Ultimate Spanish : Basic-Intermediate (Living Language)

Rating:
Summary: Very Good Refresher Course
Review: GREAT REFRESHER COURSE for former Spanish students.

I studied Spanish for 9 years and was practically fluent. 14 years later I find myself struggling to remember basic vocabulary, verb conjugations and familiar phrases. With my experience in the language, I've been able to successfully complete the first 5 lessons in only a few sessions, with excellent retention. My email friends from Spain and Peru have already noticed an improvement in my Spanish.

The CD's: "Learn at Home" are helpful if you need help with pronunciation. I enjoy learning from the "Learn on the Go" CD set because I am forced to recall the information without the aid of a textbook. I feel the pace of the conversation is good, and the CD format makes selecting a lesson easy.

Why only 4 stars? Another reviewer made flashcards....I made an Excel spreadsheet. It would have been great to have all the vocabulary and phrases on a ready-to-use CD or disk. Here's how: One column for the English words/phrases, one column for the Spanish translation, and a third column for the exam. Simply hide the Spanish column and type your answers into the exam column. Unhide the Spanish column to check you answers. Mark wrong answers with red text.

Format:The lessons are divided into functional topics like time, greetings, weather, health, food, phone calls...making it easy to learn and reference information. I find this format much more enjoyable than the traditional classroom & textbook method.

Rating:
Summary: Not a Good Book For Beginners
Review: I definitely do not recommended this book for someone who is trying to learn Spanish. I had 2 years of Spanish in High School and I was still confused going thru this book. The layout of the book is not conducive to learning spanish. It's skips over the basics and tries to engage you in conversations from the beginning.

Rating:
Summary: Not worth your time or money.
Review: I have done numerous language courses, and this one has to be the most annoying. There are two sets of CDs...one to learn with the book and one to learn in the car or "on the go". Unfortunately, they are really the same thing. The "on the go" version is extrememly difficult to follow, it's poorly organized, and the same voices that want you to repeat the spanish keep saying "lesson x, section n" in spanish, then with no warning or direction start throwing actual phrases at you. It's tough to tell what you're supposed to be repeating/learning and what's just telling you what lesson you're on. I returned the program and purchased Pimsleur's Speak and Read Spanish instead. It costs a bit more, but if you order from the used section (which doesn't alway mean used), it's fairly comparable. This is the second Pimslear's course I've done and I am very happy with it.

Rating:
Summary: Highly Reccomended
Review: If grammer lessons and Vocabulary drills are your thing, then by all means, this set is for you. I for one can not retain information in this manner, I need to lean Spanish the same way I learned English, just by doing it. For me, I learned to speak the language first, then refined it with grammer. That is just me though.

Rating:
Summary: Tres Estrellas Mas o Menos
Review: My wife and I found Ultimate Spanish: Basic-Intermediate rather confusing. On several occasions the text did not match the audio. Initially, I thought that it was done in error but as I continued with the course it became apparent that this was the author's method of showing the learner that there is more than one way to say certain words and phrases. This would have been perfectly fine with me if only the author would have explained that there was some method to this madness. Without an explanation, my first impression was that I was miscomprehending what I was hearing.

Despite the numerous "typos", there is much to be learned from this course. It is truly a vocabulary builder. It can teach you vocabulary for virtually every scenario - from purchasing jewelry for your wife to fixing a flat tire. I also enjoyed the cultural notes. The worst part about this course is that it will not teach you how to speak Spanish. If you already know how to speak Spanish, and you are only looking to enhance your vocabulary, then you will find this course useful. On the other hand, if you don't already know how to speak Spanish and you are looking for an effective learning tool you may find yourself somewhat disappointed with this course.

For those looking to learn conversational Spanish, I wholeheartedly recommend Learning Spanish Like Crazy at www.LearningSpanishLikeCrazy.com. I collect learning Spanish courses and books as a hobby. From my experience, Learning Spanish Like Crazy is the most effective learning Spanish course at least in terms of conversational Spanish. If reading and writing Spanish is as important to you as speaking it, then you may prefer the FSI Programmatic Spanish course developed by the Department of State. Whether you decide on Learning Spanish Like Crazy or FSI Programmatic Spanish, this course, Ultimate Spanish: Basic-Intermediate, if used properly, can be an effective supplementary course to enhance vocabulary (despite the countless typos).



Rating:
Summary: Not a Good Book For Beginners
Review: Overall, the word I'd use for this learning program is `unfocused.' The author just kind of wings it with no particular student in mind-or perhaps he was trying to be all things to all people, I don't know. His goal seems to be to cover the vast majority of Spanish grammar in a 6 x 9, 400 page book, leaving explanations too thin for beginning students and not providing information that would be critical to someone looking for a review.

These problems are compounded by strangely lazy writing. Vocabulary lists aren't alphabetized, generally don't include an article, and often don't allude to the fact that a given word has both a masculine and feminine form. The Learn on the Go CDs don't have a transcript. The occasional `lecturas' don't have a full translation, instead providing a very incomplete list of vocabulary words that takes up more space than a translation would have. Perhaps worst of all, written exercises are nearly non-existent.

I was already pretty well versed in Spanish vocabulary and grammar before I bought Ultimate Spanish and for my purposes (improving my listening comprehension) I guess it wasn't bad. Having said that, I don't know that I wouldn't have been better off just buying a Spanish novel and the corresponding audiobook, or perhaps spending $... renting a DVD that has a Spanish soundtrack and subtitles.

The odd truth is that there isn't a lot of good Spanish learning material out there and this course just adds to the mountains of mediocre books, tapes, and software already in existence. If, however, you're bent on using this program to learn Spanish, do yourself a favor and buy Dorothy Devney's two excellent (and inexpensive) workbooks as a supplement. They cover most of the same territory, but with infinitely greater depth and clarity.

Rating:
Summary: Good grammar textbook
Review: Since I have studied Spanish through much of my academic career, I have a pretty solid foundation. This book starts off a bit simplistic, but soon moves into more complex and more useful language skills. If you don't have any experience in Spanish, it might be a bit much to absorb at much, but for those with some working knowledge, this is a great reference book. The division into one set of cds for use with the book at home, and another set to use on the go is near perfect. It allows you to get more assistance from the text when you need it most: at the beginning. Later, when you are more familiar with the language, you can fine-tune your skills in the more immersive "On The Go" discs. The sound and recording quality is excellent. While you won't be fluent, you'll certainly be a competent Spanish speaker when you are through with this.

Rating:
Summary: Good grammar textbook
Review: This book is helping me learn Spanish but it is by no means a feasible course on its own. It's mostly focussed on grammar, and even that is introduced at a very rapid pace. The lessons consist of a short dialog, some grammatical notes with at most 3 or 4 examples, and a list of vocabulary. I found the audio lessons to be pretty impossible given the rate of the course.

One further complaint, I've detected a handful of errors in the answers to the chapter questions.

All up, this is a good grammar textbook but I'm covering the basics with other materials such as an easy reader and Pimsleur audio CDs. I wouldn't recommend it as your sole means of study.