5 comments about Dos mundos Student Edition with Online Learning Center Bind-in Passcode (McGraw-Hill World Languages).

1. this is not a bad spanish book. i don't know if i would say it is great. lots of group activities that are helpful, but they are pretty simple and repetitive. they need to be a little more thoughtful and put in lots of DIFFERENT activities. one last, quite frustrating thing, there is only a spanish-english dictionary in the back. extremely irritating because this is a spanish 1-2 book, and anytime you want to look up a word, you'll need to consult another dictionary.



2. I teach college Spanish and I love this text. It is thoughtfully constructed and provides numerous activities for communication in the target language. Dos mundos also provides very useful ideas for instructors. The pages are colorful and the content engaging. My students love all the activities I use from this text. I wish more Spanish instructors would embrace the methodology presented in Dos mundos. My level one Spanish students actually speak Spanish (albeit low-level Spanish). I don't know if I would recommend this text for independent study, however. I believe it would be most effective if used in conjunction with a dynamic instructor. I do agree that the authors should include a separate English-Spanish dictionary section. I also find the video segments to be very poor (and why are they exactly the same as the ones for Puntos de partida when they both have such different approaches to language acquisition?)



3. I needed this book for my spanish class and it provided me with the step by step instruction I needed.



4. I've been using Dos Mundos in my Spanish III class this fall and it's been a quite positive experience. I'm a former English teacher, and a long time psychologist, so I have some feel for the teaching/learning dynamic of a text. I'm finding DM to be intelligently written and organized, with many different kinds of activities that build on and integrate what you're learning. I like the way history, art, pop culture, geography, politics, music, literature, etc. are interspersed throughout DM. There's cartoons, color, and a reasonably unstilted, good-hearted consciousness in the book. For those of us used to American textbooks which have been reduced to squirmy blandness by pressure groups leaning on state textbook purchasing agencies, it's a bit refreshing to encounter occasional perspectives on economic and political injustice, environmental exploitation, etc. Not that this is a particularly political book, it's just that these things are usually soooooo sanitized. Some people have complained about the lack of an English to Spanish dictionary in this book. Face it---you need to buy a little dictionary to have when you're reading DM and learning Spanish. No added-on dictionary section is going to be complete enough to meet your needs. You'll only be wasting time using it, since half the time the word you're looking for won't be there anyway. You might as well go to the dictionary in the first place. To sum it up: I like this book and I'm in the process of reading the seven chapters which were previously covered in Spanish I and II, which I didn't take in this sequence.



5. This is a great book to learn from, the workbook is also very helpful. This is one of the few college text books that I refused to sell back.

5 comments about Learn in Your Car Spanish Complete Language Course (Learn in Your Car).

1. These cd's use rote memory and repetition to teach. This is the best method I've found for learning a foreign language. The pharses used are of the type that you would use in normal conversation. They do not take a lot of time explaining a lot of abstract consepts and useless history.



2. It is fairly difficult to learn only by listening, but these CDs will make a long commute to and from work worthwhile. This set should only be an aid to learning Spanish and I would not recommend it as a single source of learning Spanish. You will have to go through each CD a couple of times to memorize the phrases and vocabulary words. The price makes it affordable.



3. This course is a good complementary for Pimsler's course.
   It is build as talking dictionary: English word - Spanish word, with very little
   phrases and no conversations.



4. I am posting the same review under both titles. I have both sets of CD's. They are VERY different from each other. Each has strong & weak points. Which you chose depends on your goals.
   
   Advice:
   If you are leaving for a Spanish-speaking country within one month, and if you want to be able to get by and ask "At what time does the last bus leave for the beach?", "Where is the bathroom?", and "The air conditioning does not work.", then buy Learn Spanish in Your Car. No question.
   If you have never taken any Spanish in school and do not even know what it means to "congugate a verb", then buy Learn Spanish Like Crazy. No question.
   If you know the very basics, and want to build your vocabulary quickly, like for a vacation, buy Spanish in your Car.
   If you want a supplement to a Spanish class you are taking or about to take in a classroom setting, buy Spanish Like Crazy.
   
   Summaries:
   Learn Spanish in Your Car:
   Lots of vocabulary quickly. Travel focused. Does NOT teach verb congugations until far into the course. I took 1 year of Spanish in school 20 yrs ago. If I did not already know that "tengo" and "tiene" are the same root word, I think I would have been fairly lost with this course from the onset. Within a month on commuting, however, I think this course will have you getting by for a vacation. If you care mostly about getting by (directions, time, booking a hotel room, buying a bus ticket), and not about perfect grammar, I like this a lot.
   
   Spanish Like Crazy:
   Starts like a Spanish class would in school. You start by congugating -AR verbs. Then you learn questions, "Do you practice Spanish?" and possessive pronouns. The lessons are like drill sessions: "Now ask, 'Is the coat his?' Now answer, 'no, it is not his coat. It is mine.' Now say, 'It is my coat, but the hat is not mine'." Intense, but you'll know the grammar by the end. Vocabular comes later, but it does not seem travel oriented.
   
   I like using them both. However, I have 6 months before my trip to South America.



5. I have been very impressed with the Learn in Your Car Spanish Course. I had three years of Spanish in high school and this brought back and increased my abilities. I'll be leaving for Guatemala in a week for language immersion classes and am confident I will get off to a good start. My car CD player is not what it used to be so I would have prefered to use an ipod to play them.

5 comments about Practice Makes Perfect: Complete Spanish Grammar.

1. This has been a great book for me. I have some knowledge of Spanish but I need to learn much more. The book is written at the right level for me. I have some knowledge and a basic vocabulary. The book provides a good review of various points of Spanish Grammar. I find the exercises really help but I have to actually do the exercises for the material to sink in. I like the translation exercises.
   
   I have found a few minor errors in the answer section as a previous reviewer noted but nothing major so far. (e.g. making a word plural when it was singluar in the question.)
   
   While I realize there have to be limits, I do wish the book had more questions and exercises. The more I do the better I become.
   
   I found the order of the book is a little odd. All verb work is in the front. Chapters on nouns, adjectives and pronouns are in the back. While you could jump around, this sesquence means that most readers will understand nouns and adjectives well before they are studied in the book.
   
   This is a good supplement for other text books. The explanations are concise and to the point. This book is a good reference book.



2. Practice Makes Perfect is good but being a beginner found it a little difficult to follow and understand all workbook assignment short quizes. The intermediate student would have no problem.



3. I have mixed feelings about this book. I bought it expecting a good and thorough workbook on Spanish grammar, which it is thorough. However, it's frustrating because some of the exercises don't seem to "go with" what the chapter is covering. There's a translation exercise at the end of each chapter and after dutifully translating as I had just studied, I turn to the back and the answers are completely different. There are some glaring errors in the book too. Example: "Mi hermano cumplio treinta..." is translated as "my brother turned twenty". If a beginner such as me can catch this - it's glaring. The frustration was so great that after struggling through 3 chapters, the book now sits on the shelf - a bad place for books. I've since purchased The Ultimate Spanish Review and Practice and am working along quickly with this user-friendly and consistent book.



4. I used this book as a supplement to a "Reading Spanish" book I acquired, and found it to be very helpful. It has a large array of questions, and it was very easy to navigate through the book according to what my primary book was covering. Unfortunately, if you were to use this book from front cover to back cover, it teaches language in the same fashion that made it so difficult to learn in secondary school - starting with present tense, imperfect, etc. then on to participles and future tense. Learning the participles first is easier, as I found when using this book as a supplement. Grammar is incredibly well explained, and your mastery of the language will be quicker, and you will feel more confident when using this guide.



5. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1O9AT5VRWNNWA This is my video review of Complete Spanish Grammar. I explain what I like and did not like about this book in my video review.

5 comments about Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Pronouns And Prepositions.

1. I would recommend this book along with Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses for any level learner of Spanish, but I'd advise you to have a little bit previous knowledge. It's really cheap, explains every important concept in a very simple way and includes lots of exercises to practice. I've been using this book since the summer after I finished my first year of Elementary Spanish at college. I think it was very useful, especially in my second year of Spanish when I still didn't understand many grammar concepts but was given a text book written entirely in Spanish. This workbook explains things very clearly in English, which is important for beginners. Now that I am close to fluent in Spanish, I still use this book now and again to look up things I'm fuzzy on, and I definitely plan to use it as a Teaching Assistant for students next year.



2. This is a very useful book. Plenty of practice with answers in the back of the book.
   I will buy other books in this series.



3. To put it simple, this book is great, clear, concise and complete. Plenty of examples, samples and answers. Unlike other Spanish language books, this book gets down to little details.



4. Although the content & delivery of the product was perfect, I am very disappointed in the size. I thought I had ordered a pocketsized, compact Spanish guide; especially since so many of the reviews stated it was the ideal companion on an international trip. However, as it is even bigger than my Spanish book, I have yet to use it in my current course....refund!



5. A mi me gusta este libro. Lo es bueno para apprender mas espanol. Gracias.

4 comments about Webster's Spanish-English Dictionary for Students.

1. It is one of the best dictionaries I have ever used, since I don't use my native language often enough, I forget some words, so now I am able to look them up and see the right word/spelling/use.



2. This dictionary is excellent for students learning the basic vocabulary of the Spanish language. However, the dictionary does not contain any slang terms or expressions.



3. I have 5 or 6 Spanish dictionaries and this has become #1. It has the most words for everyday usage and it is easy to tote around. I was tired of not finding the word I was looking for in the other dictionaries, and that's how this one became my favorite (it usually had the word I was looking for).
   
   Just for kicks, if anyone wants the most heavy-duty Spanish dictionary try Harper Collins Spanish Unabridged Dictionary. It's about 4" thick and weighs about 15 lbs and it has everything you could ever possibly need as far as a Spanish dictionary goes. I love it but it's too darned big to use on a regular basis. I use it to find the words that the other dictionaries don't cover (or cover well enough). Bueno suerte!



4. Mu niece wanted a copy of this book because she's taking a spanish course in school. I browsed through it, and I think it's going to be extremely useful.

5 comments about Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses.

1. Use this book as a companion to whatever book/CD (grammar, vocab. Rosetta stone etc.) you are using to learn Spanish. I've finished the Rosetta Stone Latin American Spanish volume 1, and know a little bit of Spanish now. But if you are a beginner-beginner, this book may not be right for you. Especially, it may be very challenging for a new student to translate English into Spanish. Every section ends with a "translation/traduccion" exercise. In the first unit, you have to translate a whole paragraph--about 10 sentences of English--into Spanish.
   
   Example from the 1st Unit translation exercise: "Marcos lives in Montana. His mother works in a school where she teaches music and phys. ed. In the morning she plays the piano, sings, and practices with the band."
   
   If you started Spanish yesterday or today and are able to translate this in Spanish, you are definitely a genius. Without finishing the Level 1 of the Rosetta Stone, I would never have been able to translate it.
   
   This is a fantastic book with a lot of exercises. No question about it. But if you are a beginner-beginner, use this book as a companion (not as your primary source) to whatever CD/books you are using now.



2. I would recommend this book along with Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Pronouns and Prepositions for any level learner of Spanish, but I'd advise you to have a little bit previous knowledge. It's really cheap, explains every important concept in a very simple way and includes lots of exercises to practice. I've been using this book since the summer after I finished my first year of Elementary Spanish at college. I think it was very useful, especially in my second year of Spanish when I still didn't understand many grammar concepts but was given a text book written entirely in Spanish. This workbook explains things very clearly in English, which is important for beginners. Now that I am close to fluent in Spanish, I still use this book now and again to look up things I'm fuzzy on, and I definitely plan to use it to help me as a Teaching Assistant for students next year.



3. I wanted know is this product was suitable for my requirements. I needed a publication which would assist in my ability to converse in Spanish. As the verb conjugations in this language are complicated I needed something to refer to at any given time. I found this book most helpful because it helped me to bring back to mind things I had previously learned while living in Spain, which I started to learn late in life and therefore not so easy to retain. I recommend this publication and others in the series to anyone who is determined to continue using this language.



4. Teaher recommended. Great little book to help with verb tenses.
   This book is easy to use.



5. I began learning Spanish 16 months ago on a very informal basis, largely due to my changing work environment. I have purchased some instrtuctional CD's and Spanish for Dummies and Spanish Verbs for Dummies. The 'dummies' series does offer information about culture and provides an excellent phonetic reference for correct pronunciation of words. Both were interesting and pragmatic.
   
   This book, [Spanish Verb Tenses] was recommended by Amazon. I read the reviews and found the price to be reasonable enough to try the book. I have found the book to be very user friendly. The concepts and gramatical basics are covered, but the exercises are enjoyable. I have since purchased Ms. Richmond's other two books: one for vocabulary and the other for pronouns. Each have delivered the exceptional discussion of language. They highlight both the similarities between english and spanish as well as the decisive differences. I feel that these books will provide me with skills to be more confident to speak spanish to native speakers in a gramatically correct manner. Thank you--

5 comments about 1001 Most Useful Spanish Words (Beginners' Guides).

1. A great resource for people learning or refreshing their Spanish vocab. Can't afford to buy expensive software? This is the book for you! Words arranged by easy-to-find categories and a small dictionary is included in the book.
   
   What makes this book so great? Cheap. Small. Useful.



2. Particularly useful for intermediate-level speakers of the Spanish language. This book very concisely presents a wealth of vocabulary and demonstrates the grammar of each palabra introduced. For a very small price, it represents a terrific value.



3. After learning German from scratch, I realized about eight months later that my unwieldy and large German-English dictionaries were a drag. They were slow and clunky. When I decided to learn Spanish, the first thought I had was to find the right reference book for starting out with the basic vocabulary. This book has the perfect form and function for the beginning student. When I'm doing exercises, I can find the word I need in this book without skipping a beat or losing my train of thought. Buy this book if you're looking for efficiency. It has, for the most part, all the vocabulary a beginning student needs without the clutter of word entries a student doesn't need. It's easy to work with because I know from the moment I need it whether it will have the word I need or not. It's a two dollar workhorse that's a pleasure to use.



4. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2308CASLRE9TL This book has helped me expand my vocabulary really quickly. Watch my video to find out how.
   
   I am also listing what I consider some of the most useful tools for learning Spanish which I think you will enjoy if you love learning Spanish as much as I do:
   
   1. Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Pronouns And Prepositions This book one covers the proper usags of Pronouns and Prepositions and just like Spanish Verb Tenses, you will find plenty of exercises to improve your Spanish-language skills.
   
   2. The Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs: 555 Fully Conjugated Verbs This is a must have book for learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs. But it is more of a resource. I don't think anyone would try to read it from cover to cover.
   
   3. Learning Spanish Like Crazy: Spoken Spanish, Vol. 1 (2 volume set) This is the self-study course that I would recommend for someone that needs to immediately learn how to speak Spanish in order to communicate with Spanish-speakers that have recently arrived in the U.S or for someone that expects to be speaking to people in familiar situations in Latin America. This course comes closer to teaching the colluquial or familiar style of conversational Spanish that you will hear native speakers use among themselves. I like the fact that they only use native Spanish speakers in this course.
   
   4. Mierda!: The Real Spanish You Were Never Taught in School (Plume) This book really covers street Spanish. If you are not easily offened by vulgar language, I recommend this book. Even if you are not the type who would use dirty words in a conversation you'll probably still find this book very entertaining to read.
   
   I hope that my review has been helpful to other Amazon shoppers.



5. Just as good as Easy Spanish Phrase Book by Dover, 1001 Most Useful Spanish Words is an inexpensive gem of information on the Spanish language. It's actually better than a dictionary because it only gives you one useful word at a time (that way you don't have to choose like with a regular dictionary) and you get to see the word used in a sentence in context.
   Still, you can't beat learning to create your own words and sentences, not just those that someone made for you in advance.
   For that reason, I am sold on Behind the Wheel Spanish 8 CDs and Book.
   Behind the Wheel - Spanish 1 (Behind the Wheel)
   I recommend you buy both of these to use together.
   I have and I've gotten great results.

5 comments about Merriam-Webster's Spanish-English Dictionary.

1. Great little pocket dictionary for those who don't want to carry around a heavier full-sized eng/span diction. It's not 'quite' as complete, but it's about 99% there. It's going to have all of the important words



2. Great little pocket dictionary for those who don't want to carry around a heavier full-sized eng/span diction. It's not 'quite' as complete, but it's about 99% there. It's going to have all of the important words



3. I use this dictionary quite a bit as it is small enough to be light and easy to carry and big enough to contain most everyday words. I think that the content is good but I compared to my other (larger) dictionary by Harper Collins the paper is somewhat gray and the words don't stand out as well. Also the ink is not the most permanent so if you are not careful you can end up with gray stains on your fingertips. I would recommend spending slightly more to get something with a higher quality of paper and printing.



4. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R30GE5FXG5K9ZE Watch my video review and I will tell you what's good about this dictionary and what's bad about it.



5. This is the absolutely perfect spanish/english reference dictionary. It is compact, easy to use & access.

5 comments about 501 Spanish Verbs: with CD-ROM (Barron's Foreign Language Guides).

1. Anyone who is a student of Spanish, especially at the beginning or intermediate levels, will benefit from having this book. It quickly answers your questions about verbs without the wild goose chase of looking through a text book or other reference. I own one in every language I have studied and use them often.



2. I'm an adult taking Spanish for fun and travel. This book is dependable for conjugations. I've seen websites that are incorrect when they conjugate verbs! The CD just seems ok as a learning tool. I would've given it a 5 star rating except the CD doesn't live up to expectations.



3. I am currently in intermediate Spanish 1 and i have used this book almost every day since i received it. It's not only a good reference for looking up verbs but a tool to learn about the different Spanish tenses. There is a section in the beginning that lays out what every tense should be used for and how to form them. I like the book a lot, it is well worth the fourteen dollars i paid for it.



4. I purchased the book on the recommendation of my daughter's Spanish teacher, and she has found it to be invaluable as she does her home work. She is a 3rd year Spanish student.



5. This was one of the best books I have ever purchased when learning Spanish. It was such a great help for my language learning and I carried it around with me everywhere when I lived in the Dominican Republic. The item got here quickly and in great condition.

5 comments about Easy Spanish Phrase Book: Over 770 Basic Phrases for Everyday Use (Dover Easy Phrase).

1. I actually do speak well in spanish, but I needed a few brush ups. I absolutely think this is the easiest and most user friendly book out there. My co workers always come in to use it. If you want to have something handy in case your stuck with your spanish than this is the one. Very user friendly and easy to understand.



2. Nice size to pack and carry along on vacation. It will be on the Boat with us when we sail to Mexico..



3. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R29CMZL71HPGPQ In a nutshell this is a very helpful book that I used when traveling to Mexico. It is light and compact but full of Spanish vocabulary words.
   
   Besides giving you a video review of Easy spanish Phrase book, I am also listing what I would consider the 4 most important learning-Spanish resources availalbe for self-study which I think you will not only enjoy but also benefit from if you love learning Spanish as much as I do:
   
   1. Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Pronouns And Prepositions This book covers the proper usage of Pronouns and Prepositions and just like Spanish Verb Tenses, you will find plenty of exercises to improve your Spanish-language skills.
   
   2. Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses This is a must have book for learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs for both beginners and advanced students. You will want to read it from cover to cover and then keep it as a learning-Spanish resource.
   
   3. Learning Spanish Like Crazy: Spoken Spanish, Vol. 1 (2 volume set) This is the self-study course that I would recommend for someone that needs to immediately learn how to speak Spanish in order to communicate with Spanish-speakers that have recently arrived in the U.S or for someone that expects to be speaking to people in familiar situations in Latin America. This course comes closer to teaching the colluquial or familiar style of conversational Spanish that you will hear native speakers use among themselves. I also like the fact that they only use native Spanish speakers in this course.
   
   4. The Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs with CD-ROM, Second Edition This is a must have book for learning how to conjugate hundreds of Spanish verbs in the various tenses. But if you already have 501 Spanish Verbs: with CD-ROM (Barron's Foreign Language Guides) then you can skip this book.
   
   
   I hope that my review has been helpful to other Amazon shoppers.



4. I paid very little for this booklet. Its vocabulary its a bit short (among others; soda/refreshment is not there) Some translations could be better (It's raining, should be; Esta lloviendo, instead of; Llueve) Some times they translate to English using "One" instead of using "A"... These situations are few. To be a traveler's booklet it can help you very well in many situations. The alphabet pronunciation section is very helpful and each word has a pronunciation spelling right under it that is great.



5. No question that Easy Spanish Phrase Book is an inexpensive and relevant way to learn useful basic Spanish phrases. The problem is that most of these phrases are canned and not original.
   I recommend you use this handy little booklet along with Macmillan Audio's
   Behind the Wheel Spanish 8 CDs and book. Behind the Wheel - Spanish 1 (Behind the Wheel) which will teach you how to create your own sentences.
   Great combo for the money!