First Steps in Old English: An Easy to Follow Language Course for the Beginner

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Summary: Finally, A book on Anglo-Saxon that is Layman friendly!
Review: Great book. Layman friendly. You can buy an audio tape that goes with it seperately. Easy to use. These folks also sell Asatru ritual recordings in West Gothic and Old English among other things. Very helpful. A great book for people like me who are having trouble with some of the more egghead books on Old English. Wyatt Kaldenberg

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Summary: Nice try, but try again
Review: I was very excited when I ordered this book since it looked so good and the reviews were so good; unfortunately, when we tried to use it in a class, we found it confusing, filled with typos, and basically not very good.
For example, any beginning OE book that is intended for individual study should label the g's and c's that are pronounced as y's and ch's respectively. Not done. More over the layout made it very difficult to follow. I can't imagine how an autodidact could every make sense of it unless s/he already spoke Old Norse or Saxon.
I really applaud the effort to create a new, accessible book for today's learners, but Mr. Pollington would benefit from professional advice on layout and currriculum design.
There has been so much work done in the last twenty years on second language acquisition that could have informed this book.
Nonetheless, I want to thank Mr. Pollington for at least trying, but I really suggest that prospective learners use another text until the second, learner-friendly edition comes out.


Rating:
Summary: Not My Father's Anglo-Saxon Textbook
Review: This is a beginner's book for the modern student. It makes the language much more accessible than the old-style textbooks (you know, those standard Readers and Primers from the 19th century, when the educated man tackling Old English was expected to already know some other foreign languages, have a thorough grasp of grammatical terminology, and probably have a tutor). Mr. Pollington presents Old English in a step-by-step manner, introducing one bit of grammar at a time, with examples, short practices, and exercises every step of the way. By the end of the first 5-page section you are reading and writing simple sentences with minimal vocabulary. There is a lot to learn, but this book breaks it down into manageable pieces.

Rating:
Summary: Not My Father's Anglo-Saxon Textbook
Review: This is a beginner's book for the modern student. It makes the language much more accessible than the old-style textbooks (you know, those standard Readers and Primers from the 19th century, when the educated man tackling Old English was expected to already know some other foreign languages, have a thorough grasp of grammatical terminology, and probably have a tutor). Mr. Pollington presents Old English in a step-by-step manner, introducing one bit of grammar at a time, with examples, short practices, and exercises every step of the way. By the end of the first 5-page section you are reading and writing simple sentences with minimal vocabulary. There is a lot to learn, but this book breaks it down into manageable pieces.