Dh needs to learn spanish asap, would Rosetta Stone fit the bill?

[Chris in CA]

He can practice with some people he works with, but really needs something here at home to teach him. CC courses are out, as the semester has already begun and he doesn't really have the time to go to the class.

He needs more of a conversational spanish, not heavy with grammar

thanks

[Jill W.]

You can get a cheap mini version at Barnes & Noble for about $20 to see if you'd like it. But the full course is much more expensive -- and much more comprehensive. There are three levels for Spanish (I, II, and III) which are about $300 each. You might also want to check out your local library, as they often carry Pimsleur courses.

 

I'm going to attempt to post a link to the Pimsleur website below. Haven't yet posted a link on the new boards, so we'll see how that works! If it doesn't, just go to http://www.pimsleur.com.

 

http://www.simonsays.com/content/index.cfm?PID=523078&tab=13&wsref=3&num=182

[Michelle in AL]

I like Visual Link Spanish. I think you can see samples at their website. It gets you speaking sentences right away.

 

www.learnspanishtoday.com

 

Blessings, Michelle

[Chris in CA]

Thanks, there are two at my library

a 2002 version with 8cds called Instant Conversational Spanish and a 2005 version with 8cds called just Conversational Spanish, do you think they are the same thing?

thanks

[Chris in CA]

Thanks Michelle, I'll check it out

[Jill W.]

The 2005 version is probably just a newer edition of the 2002 one. Either one should give your dh a good start, and a good idea if this method is to his liking.

[Phyllis in Canada]

Another awesome conversational Spanish program is "Learning Spanish Like Crazy". It gets you speaking right away and very focused on the oral. My dad downloaded it to his iTunes from Audible.com and loves it.

[Phyllis in Canada]

P.S. Having personally tried (for a short period) Rosetta Stone, Destinos, and Learning Spanish Like Crazy, I would definitely concentrate on the Crazy one for wanting to learn lots quickly without having to think about grammar and bookwork.

[Claire]

For fast acquisition of vocabulary and basic grammar, I think it's hard to beat Unforgettable Languages . Rosetta Stone is not particularly fast and is light on vocabulary. Haven't tried Crazy but, after the comments here, think I'll look into it. I have Visual Link and it starts out great, but I found that it quickly becomes difficult to do (at least for me). I need foreign languages spoon-fed to me, if at all possible!

 

There's also a paperbook on Spanish versions of English words that can be very helpful for expanding vocabulary quickly. I can't find my copy for the name. I know Amazon has it.

[Chris in CA]

Thank you Jill

[Chris in CA]

Thanks Phyllis! I'll google it

[teacalm]

Got me started thinking in Spanish..

[Harriet Vane]

I cannot comment much on a computer program for vocabulary acquisition. However, I have two suggestions that have proved quite valuable for us:

 

--There is a series of workbooks called Practice Makes Perfect. It's the very best thing I've found for just sheer practice. Each chapter gives a short, clear explanation followed by pages and pages of practice. It's simple and effective.

 

--We LOVE a Spanish tutoring service called 121Spanish. You can chat with a native Spanish tutor for $15 per hour. The tutors are not merely people who speak Spanish--they are trained, educated, and actually teach. Their system is very, very easy to use, and I have found them quite responsive to unusual or special requests. Our first experience with them was when we were in Guatemala taking language lessons every day--we continued on with tutoring via Skype on the internet.

[Nan in Mass]

Yup.