Customer Reviews

20,000 Words in Spanish, in 20 Minutes!

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book offers an excellent means to learn a number of commonly used Spanish words by applying some simple rules. Reading this book will help the learner form a good vocabluary base. However, in my experience, although it will greatly enhance the learning process, it is not a substitute for the rigors necessary to learn a foreign language. The serious reader will probably agree that it is still necessary to study grammar and additionally study vocabluary if the language is to be grasped. I would say, by all means, buy the book. It will increase your vocabluary greatly and should be highly recommended for that purpose. However, combine this with a good core program to attain a true grasp of the language.

Truly leveraged Spanish. By learning a simple rule, one instantly knows how to translate English words into Spanish (correctly!). Learning a single rule is equal to learning hundreds, even thousands of Spanish words. Based on English-Spanish cognates, the book is cleverly (and humorously) presented. Taking the time out of learning a language makes this book an attractive endeavour for the millions of lazy students like myself. The grammatical section (towards the end of the book) makes learning verb conjugation a snap! The book is a traveler's dream-come-true with all the useful phrases, and translated words you'll find in no other book! Insects, shapes, textures, foods, office supplies, groceries, etc., are all in the book. Congratulations for a quality paperback teeming with information!

I always knew there were many words in Spanish that were similar to the English, but I was afraid to guess and end up with a false congnate. This book is great because it tells you just a few simple rules that show you how to convert the english word into spanish and then warns you of the exceptions to the rule.

Also handy for Spanish speakers learning English because naturally all the rules work in reverse - I'm buying another copy for a Latina friend because I can't bear to part with my own.

Don't try to use this book as a substitute for formal language training - that is not what it is designed for. If you've had a bit of training already, this book will improve your vocabulary tremendously. If you are just starting out, you'll need some grammar training too from other sources, but this book will give you good instincts about how to take advantage of the similarities in the two languages. In either case, it is a must-have!

Just another one of those books trying to teach vocabulary by association with english or already known spanish words. This one is just less effective than others. Grammar content is next to nothing, book uses poor methodology, and is just plain boring. These reviews must have been written by family members or beer-buddies...

Strange as it may seem, the title and claim of this book are fully justified. Although you won't be speaking Spanish immediately, you just might be able to get the gist of a newspaper article or simple book. The great value to me was that it inspires confidence in ones ability to build a significant vocabulary with little effort. It's like getting a great big jump-start to learning another language.

I found this book very helpful in the sense that there are numerous words in English that are pretty much identical in Spanish. This book gives you those words and makes you think while interpreting (like I do and have for 6 yrs.) on how it should be said. You don't use every word everyday, so its nice to have a foundation to be able to use new words that come up in conversation that hadn't before. My hat goes off to this book.

Brilliant. Completely brillant. Highly engaging as well as useful. Absolutely eye-opening as a methodology. I wish to heavens he'd write even more books to help self-learners like me learn Spanish. Teachers of all languages should read this book to get an idea of what should be an essential way to teach language.

I purchased this book after already beginning "The complete idiot's guide to learning Spanish on your own". This book caused me the worst confusion simply by telling me that the Spanish letter "V" is pronounced like an English "V". I immediately started to relearn all of the words I had already memorized, and there were a lot! Then when I got my dictionary I found out that the Spanish "V" is more like a soft "B" I was worse off than before. Ever try to re-learn in a foriegn language. It took months to get it right. This book teaches you nothing you didn't already know and will confuse people just starting to learn. They REALLY had to reach for some of those "words". Go for the "idiot's" book, it's great.

I spoke no Spanish before I bought this book. Now I can interact with the Spanish speaking people on my job. I have the book at work and after one week of having this book on my job, I can more effectively do my job with the Spanish speaking employees. Thanks for a very easy to comprehend book.

I do not speak Spanish, but after having this book in my office at work for one week, I'm happy to say I am now talking to the people I need to interact with who do not speak English to get the job done without an interpreter, for the most part. Thank you Mr. Mazal-Cami for writing this book. You've increased my ability to perform my job more successfully.