Colloquial Slovak: A Complete Course for Beginners (Book and 2 Cassettes) [Paperback]

James Naughton (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415115426 | ISBN-13: 978-0415115421 | Publication Date: February 1, 1997 | Edition: Bk&Cassett

Colloquial Slovak is easy to use and is specially written by experienced teachers for self-study or class use. The course offers you a step-by-step approach to written and spoken Slovak. No prior knowledge of the language is required.

What makes Colloquial Slovak your best choice in personal language learning?

• interactive – lots of dialogues and exercises for regular practice
• clear – concise grammar notes
• practical – useful vocabulary and pronunciation guide
• complete – including answer key and special reference section

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Routledge; Bk&Cassett edition (February 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415115426
• ISBN-13: 978-0415115421
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,283,998 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Language Nonfiction > More Languages > Slovak
  • #26 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Czech

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best available even if not the best imaginable, April 26, 2003

By 

Arthur Digbee (Indianapolis, IN, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Colloquial Slovak: The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series) (Paperback)

I learned Slovak with this book and now read at an intermediate level and speak at a beginning level. I've been to Slovakia several times and successfully used what I learned. The cassettes provided pronunciation guides and speaking practice that work in Bratislava (I can't vouch for other dialects). What more do you want from a language book?

Some of the other reviewers criticize this book for not being a systematic grammar. That's fair, since it's not a systematic grammar (though it does have grammar tables in the appendix). By introducing some major grammar points gradually over several chapters, it can be frustrating as a reference source.

As a learning tool, however, there's a lot to be said for introducing things slowly. If you work systematically through this book and its exercises, and repeat (or memorize) dialogues, you'll learn Slovak. Some of the material is boring ("Zuzka hears a train crossing the bridge") though Naughton occasionally livens things up ("Don't be afraid! Kiss me!"). I'm not sure that any language-book texts can really be exciting. However, if I were giving Naughton advice, I'd add more paragraph-length texts about Slovakia and its people, along the lines of the Bratislava texts late in the book.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, November 24, 1999

By 

"sheinkin2" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Colloquial Slovak: A Complete Course for Beginners (Book and 2 Cassettes) (Paperback)

I've been looking for such a book for a very long time. My grandfather is from Slovakia and the only word I coud tell him were in Czech or Polish. The book shows clearly how the language works. Good tapes also. Slovak language deserved such a good book.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just a phrase book - Finally some real help., October 25, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Colloquial Slovak: A Complete Course for Beginners (Book and 2 Cassettes) (Paperback)

This set of tapes and the book was just what I was looking for. I wasn't just looking for another phrase book telling me how to say, "Where is the train station?" This set actually teaches you the basics of how to speak the language. Finally some real help. I highly recommend it.