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Product Reviews:
Conversational Spanish: Learn to Speak and Understand Spanish with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's) |
Rating: 4 (out of 5)
Summary: Well Worth the Money
Comments: There are already many other detailed and helpful reviews, so I'll keep mine simple. purchaseing this product for $25-$35 is well worth the money.
No, you are not going to become fluent from $30 software. however they do a pretty great job, albeit at a slow pace. Now because of this slow pace and focus on core vocab and repetition you do not get far (however you do get somewhere, do not worry).
For this reason I would not endorse this course for someone who already has some Spanish background. This course is honestly for a beginner or near beginner. |
Rating: 5 (out of 5)
Summary: Video Reiview covering the great points and bad points of Pimsleur Spanish
Comments: Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RMELR6MRUXC1G If you are a visual learner you may not enjoy Pimsleur as much as I did. A visual learner may want to try Rosetta Stone V3: Spanish (Latin America), Level 1, 2 & 3. I have found a course here at Amazon.com that is actually better than Rosetta Stone Spanish for the visual learner: "Visual Link Spanish - Level I" - You can find it here at Amazon by doing a search for "Visual Link Spanish - Level I" under the category of software.
Visual Link Spanish is better at helping you learn how to form your own sentences using images. Kids will also probably prefer Visual Link Spanish over other visual methods of learning Spanish including Rosetta Stone Spanish.
Unfortunately, Visual Link Spanish only has1level so it will not take you to an advanced level of Spanish. I am still finding that Learning Spanish Like Crazy: Spoken Spanish, Vol. 1 (2 volume set) is the best course for anyone who wants to reach a true level of fluency in Spanish and it also the best for anyone who wants to speak the same Spanish that speakers from Latin America use in typical eday situations (i.e. conversational Spanish).
Despite the fact that the entire Pimsleur series is still rather basic, I still feel that Pimsleur is the best for learning the kind of Spanish that you would use in formal situations, particularly in Spain.
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Rating: 4 (out of 5)
Summary: Pimsleur
Comments: This is helpful for the student who wants to learn Spanish, and especially helpful for those with pronunciation problems. |
Rating: 2 (out of 5)
Summary: Annoying
Comments: While the Pimsleur method remains solid, this series accentuates the product's weaknesses. It's , basic, so if you know any Spanish you will be frustrated. It also encourages you to call Spanish by its Castillian name, however avoids Castillian pronunciations (so what's the point? And will not almost all American customers be going to Mexico, where they do not speak with a Castillian accent?) Moreover, it has the usual assortment of bizarro conversations and statements (I have a lot of pesos at the hotel), including endless practice of saying "I am a Mexican, Ecuadorian" etc. 1. I am never going to say this. 2. I get the general idea after a few repetitions. The strong suit of Pimsleur is that you learn what you learn well, with excellent pronunciation. The weak suit is that you do not build a lot of useful vocabulary. I can now say, with near perfect pronunciation, "I speak a little (Mandarin, German, Spanish), however I do not speak it well." however I can not have much of a conversation in any of these languages beyond that. |
Rating: 5 (out of 5)
Summary: The best 30 bucks I spent in months!!
Comments: Exactly what I was looking for!! I drive to work, roughly 45 minutes each way, and always wanted this time not to be wasted. The length of lessons fits right-in with some 5 minutes to spare in case of an interrupting phone call. The course assume absolutely no off-time studying and no usage of printed material whatsoever. Additionally, being alone in a car, I am the almost all comfortable about pronouncing sentences aloud, compared to being in a real class (this I remember from my years at University) or at home with my family around (as of now, this would be the only other option).
The pauses after English prompts are just right. On rare occasions when I get destructed and miss a moment to try my Spanish guess, there is always time to repeat the Spanish after the recorded voice before the next English prompt comes in. New words and expressions are naturally mixed in with repeated ones from previous lessons, making ideal byte sizes of new material in e next lesson while keeping you from forgetting what's learned before.
There are 16 lessons in total. Of course, you can not stuck it all in your head in 16 sessions. If I feel that I miss more than 10% of prompts, I jump couple of lessons back. I had to jump to 4 after the 1st series of 1 to 6, then back to 6 after getting to 8 for the 1st time and so on. I went over number 12 today and feel confident about moving on to 13.
I was reading the reviews before choosing this course, and1of those complained about this being Latin American Spanish rather than European Spanish. For me this is an advantage: my goal is to be able to communicate with locals and personal during our vacations to places like Mexico or Dominican Republic. I was surprised with how perfectly the program fits the goal. Dialogs concentrate on general courtesy, saying basic things about yourself, finding your way around, social eating and drinking, purchaseing thins, timing, counting... It feels like the material was compiled with somebody exactly like me in mind: the phrase "One beer, please" is introduced as early as Lesson 5, if I remember correctly. I am looking forward to impressing my wife and kids during our next trip.
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