Customer Reviews

Instant Immersion Spanish 2 CD-ROM Set (Jewel Case)

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

 

 

I bought this software thinking it would teach me Spanish.

When I got home and loaded the software I found the games were fun. It made learning a huge list of vocabulary as painless as possible. The problem I have with this software is you can't speak a language with just nouns and colors. It doesn't teach you any verbs, or grammer. The 2nd CD is all in Spanish. There is no way to progress form the 1st CD to the 2nd CD. A beginner can not learn to speak or understand using this software no matter how dedicated they are or how well they learn the 1st CD. If you want a list of vocabulary words then this is your CD. If you want to learn to understand and speak Spanish this is NOT the software for you.

I wish I could get my money back.

These cd-roms contain lots of fun interactive games and activities, which are especially good for children, but nevertheless enjoyable for people of all ages. For someone who knows very little Spanish vocabulary, it's a wonderful place to begin. It's also very helpful for travellers trying to learn helpful phrases and important words before a trip; in fact, there's even a section helping you to learn how to understand directions!

However, I DO NOT recommend these cd-roms for people with an extensive background in Spanish. If you've taken a couple years of Spanish and have built up a moderate vocabulary, these cd-roms will not challenge you. Also, I do not recommend this program for anyone who wants to learn Spanish grammar. These cd-roms, as their title suggests, emphasize vocabulary, and speaking and listening skills, and they do not touch on grammar AT ALL.

Overall, I consider this an excellent program for anyone planning a trip to Spain or Latin America, or for use as a supplement for *beginning* students of the language (an additional book on grammar would help). I really do enjoy these programs, and I just ordered the Russian cd-roms just like it. Since I don't know a word, it'll be perfect.

This really is a fun way to learn the BASICS...the first cd covers vocabulary, and the second cd builds simple sentences.

Learn vocabulary for first words, food, colors, phrases, body, numbers, time, shopping and countries. Each category includes 4 lessons: In Word Practice, the item is shown, spoken and written. The Speaking Practice allows you to record your voice and compare your pronounciation to that of the native speaker. The Easy Game lesson names each item in a group, then asks you to select one from only a spoken clue. In the Hard Game, you select the correct item from an un-named group, with only a spoken clue.

The second cd is much more challenging. I can't quite figure out how a beginner is supposed to bridge the gap between individual words and complete sentences, but I guess it's possible. The TV quiz game is fun, and you can compete against another player too. I like the dictation and recording activities, since I have previous instruction in Spanish.

I have many years education writing Spanish, and have passed many a grammar lesson. But LISTENING to native speakers isn't as easy, so I find the second "World Talk" cd to be more helpful. I would only recommend this cd set to beginners, or intermediates who just want to play a few fun, simple language games.

This product, oddly enough, is better suited for someone that speaks Spanish and wants to learn English. The talking dictionary is especially poor. Don't make the same mistake I did in thinking that the dictionary would 'read' (meaning speak) words written in English in Spanish, e.g. it doesn't speak spanish. What the dictionary does is allows you to highlight words written in English which it will then 'speak' the english pronunciation and give you lists of spanish words that may be appropriate.

The first CD is designed for a beginner. It is OK, but very limited in its vocabulary and teaches little or no grammer.

The second CD assumes an expertise in Spanish that you certainly cannot learn from the first CD. Overall, this product was somewhat useful, but dissapointing.

I purchased this program knowing almost no spanish. I found it to be a very helpful tool to help me learn the basics of the language.

Pros:
The program is designed in a game format in which the user completes lessons and quizzes to gain points. The speakers are clear and easy to understand. The quizzes are really fun too. The instructor on the screen says a word or phrase and you have to click on the matching picture. I had a little trouble at this when I first started but I soon caught on. There is also a memory game that the user can play to review everything covered so far. That game, I found, was the most helpful way of retaining the information I have learned.

Cons:

There really is no introduction. You just pop in the cd and BOOM, you begin. The navigation is a little annoying because not everything is labeled so you end up having to click on the help button to have everything spelled out for you. Other than that, I really can't find anything wrong with the program. Like I said, I highly reccomend it :)

You cannot learn to speak sentences in spanish from this software, it only teaches some words, but does not teach you how to speak in sentences or how to conjugate verbs, and the dictionary is useless because it only speaks the english translation which we already know, and not the spanish!!! I don't recommend that anyone buy this. It was a waste of my money.

I rate this learning Spanish product as fair. Instant Immersion Spanish will certainly enhance your vocabulary. But you cannot realistically think that this course will teach you how to speak Spanish. I was getting excellent results learning Spanish with the Learning Spanish Like Crazy lessons and the Learning Spanish Like Crazy tele-classes and the name Instant Immersion Spanish sounded like it would be a nice complimentary course to go with my studies. If you are truly on a limited budget (less than $10), I think the I Can Speak Spanish product is a better choice. If you can afford more than the $10, then treat yourself to Learning Spanish Like Crazy.

Yes I do agree, you can not learn to speak spanish from just nouns. However I am in Spanish I in high school and I found this software to be quite helpful. It makes remebering simple, shows picture, spanish, and english writing of the word. Then after you learn the nouns you can take fun games over them. The price, you can't beat. If your completly new to spanish (like the only word you know is hola) then this may not be good for you, but if you have a "small" understanding of spanish grammer (like me) then you'll love the teaching methods.

I bought this CD because I wanted to learn to speak Spanish. In two weeks I completed the first CD. This evening, my brother invited me to his house to watch the Superbowl. He has two kids: a 9 and 12 year old..... I carried the "Talk Now Spanish" CD and told my nephew (who, at the time, was playing some Dungeons and Dragons video game: Diablo II -- the mindless... normally marketed at kids his age...) -- I told him, he might enjoy playing this "video game" I had! He immediately turned from the Diablo II "blood and guts" game he was playing and was like "What is it?" Then I said nothing, and went to watch the Superbowl with my brother and his wife. He followed me into the room and was like "what is it?" I told him he would probably find it boring.

Thirty minutes into the Superbowl, I walked into the kitchen and placed the CD on the countertop in plain view. He came downstairs some time later, found the CD and popped it in. About an hour later, his younger sister and he were competing to see who could learn Spanish the best! They were laughing together and helping each other with colors, numbers, food products, simple sentences......absolutely amazing.

The CD is set up to teach how to SPEAK the language (which other reviewers have made clear -- it is for speaking) but it is fast-paced and very easy to pick up. There are quiz games that a 9-12 year old seemed to completely enjoy. It was the fun of realizing how easy it was to learn a foreign language, I believe, that was the most fun of all.

Maybe one hour later, their mother, the two kids, myself and their father each had a chair and we were taking turns to see who could score the highest on the quiz shows!

I was thinking, "wow!" I even said to my brother -- working-class folks here, now, people -- that compared to kids who will be taking Spanish in a year or two anyway -- and will have to learn it from scratch, with a (more likely than not) boring teacher and incipient peer pressure to look "cool," my nephew and niece will already be heads and shoulders above them. They'll know the language! And it's altogether fun! My niece kept playing until she was sleepy and asked me to leave the CD so she could learn/practice/play more Spanish tomorrow. Amazing....I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to learn the basics in a fun, user-friendly, and exciting way. Good for all ages -- from 5 to 95!