally, I learn both words and sentences, and especially in the beginning, I reinforce them with flashcards (ala anki) going both directions. If you are one of those rare individuals who can assimilate the language the way Assimil tells you to, more power to you. In that case, it would be a waste of time to do single words.

Yo te entiendo muy bien. Las sentencias de tuyo leían como miel al junto con leche caliente (ya se me la boca agua :slight_smile: ) . He estado utiliza lingq para lectura y he ido a través unas desafíos como todas las personas que usan el servicio de lingq. Actualmente, he realizado que de vez en cuando nos necesitamos sacar un paso atrás asi que comprenderemos qué está ocurriendo o qué ha ocurría . Asi, de vez en cuando, podría necesitamos para utiliza idioma de bloques. En este manera es asi.

I am saying that… For me… I lost a speaking battle a bit ago… (the loss was also a win)… but I was having a hard time putting together sentence in my mind from scratch. I thought back to when I was a child and most of my sentences were not of my own creation but what I could find copy from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, my moms adult conversations and what I heard from friends. In that way, I am realizing the possible usefulness of learning language in blocks (scripts of useful sentences) that could enable a person like me to build my ability. However, I am starting to feel that writing my target in making me better because it is providing a ideal battle ground to practice making an argument or conveying a point of view…I could some what Practice proving my point by speaking…but I dont want to overly annoy the person I am talking to by taking long time to respond …then starting over…(now I will if I have to…) when I could have simply maybe developed this ability better through writing.

I agree, with you. I’m not saying that Assimil teaches not to learn single words…It think it just teaches. I am maybe just understanding the possible usefulness of both sides of that coin.

I understand what you’re saying now. You didn’t fare well in your earlier attempts at conversation. The learning curve for conversation is almost always very steep. Even seasoned polyglots have to struggle very hard to get up it. The big advantage they have over other learners is that they know this is always the case, and they know they will eventually succeed.

That being said, there are some things you can do to grease the skids. First and most obviously, talk a lot. These days there’s no excuse - if you have time, you should be able to get regular conversation. If you can’t, or you won’t because you are too shy, afraid of failure, etc, anything else you do is futile.

And if you are doing regular conversation, there are lots of other things you can do to grease the skids. I’ll mention listening first because, other than conversing, it’s probably the most neglected skill of people concerned about poor conversation. The other big things on the list are reading, writing, vocabulary and grammar. Good luck!