Rating: Summary: Simply incredible Review: *Note - I just changed this review and upped the rating from 4 to 5 stars.This eight-CD set has a brilliant start. After listening to the first four CDs, I felt very accomplished - the author takes you through key phrases and words in a logical manner. Be forewarned, the last four CDs get difficult very quickly! You will have to deal with irregular verbs in the present, past, and future tenses. The accompanying book is quite useful for written exercises. Despite the typos and unprofessional presentation (old typewriter fonts, uneven spacing, old-style illustrations), I find the exercises challenging - the CDs are a lot easier to get through compared to the book. Overall, I recommend this book/CD set to people who are totally new to Spanish. I came in with high school and college French, which helped a little. One strange thing about the CD set is the length of each track. Apparently they just ripped the audio from the tape versions, which were 30 minutes for each side. Thus, you get 30-minute tracks! You better have a CD player that remembers where you left off.
Rating: Summary: Best Course I Have Found - Terrific! Review: Behind the Wheel Spanish is the best Spanish course I have found. Not only did I learn a lot, but it was great fun. I had previously tried Barron's course which was developed by the Foreign Service Institute and it was just awful. I then moved to Pimsleur which was limited (no book) and expensive. Language Dynamics did a great job on this one folks. You'll really learn Spanish with this one like I did and I bet you'll enjoy it too.
Rating: Summary: Poor quality and poor methodology Review: I am actually returning the tapes. I thought the sound quality was poor and the methodology was equally poor. There is little repetition and though the speaker requests that the listener repeat phrases, little time is given to repeat the phrases. The tapes spend alot of time on sentences and not on the actual words that make up the sentence. These tapes might be more appropriate for advanced speakers wanting to polish their skills but I would not recommend them for beginners.
Rating: Summary: Multiple Tracks at Last!! Review: I am and continue to be a big fan of Language Dynamics, their method and above all, the Behind the Wheel Series. I am delighted to have purchased the newer version of Behind the Wheel Spanish 8 CD with text which has Multiple Tracks and is completely edited with no reference to tapes whatsoever. The former course was good but this one is great since I can now sail from lesson to lesson with my track changer and still enjoy the award winning voices and accents that have made this course an all time favorite.
Rating: Summary: UNSYSTEMATIC Review: I am convinced that I received a different product than the one that has received the glowing reviews. I hope this review appears objective in order to help possible purchasers. The criticisms: 1. The CD program does not follow any apparent sequence/order, nor does the instructor provide any headings for each new section (I am generous with the word section here). I think this is important since one is relying completely on the instructor without the benefit of the book (compare Penton's Learn in Your Car series - short lessons, in a logical sequence, which are always introduced by the speakers - a far better organized course) With the Behind the Wheel program you will have no idea where you are (or why), or where you are going; 2. A great deal of the program is repetitive, although Frobose advises that repetition and review are important to the foreign language acquisition process. Admittedly, repetition and review are important - but why waste valuable time repeating "It's 5:30" 50 times when more time could be devoted to providing additional material? (I think numbers were repeated approx. 10 times - perhaps more) Repetition, it seems, is something better accomplished on subsequent listens; 3. Although more of a personal matter, I found Frobose to sound somewhat condescending. The "native" speaker is almost comical in the way he over-pronounces each word. Certainly, the words are expressed clearly, but if you pronounce the words in the same way as the native speaker, I am sure you will get some raised eyebrows; and, 4. Some reviewers suggest the interesting phrases/idioms are helpful for sounding "native." Honestly, the isolated phrases presented throughout the course have no context - they just come "out of the blue." Further, the phrases are not broken down for an understanding of the words/phrase (for a true "building block" system see Michel Thomas' Spanish with Michel Thomas. With MT you will build from an understanding of one word, then two, then three, etc. until you can formulate a sentence) I would not suggest any one purchase this course. If you are looking for a solid foundation, start with Michel Thomas to gain an understanding of the structure of the language. I would follow MT with Learn in Your Car (3 volume) for additional structure and vocabulary (which MT lacks). Hope this helps in the foreign language quest.
Rating: Summary: Very Fast, Simple, and Effective Review: I am delighted with the excellent results I am getting from Behind the Wheel Spanish. As a commuter, both by train and car, I can say that nothing is more important to me than clear, effective, and enjoyable Spanish instruction. The results speak for themselves, and the process was so easy and fast!!
Rating: Summary: Simplifies and Speeds Up Speaking Spanish Review: I bought Behind the Wheel Spanish upon the recommendation of a friend who had heard an interview with Mark (the founder of Language Dynamics) while on business in California on a radio program called LA Insight with Skip Kelly. She was so impressed that she bought the course right away and learned to speak Spanish right away as well. About a month ago I saw Mark's interview here in New York on Fox 5's 'Good Day New York' where I was instantly impressed by his method to teaching foreign languages in a simple and fast way. Seeing and hearing this and having her glowing recommdation before me daily compelled me to buy the course as well. The course performed for me just like it did for her (of course, I had to PRACTICE) but it was well worth because now I can speak Spanish. Below are my impressions of what makes Behind the Wheel Spanish so effective at making novice learners like myself totally conversational in just a few weeks: 1. The product has superb clarity of voices and exudes a spontaneity which makes learning Spanish fun. Thanks to this, you feel an affinity for the course and actually enjoy it. Big plus. 2. The fast and easy to learn design of the course, beginning with the immediate gratification you feel when you conclude your first one half hour session with the CDs speaking sentences in Spanish that Spanish speakers understand 10 minutes later on the street. 3. The 'natural' way you just seem to pick up Spanish without having to learn grammar or reviewing. No need to go back. It's all 'built in' the course. Just keep playing it over and over, wherever you are. 4. The joy of hearing a Spanish speakers voice that is sooo good that every Spanish speaker you bring to listen to your CDs says that 'This guy's Spanish is excellent' . 5. The thrill of being able to express what you really feel in 100 different ways because you know own a linguistic blueprint, a template that you can manipulate over and over again in different and personal ways while increasing your fluency. 6. The satisfaction that comes from knowing that instead of wasting your time doing nothing in your car, while jogging, shopping, walking, etc ... that you are becoming fluent in Spanish. And this is confirmed by native Spanish speakers with whom you interact daily with whom you share what you have learned from your course. 7. Getting the past, present and future along with idioms all in the same course. 8. Having a complete illustrated text with answer keys on the same page for home or office review. Behind the Wheel Spanish really simplifies and speeds up learning Spanish.
Rating: Summary: What a joke Review: I bought this audio tape series to use in the car, just as advertised. What I found was the tape required you to continuously keep your finger on the rewind button, to re-play each phrase - about 80% of entire series has only ONE pronunciation of each phrase, so you have to re-wind constantly! Not for me, esspecially while driving! You've been warned...
Rating: Summary: CLEAR AND CONCISE - MODERN APPROACH Review: I found this course excellent. Mark Frobose has a very modern approach to language learning. He gets right into it with phrases that you would use everyday and just builds on it from there. Mark and Luis have extremely easy-to-listen-to voices. This is the first time I have learnt a language and this course has made it very enjoyable. The CD's can be played anytime, in the car or at home. Grammar has to be learnt, but can be tedious, but this method just propels you along. I found the book very good, and by doing the exercises set out in the book was a further learning tool. The cost of me getting the course from Amazon and getting to Australia was well worth it. I started learning Spanish for self-interest with a girlfriend and had no intention of travelling to any Spanish speaking countries. Having this course makes me want to go now!!
Rating: Summary: Solid basic Spanish for people on the go Review: I had a little Spanish in college and a few visits to Spanish-speaking countries. I needed a major brush-up before a two-week trip to Latin America. This CD set was ideal. It covers a lot of ground, sometimes rather quickly,but refreshed my memory for vocabulary, verb structure, the nuances of pronouns and some idioms. The sound on the CD set is excellent and the Spanish speaker has superb diction. I've been listening to it in the car, my only free time to do that, and that works very well. Just rewind to go over something again or hit pause when traffic distracts you. Very satisfied overall.
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