Customer Reviews

Learning Spanish Like Crazy Light (Spanish Edition)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I recently started using the full version of this course after purchasing a re-mastered Foreign Service Spanish product by the same company. After using this course in the car and when taking our dog for long walks, I am comfortable saying that this is one of the best courses if not the very best course for using to learn Spanish in your car or when exercising. There is some printed material that comes with the course but the idea is to use it without the printed material. The pauses between the sentences are just right, giving me enough time to respond and not too much time so that I'll still feel challenged. They can definitely count on me to be one of the first people to place my order for their level two as soon as it is released.

I did a lot of research before buying these CDs. Anna Rivera's review helped a lot and pushed me over the edge.

I took 2 years of high school Spanish, 12 weeks of an evening immersion course and 2 weeks of Spanish immersion living with a Mexican family in Cuernava and attended immersion University daily. Sounds pretty good......but I learned more from the first CD in terms of actually functioning Spanish speaking then from all of the above. Its fun and easy. Before you know it you will be speaking Spanish Like Crazy. Highly recommended.

I bought this video set for my husband who has a head for numbers but not languages. It teaches you Spanish the way the citizens speak it, which is great since we plan to visit Peru in the future. I thought I was too busy to learn but by listening in I am picking up quite a bit too. We had some trouble with the third CD and they were great about replacing it immediatly. We will continue on with another of their sets after this one.

I am posting the same review under both titles. I have both sets of CD's. They are VERY different from each other. Each has strong & weak points. Which you chose depends on your goals.

Advice:
If you are leaving for a Spanish-speaking country within one month, and if you want to be able to get by and ask "At what time does the last bus leave for the beach?", "Where is the bathroom?", and "The air conditioning does not work.", then buy Learn Spanish in Your Car. No question.
If you have never taken any Spanish in school and do not even know what it means to "congugate a verb", then buy Learn Spanish Like Crazy. No question.
If you know the very basics, and want to build your vocabulary quickly, like for a vacation, buy Spanish in your Car.
If you want a supplement to a Spanish class you are taking or about to take in a classroom setting, buy Spanish Like Crazy.

Summaries:
Learn Spanish in Your Car:
Lots of vocabulary quickly. Travel focused. Does NOT teach verb congugations until far into the course. I took 1 year of Spanish in school 20 yrs ago. If I did not already know that "tengo" and "tiene" are the same root word, I think I would have been fairly lost with this course from the onset. Within a month on commuting, however, I think this course will have you getting by for a vacation. If you care mostly about getting by (directions, time, booking a hotel room, buying a bus ticket), and not about perfect grammar, I like this a lot.

Spanish Like Crazy:
Starts like a Spanish class would in school. You start by congugating -AR verbs. Then you learn questions, "Do you practice Spanish?" and possessive pronouns. The lessons are like drill sessions: "Now ask, 'Is the coat his?' Now answer, 'no, it is not his coat. It is mine.' Now say, 'It is my coat, but the hat is not mine'." Intense, but you'll know the grammar by the end. Vocabular comes later, but it does not seem travel oriented.

I like using them both. However, I have 6 months before my trip to South America.

Learning spanish like crazy light is the first 14 lessons to the overall stage 1 program and is designed to be a sampler. However, it is a serious learning program and has been very well designed. Some of the choices of words are odd (e.g. "pillowcase" in the first lessons), but this is not a problem as each lesson builds very nicely on the previous. I am in the middle of using it and am very happy with my choice of program (though I have not tried some of the other comparable programs). I have never been able to learn languages in the past but do feel that I am making real progress now - and, in the form of spanish I want to speak - latin American (though ? which part(s) I have no idea). Best of all, I am doing it in my car while stuck in the usual commute - I am not even bothered by traffic any longer as it gives time for me to carry out a complete lesson (30-40 minutes) in one journey.

I will definitely be buying the rest of the program once I master these first lessons and recommend the program to anyone wanting to speak spanish with people on the american continents.

Before buying, understand this product is "light" in the sense of being rather a "sampler" kind of product. That is, you won't get very far in Spanish with just this product but you can sample the LLC approach to teaching without shelling out money for the full course (or courses as they have at least two levels available).

I have only two (minor) complaints. One is that the pause for your response is awfully short. I know the idea is to repeat the lesson until you can answer 80% or more in the time allotted. Still, I end up using the "pause" a lot.

The other is that should you decide--as I did--to go with LLC and purchase the full course, you don't get any credit for buying the "light" edition. Not the end of the world if you're serious about a language course but I have emailed the company and suggested a credit would be good to include with the "light" product. I didn't care much for paying twice for the first several lessons.

On the other hand, LLC does discount if you buy Level 1 & 2 together. That made up for it a bit. Plus they offer them in down loadable form so the entire course went right on the iPhone. This is why if you were to see me on the road, I seem to be chattering incessantly. :)

I bought three of these "light" products to "test drive" a few of the available courses. LLC was my pick primarily because they teach Latin American Spanish as opposed to the more commonly taught European or "Castilian" Spanish. My goal doesn't involve travel to Spain but, rather, dealing with my neighbors here in Texas and South (of course, if you are looking to travel in Spain, this may not be your best fit).

I like the LLC approach and am close to completing Level 1. And I can say it is working. I'm starting to catch fairly big chunks of conversations overheard in the store or other public places. Still much to learn but the language is making more sense every day now.

This system works very well because it is interactive; the narrator prompts you to repeat what has been said, but also to come up with sentences that you may have learned earlier in the lesson. Plus he starts to prompt you in Spanish after the first few lessons, e.g. "Preguntale," "Como se dice," "Trata de decir," "Como se pregunta," "Responde."

Other passive systems don't work because you simply listen, without having to think on your toes. The passive systems are great for sleep aids, but unless you're into rote memorization, probably the worst and least satisfactory way to learn, then they won't work for you.

This light version is great because you get over half the lessons (16 out of 30) for about a third of the whole set price.

To supplement book learning this is highly recommended to get you speaking quickly.

This is essentially a Pimsleur copycat product with some variations. While Pimsleur lessons are structured with a sense of continuity, LSLC lessons are random and disjointed. And yet, for odd reason, the speaker keep saying that go to the next lesson only if you have mastered 80% of each lesson. Sure it tries to cover more grammar, but what good would that be if you can retain only 30% of the content after going through it once. What about repeating after useless phrases like " do you eat in your bathroom?" or " do you learn Spanish in the museum?" I give 3 stars because it is cheaper. You get what you pay for.

Got these CDs for a quick review before a Mexican vacation, worked great. Like the phrases you learn, no fluff, clear speakers and works fast as advertised. Passed them on to a friend after I was done.

I haven't gone through all 8 discs yet but after throughly learning disc one, I think this "light" course is comprehensive, and will greatly help me communicate with confidence in Spanish. My need is mostly for travel.