Learning Express Library (3 & 4)

Vocabulary & Spelling Course 2 : Roots, Prefixes and Suffixes

Interest level : The first lesson to this course was all about roots. No, it was not about tree roots (haha!), it was about the origin of certain words. I found the information very captivating because most roots are used in more than one language. For example, ''phobia'' which is an intense fear also exists in french. Of course, in french, it's ''une phobie.'' Knowing what ''phobia'' means and being able to identify it in other words is so useful because it makes complicated words, like ''agoraphobia, '' claustrophobia'' and ''hemophobia'' so much easier to understand.

Difficulty: One could consider this course as being difficult because most of the words in the exercises were uncommon and rarely used verbally, but by reading all the information given, the explanations and the roots', suffixes' and prefixes' definitions, it became less confusing and properly answering the practice tasks was much easier. Furthermore, after each exercise, the correct answers were given with explanations to why your answer was right or wrong.

What I learned: I learned that ''belligerent'' means warlike because of ''bell'' and that ''pathos'' is a word in the english language. Pathos comes from ''path'' which means ''sentiment.'' I also learned that there is a synonym to sociable. Gregarious is the equivalent of sociable because ''greg'' means ''crowd'' or ''herd.'' I believe my vocabulary has grown thanks to this course.

My grade : This course does not give you a grade at the end. You get feedback after each exercise instead.

Course rating: I found most of the practice methods quite relevant and varied. After reading a list of relatively common roots and a quick explanation to what each one means, you come to a page with words containing those roots along with a list of definitions. The task is to associate the words with their respectful definitions. There were also phrases where you had to fill in the spaces with the appropriate word and a few ''true or false questions''. The only negative part of the course, is that at the start of each lesson (there are four), you are asked to identify the words you recognize out of a list. When you submit your answers, you get no feedback at all and the exercises do not change depending on which words you already know. I did not understand the point.
I would give this course 7.5/10




Reading Comprehension Course 3 : Language and Style

Interest level : This course was divided into 5 lessons. I found it well structured and I was impressed because I find the most important parts of reading comprehension were summed up pretty well in only one course. The first lesson was about the point of view (first, second or third person narration). It was pretty basic but still pertinent. The following lessons were about diction, tone, and style. The information given was useful, clear and I find it would be good to read before an exam.

Difficulty : Although the information was adressed to College students, I found the exercices were written for 10 year olds. For example, I was asked to answer which was more formal between ''why don't ya come over tomorrow'' and ''We kindly request your presence tomorrow, January third 2009, for a light supper.'' However, I was even more disappointed when I was asked which was more specific between ''meet me at the corner'' and ''meet me at the corner of Broadway and Hutchinson and 4:30.'' So, basically, this course was not the least bit difficult.

What I learned : If I learned anything thanks to this course, I do not remember it, but I highly doubt that this course taught me something that I didn't already know.

My grade: Once again, I seem to have chosen a course that does not give you a grade at the end.
It does give you feedback but I found it quite useless, considering that the questions were so easy that almost all of my answers were correct.

Course rating : Aside from the very low difficulty level of this course, there is one thing I did appreciate. After the four lessons about style, diction, tone and point of view, there was a fifth lesson to sum it all up. The fifth lesson was actually three full pages of questions and tasks with everything learnt earlier in the course all mixed together. This is the first course that actually had a conclusion and a revision of the past notions.
That being said, I still give this course 6/10.