Audio CD
Publisher: Learning Like Crazy (June 1, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0976666103
ISBN-13: 978-0976666103
Product Dimensions: 2 x 5.2 x 7.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #1,032,966 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #88 in Books > Books on CD > Languages > Language Instruction > Spanish #1108 in Books > Books on CD > Nonfiction #1637 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Foreign Languages > Spanish
I have spent probably a thousand dollars on courses like Pimsleur (I went through all three levels; heavy on pounding stuff into your head, but not enough vocabulary to write home about), Auralog computer-based Spanish(boring and tends to crash the computer), and "Behind the Wheel Spanish" (inconsistent -- way too slow, then way too fast) in my attempt to learn Spanish. What a waste! Everything I wanted was in "Learning Spanish Like Crazy." I only wish I'd found it first.The lessons are, like Pimsleur, structured to pound stuff into your head so you won't forget it as soon as you learn it. But LSLC differs from Pimsleur in several key ways.1. There's enough vocabulary to choke a mule -- and that's good thing.2. Every verb is fully conjugated in each lesson, so you recognize the patterns and start "absorbing" them faster...but it's done in a conversational style so you barely realize "hey, I'm conjugating a verb" and you don't get grossed out by the fact that you're learning grammar.3. Brief explanations are given on things that are complicated or irregular so you understand why you are doing what you're doing, instead of learning by rote. (Adult learners need to understand why, trust me.)4. It moves along at a good pace. It's taken me 10 days to get to Lesson 13 and I've enjoyed every lesson. Lesson 13 introduces the student to reflexive verbs (and you know it because they tell you, "today we're doing reflexive verbs." Pimsleur never tells you what you're doing -- which is fine if you're a kid, but boring and confusing if you're over the age of 40!)5. Best of all, it isn't boring. There are plenty of reasons to pay attention when attempting to learn a language, but it's easier to say than to do with some courses.
I bought the product last year and have completed all of the lessons. Trust me - I agree with several of the other reviewers that it is really a great tool - if not the best that I've come across for dealing with everyday conversation. Being a very skeptical person with stuff like this, I admit that this is the only audio course that I have bought, and honestly don't think I'll purchase others. I did a lot of research before I tried the LSLC Level 1 system.I live in Trinidad and Tobago (unlike any of the other reviewers that I have seen so far). TnT is located just 9km (about 5-6 miles) off of the coast of Venezuela, and 99.5% of the population here knows just a handful of Spanish words. After taking a course at the Venezuelan Embassy here for two years, I still found it quite difficult to understand them when they spoke - especially among themselves! I can read and write it quite well, but still had great difficulty understanding the natives. After studying the first maybe 14 lessons, I visited some friends of mine over there in December, and to my surprise I understood them a heck of a lot more. By the way, these folks speak much faster than Mexicans and Colombians in normal conversation - particularly those from the Eastern part of the country, so most of you have virtually no stress, since most Americans interact with Mexicans or Puerto Ricans. Try conversing with someone from Guiria, Venezuela to see what I'm talking about! The Mexicans I have interacted with speak very clearly compared to most Venezuelans - and the accent is easier to understand. Of course the LSLC instructors were quite easy to understand, and YEAH - it's a CD, so you don't have to ask them to say something again!
This was actually the first learning spanish course that I bought.I remember on the webpage for LSLC,the owner says that if his friends would teach on the cd's,that he would show the best method for learning,that he has found.For anyone who has done pimsleur,it is pretty obvious that this is the method that he chose to use.So I went through level 1 of lslc really easy,but then from there I struggled.I just felt like there was just to much information per each lesson.However,I kept reading about how great and easy pimsleur spanish is,etc etc.So after I struggled but made it to lesson 5 on lslc, I decided to buy pimsleur 1,to see what the big deal was.Wow,what a difference.With pimsleur,you only learn about 4-6 words per lesson.However there are 2 special things about the words you learn.1.After you learn the couple of words,you use them many times over and over,and in many different combinations.So if you learn:I have,you have,and,but,1,2,3..the lesson would look like this:I have one.You have three.I have two,but you have one.I have one and two,but you have three ETC.2.You use the words frequently for the next 2-4 lessons.And each time you learn a couple more words,you use the words in various combinations,with words from the previous lesson(s).So if in the next lessons you learn:I want,you want,dollars..You would say phrases like:I have 2 but I want 3.I have 3,do you want 1.I have 2,but I want 3,and you want 1 ETC ETC ETC.With pimsleur everything is just so simple,.I have been doing 2 lessons a day with no problems.I have only had to review one lesson twice,and I am almost done with pimsleur 1(30 lessons).
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