Proper Assimilation of Assimil

Never having tried the popular language teaching materials called 'Assimil'--Assimil French with Ease, Assimil Spanish with Ease, etc., I decided to give the one for Spanish a try.  This series is the preferred method of learning a foreign language in Europe, or so I've heard. According to someone on a YouTube review of it, it's pronounced ASSimil, with the accent on the first syllable.  I was saying AsSIMil.  Who knew?

Having completed the first several lessons, I can easily see why it would appeal to some language learners.  It does deal with grammar, but it incorporates it into the dialogues and notes of the text.  This is probably the way grammar should be taught, at least at the first stages of learning.  Isolating sample sentences with no context makes learning grammar much more difficult than demonstrating the rules in full conversations.  It makes the grammar easier to remember and allows the learner to see ordinary situations in which, for example, the subjunctive mood is needed. 

Also, the dialogues seem natural and useful.  One of the main complaints I've had about a lot of language textbooks and self-teaching books is that I'm being fed a lot of words and phrases that I simply won't need in everyday conversation.  At the outset, I need only words that will likely pop up in a normal conversation or, in my case at this point in time, in a casual email.  Assimil seems pretty adept at this. 

Another attractive aspect of the series are the audio files that can be purchased along with the book.  Unfortunately, this ups the ante in the cost of the program.  The book is not cheap (even used copies run for around $30), but the audios are over $100.  Still, even it doesn't break the bank for you, they are very good tools for getting your pronunciation right and for practicing comprehension. 

I'll end this post by changing the subject to TV.  I've been watching the Spanish language miniseries Gran Hotel for the past few nights.  Luckily, NetFlix allows me to watch either with English subtitles or with no subtitles.  At this point, I would not be able to follow the story at all without subtitles.  The show is lavishly produced with lush sets and talented and gorgeous actors.  It's sort of the equivalent of a typical Spanish telenovela souped up BBC style.  I must admit that I was taken by surprise when one of the female characters pushed her sister out the window from one of the upper stories of the hotel.  It was late and I was sort of dozing off, but that really woke me up!  Did the girl survive?  Tune in next time to find out :)