Foreign Language Study Spanish Complete- The Complete Language Course - 3 Level Set (Learn in Your Car)

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Spanish Complete: The Complete Language Course : 3 Level Set (Learn in Your Car) review:5 stars (Excellent for beginner or refresher course) - This course is excellent, either as an introduction to Spanish or as a way to refresh or sharpen your skills if you are already somewhat familiar with it.

There are three levels, and each level consists of three 60-minute CDs. (You can buy each level separately, but getting the whole set is cheaper than buying each level separately.) Each CD is sub-divided into 10 or 11 small lessons presenting a single topic.

The first lessons start with very simple vocabulary, then later lessons progress to simple phrases using that vocabulary, then simple sentences in the present tense, then more advanced vocabulary and phrases, and then the most common verb tenses and moods (present, past, future, compound tenses (I HAVE GONE), conditional (I WOULD GO IF . . . ), imperative (GO AWAY!), and subjunctive (I DOUBT THAT HE'LL GO.).

The range of subject matter also expands gradually. The first level covers what might be called "survival skills," the really basic topics you need to know right away, like transportation, money, directions, hotels, restaurants, shopping, telling time, and numbers. Later lessons, especially in the second and third levels, include more advanced vocabulary, more complex sentences, and more complex situations.

All lessons use the same methodology - the target word, phrase, or sentence is given in English, followed by a pause for your response, then the Spanish translation is given, followed by another pause, followed by a repetition of the Spanish translation and another pause. So for each target word, phrase, or sentence, you'll have three chances to say it in Spanish; and I can tell you from personal experience that this constant repetition works very well. Playing the CDs in your car or while jogging (my personal favorite), is a painless but effective way to learn a new language or review a previously learned language.

Each of the three levels includes a 50-page booklet that contains a verbatim transcript of each lesson in that level, so if you have trouble understanding a particular word here or there, you can cheat by looking it up in the booklet. (I would never do that myself! OK, well maybe once or fifty times.) Being able to follow along on the transcript was especially helpful in the lessons on the subjunctive, where pronunciation differences were frequently pretty subtle.

The booklets also explain verb conjugations and a limited number of grammar rules, which is very helpful, because it helps show how different verbs and phrases follow similar patterns. Putting the grammar explanations in the booklet, not on the CD, was another good feature, because you don't want to keep hearing the same lecture on grammar over and over and over again on the CD.

Obviously, there's more to Spanish than what can be covered in just nine hours, but this is an excellent intro or refresher course.

One last point -- "Learn in Your Car" uses the Latin American pronunciation, not the Castilian pronunciation of Spain. If you are going to Spain and specifically want Castilian, then you might prefer the Berlitz or Barron's courses, but I doubt that the difference is all that significant.
5 stars (Excellent When Used with Behind the Wheel Spanish) - I am more than satisfied with the results I am getting with Learn in Your Car Spanish. I am already a delighted user of Behind the Wheel Spanish which is also a great car Spanish course.
What I like about Learn in Your Car Spanish are the three levels, the quality voices, the pocket sized booklets and the intensity of the vocabulary used.
What has helped me more with Behind the Wheel Spanish are the sentence building techniques, original language, complete text and the high frequency vocabulary.
I read a review a while back that said that these two courses actually complement one another. I agree.5 stars (excellent learning tool) - I am surprised at how easy it has been for me. This is so much easier than the old textbook, classroom combo. I had a little bit of trouble telling b's from v's until my daughter told me they are opposite of the way Americans pronounce it.

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