Following on from the success of our Beginners’ series, which aimed to get complete beginners and those wanting to refresh their language skills comfortable as quickly as possible in a new language, we wanted to lift the curtain on the hard work that the Teach Yourself team has been doing to help bring our Completes series to you – refreshed and better than ever.
As with Beginners’, we’re launching this series in waves, starting with the four most commonly spoken European languages – French, Italian, German and Spanish. We fondly refer to these as ‘FIGS’ in the team, which has gotten confusing for our colleagues who think we’re referring to the fruit!
First up, the content – we’ve made sure that this refreshed edition includes up-to-date references and content reflecting a modern, global community. Each of the 20 units contains culture notes and links to authentic language and content accessed via QR code so you can be sure that the words you’re learning are the ones used in that language naturally. For example, this means that in Complete Italian, one of the QR code takes you to the page of the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence, introducing the Medici family and explaining why Botticelli's artwork is so beloved throughout the word to this day - a useful thing to know if you're planning on visiting some art galleries on your travels to Italy!
To supplement this, we’ve included up to 6 hours of accompanying audio featuring authentic speakers helps you understand, pronounce and speak the language. We know that sometimes the hardest part of learning a new language can be just getting over that initial hurdle of speaking it out loud, so this is a great way to improve your listening and speaking skills to communicate more effectively. You might find that you need to buy a train ticket at a desk in Paris, and so understanding the difference between le Metro and le RER is useful in planning your journey around the French capital.
One of the things that helps Teach Yourself books to stand out is our unique Discovery Method, which emphasises inductive learning – that is, learning which is led by you. Each of the exercises and examples in the book encourages you to actively identify patterns and draw your own conclusions, deepening understanding and significantly strengthening memory retention. In Complete German, you're guided through new vocabulary in a way that allows you to build on what you know already and the natural patterns that come up as you become more familiar with a new language.
Finally, and perhaps most exciting, this is a book that has been written to make learning a new language enjoyable – one of the core tenets of what we do at Teach Yourself. Throughout the book, we’ve woven through a compelling storyline which piques your curiosity and motivates you to keep learning to get to the end of the narrative. This also showcases some unique and beautiful aspects of French culture through the vibrant food scene of Paris and Brussels. You can explore the beauty of the Italian city of Venice through its art and architecture in the Italian course, be swept along in a coming-of-age story set in bustling Berlin and unravel buried family secrets in Madrid through the discovery of a mysterious photograph.
Each of the books has been written by university professors who have extensive hands-on experience with students in the classroom – some of them have even received glowing write ups in The Times! Whether or not you’re using this in a classroom setting or as a self-study guide to keep you on track alongside other resources, we really think that this refreshed series of Completes has everything you need to unlock all four key skills whilst allowing you to stay motivated as you progress from beginner to intermediate level.
We hope you’ve enjoyed the lifting of the curtain behind our refreshed Completes series – as always, the whole team at Teach Yourself are cheering you on in your language learning journey!
You can purchase the revised series for French, Italian, German and Spanish now!