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Spoken WordI have a smart playlist in iTunes containing all the podcasts and other spoken-word tracks (such as comedy and audiobooks) which have not been listened to yet. Whenever I am doing something which leaves my ears and mind free but does not allow me to read, such as waiting for a bus, walking, or doing housework, I listen to this playlist in a random order. This amounts to a couple of hours a day. There is a fairly complete list of the artists involved this last.fm article.
As far as audiobooks go, I don't have many, but I've developed a fondness for Pimsleur's introductory language courses. I don't know whether they are more or less effective than any other introductory language courses, but what I like is that they all follow exactly the same formula, with translations of the same conversations, and the same patter in between them... it's amusing. These are not mentioned in the aforementioned article because I've already listened to them.| Pimsleur Quick and Simple French for English Speakers | The very first thing I did, in late January 2005, the day I found out that I'd be moving to Geneva, was to download Pimsleur's French for English Speakers audiobook from Audible (now available on iTunes.) I'd listened to the equivalent audiobook in German and it seemed like a good enough way to get a basic introduction. It's eight half-hour lessons covering exactly the same stuff as the German one. Down to the exact phrases and conversations, with slight variations to suit the language. Hello, do you speak English, I speak a little bit of French, where is Rue Saint-Jacques, Rue Saint-Jacques is not here, Boulevard Saint-Michel is here, Rue Saint-Jacques is over there, etc. It's a good way to get a few basics and a general feel for the language just as somewhere to start from, though everything I learnt has been long since been overwritten by a more general grammatical understanding. More... | | Pimsleur Quick and Simple French for English Speakers | The very first thing I did, in late January 2005, the day I found out that I'd be moving to Geneva, was to download Pimsleur's French for English Speakers audiobook from Audible (now available on iTunes.) I'd listened to the equivalent audiobook in German and it seemed like a good enough way to get a basic introduction. It's eight half-hour lessons covering exactly the same stuff as the German one. Down to the exact phrases and conversations, with slight variations to suit the language. Hello, do you speak English, I speak a little bit of French, where is Rue Saint-Jacques, Rue Saint-Jacques is not here, Boulevard Saint-Michel is here, Rue Saint-Jacques is over there, etc. It's a good way to get a few basics and a general feel for the language just as somewhere to start from, though everything I learnt has been long since been overwritten by a more general grammatical understanding. More... | | Pimsleur Quick and Simple Modern Greek for English Speakers | It's almost a tradition now, when I want to learn a language, I first download 'Pimsleur Quick and Simple X for English Speakers.' Not because I think it's a really great way to learn a language, just because it's somewhere to start from, and I can get it without leaving the house. It's almost comical how similar they are to each other. I listened to a snippet of 'Pimsleur Quick and Simple English for Italian Speakers' (because there was no Pimsleur Quick and Simple Italian for English Speakers) and I could understand most of the instruction in Italian simply because they say exactly the same things as is said in English in the other Pimsleur Quick and Simple audiobooks. Hello, I speak a little bit of Greek, where is Victory Street? Victory Street is not here, Victory Street is over there... | | Pimsleur Quick and Simple Modern Greek for English Speakers | It's almost a tradition now, when I want to learn a language, I first download 'Pimsleur Quick and Simple X for English Speakers.' Not because I think it's a really great way to learn a language, just because it's somewhere to start from, and I can get it without leaving the house. It's almost comical how similar they are to each other. I listened to a snippet of 'Pimsleur Quick and Simple English for Italian Speakers' (because there was no Pimsleur Quick and Simple Italian for English Speakers) and I could understand most of the instruction in Italian simply because they say exactly the same things as is said in English in the other Pimsleur Quick and Simple audiobooks. Hello, I speak a little bit of Greek, where is Victory Street? Victory Street is not here, Victory Street is over there... | | Pimsleur Quick and Simple German for English Speakers | The first thing I did to learn German was to download this audiobook. It teaches fairly basic stuff, like how to say hello, I only speak a little bit of German, where is Goethe Straße, Goethe Straße is here, Goethe Straße is not here, Goethe Straße is over there, etc. I was so excited when, on my first day in Frankfurt, in a taxi on the way to the hotel, I saw the street sign for Goethe Straße. I wanted to cry out, 'Die Goethe Straße ist hier!' More... | | Pimsleur Quick and Simple German for English Speakers | The first thing I did to learn German was to download this audiobook. It teaches fairly basic stuff, like how to say hello, I only speak a little bit of German, where is Goethe Straße, Goethe Straße is here, Goethe Straße is not here, Goethe Straße is over there, etc. I was so excited when, on my first day in Frankfurt, in a taxi on the way to the hotel, I saw the street sign for Goethe Straße. I wanted to cry out, 'Die Goethe Straße ist hier!' More... |
This page has been accessed  times since 2024-04-29 18:25:33 Last updated: 2007-01-04 11:36:14
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