Customer Reviews

Instant Recall Spanish Vocabulary : Learn and Remember Spanish Faster than You Ever Imagined Possible!

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

 

 

This method, in which you visualize quirky little images to anchor your attempt to memorize, does work. It's called Mnemonics, and you can find it explained in many places on the web.

An example from this CD would be for the English word "rice", which in spanish is "arroz" (pronounced ARROS). When attempting to learn this word, you visualize arrows landing in your plate of rice. You actually take a second, provided by the narrators, to "see" this.

Sounds silly at first, but it really does help, and this CD will help you start using this technique as second nature. You can memorize anything this way and you may find yourself using it to remember other things outside of your language studies. You'll also find it explained in books on memory.

And that's why it's worth it - you will thoroughly understand how to do this - and feel comfy doing so - by the time you have done these words and will start doing it every time you have trouble retaining new vicabulary. If you have never worked this way, it will seem much more natural by the time you complete the CD.

And that's the way to evaluate this because the package itself is pretty thin. I'm going to call it 3 for the value of the method, but be a little critical in how much this package provides in actual vocabulary.

Con:

a) There are only about 200 words.

b) The words are generally too easy. The vocabulary is useful... household, days of the week, colors.... but very elementary. If you have studied even a little Spanish or been around Spanish speaking people you will find you know a lot of these words already. I found I knew 75% of the words with no practice, probably just from living in Texas and reading menus and bathroom doors in Mexican restaurants. It's really for complete beginners or at least those who have never heard of the method.

c) It's a waste of time to teach words that are almost exactly like the English in this way. An example: The word hospital in Spanish is hospital, but pronounced slightly differently. They train you to "imagine a bullfighter is hurt and must go to the hospital". Since the excercise reminds you of the English sounds rather than the slightly different Spanish sound you get nothing from it except the knowledge that the word doesn't really need translating. A considerable number of these silly words are included further diminishing the overall number of truly new and difficult words you retain. I'm dissapointed the would waste space on words like telephono, accidente, dentista and color. I bet at least 15% of the words are of this type that require pretty much no thought and are not well applied to this method. Subtract these and the other obvious words and you get only 50 or less that actually need a method like this to help you.

Pro:

a) Word list and glossary included. Not that you really need it for this tiny selection.

b) Useful self testing tracks, and a full program accompanying. You should do the self-tests. They tell you to relax, no one gets them all right, but I think many people will get them all right. Again, nice they thought to include it, but since the words are so easy not sure how crucial it is.

c) Words are grouped into categories. I contrast this to the Vocabulearn series, which I also just got, and which unrolls words randomly without grouping them by type. Not sure which is ultimately better for learning (perhaps a combination of both is) but the grouping seems to work well here and makes it easier to see where you are weak or need to go for additional work. If you wanted to pick up missed words in the Vocabulearn CDs, you'd have to just guess where they were on the CD.

d) The CD is recorded well and has tracks. It always amazes me when language CDs are recorded in huge single tracks where you can't isolate specific sections easily. This one is short, but well made. Sound is clear, and the speaking is well done. The Spanish speaking woman's voice is a little shrill, but contrasts well with the English voice.

In sum: Use it to learn the method, if you don't know it already, and don't get upset about the simplicity of this particular program. Then use the technique in conjunction with more comprehensive and useful vocabulary lists like Vocabulearn CDs or Reznick's 1001 Most Useful Spanish Words pamphlet.

I gave two stars because it has been two years since I listened to the cds and I still recall many of the hints and vocabulary I learned using the system, however, I deducted 3 stars for failing to teach whether the nouns are masculine or feminine. There is a small booklet which accompanies the cd's but it does not provide gender either. If you are studying on your own and digesting a lot of grammar through books, these cd's make a welcome change of pace and seem to cover the basics.

Ok, I read the above reviews and agree with all the points made.
However, I give strong 5 stars for this product. DO NOT buy it if you know some Spanish already, DO NOT buy it if you are seeking for materials to study Spanish grammar. DO BUY IT if you want to learn 200 words in a couple of hours and remember them well for a long time. This material helps you to memorize 200 words and it does it very very well. They do not promise that they teach you grammar. They do not promise that you will start speaking Spanish right away. Memorizing words is essential task in learning any language, I would say the most tedious task and the CD helps you with it greatly.

This is really great, and it really works. I just wish there was another volume available, with additional words. After learning these words so easily, it's miserable to go back to flash cards.

This is a pretty good deal: You learn Spanish words by picturing them in funny little scenarios in your head. It does work, but there are not really that many words. Also, if you plan to use it in your car, or in a situation where you can't read the words as you go, you should have a good understanding of Spanish pronunciation.

By the end, you won't be able to understand Spanish as much as have a chance of figuring out what someone is saying by cherry picking words. So don't think this at all a course to get you speaking Spanish as much as it is a course that is a primer or a supplement to your current studies.

It would be great if there were more words, but with some thought you should be able to come up some helpful memory joggers on your own.

I gave it three stars because I just don't think the length justifies the price. But, you WILL learn the words presented in about 10 seconds per word.

This is a great way to learn Spanish words. It doesn't do much in the form of sentences or conversations - however - if you are looking to just learn the VERY basics - this is a fun and effective way of doing it. Some of the recall methods are rather humerous.......

The cds are pleasant enough to listen to, but are either outdated or Spain-Spanish. For example, they used an infrequently used word for husband rather than esposo...which is a lot easier to remember! also, they should have offered the most frequently used words in certain categories, but they picked an odd assortment. for example, they had few vegetables, but one was 'cabbage'. The concept for this CD series, but the execution was off.

This is a great CD set to learn around 200 Spanish words using word and imagery association. The product review on this page explain the methods quite well. I found the explanations very clear and I was able to picture the images very well, therefore storing the vocab in my memory. Like other reviewers here I suggest you listen to this with your eyes closed to really picture the images in your mind. Some of the links are a touch tenuous, and these are the words I fail to remember, I've found (and recommend) that using my own imagery works better for these words and I'm slowly starting to grasp the remaining few words that previously escaped me. Not only is this course good for learning basic vocab, but it is also good for your brain overall, encouraging memory techniques that can be transferred outside of this course. The speakers on the discs are clear and are pleasant to listen to. Some courses i've done previously have put me off straight away with cheesy music and terrible speakers; this course has none of that. Overall this is a great place to start if you want to learn Spanish to get by on holidays and if you want to get a good grounding before starting night classes. I'd also recommend Michael Grunbergs Spanish association book that compliments this course perfectly and which I picked up on amazon for 2.99. This course is well worth a try.

Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.

The idea behind these CDs is good: to make up silly mnemonic devices to help you associate Spanish words with their meanings. The limitations are that it includes very few words and many of them are cognates, so you really don't need to waste time finding a way to remember that "color" in Spanish means "color" in English, for example. You also don't learn if the words are masculine or feminine, which is a big drawback. Some of the mnemonics were clever and did help me fix the Spanish words in my mind, but most of the CDs were silly and not worth the time.

This is an excellent CD for learning Basic Spanish Vocabulary!
I would highly recommend it!