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Thanks. This is a new copy of Pimsleur and I'm very pleased with the immediate delivery.
Pimsleur is a kinder and gentler way for language dummies (like me) to succeed in gaining a reasonable comfort in a new language.
In fact, I even recommend this product over Rosetta Stone Spanish. In addition, I am the author of two learning-Spanish products offered at Amazon.com (USA): 1. Maybe "back in the day" we didn't -- but now we use chao. Lessons 1 to 5, will also teach you how to say "I know" and "you know," as well as I have and you have. And how to say "I pay" and "you pay," and "I buy" and "you buy." Pronouns such as "la" and "las" are also introduced and also how to tell time, as well as the substitute future tense (e.g.
You will also learn how to say let's go eat. The sound quality of the lessons is also excellent. You also learn how to ask how much do things cost and saying "I want" and "you want" and how to ask the same. The speakers are also all natives with excellent pronunciation. With that said CHAO.
In the final lesson (#30), the informal word for you is briefly introduced: tu (I have omitted Spanish punctuation marks because they sometimes appear as fuzzy characters on my Amazon reviews). Although it is one of the best Spanish courses that I have ever reviewed, it is not worthy of 5 stars. I am still glad to recommend that you buy Pimsleur Level I because of its highly effective and fun teaching method. Not only is it fun but also quite effective. I will begin my review with an in depth summary of the content.
Lessons 16 to 20 also contrast "estamos" and "somos." Reflexive verbs are also introduced while you learn how to say "I am leaving" and "we are leaving." From lessons 21 to 24, you are introduced to formal commands and learn such commands as "give me a glass of water/wine" and "write it." You are also introduced to demonstrative pronouns for "this, that, and those." The regular "ar" verb is also introduced. I am going to eat as opposed to "I will eat.") Lesson 16 to 20 teach you how to say more numbers (from sixty to ninety-nine). From lessons 25 to 30, you will learn more commands. You also learn how to say "my spouse has" and "we speak," "we eat," and "we want." You will also learn possessive adjectives such as "my," "your" and "our." The irregular verb "poder" and the "para que" structure" are also introduced in the present tense. The course also comes with a small booklet to give the student an introduction to reading Spanish. To tell you a little about my background, I am the editor of the LearningSpanishProductsReviews site newsletter. Actually, three if you include the imperative. Direct pronouns are also covered in greater detail.
In my professional opinion, with 15 hours of recorded audio an adult of average intelligence is capable of learning several times as much vocabulary and grammar than what Pimsleur I covers. From lessons 11 to 15, you will learn more numbers (numbers 12 to 59). I am also a native Spanish speaker and a Spanish instructor. The present verb tense and the present perfect tense.
And you'll learn how to say "here" and "there," and inquire about the location of hotels and restaurants. From lessons 6 to 10, you begin to learn numbers from 1 to 11. I say that for two reasons. The second reason why I cannot give Pimsleur Spanish 5 stars is because the Spanish is not representative of the Spanish that Latin Americans actually speak or at least not the Latin American Spanish that is spoken today. Anna Rivera's 1000 Plus Most Powerful Spanish Words (English and Spanish Edition)2.Anna Rivera's 800 Plus Most Powerful Spanish Phrases (English and Spanish Edition)Many of my readers and students have requested that I provide a very thorough, unbiased and accurate review of Pimsleur one.
It is 100% correct to say that phrase but nowadays it is not how one would normally say "I speak Spanish" (unless you were really trying to impress someone). Pimsleur Spanish has an extremely fun method to learn Spanish. The student only learns two verb tenses. But don't count on it to teach you much grammar and vocabulary, especially not today's Latin American vocabulary. In the first lesson "hablo Castellano" is taught.
Diminutives are also covered. basic greetings such as good morning, good afternoon, and good night. For example, how to say the command "come." But only the formal commands are covered. The same applies to Pimsleur's approach of teaching "encantado" instead of "mucho gusto." And "adios" is taught instead of "chao." Most Latinos today use "chao" or phrases such as "hasta luego" for bye.
In lessons 1 through 5 you will learn how to conjugate the verb "entender" in the present tense and say "I understand" and "you understand" in the "usted" form as well as ask the same You will also learn how to say I speak "Castellano" or you speak "Castellano." You will also learn how to inquire about one's health, and ask about one's nationality. For one, with 15 hours of recorded audio, Pimsleur Spanish provides the student with very limited grammar and even less vocabulary. The present perfect tense is also introduced along with numbers in the hundreds. The verb gustar is also covered.
You also learn how to inquire about a doctor and say "give me his number." The personal "a" is also introduced as well as how to state if a location is near or far, ask one's name and state one's name, ask where does one live, and give directions.
Pimsleur Spanish is the best self-learning program I have found. Through constant repetition with clear Spanish speakers, the sentences, based on real conversation, continually change with different tenses, pronouns, and new vocabulary. I had done private lessons with a reputable organization in New York City, but found that the group experience gave me little practice and concentrated more on the grammar. I have gone through all of the Pimsleur series in my commute back and forth to work and am about to commence on the plus series.
I'm not perfect, but I have the confidence that I will make progress and that the foundation is there for conversational Spanish--thanks to Pimsleur. As the program advances, you acquire the rhythm of real Spanish speech. Change a few words in the patterned sentence, and you are on your way to speaking Spanish. Now I understand the gist of Spanish broadcast news, even if I don't understand it all. I feel much more confident and speak with the Hispanics I know in New York City. I tried Rosetta Stone for a year online--liked some things as the electronic graph for pronunciation, but found the visuals frustrating as they wanted specific vocabulary and the vocabulary and grammar were relatively narrow in scope.
Eventually, the English prompts in the course automatically become Spanish in your head. Progress. Then there was my car. The beauty of the Pimsleur method is its subtlety.
I've tried other Spanish language programs and never stuck with them. I'm looking forward to completing the course and moving on to the next one before returning to Costa Rica. Pimsleur was recommended by a friend who was teaching English in Costa Rica. This one is a lot more user friendly. Pura Vida. He had learned his Spanish using Pimsleur. I do have to admit that the first 6 or 7 lessons were mostly a review of what I learned on the streets in 16 months in Costa Rica.
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