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Title: Conversational Spanish: A practical immersion course for intermediate Spanish conversation. (Audio CD + Listening guide & Grammar book)
ISBN: 1424325544
Author:
Brianys Ferrer Visbal
Publicate Date: 2006-11-18
Publish: 2006-11-18
List Price: $39.95
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Audio CD
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $39.95
Amazon Merchant Price: $39.95
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Worked for me
The product worked well for me.
I was speaking some Spanish in very short period of time.
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2: easy to use
As soon as we got the Spanish disk, we had it up and running. It was fun and easy to use. Very helpful with our current homework load learning spanish.
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3: Conversational Spanish? Yes, but conversational Colombian Spanish
With respect to my background, I am a self-described learning-Spanish-aholic that has bought and collected nearly every learning-Spanish product sold on Amazon. I am also the founder of Learning Spanish Like Crazy and the author of several articles on How to Learn Spanish.
And now for my review of this Spanish course . . .
I love these CDs. This course is definitely in my top 3. What I love so much about it is that the Spanish spoken in this course is not just real conversational Spanish, but real conversational Colombian Spanish. I spend about half the year in Colombia. In fact, I am writing this review from my apartment in Barranquilla on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. Right away, I recognized not only the Colombian accents but also the phrases that Colombians tend to use more frequently than other Spanish-speakers, such as "no te parece?" (you don't think so?), "tranquilo" (relax), and using the phrase "de pronto" instead of "quizas" to say "maybe" instead of using "de pronto" to mean "suddenly" as many other Spanish-speakers would do. And the constant use of words such as "super," "chevere," and "rico" to mean "good." The only thing missing from this course was talk of my favorite Colombian food dishes: pargo frito, mojarra frita, patacones, arroz con coco, arroz con langostinos, ajiaco, bandeja paisa, mondongo, sancocho, jugos naturales, and, don't let me forget, the Colombian brands of cerveza: Aguila and Club Colombia.
If you have ever spent time in Bogota, Cali, Medellin, Cartagena, Barranquilla or Santa Marta, you will truly love this course. And if you are thinking about spending some time in any of those Colombian cities whether to improve your Spanish or just to meet the woman of your dreams, then you'll certainly want to get this Spanish course. Not only will you learn to sound like Colombians, but you will also learn the words and phrases that they commonly use. And after you finish listening to this Spanish course, 4 or 5 times, or more, your listening comprehension will have really improved.
Besides the fact that the conversations consist of real conversational Colombian Spanish, the conversations are also fun to listen to. You'll never get tired of listening to them. The speakers are energetic and speak at the same speed that they would normally speak in real life. But there is also a slowed down track following each conversation. You won't find any of that beginner stuff about "greetings, "making hotel reservations," or "ordering in a restaurnat." That's because the conversations are not designed for the typical traveler that is planning to spend just a few days in Colombia or some other part of Latin America. The conversations are designed for the Spanish-learner that wants to experience the feeling of being immersed in the language and the culture of the country that is perhaps the best place to learn Spanish, but still, unjustifiably, the most feared country to travel to for the Gringo seeking to learn Spanish. If you are sincere in your desire to learn conversational Spanish, then not only do I recommend that you buy this course, I also encourage you to come to Colombia and study Spanish here.
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4: One of my favorites!
If you are ready to take your Spanish a step further then Conversational Spanish is what you need. It's meant for students who are ready for real conversation. This is the closest thing I've come across that actually prepares you for how Spanish people really talk.
The entire program consists of conversations on various topics that I believe are essential. This is not "tourist Spanish" or anything like it. It's meant to be something real on various discussions that people have everyday. I believe that analyzing discussions between people really helps to learn so much faster because you are learning Spanish that is a necessity. You have to adapt to how Spanish is normally spoken by the people who speak it, which is exactly what you'll learn.
It also helps to improve your listening comprehension. Trust me, after listening to each of the conversations a couple of times your comprehension of the language will have increased dramatically. I recommend going through each of the conversations at least 5 or 10 times and you will notice a dramatic improvement in your understanding and an increase in your vocabulary. The audio is first played at normal speed and then played again about 20% slower. Each conversation has accompanying text so you can reference the text while you listen. I actually recommend reading the text first to prepare yourself and then listen to the associated conversation without referencing the text. Each conversation has an associated vocabulary list followed by grammar notes, so you have a nice and easy way to reference everything while you learn. The grammar notes are especially useful as they help to break down the conversation and explain everything in detail.
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5: Great Supplement
This is a great supplement to add to any Spanish collection. I think it's really good for learning how Spanish is naturally spoken because if it's one thing I've learned you have to incorporate a certain amount of slang and expressions if you want to blend in with the locals or at least understand what they're talking about. The tempo is slowed down a bit for the slower tracks which is good for hearing the pronunciation better but if you have a good working knowledge of Spanish then you should be fine with listening to the normal speed.
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