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Rating: 
Summary: Must buy
Review: I have used the very fine Pimsleur course for another language (Hebrew) but, in looking for a course that costs a fraction of the Pimsleur price, I struck gold with the Berlitz Basic Spanish. There are 24 lessons, each about 7 minutes long. The lessons are divided into scenes on three audio tapes. The lessons are taught entirely in Spanish. It is amazing how well this works by putting the conversation in context and by using a guidebook. By going through each lesson several times and doing the exercises in the book, you learn Spanish in an easy and enjoyable manner, Having used Pimsleur, I believe that dollar for dollar, the Berlitz method compares well. You can't go wrong with either {Pimsleur or Berlitz) but, for less than 30 bucks, your money is very well spent with the Berlitz basic Spanish. The big difference between these two fine methods (Berlitz & Pimsleur) is the following: (1) Pimsleur has a series of 32 longer lessons in which the language is taught using both English and the language you are learning on the tape. The Pimsleur lessons are about an hour long. (2) The series of Berlitz lessons are about 8 or so minutes long and no English is spoken. The accompanying book provides English translation in marginal notes for new words that are introduced into the vocabulary. Both, programs are effective but Berlitz is a great bargain.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth buying
Review: I purchased this tape and book package to acquaint myself with Swedish for a trip we are taking. I wanted to listen to it during my work commute. The tape is hard to follow without the book, is not consistent with information in the book and moves ahead much too quickly for a beginner. Don't bother.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for vocabulary but not speaking
Review: I started learning Swedish phrases through reading this book but come to find out when I had a real Swede tutor me later on that the pronunciation of the words and phrases in the book were mostly wrong. It is a good book to learn quick vocabulary and phrases but be sure to learn the correct pronunciation first!
Rating:
Summary: The best for begginers
Review: It is a really useful book for people with no time to learn swedish using the long way. Practical words, phrases, idioms, and expresions. If you only want to communicate accurate in many situations without any idea what the swedish is, This is the right book, the cassete is very interactive. Don't forget you Swedish dicctionary Berlitz also, is really good despite its size. Both, are easy to carry on with you all time.
Rating: 
Summary: Usable Pronunciation Guide in Book
Review: Swedish is a very difficult language for Americans to pronounce. It's a double tone language. In other words, you often stress more than one syllable in the same word. This sounds kinda silly to English speakers. You simply cannot look at this book (or any book) and try to speak Swedish. What is good about this book is the pronuniation guide that appears beside each word. This makes it possible that you won't sound silly every time you try to speak Swedish. Once you have been in Swedish and listened to the way they speak, you can use this book's pronunication guides and try to immitate the Swedes. But, this book is really only for travelers, and travelers don't need to speak Swedish. Most Swedes speak English very well.
Rating:
Summary: Usable Pronunciation Guide in Book
Review: Swedish is a very difficult language for Americans to pronounce. It's a double tone language. In other words, you often stress more than one syllable in the same word. This sounds kinda silly to English speakers. You simply cannot look at this book (or any book) and try to speak Swedish. What is good about this book is the pronuniation guide that appears beside each word. This makes it possible that you won't sound silly every time you try to speak Swedish. Once you have been in Swedish and listened to the way they speak, you can use this book's pronunication guides and try to immitate the Swedes. But, this book is really only for travelers, and travelers don't need to speak Swedish. Most Swedes speak English very well.
Rating:
Summary: A bit out of date but helpful
Review: This book/cassette is a bit dated, with too much use of the polite form and of more formal phrases. Nonetheless, a booklet plus a cassette is the best way to become familiar with a language on your own. The booklet covers most situations quite well. The cassette is difficult to follow without the book, so drivers beware! I've read reviews of this and other Swedish introductions that say the pronounciation is wrong. The truth is that pronouciation varies, depending where in Sweden you are. The Swedes don't volunteer this information, so it's easy to get confused. The good news is that it's difficult to pronouce something so horribly that you won't be understood, so just give it a try and learn!
Rating:
Summary: very good starting for "svenska"
Review: This was the first book of "svenska" I got to help me "talar" it, and once I had the little berlitz dictionary and this book combined to witness a bit of grammar, they both make a wonderful combination. It depends on the person to who finds one method useful and who finds it useless to their capability to learn. THis is just one method out of several to learn a language. :)
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