| Spanish Note: Unless otherwise stated, the Spanish programs I review will be using the Latin American, rather than Castillian accent, as it seems to be more common (especially in North America) and is the one I grew up hearing. Latin American Spanish In Three Months. By Hugo.DK Publishing. (Only available in cassette form) Includes 4 cassettes and accompanying text. This is an effective course. The four cassettes are entirely in Spanish and meant to specifically accompany the text, so you need to sit down with the book to do this. This may disappoint people who enjoy going the audio-only route, but those who are visually oriented will appreciate this approach. I find the text to be quite good. Grammar is clearly explained and the oral exercises and conversations are well thought-out and effective without being tiresome. There is also a key in the back with the answers to the exercises and drills, so you can check your work, as well as a mini-dictionary. The course seems to lean more heavily toward grammar than vocabulary, but you definitely learn enough vocab to get you going, and you can always check out other books/tapes for additional vocabulary to supplement the course. I do think that grammar is extremely important. Even if you know a lot of vocabulary, if you don't learn grammar and verb tenses, you'll be restricted to talking like Tarzan, with only basic communication skills. This book does an excellent job of presenting grammar clearly and methodically without being boring. I would suggest that, if you're new to Spanish, that you do just one chapter each day, or maybe even spend a couple of days on each chapter. You could also try doing just half a chapter in each sitting, making sure you understand the material in the previous chapters. It just depends on how long you're able to focus. There's a good deal of information in this book, and you should understand the material in each chapter before moving on. It's not that it's overly difficult, it's just that there's a lot to learn, so don't try to do too much at once. You're probably more likely to remember more of what you learn by taking it slowly, and if you follow this advice, I think you can really get a lot out of this course. The one thing that would really improve this program is if it were available in CDs, but other than that I find it impressive and reasonably priced. **** (4 stars -This course is good for beginners who like to be able to follow along with a text while they listen, and is particularly good for people who have had some Spanish already and need a review.) Click here to buy it. Spanish With Michel Thomas: Deluxe Edition. By Michel Thomas. NTC. (CD version) Includes 8 CDs and a small booklet describing Michel Thomas and his approach. Michel Thomas' approach is very similar to that of Pimsleur, in that they both rely on auditory learning only, as opposed to incorporating a textbook into the program. The difference between the two is that with Pimsleur, you follow along with the narrator and with native speakers. With Michel Thomas, however, you listen to both Thomas and a couple of students who are themselves just beginning to learn a foreign language. That's where this program went wrong for me. I mentioned before that I already know a little Spanish courtesy of my mother, and that I have a very good Spanish accent. So, although I am still a beginner, I do have some knowledge of the language and how to pronounce it correctly. I have to be honest: those two students on the CDs, a young man and a young woman, really drove me nuts. They had no knowledge of Spanish, and their accents, especially the man's, are awful. I mean really awful. The result is that most of the time is spent with Thomas trying to correct their pronunciation or their mistakes. And they make a lot of them. I suppose the idea is that you'll be encouraged because you're learning Spanish right along two other people who are, presumably, making the same mistakes you are, so you can learn from them. However, unless you really do not have any clue whatsoever about Spanish, you'll probably find their mistakes and their accents maddening, as I did. Plus, if you are just starting out, you may actually find their errors, particularly in pronunciation, to be distracting, rather than helpful. Even Michel Thomas, a couple of times, I sensed, seemed to be losing patience when they made the same blunders over and over, especially the man. I did learn some good information in the second half of the program, but I forgot it within two weeks because I had no text to refer back to. So, between the aggravation I endured listening to these two people try to speak Spanish, and the fact that I couldn't retain what I learned without going back and enduring the same aggravation all over again, to say this program isn't for me is putting it mildly. A shame, since I think Michel Thomas would be an excellent instructor one-on-one, but not in this program. Personally, I think if he followed Pimsleur route and used native speakers, he would have a product at least equal, and perhaps superior to, that of his competitor. ** (2 stars for both beginner and intermediate students, for the reasons I mentioned above) Click here to buy it. Living Language Spanish Complete Course (Basic-Intermediate). Random House. (CDs). Learn In Your Car: Spanish. [Three Level Set] By Penton Overseas. (Cassette version) Rating System * (1 star): Poor - The program is poorly thought-out/not practical in real life/simply ineffective ** (2 stars) Fair - Program has more flaws than strengths, but some knowledge can still be salvaged from it, particularly if you're desperate to learn/it's just really, really boring *** (3 stars) Good - Comparable to most programs on the market, and adequate for learning on one's own **** (4 stars) Very Good - Offers certain features most other programs do not, as well as the basic information need to learn a new language/noticeably more engaging than the average program ***** (5 stars) Nirvana - Haven't found it yet in a foreign language program |
| Spanish Foreign Language Program Reviews |
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| La Rosaleda/Palace of Viana Courtesy of www.red2000.com |
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| Convento y Museo de las Duenas Salamanca, Spain Courtesy of www.red2000.com |
| Please note: I have included links to Amazon.com for the products I review here. I chose Amazon because they usually have the lowest prices, but I am in no way compensated by Amazon.com, nor by the authors or publishers of the programs and books I review. |
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