FSI (Barron's): Foreign Language Learning Series Reviews

[@town944folk]

The first book showed my native language; "Shona". I am impressed!

[@ProfASAr]

Glad to share resources for lesser studied languages!

[@surrected4526]

The FSI French Phonology suits me perfectly. The drills are necessarily effective given my particular learning style. What may be boring to many, is rather meditative and refreshing to me. In fact, I find that my pronunciation has improved significantly, and that my recall is astounding.

[@dbag57]

I spent many, many hours working through FSI Spanish basic some years ago and found the same thing..it was like a meditation. A lot of people don't like FSI but I would be tempted to go through a new language just because I enjoyed the process

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting.

[@user-um7tw6kx4r6]

This is great advice, as I tend to be too hyper while doing the drills and I wear myself out

[@vicheakeng6894]

Hello#9 usa$8.99 3grade star Mrs Green Room 22

[@davidlericain]

Everyone says these are boring. But for me at the age of 13 and wanting to learn French I found them so engaging. I think simply because the method works. You get results fast and in ways that aren't possible by any other means. It's like exercising for a few days and getting completely ripped. So who cares if it's boring. It's also super exciting because it reprograms your brain in real time and you can finally THINK in the language by the time your done.

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you for sharing your experience with these. You are not alone in finding them uniquely effective.

[@rbux1636]

I'm really enjoying the Swahili FSI course at the moment! And wow that's amazing, how's your French studies so far?

[@davidlericain]

@Rbux Haha. My French is good. It's been many many years since I started studying. Now it's just the long process of getting incrementally better.

[@rbux1636]

@@davidlericain that's great to hear! I actually plan to study French after I get to a certain level of fluency in Swahili, do you have any resource recommendations that have helped you? Any tips? Anything is appreciated :)

[@davidlericain]

@@rbux1636 Use the FSI books if you can find them. And then, just stick with it. Listen and read a LOT. Doesn't matter what you listen to or read, just get lots of input.

[@NinjaDeathtrap]

My biggest wish in life is that your language course series is remade or expanded on without the 10 minute limit that existed when you made theese. I just love listening and learning from them!

[@axelphoenix8210]

Can't agree more! Watching these videos since 2017 and these videos made me fall in love with different languages and resources. I wish he would do more comprehensive and updated reviews of these resourses.

[@ProfASAr]

Request heard and taken in to consideration.

[@stanmckay1236]

Just a note. These were NOT designed for military but for the State Department. Your point is exactly correct, new diplomats are expected to be fluent in spanish in just a few months, for example. But the context is diplomatic and the Foreign Service Institute is the teaching school for foreign service officers. Some of the dialogs seem (to a non-diplomat not aware of its purpose) seem to deal quite a bit with embassies, consulates, etc.

[@MrDirtBaggins]

Stan McKay Yeah they were NOT taught by drill Sargents. My navy grandfather said the Foreign Service Officers were hard working good people who stayed in the war zone during and after war, but they were never meant to be soldiers

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting.

[@andymounthood]

There is an excellent (though not cheap) Russian course which uses the same method as FSI (audio-lingual). It's called _Modern Russian 1_ (and 2) by Clayton L. Dawson and others, published by Georgetown University in 1964. Google Books offers a preview of it. It's most useful as a book-and-audio set (cassette or CD), which I haven't been able to find for less than $300 new. I've studied a few chapters, and those grammatical points are well-ingrained in my head, while I still struggle with other grammar that I've encountered in other books but haven't studied in this one yet. It also teaches pronunciation in each lesson (rising and falling pitch, etc.) and reading and writing in cursive, which is the usual way Russians write.

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting.

[@chiminox]

I'm cuerrently studying Mandarin using the FSI course as my primary method. I have to say I'm really impressed by the depth covered in the course. So far I've completed 2 modules in less than a week and the progress I've made (compared to Pimsleur's method) is astonishing. I'd like to know if the mandarin for that specific FSI course is outdated, and if so... would that be grave ? Thanks in advance !

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting.

[@eldee8591]

I find these great for learning grammar - very thorough. I find these courses can be fun if used with other materials such as passive learning through Netflix and Lingq as well as chatting with Italki. Edit: I use FSI after doing a large passive phase in my learning. I may have been chatting for a while too (communicative with bad grammar). Then when I go through FSI I get that "aha" moment (again and again) when I grasp a grammar point. It doesn't feel boring because I already have a background in the language. I make sure I record my mistakes with cloze cards in Anki so that I've always mastered a unit and so I'm always building on each unit without feeling it's over my head. If I didn't do this and rushed through it and hadn't built on the previous unit (or kept repeating an old unit to master it) then this course could get boring (or difficult). The message is that it's about how you use the tools that make them useful or not.

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you for sharing your experience and making an excellent point about how one uses tools.

[@LisaHerger]

I used their French and Russian courses and they are fantastic. Their Italian course doesn't use the pattern drills, though. It am I missing something? Is there an Italian course available that uses the pattern drill method?

[@marchaparnaiba6945]

Aasimil italian is complete.

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting.

[@Artexerxes101]

Where and how did you get the government issue books? I found a few books at my local library, but they were hardcover versions, which I'm assuming weren't government-issued.

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting.

[@jennifera4369]

Professor, Do you know the differences between the different FSI courses within a language? For example, Italian has "Headstart", "FAST", and "Programmed" courses. There is no "Basic" in Italian. I don't know why a student would use one course over the other; even after reading an old FSI catalog (from 1989?), I'm still confused and would appreciate your guidance in selecting the right course. I am currently using Assimil (after seeing your videos), a grammar, a reader, and occasionally, a native speaker (boyfriend). Thank you for your time and expertise.

[@ibarix]

"So out of the 4 course type, 2 (HeadStart and Programmed Introduction) are suitable for self-learning, according to the FSI/DLI. They don't cover a great deal of material, but they are thorough in pronunciation, which is a massive part of communicating in a foreign language. The Basic courses are designed to be done in a classroom environment. But they are so thorough and contain so much audio, that you can forego the need for an instructor and use a native teacher to make up for the real-life interaction. The FAST courses appear to be the most unsuitable, especially for beginner language learner. They are fast paced, complicated and are designed to be undertaken with an instructor during 8 intense weeks."

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting.

[@Bvajen]

I might try the German course at some point. This sounds exactly like the type of language learning I need. I need to do repetitions of things and drills seem a great way to accomplish that. I've tried more 'fun' courses before, but those just don't really work for my style of learning.

[@andym28]

I make my own up based on stuff I talk about like Netflix or travel. Use deepl and a native friend. The context of the conversation is vital for the brain not to switch off.

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting.

[@boredcrab2]

I actually found a bunch of these in an old used book store and bought them. I haven't gone through them yet, but i was just wondering do you absolutely need the tapes to work through them? because I don't have them :/ ....might've been why they were so cheap...

[@richardjasonsavage5402]

you can find the tapes here: www.101languages.net/fsi-courses/ fsi-languages.yojik.eu/languages/fsi.html

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting.

[@kkeanie]

Sorry, I am twelve years late, where can I purchase these books, I am very interested into getting my hands on a psychical French language course and I also have to say that I have I already have the digital library of all of the ones that I want off of the website.

[@ProfASAr]

They were freely available online - twelve years ago...

[@pucksaver95]

I'm not sure if the content would be the same, but they have tons of audio online at FSI's site.

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting.

[@iuri7792]

Hi, I wonder if I, not being an US citizen, would be able to get a hold of one copy of those official book prints of their courses and mp3s. I would love to own the German, Korean and Chinese ones. The Japanese actually would also be amazing for me but I read somewhere it`s copyrighted.

[@pingjuaneza2547]

Hello there, If you are willing to purchase FSI courses, I would suggest looking for the FSI published by " audio forum " . it is the company which was originally chosen by the US government to produce these awesome courses. =) you may look them up in amazon.com or just google audio forum FSI courses for sale. that will probably lead you to their main website. take care and God bless you =)

[@iuri7792]

Thank you very much for replying, this is exactly what I was looking for! God bless you too!

[@pingjuaneza2547]

***** no problem, FSI method though is very thorough and thick. Have fun with it. Im not using mine right now. Im just trying to get my head into getting used to reading. 1 hour a day of reading in german. Im so sick of opening another grammar book in german. So i would rather do some activities and get comfortable with the language heheehe

[@Real_LiamOBryan]

I'm trying to find where to get these books. I would like to buy the German basic course books. I don't need the audio. Any help would be appreciated!

[@denzel5201]

Here is a website that hosts all the FSI languages and materials fsi-languages.yojik.eu/languages/fsi.html

[@zabaanshenaas]

The FSI courses are excellent, and I'm so happy that they can be downloaded for free. I've downloaded them all, from Amharic to Yoruba, though it is mostly the Vietnamese course that I'm studying now, and it has great audio quality.

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting.

[@Phylaetra]

I think that one thing you are missing is that the courses are more than just these books. These language courses would last months of 4-hours a day, 5 days a week class time - that is a lot more than the 30 hours of drill - presumably the classes included other (and both more varied and more fun) activities. I look at the free materials available as a supplement to other courses and materials, I don't think it would be helpful to use just the FSI materials unless you are already at an intermediate-high level and want to polish your speaking skills. I notice that I already know (at B1) everything (grammar-wise) in the FSI French course, and most (if not all) of the vocabulary - but I find the phonology and drills helpful with my conversation. I also like the little "Le Monde Francophone" book which gives mini-histories and background for French-speaking countries. I don't think it would be helpful to use any of the materials as the sole source to begin a new language, but I plan on learning Arabic next and using the FSI texts to supplement other sources. Oh - and, of course, these courses are 40-60 years out of date - do not expect to see any discussion of the internet... :)

[@ProfASAr]

Of course these were just the text materials in the training program, but they are sold / offered now as stand alones, so that is what I am reviewing here.

[@ByronPhillipWilliams]

How are you intended to study the FSI courses, i.e. 1 unit per day, I'm not sure ?

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting.

[@davidsenelnick7124]

Professor, I just learned about this technique within the last week. The biggest thing that i'm confused about is when I should be focused on the english translation/meaning. Am I just supposed to memorize the sentences and then look at the word by word translation later? Please help.

[@othmaneet-tir929]

same question I hope someone answers.

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting.

[@ispeakmucho]

I've used FSI since 2005. The best answer here is to skim the English just enough to gain meaning when you hear the new sounds. Then just focus on giving the new sounds meaning. The same meaning the English had. If "me encanta" means I love... then I say the dialogues over and over, forcing myself to feel love of an item. Me ENCANTA este video. Over and over. Now me encanta feels like "I love"

[@joel447-u8n]

I believe that in this case, these texts are also a great discipline training, because you must have discipline to be constant with something that can be monotonous and boring .

[@SailorNau]

Está bien dicho "¿Donde está la farmacia?". Ambas frases son correctas.

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting.

[@bergulometro]

does anyone have an idea how many words a FSI course can teach you? I mean, I know that average Assimil courses can teach you up to 2000/3000 words (which I consider as a good basis), would a FSI course allow you to learn more or less words than that? thanks!

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting.

[@MrDirtBaggins]

I got the Hungarian course. I really like it.

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting.

[@SalvadorianThunder]

@USStateSponTerrorism In latin american spanish all those sentences you mentioned are ok.

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting.

[@USStateSponTerrorism]

I just checked one of the Spanish Language FSI courses and it had a grammatical error in Spanish. It said, "Dónde está la farmacia? It should be, "Dónde queda la farmacia?" Está is for "temporary" location and "quedar" is for permanent location,something that doesn't change its location,i.e. Dónde está Juan?

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting.

[@danamiller2233]

The print is really small...

[@ProfASAr]

Sorry, that's the way it is...

[@beanpasteposts]

They're typewritten! lol

[@GwenStephens-e4m]

Garcia Charles Lee Christopher Robinson Betty