Rating: Summary: Excellent for beginners Review: At first I didn't know if I'd like the fact that there were no translations on the CDs. I thought "How can I learn if I don't know what I'm saying?" So, I devised a method that has proven beneficial for me. I listen to the first CD at home or at the office when I can have the book in front of me. While I'm in the car, I listen to the second or third CD. The CDs get progressively more difficult, so since I didn't know what I was saying anyway, I just used the 2nd and 3rd CDs to practice pronunciation. As an added bonus, I found that when I started reading the book along with the 2nd and 3rd CDs, I picked up the words and phrases much more quickly than I did on the first CD (because I didn't listen to it in the car.) I've been told by MANY Spanish speaking people that my pronunciation is very good. I attribute that to the CDs. The speakers on the audio tracks speak very clearly, and during a "conversation" there will be more than one speaker. The lessons are planned very well and aim at teaching you the phrases you'll need if you take a trip to a Spanish speaking country. If I could change one thing about this program, though, it would be that there is not enough explanation about verb conjugation. You may suddenly come across a verb in, say, the Imperfect Indicative form with no explanation as to what you just read or heard. No problem. I found a book for under $6.00 that does an excellent job of helping get a grasp on ALL of the 14 verb conjugations. It's Barron's "Spanish Verbs" second edition by Christopher Kendris, PH. D. ISBN#0764113577. It has proven to be an excellent helping tool, since verb conjugation has been THE most difficult part of learning Spanish for me. Check it out, and I hope this helps.
Rating: Summary: Excellent for beginners Review: At first I didn't know if I'd like the fact that there were no translations on the CDs. I thought "How can I learn if I don't know what I'm saying?" So, I devised a method that has proven beneficial for me. I listen to the first CD at home or at the office when I can have the book in front of me. While I'm in the car, I listen to the second or third CD. The CDs get progressively more difficult, so since I didn't know what I was saying anyway, I just used the 2nd and 3rd CDs to practice pronunciation. As an added bonus, I found that when I started reading the book along with the 2nd and 3rd CDs, I picked up the words and phrases much more quickly than I did on the first CD (because I didn't listen to it in the car.) I've been told by MANY Spanish speaking people that my pronunciation is very good. I attribute that to the CDs. The speakers on the audio tracks speak very clearly, and during a "conversation" there will be more than one speaker. The lessons are planned very well and aim at teaching you the phrases you'll need if you take a trip to a Spanish speaking country. If I could change one thing about this program, though, it would be that there is not enough explanation about verb conjugation. You may suddenly come across a verb in, say, the Imperfect Indicative form with no explanation as to what you just read or heard. No problem. I found a book for under $6.00 that does an excellent job of helping get a grasp on ALL of the 14 verb conjugations. It's Barron's "Spanish Verbs" second edition by Christopher Kendris, PH. D. ISBN#0764113577. It has proven to be an excellent helping tool, since verb conjugation has been THE most difficult part of learning Spanish for me. Check it out, and I hope this helps.
Rating: Summary: i should have bought the cd version Review: Bought it, loved it, got tired of rewinding the tapes to hear the lessons again! Other than that, it helps you learn really fast, The tapes are great for those who have troubles with pronounciation. I'm going to mexico on a missions trip in a few years, and now I'll feel really prepared for the experience. this book gives great tips on regional pronounciation differences between Spain and Mexico, very helpful.
Rating: Summary: Very good, basic Review: I bought this for listening practice as I currently am a whiz at beginning Spanish. It is a little more basic than I wanted, but the CD format makes it great for listening. Some may not like it, but I like not having spoken english on the CDs.
Rating: Summary: Very good program Review: I have tried Barron's Spanish on the Go. This program is much better. The program distinguishes between Latin American and Castillian Spanish, and the models speak clearly yet naturally- not too slow yet not too fast.The book provides alot of good examples for the differences between ser and estar, sino and pero, etc. I finally understand.
Rating: Summary: Learning spanish Review: I've always wanted to learn spanish but never had the time nor appropriate resources - until now. This is a very good course for learning spanish, although the layout of the materials could be better. I think it is best for those who really just want conversational spanish for travelling, etc. as opposed to fully understanding the language. But you will be able to speak quite a bit of the language in 6 weeks - just like the book says.
Rating: Summary: A great pronounciation guide Review: Other than that, I rate it low though. This program uses the listen and repeat mode, and not in any kind of natural conversational flow. I do like the fact the cd's are all in Spanish though. Another great benefit is the fact it teaches you many different ways to say things, so it is also a great vocabulary and phrase builder.
Rating: Summary: A great pronounciation guide Review: Other than that, I rate it low though. This program uses the listen and repeat mode, and not in any kind of natural conversational flow. I do like the fact the cd's are all in Spanish though. Another great benefit is the fact it teaches you many different ways to say things, so it is also a great vocabulary and phrase builder.
Rating: Summary: Useful for the beginner Review: The dictionary is written in the smallest font I've ever seen . Useless to me . The 3 CDs are fair . The recordings are 6/10 for quality : low noise , but the room acoustic 'honks' with reverberation , and this can be quite irritating when one is trying to distinguish vowel sounds . Such recordings ought to be made in a 'dead' studio . Course book is budget type , but OK .
Rating: Summary: Good review but not as intensive as I thought Review: This was a great review but I was expecting it to cover more advanced material. I enjoyed the dialogues and thought that it taught a lot of vocabulary. However, the print is extremely small in the dictionary so I would buy another.
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