Product Description

Customer Reviews (142)

NOT for Central America
This book is definitely not for Costa Rican Spanish!There is a 1950's flavor to the phrases - that is, a rudeness and big-city arrogance to the phrases that reminds me of the way people spoke to each other as is the movie THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL.If you used the phrases in this book in the small towns here in Costa Rica the locals would be insulted.Thsi book was originally written in 1954 and it shows.It might be OK in Spain but not here.

Very handy for traveling
I found this book to be a very good traveling companion.It shows the phonetic pronunciation of the Spanish phrases.In combination with an English-Spanish dictionary, I can create almost any Spanish phrase I need.It's a little too big to fit in a pocket, but the size allows for a type big enough to be read easily.

Easy Spanish Phrase Book
I have had a copy of my own of this book and have found it very useful. My ex has liked it, too. A retired Spanish language teacher has liked it so much that I recently purchased a copy for him, also. Thanks. M.B.

Travel to Mexico
Of the three books purchased in this package, this one will be the most useful for my purpose. I am flying to
Mexico next spring to visit relatives who recently retired there. The words and phrases in this book are spelled phonetically and therefore are easiest to learn and are most applicable to travel(airlines, trains, taxis, car rental, hotels, shopping, restaurants, directions, etc.)

Can't wait to use this in Mexico
This product was shipped on time, in great condition.It has so many handy phrases to use when on vacation.That's why I purchased this book. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (48)

Good book for the spanish learner - beginner to intermediate level!
This is a good book full of short spanish stories and is a good resource for the beginner to intermediate spanish learner!

Good beginner's reader, but dated
This is an easy-to-use beginner's reader for those who have learned some basic Spanish grammar and vocabulary and want to practice reading.Each selection is printed with Spanish on one page and English on the facing page.There is a helpful glossary at the back.

The book was first published nearly fifty years ago.Many of the selections are adapted from classic Spanish literature, and while they are often amusing, they are also rather dated in their content.Also, like many other Dover publications, the typeface is heavy and a little hard to read.

However, the book is a good value and offers the beginning Spanish student a way to start reading early.

Good book
It shows the english and spanish side by side.Must have a basic understanding of spanish to get real value from it.

Worth Buying
I wanted some additional reading material in Spanish and this is a good choice.I would recommend it.

Easy and enjoyable
Has spanish on one page and english on the facing page. So, you don't need to flip to the back. Has been helpful for my practice. Good choice of stories. ... Read more

Product Description
Indispensable learning aid includes definitions of common Spanish words arranged by such categories as foods, numbers, days of the week, months, colors, seasons and family. The heart of the book is a dictionary, from a to zapato, in which each word is used in a Spanish sentence (with English translation) demonstrating its proper use.
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Customer Reviews (107)

Nice Way to learn new Spanish words and economically priced
This 55-page book is divided into three sections namely alphabetical (dictionary) section, category section and vocabulary tips. In the alphabetical (dictionary) section there is a list of words from a to zapato accompanied by their meanings and simple Spanish sentences along with English translations. Following the alphabetical section is the category section which showcases the most commonly used Spanish words, along with their definitions, arranged in categories such as foods, numbers, days of the week, months, the seasons, and family. The book is concluded with vocabulary tips.

Designed to increase the word bank of students of Spanish, 1001 Most Useful Spanish Words is a great resource for students now entering into the Spanish learning sphere. Its name says it all. With only 1001 words, which may seem very little in number for the advanced Spanish learner, this book is of an ideal length for those now testing the waters of the Spanish language. Constructed as a miniature dictionary with added bonuses of the category section and vocabulary tips, 1001 Most Useful Spanish Words definitely eliminates the apprehension that many Spanish novices encounter when they first tread onto the Spanish language learning field.

But despite the book's positive elements, there is one missing piece to the puzzle. There isn't any indication of how these words ought to be pronounced, which is an essential factor for those who desire to engage in conversational Spanish.

Some other products that I recommend for Spanish language learners are Rosetta Stone Spanish. Rosetta StoneSpanish (Latin America) Level 1,2,3,4 & 5 Set with Audio Companion. Rather expensive but excellent for the visual learner like myself and great for a person who has never studied any Spanish before. In order to speak Spanish fluently, you must also learn lots of new words.

A resource that I prefer over 1001 Most Useful Spanish Words, for adding new words to your Spanish vocabulary isQuick Study-Spanish Vocabulary Flash Cards-1000 cards Not only is this a great bargain for the price just like 1001 Most Useful Spanish Words, but you get 1,000 of these cards.

For learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs, the best product is the Verbarrator Version 1.1 (Windows Version) software. This piece ofsoftware actually replaces the boring Spanish verb conjugation books and makes learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs one of the most fun parts of learning Spanish. And, of course,the more you use the tool the quicker that you will learn how to conjugate Spanish verbs and reach fluency. It is one of the best investments you can make in your learning-Spanish studies.

The last product that I recommend for anyone who is really serious about learning Spanish is The Ultimate Spanish Review and Practice w/CD-ROM (UItimate Review & Reference Series). This Spanish grammar book covers every aspect of Spanish grammar imaginable. To get the equivalent learning-Spanish value of this one book you would have to buy 3 or 4 books in the Practice Makes Perfect series.

Pretty good reverence book
I purchased this book along with "See it & Say it in Spanish."It compliments that book and will help me when I travel to Mexico this winter.

Fantastic Book for the Price
Folks, this book is $2 (less if you buy it used).Honestly, it would a great book for triple the price.I find it very useful for learning how to use the word in the context of a sentence, something that can be put into practice immediately.Staring at grammar rules and vocabulary lists doesn't work for me.I have to use the language for it to "click."If you learn like this, this is the book for you.

Great price - Lots 2 learn
For $2, come on, this is a great bargain.As the name implies, it only has 1001 words, so it's not a very comprehensive dictionary, but it's a great place to start.I've been studying Spanish for a while, so I went thru the book and highlighted the words I don't know yet so I can make flashcards.Then, I went back thru the back to read the sentences it provides to demonstrate the use of each word.They are a learning experience themselves because they are so random.They helped me practice comprehending sentences completely out of context.

Will you completely learn Spanish from this book?Absolutely not.Will it help, absolutely.I highly recommend The Pimsleur audio series along with Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish by Andy Warhol as well.Also, if you really want to learn, don't be shy.Practice what you do know whenever you can.Don't be afraid to make mistakes or not be perfect.You won't be perfect, but if you don't practice, you won't learn.Study a little bit every day, even if only for a few minutes.

Very, very effective.Price is right too.
This is without a doubt the best "learning Spanish" book I have purchased.I have bought a lot of books too.The example sentence with each definition is very effective.It automatically helps with more than just the word presented.

The price makes this book a must-have.You feel really good about your highly effective, two dollar Spanish book.

Also worth a look is "Easy Spanish Phrase Book."This book is about the same size and price.It is almost as good.

These books are perfect when you are a dollar or so short of making it to free shipping.;-)
... Read more

Product Description
Unique format offers 13 great stories in Spanish—from classics by Cervantes and Alarcon to contemporary works by Borges and Goytisolo. Complete faithful English translations on facing pages. Includes Spanish-to English vocabulary, biographical-critical introductions, more.
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Customer Reviews (16)

Evolution of a Language
I am a couple stories into the reader so far and am enjoying it immensely. I'm not sure what to classify my Spanish as, as I did 5 years of high school level classes, 4 years ago. If you have trouble recognizing complex verb forms, derivative words or guessing meaning from context, this will definitely be a slog.

For the more linguistic minded though, this has been a treasure trove. The early stories clearly show a very strong Latin influence, with unconventional word order (SOV) and formations (criado te he, que esperandome estaba).

From a literary perspective, the stories I've read so far have been fascinating. I had to do a double-take reading the first story from surprise at how "Grimm" it was. The endnotes are very useful and I normally look them up before checking the English translation. There are a lot of interesting cultural tidbits littered throughout the book. Who knew that Spanish had a word for a punishment of 100 lashes (un centenario) or the torture method of throwing burning fat at a person (pringar)

I would highly recommend this book for learners who can read news relatively easily or who have had some experience in Spanish literature before (was reading Allende and Márquez in high school myself). If that describes you, you will learn a lot while enjoying the ride. This is not a book for casual learners or those who would just like to improve their conversational ability. I would recommend teenage translations (Ramona en español, por ejemplo) or low level Spanish lessons on GLOSS (from the Defense Language Institute).

Not for the beginner

The book is full of spanish stories by known spanish authors and is well translated into english. However, it's not for the beginner!

For Advanced Speakers
I can't blame the book- I'm sure the stories are great but this book is really geared towards those interested in advanced literature.I've done other side by side books before which have been incredibly helpful, but I really couldn't glean any conversational spanish from this book at all as the English is very formal.but, if you are an advanced speaker WITH an interest in literature, then I'm sure this would be fantastic.

Excellent for Independent Study!
This book is great, really helping me learning to read Spanish. Also...the stories are very interesting. Also, the notes and glossary are very helpful.

Great book
This book has interesting stories in English and Spanish. I read this book and was able to improve on my Spanish greatly! ... Read more

Product Description
Based on the student's ability to create--not memorize by rote--the Madrigal method can help readers convert English into Spanish in an instant, develop perfect pronunciation (thanks to a handy pronunciation guide), form sentences from the very first lesson, and more. Previously announced in September. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (107)

Very helpful in learning Spanish fast.
This book is like a hugh cheat sheet, and it puts you on the fast track to learning Spanish.I have read several books trying to learn Spanish, and this a book you want to have if you are leaning Spanish.

BUY THIS BOOK! TRY THIS BOOK!
This is by far the best book i have found for explaining spanish.Its content i will admit to be slightly boring, but if you have a real thirst of learning spanish then this book is for you.

I think of spanish as a crossword puzzle that is covered in a thick blankett of dust. well this book is like a rag that removes the dust and reveals the puzzle.Now once you can see the entire puzzle then again this book helps link the intersectiong letters and helps you figure out other parts of the puzzle.

I think that it makes it much easier to learn the language when you can see the entire puzzle, after all if you can see the puzzle then you can place the pieces and move them around until it works.

So far this has been my number 1 book that i refer to for explanations and to get an ideal of what is happening to the words that im reading.

this book is incredibly cheap for the value of the knowledge it can offer to someone.at the time i paid6 bucks for mine.

Awesome
This book is awesome (a word I don't use much) and very practical.I can see why it has been around for years.I really feel that it is helping my progress.I have used a lot of different learning techniques and am currently using a cd/dvd in conjunction with this book and can see the progress.

Madrigal's Magic spanish book
I found this book to be well organized where you can methodically progress your knowledge of the spanish language and managed to stay awake in the process. Those irregular verbs are tough to master but the author patiently showed his readers a way to remember them systematically. On the whole, I fell that is is a really good book. And the price is fair, for what you get. CD is helpful to help learn the correct pronounciation and you are in the right section to be able to speak, and write Spanish. It is much harder to write spanish then to read it and speak basic spanish, at least for me. This book is easy to follow and the author made learning the language painless if it is something that you really want to accomplish. I was able to finish the book in four weeks. I now enjoy internet blurbsin Spanish.

Great approach to the Spanish language.
I have taken many Spanish courses including those during high school, college and even Rosetta stone, none of which I was able to learn very much from. This book however "teaches" in a different way. It gives very simple, easy to memorize lessons instead of just vocabulary words. For example one of the lessons in the first chapter is that all words ending in al, or, and ble are the same in Spanish and English so these words mean the same in both languages. Time and effort are still required because you do need to memorize each lesson. At the end of each chapter there are helpful reminder cards that they suggest you copy onto index cards and look them over. What I like most about this book is that is teaches very simply the different verb tenses which is what I have had the most difficulties with in past classes. I would recommend this book to anyone who is trying to learn Spanish, it is very simple yet informative. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Ancient and Used
This book was full of writting, and it's a book full of practice tests. Its also 14 years old so not at all up to date with the current AP exam.

Great book
This book is excellent for reviewing all of the exercises that will be seen on the AP Spanish Lang. exam. In addition to the practice exercises, there are several appendixes in the back of the book that give hundreds of verb forms and their definition in English, as well as idioms, and a glossary of Spanish words. Great choice for an AP level class.

AP Spanish
This book did not help me at all...... There were practice test in here but they didn't seem to match the chapter for that test..... Spanish being my first language, I wanted to refresh so that I can clep that class but this book didn't nothing for me it was a waist of money....

Ap Spanish
The book that i had rcieved is usless for my class. It is incorrect to be selling USED WORKBOOKS.This takes off the work of students trying to learn.

The Best AP Spanish Review Book Out There!!!
This workbook, which our AP Spanish teacher provided us, was extremely helpful in preparing for the 2008 AP Spanish exam. All the activities, including the narratives, dialogues, reading passages, speaking conversations, and speaking presentations, were very similar to those on the actual AP test. This workbook also has extensive reference material, such as commonly used verbs, idiomatic phrases, conversational phrases, grammar rules, that also help in preparing for the Spanish exam. If your teacher does not use this book as a supplement to the class like my teacher did, I would buy the answer key and the audio CDS seperately to obtain the maximum benefit from this book. If you do the majority of the activities in this book well, you will most likely earn a 4 or 5 on the actual exam! ... Read more

Product Description
Many language books are boring--this one is not. Written by a native English speaker who learned Spanish the hard way--by trying to talk to Spanish-speaking people--it offers English speakers with a basic knowledge of Spanish hundreds of tips for using the language more fluently and colloquially, with fewer obvious "gringo" errors. Writing with humor, common sense, and a minimum of jargon, Joseph Keenan covers everything from pronunciation, verb usage, and common grammatical mistakes to the subtleties of addressing other people, "trickster" words that look alike in both languages, inadvertent obscenities, and intentional swearing. He guides readers through the set phrases and idiomatic expressions that pepper the native speaker's conversation and provides a valuable introduction to the most widely used Spanish slang. With this book, both students in school and adult learners who never want to see another classroom can rapidly improve their speaking ability. Breaking Out of Beginner's Spanish will be an essential aid in passing the supreme language test--communicating fluently with native speakers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (128)

Not for Beginners
I personally think i bought this book to early, becuase there was alot of grey area when i first started reading the book. but i have to say while there was alot of grey i still learned alot.This book teaches you, but not like you are probably thinking, and that is why i say that you should hold off on buying this till you are getting into different tenses, etc. Because at that point you should have a decent vocabulary built along with a decent understanding of the language.

Now, on to what the book does teach you.

It makes sure that you are saying things, i guess you could say "Politically correct" things.Becuase it explains how some words in spanish and english look the same they dont mean the same thing for example, "emberazado" you might naturally think of using that word becuase in english that is what you felt, but in reality, what your telling the other person is that you are pregnant!

this book gives great explainations, and tackles all the confusing things, and also gives clarity on many others.It teaches you cussing words, and also words that might seem harmless such as huevos/eggs which could be easily seen as profanity in spanish (example: quieres mi huevos? you want my eggs? now think of male genitils, you get the idea.) anyway this book i would buy again, but i wish i had saved it for later when i had a better grasp on the language.You wont be dis-appionted with it, keep a spanish-english dictionary nearby though becuase there are some words that you might have not seen yet, and since this books has no definition index in the back you may need one.

Wow! A great tool.
I have read a lot of the reviews and agree that this is one of the best tools to add to your learning process.I have completed a full year of Spanish on the college level and know a lot of verbs and vocabulary.I would not recommend this book for the novice since so much of the text has spanish sentence examples which I understood but a novice would get lost and discouraged.The college course books are totally bad since the explanations are so brief and all the examples are strictly in Spanish. The learner needs to have a whole library of different books to aid in moving along.I use the "Practice Makes Perfect" series, the 501 Verbs, 1st readers and of course the spanish/english dictionary as my library tools and the internet as my forum questioning and listening devices.I have 3 sites I use exclusively.This book, which I just finished from cover to cover, is one where you must find time to sit down and make lists from or you will not get the true benefit since you cannot easily go back and find that key verb or expression you need to remember to start off a conversation.I am not conversant in Spanish but with this book and my notes and lists, I am starting to feel a comfort level to jump in there and begin.

Very Helpful
Easy and fun to read, this book contains excellent advice on how to avoid common mistakes made by Spanish learners.I especially like the chapter on choosing the correct verb for the situation.I have already read the book cover to cover twice, and I know I will refer to it frequently until I internalize the information.

todologo ?
An excellent book; however, I am puzzled. Early in the book, in the Acknowledgments section, in italics, a tribute is made to Dr. Uzi Selzer, and the word "todologo" is used.I could not put an accent mark over the second "o".I have searced without success for a meaning to this word.Help!

A Very BIG Help
This is exactly what it claims - a pathway out of the mistakes usually made by language learning beginners. The book is very, very informative but humorous as well ... all the best tools for good learning and advancement. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Not for a beginner
I wrote this just to agree with the other reviewer who said this book is too difficult for a second reader.There should be a book out there that is somewhere between the first reader and this one.

Mom123
This book is much more advanced than the first. I needed something in between in difficulty. ... Read more

Product Description
The Spanish Language Speed Learning Course: Speak Spanish Confidently … in 12 Days or Less is the best training material for you, as you will be held by the hand each step of the way - from the basics up to the complicated topics in Spanish.

With pronunciation guides, accurate glosses, and ample examples, you will never have any problem understanding each Spanish word and sentence you'll be encountering, until you'll be able to create your own sentences as well.

The best thing is …

You don't need one whole school year or even a semester to train yourself in a language that more than 250 million people speak. 12 days is all it takes to learn how to speak Spanish!



What you will find inside The Spanish Language Speed Learning Course:


Easy-to-apply memorization tips and tricks to remember Spanish words better.
How each of the letters in the Spanish alphabet is called, how each one of them is pronounced, and some examples for practice.
Sounds not present or are very minimal in the English language but are common in Spanish.
Creative techniques to recall various Spanish words.
A 4-day training session to easily tackle the most complicated topics in Spanish.
How to form and structure different kinds of basic Spanish phrases and sentences.
The first step in learning a new language.
How to pronounce different Spanish words correctly.
Easy and simple ways of creating grammatical and sensible Spanish sentences.
Basic greetings and everyday expressions in Spanish.
How to identify formal and familiar situations in order to use the appropriate expressions.
The difference between describing with Spanish and English adjectives.
Spanish adjective classifications according to common descriptions they provide.
The importance of studying individual word forms before constructing sentences.
The easiest way to identify the gender of Spanish nouns.
Numbers, days, months, time, etc. in Spanish.
List of Spanish prepositions and example phrases.
How Spanish nouns form their plural counterparts.
How regular Spanish verbs form past, present and future tenses.
What the irregular verbs are and how they form their tenses.
How to create the present progressive form (I am eating, you are singing, etc.) in Spanish.
2 ways of forming the future tense of Spanish verbs.
Why the subject of the sentence is optional and usually omitted in Spanish.
The truth that verb alone is already a complete sentence in Spanish.
What conjugation is and how it is done in Spanish.
What the 3 groups of Spanish verbs are.
How to form Spanish interrogative statements.
How to form Spanish imperative statements.
Understanding airport, road, train, market and other signs written in Spanish.
What to say when ordering food, shopping, hiring public vehicles, checking in at hotels, and in other usual situations using the Spanish language.

And a lot, lot more!
... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Kindle version has major problems
This book is fine as a review of the language but not if you've never had any training in Spanish at all.My major problem is with the way the Kindle version reads - all the tables are unformatted so most of the lists of information are just a jumble.If I didn't know Spanish already, I would have no idea what was going on!

Disappointed
Not what I expected.Fell far short of what was promised.It's a good thing it was inexpensive.Don't wast your time.There are better interactive language websites available for free on the internet.

too good to be true
sound too good to be true? you are absolutely right. 12 days my a$$. dont waste your time.

not formatted for kindle
Cute little monograph, but not suited for Kindle.
There are several tables, which come out jumbled on the Kindle. ... Read more

Product Description

Learning Spanish has never been this easy! This complete language learning kit includes the 10 minutes a day® audio CDs, the book and the interactive CD-ROM.
SPANISH in 10 minutes a day® AUDIO CDs

Customer Reviews (25)

Excellent way to learn Spanish
I initially bought these CDs for my 7 year old daughter to learn Spanish over her summer break, but after several lessons she said that she wanted to wait until she got a little older.By that time, I was hooked on the CDs myself, realizing that I actually might be able to learn Spanish (surprising because I've never been language oriented).So, I've been listening to the CDs while driving around town this fall and I love them!They present the material in a well-organized manner and the repetition in each lesson is comforting, but not boring.I must say, I've listened to each CD at least 10 times before starting the next CD, but the content is truly sticking in my brain.I just started the 3rd CD and I think that by the time I'm finished with all six, I really will be able to communicate in a Spanish-speaking country.I highly recommend these CDs to anyone who would like to know the basics of Spanish.

Also, I'd like to give a rave review to Bilingual Books (the producer).I called Bilingual because I was having trouble with some of the CD tracks, and they took care of everything in the friendliest, fastest, most professional manner imaginable!

Spanish CD's
I have found these to be very helpful - in the last two years I have self taught myself alott of Spanish - good product

Beginning Spanish Course
My office offered Spanish courses, with this text. Easy to use and effective. Builds vocabulary and grammar with repetion and exercises. Our instructor was from Central America, and helped class understand culture and dialect differences between Americas and Europe. Like other languages Spanish is regional, with casual and formal variations. Book did a good job of covering both. Still use the book & CD for brush up for events & trips.

Spanish CD
Arrived in a timely manner, and was as advertised. There was a bad track on one of the CDs and it was replaced with no hassle and quite quickly - we were pleased with the response.

spanish cd review
I am very pleased with this so far. I have about a 20 minute drive every am, I review a little bit each day and I feel like it has really helped.can't wait to keep going. compared to other cds like rosetta stone, you can't beat the price. ... Read more

Product Description

Go beyond conjugation and learn the right verb tenses for speaking and writing in Spanish

If you are looking for help memorizing Spanish verb conjugations, then any Spanish verb book will do. But if you are interested in becoming fluent, you'll need to learn how these language building blocks are used in everyday speech and writing. That's where Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses comes in.

The ideal reference/workbook for beginning to intermediate Spanish-language learners, Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses shows you when and why to use certain verb tenses and gives you plenty of examples, increasing your confidence in choosing the right word.

Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses lets you:

• Learn when and why to use different verb tenses
• Reinforce your knowledge with everyday examples covering a wide range of topics
• Build your verb skills using more than 250 engaging exercises

With numerous skill-building exercises, comprehensive verb conjugation tables, and the proven Practice Makes Perfect format, you will learn to speak and write in Spanish fluently in no time at all.

Topics include: Present Tense; Conjugation of Regular Verbs;Ser and Estar; Hay; Tener; The Personal a; A Dozen Highly Useful Irregular Verbs; Saber and Conocer; Stem-Changing Infinitives; Noteworthy Infinitives; Reflexive Verbs; Gustar et al.; The Present Progressive; The Past, Future, and Conditional Tenses; The Preterite Tense; The Imperfect Tense; The Future Tense; The Conditional Tense; The Present Perfect Tense;The Past Perfect Tense; The Imperative, Subjunctive, and Compound Tenses, and the Passive Voice; The Imperative; The Present Subjunctive; The Imperfect Subjunctive; The Future Perfect; The Conditional Perfect; The Present Perfect Subjunctive; The Pluperfect Subjunctive; The Passive Voice

Customer Reviews (12)

I bought for myself and then my Spanish teacher wanted her own copy
I bought this book before my Spanish exam ( lower intermidiate level). I wish I owned it months ago. My teacher reviewed it and asked me to order a copy for her as well. This book hasconversational style and explains in detail the concepts that are sometime difficult to grasp in class or from other texts that I own.

Learning Spanish for love
Absolutely fantastic! Fun, well-written and incredibly useful.I have three of these books (vocabulary and grammar also) and they really compliment each other.The exercises are challenging, yet realistic and develop well in intensity as you go along.
I'm getting to the point where I'll be able to speak to my prospective South American mother in law when I meet her!

Working well for me.
I took two years of Spanish in high school nearly 50 years ago. I can converse in simple present tense with a limited vocabulary. I am trying to get so that I can converse and understand in most situations. It also requires that you write a paragraph in each section which helps immensely in reinforcing what you have learned. This book replaces one I had been using that I was not that happy with. I am finding this is much better structured and I can progress quickly. They say you can't learn at 65 but with this book I am making great progress. Has anyone seen my car keys?

Excellent Workbook!
I got a series of these "Practice Makes Perfect" Spanish language workbooks to refresh the 2 years of Spanish I took in high school many years ago. They are reasonably priced, well organized, and full of practical information and fun exercises (with an answer key in the back). Between studying these, watching Spanish language TV and chatting with some Latina friends at work, I feel I'm making real progress. I also recommend getting an Espanol-Ingles Diccionario as a handy reference. The Oxford Gran Diccionario is a huge volume which gives many examples of how each word is used and has many extra features. It's a sturdy hardcover that will last you a lifetime, and it's only about $30. Gran Diccionario Oxford: Espanol-Inglés:Inglés-Espanol

Verb tenses made easy!
I found this book very easy to follow, and very helpful. Only a basic knowledge of Spanish is required and you can learn quickly to use to various tenses that the Spanish language has - more than English has. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description

Polish your Spanish vocabulary skills

Building on the success of her prior book, Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses, author Dorothy Devney Richmond helps you attain a strong working vocabulary, no matter if you are an absolute beginner or an intermediate student of the language.

Customer Reviews (33)

Vocab yes, but not much else
This is definitely not a stand - alone book.However, it would go well with a good grammar book, or the Spanish verb tenses book. Its main value is vocabulary amplification, which it does quite well. It presumes that one already knows a fair amount of grammar.
The supplemental vocabulary lists arranged by topic - the press, food, stores, computer terms, household items, purchasing clothing that needs to fit, basic legal terms, word-making, fun compound words --all are awesome.For me, the big drawback is that the book requires one to have agood knowledge of Spanish grammar, and then the editors drop the ball anddo all the stories and exercisesin only thepresent tense. The stories-- many about historic people -to translate are allin the present tense, and they just sound dumb without the narrative value of imperfect and preterite.

Excellent beginner's workbook for vocabulary and basic grammar
First, be clear - this book is for beginners.If you have been studying Spanish for a while, either on your own or in formal classes, this book may not be especially helpful to you.But if you are a beginner, in your first year of formal Spanish study or just beginning to study on your own, you will find this book fun and helpful.

The author is my favorite in this series of Spanish workbooks.She approaches her topics with clarity and humor, and devises ingenious exercises that keep your interest.For instance, one of the earliest exercises in writing Spanish numbers asks you to recall such things as how many Oscars Alex Guiness has won and how many calories are in Diet Coke.By using cognates (words that resemble each other in English and Spanish) the learner is able to write Spanish answers from the very beginning.

The grammar information was a welcome addition to the vocabulary presentation.Though grammar is presented in a very abbreviated form, it is combined logically with vocabulary categories to enable the student to expand the ability to use Spanish correctly as more and more vocabulary is learned.

There is a complete answer key included so the student can check and correct all exercises.

The book is designed as "fill in the blank" exercise book.This is convenient for the learner but presents a problem for school libraries considering purchase of this book, since borrowers will be very tempted to write in it.

I recommend this to all beginning students.If you are more advanced, look at other books in the "Practice Makes Perfect" series for exercises on specific topics.

Great learning tool
I love this boook! Simple and easy to understand and follow. A great book to help improve your Spanish!

Excellent beginning
This book is a great introduction for those beginning to learn Spanish.It provides general information on grammar (pronunciation, diphthongs, stress and accent marks, plurals and much more) as well as lots and lots of vocabulary words which people use in everyday conversations. This is not, however, for someone who already has completed a beginning class in Spanish unless they are looking for more vocabulary words. Also note that the book only deals with the present tense, other tenses are not covered.

Overall I find this book very helpful and I'm making good progress.I have only two minor complaints.

One is that there could be more exercises for each lesson.Since many of the words and concepts are repeated throughout the book, however, this isn't a huge deal.

Second is that the author uses oddly disturbing or puzzling explanations of certain concepts.For example, regarding diphthongs:"Think of hard vowels as bullies and soft vowels as their victims.The hard vowel always gets a full syllable, whereas the soft vowel... shrinks in the presence of the hard vowel and attaches itself to it - a sort of linguistic abuse."Uh, what?And how about accents: "Whenever there's an exception to either of the two rules above, you will use an accent mark.It's like admitting you're wrong when you make a mistake or break a rule." Again, what? I suspect there may be more of this later on in the book...

Besides this quirk, which others may not care about, the book is great.I recommend it for beginners and those who need extra vocabulary words and/or a refresher of the simple concepts of grammar.

Excellent
Excellent book for the beginner.Covers all the basics in an easy format.Useful as a textbook for beginning students. ... Read more

Product Description
3 hours of lessons on 3 CDs!

The fun and easy way to communicate effectively in a new language!

Want to speak Spanish? Don't have a lot of time? This practical audio set is designed to help you learn quickly and easily at home or on the road. From basic greetings and expressions to grammar and conversations, you'll grasp the essentials and start communicating right away! Plus, you can follow along with the handy, 96-page portable guide—filled with the words and phrases you'll hear on the CDs as well as a mini dictionary.

Skip around and learn at your own pace

• CD 1: Get started with basic words and phrases.
• CD 2: Form sentences and practice parts of speech.
• CD 3: Handle real-world situations.

Discover how to

• Handle greetings and introductions
• Ask questions and understand answers
• Build your vocabulary
• Talk about numbers, time, and the calendar
• Ask for directions
• Get help at a hotel, the bank, or a store

Customer Reviews (25)

very fast service product arrived in good condition
The seller was very prompt with the delivery, product was in good shape, and the cost was competitive.Would definitely use this seller again.

a good learning tool
I am all about improving my languages on my free time.Spanish for Dummies is not for dummies, it is for smart people who want to learn Spanish :)
you'll definitely have results if you follow through the course. Voice Lessons To Go v.1-4 The Complete Set

Spanish for Dummies
This helped my husband and I for a trip to Mexico. A lot of common words that you would use.

Miserable way to try to learn Spanish
Because we were driving across the country, my husband and I thought it would be a good opportunity to try to learn more Spanish than we had learned in school.

When the chirpy, English speaking half of the teaching team started talking, we immediately started having doubts about the product. When she cheerily insisted that we should "have fun!" while learning to speak Spanish, we were even more doubtful.After we started doing to the lessons, we had to stop after about 1/2 hour and we were never able to stomach the idea of listening to them again.

A waste of money.

Phrasebook
What this is, is pages and pages of phrases and word lists. There is absolutely no grammar and no explanation (just translation). If what you're looking to do is learn off by heart loads of words and phrases like a parrot, this is the book for you. (If that works for you I'm happy for you, but personally I would find it the slowest and most difficult possible way to learn a language.)

If you want dialogues, listening practice, grammar explanation, and some idea of how to put together new sentences then choose any other course! For example "Bueno Entonces" (By "General Linguistics") (as fun as watching a movie) or the "Living Language" books (which also has English/Spanish CDs to listen to in your car) (the older editions are quite good and reasonably priced). The Hugo "In three months" series is also good and reasonably priced (though you need to sit down with your book in order to use it). ... Read more

Product Description

Take your Spanish grammar skills to the next level and speak with more soltura!

To fully understand how to speak Spanish effectively you must move beyond the fundamental principles of grammar and tackle more sophisticated sentence constructions. Practice Makes Perfect: Advanced Spanish Grammar focuses on intermediate- to advanced-level topics to help you create more complex, meaningful sentences and communicate more naturally.

Instead of just applying sets of rules, Practice Makes Perfect: Advanced Spanish Grammar helps you better understand the nuances of the language and develop your skills and confidence as a Spanish speaker by providing easy-to-absorb explanatory materials, examples, and exercises. Inside you will find:

• Thorough explanations of topics that often prove difficult for English speakers when they learn Spanish, such as the correct use of object pronouns.
• Practical exercises that give you the opportunity to test what you've learned

Learn the ins and outs of:
Some/any and quantity determiners • Adverbs • Problematic prepositions • Relative pronouns • Idiomatic constructions • . . . and much more

Customer Reviews (8)

Advanced Spanish Grammar - Tough but Worth It!
This is a great way to take your Spanish grammar to the next level.Through many examples, you'll understand how to express common every day idioms and why they're contructed the way they are.If you're serious about improving your grasp of Spanish and you already have a basic understanding of Spanish grammar, you need this book.It's tough going at times and the tests at the end of each chapter don't fool around, but it's well worth worth it.You'll thank yourself for doing it and you'll come to love the language even more.

Useful book
Every book needs to be evaluated according to its stated purpose and goals. The purpose of this book is to provide move beyond the basics of Spanish grammar and into more advanced topics. I rate the book highly for reaching this goal.

It assumes a basic understanding of grammar and vocabulary. I found that its usefulness was diminished if I did not have a basic grammar for refreshing my memory on certain concepts, or a dictionary for Spanish words which were not translated in the book.

The strengths of this book are that it fulfills its goal of covering advanced topics, thus giving the student the opportunity to, as the book cover states, "develop skills and confidence as a Spanish speaker." It gives practice examples at the end of each chapter with an answer key at the end of the book and notations when colloquial speech is used that violates basic grammatical rules. The "find and correct the mistakes" exercises at the end of each chapter were especially helpful, since it forces the learner to pay special attention to the exact wording, instead of surmising the meaning from a literal translation of the words.

I have some minor criticims. Chapter 3 only had 30 questions at the end of the chapter, compared to 60 to 100 for the other chapters. I would have liked more practice questions there. Although the book offered explanations for some of the more difficult questions in the answer key, I wish they would have had more such explanations as there are some answers that I got wrong and still do not know why they are wrong, even after reviewing the material. The chapters had "boxes" designed to "provide further information and offer tips on guidance or useage" (p. v).Actually materials identified by shading on the left margin, but more importantly, I was unable to discern any unifying use of the boxed areas. At times they gave more detailed explanations to preceding information. At other times they did not. I would have preferred a more consistent use of the boxes. Knowing the literal meaning of words would have also helped in understanding the idioms presented in the last chapter. Since I was able to translate ahorgarse en un vaso de agua (drowning in a class of water), it was easy to understand the figurative meaning of the expression ("easily depressed by small problems," p. 177). In other chapters the examples given in Spanish were translated, but not in Chapter 12 (idiomatic constructions), requiring that I get a dictionary and look up a lot of words.

Despite these problems, I considered the book to be useful and I would recommend it to students seeking to become proficient in advanced Spanish grammar.

A Great Resource -- Add it to Your Collection of Useful Spanish Books!
Advanced Spanish Grammar, by Rogelio Alonso Vallecillos, is a valuable book for reviewing many details about Spanish that textbooks often ignore. As with the other books in the Practice Makes Perfect series, it has a lot of exercises and the answer keys make it a good resource for independent study or as a supplement to any textbook or Spanish program.

I only have two minor reservations about it. One is that he doesn't use grammatical terminology. For some people, that is a plus. For me, it creates confusion because as a professor of Spanish, I want to know where to find additional exercises and explanations on specific areas of the language. When I don't see them labeled as such, I move on to the next book. For instance, in his table of contents, he has a chapter entitled "Reported Speech." I had to stop for a second to reclassify it as "indirect discourse." This makes the book less useful to experienced professors of Spanish who learned the proper taxomonies. At the same time, however, for many students, it won't really matter and in fact, will make the subject less threatening.

Lastly, the subjunctive is not dealt with head-on. On the other hand, as with everything he does address, he does a great job of explaining, and his examples are clear. For instance, although his treatment of sequence of tense is not dealt with by name, his examples should help any intuitive learner understand how to deal with it.

By all means, buy this book! It provides a good overview of many troublesome areas and does so in a non-threatening way -- and that is very important. Use it as a point of departure for the inevitable time when you'll need more focused practice.

Sincerely,

Eric W. Vogt, Ph.D.

Advanced Spanish Grammar
This book was a gift for a relative who is planning a vacation in Spain and wanted to brush up on her Spanish.She also teaches accents to actors and feels that phrasing is very important when English is not your first language.

She was very pleased with the book.

Practice Makes PerfectÇAdvanced Spanish Grammar
It's probably making everything more difficult than it is, but maybe that is because I prefer language study to be traditional. ... Read more

Product Description

Making reading fun…in English and Spanish!

Customer Reviews (1)

Great book!
My daughter loves this book.Magnifica version en Espanol.The picures in the book are great to keep your little one interested in the story.Mi bebe nunca se cansa de que le lea este libro. ... Read more

Product Description
Developed by the experts at Living Language, this course has everything you need to learn Spanish from scratch or to revive the Spanish that you learned years ago. Ultimate Spanish combines conversation and culture in an easy-to-follow, enjoyable, and effective format. It’s the perfect way to learn Spanish for school, travel, work, or personal enrichment. In this book you’ll find:

• 40 lessons with lively dialogues including the most common and useful idiomatic expressions.
• English translations and explanations of Spanish grammar and usage, pronunciation, vocabulary, and cultural notes.
• Quizzes and review sections to check your progress.
• A complete summary of Spanish grammar, and verb charts covering all major tenses.
• An extensive two-way glossary. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Spanish book
The book and CD disc's are a great resource for my daughter.She uses the CD's alot to review the sounds for the spanish words she is practicing.The book is easy to use, it has many vocabulary lists to look through.I wish for the price I paid for this book it was a hardcover.I was a little disappointed about that. Overall a good quality and we use it alot.

Muy Bueno Intro - Intermediate book on Espanol.
Excellent reading material on a trip to Punta Cana in the D.R. For those that may not realize, the Dominican Republic is a Spanish speaking country. If you had, for example, at least Spanish I in high school or middle school, then you have a better foundation to get more from this book. If you don't have any Spanish background, then the book is still very useful, but I would guess that it may also be a bit confusing.

Unless your Spanish teacher in school allowed you to take your Espanol book home with you when the class ended, I would recommend this book a very good and inexpensive (esp. considering the price of school books) learning and "brush up" tool.

Given the inexpensive price, I give it 5 stars.

Great course - especially for the price
This is one of the best Spanish courses on the market. One of the big complaints about series like Teach Yourself and Colloquial is that there's simply too much English on the CDs. Not so with Ultimate Spanish - the four CDs meant to be used with the book are in Spanish only. The other six CDs - the four on-the-go discs, vocabulary, and travel phrases - have English on them, but they're meant to be used alone. The set also comes with a flashcard CD-ROM which, while I wouldn't buy it by itself, will prove useful for some people - plus any extra practice is never a bad thing.

I recommend using Ultimate Spanish alongside books like Easy Spanish Reader and the Practice Makes Perfect Spanish workbooks.

A nice mix of dialog, grammar and cultural info
This book has a nice mix of Spanish conversations, rules for grammar and cultural information. The variety makes it easy to stay interested. It also gives English translations for all of the conversations and answers to the questions, so it is easy to be sure you understand. There doesn't seem to be any particular order to the grammar presented, so if you want to look up something specific (like what is the past tense of a word) you have to dig through the table of contents. There are also a few typos, which could mess you up if you don't have a teacher going through it with you.

Anna Rivera Reviews Ultimate Spanish Beginner
This is Anna Rivera editor of the Learning Spanish Products Reviews site and author of Anna Rivera's 1000 Plus Most Powerful Spanish Words (Spanish Edition) and Anna Rivera's 800 Plus Most Powerful Spanish Phrases (Spanish Edition).I am also a native Spanish speaker and a professional Spanish instructor.

Ultimate Spanish Beginner-Intermediate is a very comprehensive course covering both Castilian and Latin American Spanish. The speakers speak at a pace that is not too slow and not too fast to understand. Unlike many Spanish courses designed for beginners you will walk away from this course with a huge vocabulary. And the more words that you know in Spanish the better you can communicate. Another great feature of this course is that it has lots of dialogs covering numerous topics. Here are just a few examples of the topics of conversation that you will hear: banking, going to the theatre, being a victim of a crime, sports, going to the movies, watching television, at the post office, looking for employment, at the gas station, in the pharmacy, at the electronics department, traveling by train, renting an apartment, renting a car, buying a computer, at the beach, at the doctor, at the airport, and so many other topics. I advise that you listen to these dialogs over and over again so that the new vocabulary words stick in your head.

After you finish with this, then you can start the next course in the series: Ultimate Spanish Advanced (Book) (LL(R) Ultimate Advanced Course). I have happily recommend this product too many of the readers of learning-Spanish newsletter.

Word of caution. You can buy the books separately for both the Beginner and Advanced Ultimate Spanish courses. Be sure that what you are ordering isn't just the textbook for either course, but the complete set of CDs. Both this course and the advanced course contain 8 CDs - 4 of which are to be used "at home" and the other 4 contain similar content but are designed to be used "in the car" to reinforce what you have learned at home.

There also seems to be some confusion with the correct name of this product. I have 2 identical CD products of this same course. Once is called Ultimate Spanish Beginner-Intermediate and the other is called Ultimate Spanish Basic.
... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (44)

Great learning tool
I need to learn languages for my own singing and teaching career and my time is extremely limited.This cd is a great way to get the Spanish in during my driving time.I love the emersion of it.Voice Lessons To Go Volume 1: Vocalize and Breath

Well worthwhile
This is friendly, not too difficult.I like it because it is not intense, but has real life situations.

Fun and Useful
This is fun and useful. I drive over 100 miles daily. Have a 6 CD changer and have one of the discs in the #1 position. I will do a short section daily, then go to the book on CD I am listing to in the other positions or the radio. Do some repeating also, but I could not do this for a solid hour of driving in the AM or PM. Voices and pronunciation are clear and volume is good. For me the companion book is a must use, I have to think about the spelling of the words being pronounced. So I read the book section at home before and after, and listen and practice during the drive.
At this point I am quite pleased.

An EXCELLENT secondary resource
I really like these CDs!

If you are new to Spanish, I wouldn't recommend these CDs as your ONLY resource for learning Spanish. They do come with a book, but it's not quite systematic or thorough enough to be your only resource. (I am using Barbara Bregstein's [2005] Easy Spanish Step-By-Step as my main book.)

But the Spanish Behind the Wheel CDs are WONDERFUL ways to listen to and repeat after a native Spanish speaker. They are great for learning pronunciation and the rhythm of the language. They are also a great way to learn and review more vocabulary words.

The CDs are called "Spanish Behind the Wheel," but you can listen to them while doing tasks like housework, getting dressed, etc.

Not very good, but cheap
I have several issues with Behind The Wheel Spanish:

- The English speaker's voice is terribly monotonous. He sounds bored and almost annoyed.
- The lessons are very brief. To really learn them, you'll need to repeat them, but there are no track dividers, so you have to scan backwards to get to the last jump-off point. Also, the English speaker continually repeats annoying and useless phrases (my favorites: "Remember: an infinitive is just the dictionary definition of a verb" and "Learner, remember to always repeat after the speaker"), so you end up having to listen to them multiple times
- As other reviewers have said, the lessons don't really build on each other. It hops from one thing to something completely unrelated.
- The accompanying booklet does not match what is spoken. Some spoken bits are skipped, and some words that are not spoken are added. It's almost like it refers to a different version of the recording.

On the plus side, it's very cheap. Note that I bought the downloadable version, not the CD's. ... Read more

Product Description
GET D!RTY

Next time you're traveling or just chattin' in Spanish with your friends, drop the textbook formality and bust out with expressions they never teach you in school, including:

• Cool slang
• Funny insults
• Explicit sex terms
• Raw swear words

Dirty Spanish teaches the casual expressions heard every day on the streets of Spain and Latin America:

♦What's up?
¿Qué ta

♦I'm wasted
Estoy fumigado.

♦Your mom's a ten.
Tu vieja es un cuero.

♦I gotta take a piss.
Necesito mear.

♦I wanna nail that ass.
Quiero clavar ese culo.

♦What a sunnuvabitch!
¡Qué 'jueput

♦Goooooaaalll!
¡Gooooooolllll ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Disorganized, Contains Typographical Errors
As a native Spanish speaker I was disappointed with this book. I gave it two stars because it contains at least some useful material. My main gripe with the book is how disorganized it is. I liked the fact that it contains slang from Mexico down to Argentina, but the slang is completely disorganized. You can't use Mexicanisms with someone from Bolivia or Chile or anywhere. Sometimes the regionalisms are not even labeled as such - so the reader would not know with whom to use a phrase or word. A non native speaker will have a hard time with this book. Slang in the Spanish language is regional. What works in one country does not work in the next. Eg. You say X phrase to someone from Mexico. It turns out that X phrase is only understood in Colombia. So your Mexican interlocutor will have no clue what you're saying -- and vice versa. The idioms are regionally mixed and this is not effective. Eg. you will read a Mexicanism, next to a Venezuelanism, coupled with an Argentinism. I believe only a native speaker can benefit from this book as a reference. I intended to give this book to friends that are learning Spanish, but this book would only confuse them and it would be counterproductive to their learning. What I can do is pick sentences from different chapters and explain them to them. Hope my review is helpful to you. Had I known this fact before the purchase, I would not have bought this book.

Ay Caramba!
The key to getting along or request in any language is to use the slang, for it says more about what you want or feel than normal language.That said, every Latin American country, or spanish speaking one, has an entirely different set of modisms (modismos), and usually one phrase that works on one region or country, isn't the gig in another.Some call the language Spanish , while others call it Castellano.The former being the country as a whole, while the latter is the region out of 9 that was made the official language representing Spain overall.In spite of Castellano as the official Spanish, there are another 8 separate languages used and still prevalent in Spain.

Besides language, facial or body gesures can cause concern or rifts, including which way you use your hands or palms, how you cross your feet, and which part of your body or outerwear you show towards your guests; any of which may get you kicked out of the house.While the formal base language gets you into the house, so to speak, it's the slang that will get you places, depending on terminology, tone, manners, and eloquence.Some countries use more of the formal language than slang, while others use slang more than formal language.Again, every region or country has a different selection of idioms that will convey the message or insult the listener- the same for USA as Mexico.Mexican terms aren't to be used in South America.

It also pays to use a translation dictionary specific to the country. University of Chicago translations tend to be more mexican, and to use those in say, Chile, could invite insult, or disaster- by one who knows.

Other useful books are Chicano terms by Barron, which tend to be more moderate across the board in several locales.Usually South America common language usage is most represented by Larousse dictionaris, as well as the Oxford Pictorial dictionary, or anything using the term Sopell.Every Spanish speaking country claims their usage is the most correct.

Great FUN gift
I speak Spanish as a second language and thought this book was funny. Beware bad words not to be used lightly. But has witty stuff that can get you action in the bars LOLa good deal

Dirty Spanish: Everyday Slang Review by James
This is James from James Spanish (the learning Spanish blog).
Not your average textbook, and certainly not for the faint hearted, this book gives translations for the somewhat spicier side of the Spanish language.While these words and phrases shouldn't form part of your everyday vocabulary, understanding them can be handy when you are talking amongst native speakers.Having an awareness of these insults, slurs and slang will also help you to avoid any embarrassment caused by using them inappropriately by accident.In 2008 an American singer competing in a televised talent contest in Spain caused an uproar when he mispronounced one word and changed a romantic lyric into an offensive obscenity that left the audience gasping in shock.Don't let a similar social situation happen to you!Brush up on the terms in this book for some guidelines on what not to say, or to be able to express yourself with typical Spanish abandon if the occasion demands it!

Of course, the book doesn't just cover obscenities, but also some colloquial expressions used in Spain and Latin America.The regional differences are important to note, as what is harmless slang in one country may earn you a slap in another.However, these types of slang words and phrases can help you to seem more like a native speaker, and convey a more informal and relaxed tone when you are talking.The book is great to take with you while you travel, and can be an amusing conversation starter with other travelers you meet during your trip.

Each word or phrase is provided in context, letting you see how it is used in real life situations. The book is divided into topics, which lets you brush up on any particular social situation that you might find yourself in, for example reading the section on eating, may help you to feel more like a native when you visit someone's home for a meal in Spain.You will learn that when someone points to a particular dish as says "Eso es la leche!" they are not literally saying "That is the milk!" but rather commenting on how wonderful the food is.

Whether or not you choose to use any of the expressions in the book,it is good to be familiar with them so that you can understand what is being said by native speakers around you.At the very least you will be able to identify a complement from an insult!

In closing my review of this product, I'd like to share with you the three Amazon products that I have found most helpful in my pursuit to learn Spanish. If you are truly serious about achieving fluency, I'd recommend getting all 3 of them if you can afford it.

1.Lights, Camera, Spanish (Book + DVD): Learn Conversational Spanish by Watching a Romantic Adventure This isactually a 90 minute movie for Spanish-language learners. It gives the option to watch the movie with subtitles but I'd recommend not using them to improve your Spanish. This "movie" also includes a workbook so that you can reinforce the Spanish vocabulary words and phrases from the film.The workbook also has lots of exercises to keep you engaged in the film. But be prepared to hear Chilean accents. Although pleasent to the ear, the accents from Chile are very different from most Latin American accents.

2. Verbarrator Version 1.1 (Windows Version) This software replaces the traditional verb conjugation books and makes learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs an interactive and fun activity. This should be a required resource for anyone who wants to improve their ability to conjugate Spanish verbs. Especially anyone who is challenged by the drudgery of learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs and who is looking for a new way to make learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs an easy and fun activity

3. Diccionario esencial de la lengua espanola de la Real Academia Espanola (Spanish Edition) If you are really serious about speaking the language fluently, then at some point you will need to replace your Spanish-English dictionary and get a pure Spanish dictionary with both the vocabulary words and the definitionsentirely in Spanish. I use this one only because it was highly-recommended by a friend from Spain who teaches Spanish. According to him, in academic circles in Spain as well as Latin America this Spanish dictionary is the standard.

save your money
Good title, weak content. I'd suggest "The Red-Hot Book of Spanish Slang and Idioms" if you'd like to get "dirty Spanish" plus about all the idioms and slang you may ever encounter in Spanish speaking countries. ... Read more

Product Description
Known for many years as BarronÂ's Easy Way Series, the new editions of these popular self-teaching titles are now BarronÂ's E-Z Series. Brand-new cover designs reflect all new page layouts, which feature extensive two-color treatment, a fresh, modern typeface, and more graphic material than everÂ-- charts, graphs, diagrams, instructive line illustrations, and where appropriate, amusing cartoons. Meanwhile, the quality of the booksÂ' contents remains at least as high as ever. BarronÂ's E-Z books are self-help manuals focused to improve studentsÂ' grades in a wide variety of academic and practical subjects. For most subjects, the level of difficulty ranges between high school and college-101 standards. Although primarily designed as self-teaching manuals, these books are also preferred by many teachers as classroom supplementsÂ--and for some courses, as main textbooks. E-Z books review their subjects in detail, and feature both short quizzes and longer tests with answers to help students gauge their learning progress. Subject heads and key phrases are set in a second color as an easy reference aid. BarronÂ's heavily revised and updated E-Z Spanish presents a beginnerÂ's introduction to speaking, understanding, and writing in Spanish, with emphasis on oral proficiency. All stories and exercises have been modernized. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Great purchase.
Easy to use format, good explanations make this a good purchase even for a beginner like me.

Book
The book arrived before on time, in perfect condition. Its a great book to help you learn your rules and do lots of practice writing.

Great learning tool.
I enjoyed being able to understand Spanish better with this book. It's clear and follows the same good teaching methods as other Barron's books. Excellent companion to E-Z Spanish Verbs.

Excellent "Getting-Started" Spanish Workbook
Let me preface this review by noting that this book is essentially a re-issue (or revised edition) of Spanish the Easy Way (E-Z Spanish) by the same authors and publisher.If you already have the aforementioned book, then you already have this book :)

Now, on to the review.If you have any vague familiarity with Spanish one of the romance languages, you'll be able to breeze through this book while gaining a pretty impressive vocabulary and grasp on grammar. The text is divided into about five "units" each with a specific theme: home, office, around town, foods, etc... with grammar and vocabulary integrated within the context of the themes.There are lots of cartoon-style illustrations and varied exercises to keep you entertained. The answer key includes answers to both the written and multiple choice style exercises.

I would consider this a book good self test to see if you really have the passion to study the Spanish language.If you finish this book wanting more, then invest in a higher dollar study package. Otherwise, you come out of it with less than $20 spent and more than enough knowledge to carry on a basic conversation on your next trip to Mexico :)

The only weaknesses I can comment on will be particularly of interest to students using this as a supplement for their courses.This book does not emphasize grammar (though it does touch on it) so you may find yourself memorizing phrases instead of learning to construct your own grammatically correct sentences if you don't use caution.If you would like to supplement your course textbook I would suggest you consider a similar volume Spanish Grammar the Easy Way which rigorously covers grammar. ... Read more

Product Description
SPEAK SPANISH WITH CONFIDENCE IN JUST 6 WEEKS!

The Living Language® Spanish Complete Course teaches the basics of Spanish language and usage. It uses a highly effective speed-learning method developed by U.S. government experts to teach languages to overseas-bound service personnel and diplomats.

THREE 60-MINUTE COMPACT DISCS WITH 40 LESSONS
•Begin with simple words and progress to complex phrases and sentences.
•Just listen and repeat after the native speakers on the recordings to learn naturally, the way you learned English.

SPANISH COURSEBOOK
•40 lessons from the recordings with translations, additional vocabulary, detailed explanations, quizzes, and reviews.
•Verb charts, a comprehensive grammar summary, and a section on letter writing are also included.

SPANISH–ENGLISH / ENGLISH–SPANISH DICTIONARY
•More than 20,000 words, idioms, and expressions.
•Examples show how words are used in everyday conversation.
•1,000 frequently used words are highlighted for easy reference. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Can't listen in car
This is not at all what I was looking for, so call it a $13.00 mistake (purchased in a used bookstore that doesn't accept returns). I wanted something my young kids and I could listen to in the car, but these audio tapes are useless. The English translations are in the book, not on the tape, so you have no idea what you're repeating or why, and the book is too advanced for the little ones to be able to follow along. They start out with people's names (Juan, Juanita, etc.) and then the next lessons are random words, the alphabet, a list of Latin American countries, vowel sounds. I would have liked to start with the most useful phrases in any language - hello, good-bye, thank you, numbers, big/small, etc. I'm not trying to learn how read and write, or even speak, fluently - just enough to function in day-to-day transactions, such as with neighbors, or at the store, and to give my kids some basic exposure.

Needs proof-reading...
I purchased two courses - Instant Immersion Spanish (for car listening), and the Living Language (for learning at my desk). The Instant Immersion Spanish has been very good so far.

I finally opened this one tonight, and found an error in the small pocket guide.Under "1. Common Greetings" it says "Good evening." is pronounced "Buenas tardes" in Spanish. It should be "Buenas noches"! "Buenas tardes" means "Good afternoon." in Spanish.

At first glance, the textbook looks good, so I will continue, and update this review later. NOTE: This course is not designed for learning in your vehicle. Try Instant Immersion Spanish, which is perfect for highway driving.

Good beginner spanish
Being in New Mexico this was a great beginner for me, I hear spanish on a daily basis so I can understand more and it is easier for me to pick up, worth the amount.

You Get WhatYou Pay For
The cost of this product is less than $20. For less than $20 you cannot realistically expect for a course to make you conversational. However, it is reasonable to expect to learn some Spanish words and phrases. And this course undoubtedly delivers on its promise to teach the listener how to speak and recognize (hear) some Spanish words and phrases.

There are better audio courses out there.
I think one of the benefits of audio courses is that you can listen to them while walking or laying down.... you can't do that with this course though. You will have to sit at a desk, because this is one of those courses where you will have to look at the included coursebook to understand the audio component.

There are no english translations on the CDs, so you can't listen to them alone. Although you also get a dictionary, in my opinion, both the dictionary and the course book aren't of very good quality.

The first CD begins with about 10 minutes of useless spanish names & places around the world. Although this gives you an idea of the pronounciation, I believe that new words are at a premium for the beginner..... i.e. don't bombard us with utterly useless information!

I highly recommend "Behind the Wheel Spanish" by "Language Dynamics" instead of this course. That program has a better coursebook, and better audio too. Although, I don't agree with driving while trying to learn a new language. Why? It requires too much concentration, meaning you can get too easily distracted, and you may have an accident.... (that applies with the "Learn in your car spanish" course too) ... Read more