Customer Reviews

Learning Spanish Like Crazy: Spoken Spanish, Vol. 1 (2 volume set)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have spent probably a thousand dollars on courses like Pimsleur (I went through all three levels; heavy on pounding stuff into your head, but not enough vocabulary to write home about), Auralog computer-based Spanish(boring and tends to crash the computer), and "Behind the Wheel Spanish" (inconsistent -- way too slow, then way too fast) in my attempt to learn Spanish. What a waste! Everything I wanted was in "Learning Spanish Like Crazy." I only wish I'd found it first.

The lessons are, like Pimsleur, structured to pound stuff into your head so you won't forget it as soon as you learn it. But LSLC differs from Pimsleur in several key ways.

1. There's enough vocabulary to choke a mule -- and that's good thing.

2. Every verb is fully conjugated in each lesson, so you recognize the patterns and start "absorbing" them faster...but it's done in a conversational style so you barely realize "hey, I'm conjugating a verb" and you don't get grossed out by the fact that you're learning grammar.

3. Brief explanations are given on things that are complicated or irregular so you understand why you are doing what you're doing, instead of learning by rote. (Adult learners need to understand why, trust me.)

4. It moves along at a good pace. It's taken me 10 days to get to Lesson 13 and I've enjoyed every lesson. Lesson 13 introduces the student to reflexive verbs (and you know it because they tell you, "today we're doing reflexive verbs." Pimsleur never tells you what you're doing -- which is fine if you're a kid, but boring and confusing if you're over the age of 40!)

5. Best of all, it isn't boring. There are plenty of reasons to pay attention when attempting to learn a language, but it's easier to say than to do with some courses. LSLC makes it easy to pay attention because there's always something going on.

6. Lessons are logically laid out, with specific groups of related words in each lesson so you can absorb them all; with Pimsleur the words sometimes seem chosen at random and the conversations change ideas from sentence to sentence.

Again, I'm only on Lesson 13, but I like what I'm doing and my vocabulary has increased drastically; I know words for day-to-day functions that Pimsleur never covered although we take such words for granted in English. I've already purchased LSLC level 2. This is great! Highly recommended to anybody who wants to really learn and understand Spanish.

I bought the product last year and have completed all of the lessons. Trust me - I agree with several of the other reviewers that it is really a great tool - if not the best that I've come across for dealing with everyday conversation. Being a very skeptical person with stuff like this, I admit that this is the only audio course that I have bought, and honestly don't think I'll purchase others. I did a lot of research before I tried the LSLC Level 1 system.

I live in Trinidad and Tobago (unlike any of the other reviewers that I have seen so far). TnT is located just 9km (about 5-6 miles) off of the coast of Venezuela, and 99.5% of the population here knows just a handful of Spanish words. After taking a course at the Venezuelan Embassy here for two years, I still found it quite difficult to understand them when they spoke - especially among themselves! I can read and write it quite well, but still had great difficulty understanding the natives. After studying the first maybe 14 lessons, I visited some friends of mine over there in December, and to my surprise I understood them a heck of a lot more. By the way, these folks speak much faster than Mexicans and Colombians in normal conversation - particularly those from the Eastern part of the country, so most of you have virtually no stress, since most Americans interact with Mexicans or Puerto Ricans. Try conversing with someone from Guiria, Venezuela too see what I'm talking about! The Mexicans I have interacted with speak very clearly compared to most Venezuelans - and the accent is easier to understand. Of course the LSLC instructors were quite easy to understand, and YEAH - it's a CD, so you don't have to ask them to say something again!

I would recommend the course for anyone, but would like to sort of categorize it (hope it helps somewhat):

- Beginners: You need some good reference material and a tutor to work with, alongside the course. The course is not ALL! 501 Spanish Verbs by Christopher Kendris, and Dorothy Richmond's 'Practice Makes Perfect' series of workbooks - these are GREAT! A good dictionary such as the Oxford Spanish Dictionary is a must. NOT a pocket dictionary - at least not for serious learners. The Oxford is bulky, but it contains many idiomatic explanations and context-based translations for virtually all the words it contains, along with explanations of the nuances of using certain words - again, in context. Regional differences are well-covered in this dictionary. There is no dictionary out there that comes close - although the latest Collin's tries really hard. I have lots of reference books, but I have found these outstanding in building stuff clearly so one could understand without boring drills.

- Intermediate: I think the best way to treat this is to relate my own experience. This course helped me to fill the gaps in my understanding of certain annoying things that you don't see in texts and that are not found in other audio courses - stuff like '¿Como?' meaning 'What was that?' or 'What did you say?' in English, clearly explained. Before, I used to say '¿Qué?' and any native speaker would look at me kind of funny, but I never knew my (potentially rude) error until I used the course material in Nivel 1. You can find yourself in some embarassing positions if stuff like that is missed in your speech. I did learn a lot of new stuff with the course as well, such as a few idiomatic expressions that you can't really translate directly. And yes - your accent becomes really HOT! My friends told me they were amazed at how I sounded when I visited. Of course I felt great, even though I knew that I still have much more work to do.

- Advanced: Heck, you don't really need this stuff - this is for newbies and the peeps like me who are still striving toward fluency! Anyway, I think that even advanced non-native speakers may pick up something small in here, maybe as revision or something.

Dive in, folks. For those of you who have used the more antiquated products that focus on mainland (Spain) Spanish, you'll really appreciate this stuff. The use of different people from at least two countries really helps you differentiate the accents. Remember, my problem was lack of listening skill (and still is to a great extent), so that's how I addressed it. LSLC allows you to attack both speaking and listening at the same time, so if they're your squeeze, get the course. The FSI material included is wonderful for rigorous reinforcement, but it's not as much fun as the LSLC. It's actually quite mechanical, BUT has serious material, so it should be used too.

Hey, a tip I have tried is to buy some music in at least one genre that you really love, performed strictly in Spanish, and listen to it over and over. You will be amazed at how well your listening will improve and you'll be checking that dictionary pretty often too. I have several albums that I listen to, and I tell you - they've helped plenty. This also seems to reinforce your ability to hear words slumped together as individual or logical groups, and at least for me, allows you to start to figure out missed or unclear words based on the other words around them.

Now handle yuh scene!

Sweet TnT!!

This was actually the first learning spanish course that I bought.I remember on the webpage for LSLC,the owner says that if his friends would teach on the cd's,that he would show the best method for learning,that he has found.For anyone who has done pimsleur,it is pretty obvious that this is the method that he chose to use.

So I went through level 1 of lslc really easy,but then from there I struggled.I just felt like there was just to much information per each lesson.

However,I kept reading about how great and easy pimsleur spanish is,etc etc.So after I struggled but made it to lesson 5 on lslc, I decided to buy pimsleur 1,to see what the big deal was.

Wow,what a difference.

With pimsleur,you only learn about 4-6 words per lesson.However there are 2 special things about the words you learn.

1.After you learn the couple of words,you use them many times over and over,and in many different combinations.

So if you learn:I have,you have,and,but,1,2,3..the lesson would look like this:I have one.You have three.I have two,but you have one.I have one and two,but you have three ETC.

2.You use the words frequently for the next 2-4 lessons.And each time you learn a couple more words,you use the words in various combinations,with words from the previous lesson(s).So if in the next lessons you learn:I want,you want,dollars..You would say phrases like:I have 2 but I want 3.I have 3,do you want 1.I have 2,but I want 3,and you want 1 ETC ETC ETC.

With pimsleur everything is just so simple,.I have been doing 2 lessons a day with no problems.I have only had to review one lesson twice,and I am almost done with pimsleur 1(30 lessons).

As a reviewer said on here,you probably learn more in 30 lessons of lslc than you do in 3 times the lessons and time of pimsleur.But that is where the problem is,the lslc team has crammed so much info per lesson,that I had to review some of the lessons 7-8 times to get it down greatly.After reviewing the text for the lessons,some times they conjugate 3-4 verbs,plus teaches some nouns and other stuff.

The only other problem I have is that they have decided to put info in the lessons by grammer patters(ar verbs in these lessons , er verbs in these lessons,possesive nouns in these lessons etc.)Once again unlike pimsleur that rolls on smoothly lesson to lesson,with LSLC you learn how to talk about possesive pronouns,and then in the next lesson your learning how to start a conversation,and then in the next your learning how to conjugate ir verbs ETC.So you kind of start learning one thing, then start learning another thing ETC ETC.

Also,unlike pimsleur where you may use a word20-30 times or more, you sometimes only use a word 2-3 times with lslc.

So why am I giving 4 stars?

Well because despite it not being as easy and natural as pimsleur,everything else is great.The voice and sound clarity is top notch.You learn the grammer rules easily,and some good patterns of the language(for instance in lesson 1 you learn how to conjugate regular AR verbs,and just by learning the unconjugated verbs,with a little thinking,you could conjugate them).

Plus,While it can be just to much at times,there is alot of words and information to learn.From reviewing the text(which is also a great benefit,you get the text for them words you are just not sure of)I can see it teaches alot of everything verbs, lots of nouns ETC.

Plus,as promised,you get to learn all the informal phrases and the tu conjugation of each verb.

If I was the driving force behind LSLC,I would make each 1 30 minute lesson into 3 or 4 shorter lessons.This way it would be alot easier to learn and absorb the info,and they could still get away with cramming tons of information in 15 hours.

One more thing.Besides pimsleur and fsi spanish(and its variations),I dont think that there is any program out there that teaches anywhere near what this one will(And I have rocketspanish,synergyspanish and a few other products).

So in a nutshell,this product is great,but it is difficult to try to learn that much in 30 minutes,and without repeating the words alot.

I still recommend you buy it,just wanted to give an honest opinion.

I think someone who really is looking for fluency should do both the Pimsleur and Learning Like Crazy Spanish programs. My reasons are that since I live in Mexico I can attest to the practically of Pimsuer in formal more educated settings with Spanish speakers. To say that Pimsleur teaches "archaic" Spanish is nonsense. However, it does teach a more formal Spanish that is spoken in educated crowds. When you hit the streets of Mexico and try to speak with kids, teenagers, and local store employees Pimsleur tends to fail you. That's where LSLC comes in and rescues you. You need both! You need to know the formal more educated Spanish as well as the street Spanish. It is not necessary to mean-mouth Pimsleur in order to point out the benefits of LSLC.

Doug Bower

You Can Learn Spanish No Matter Your Age or Disposition

In addition to the skill of speaking Spanish, the LSLC has helped me to truly THINK in Spanish and more importantly, helped me develop the skill to LISTEN in Spanish.

The native speakers used from different Latin American countries results in an excellent way to experience the different regional accents (e.g. the first lesson has the article "I" and in the practice conversations you hear both the "yo" sound and "joe" sound used).

In my business travel to Central and South America, I'm amazed with each month's travels, how much more I'm picking up on

and understanding from the conversations taking place.

I've been studying Spanish approx. 8 months now and had no previous language studies. I first completed Spanish for Gringos and then Level 1 of Pimsleur. The LSLC is truly

my favorite and the interactive challanges are highly addictive (my 11 yr. old daughter has learned quickly that she better be quick to the car CD or it's "Lecciones en español para ella)!

I can attest that I speak more fluent and free-flowing Spanish, than my coworkers who took at least two (some three) years of Spanish in high school. In addition, with the audio format (rather than PC or Class format) every minute I devote to my studies is spent studying (i.e. the only wasted time is the time it takes to press "play" on my iPod or CD player).

I'm convinced that if I had taken a traditional class first, there is no possible way I would have progressed as quickly.

I have conversations in Spanish while waiting in rush-hour, in lobbies waiting for appointments, weekends at the coffe shop, etc.. whenever it's convenient for ME.

In addition, the LSLC Level 1 course has a whole community of learners behind it to add to a deeper immersion in learning the language. As they say with many things - Spanish is better caught than taught and the Learning Spanish Like Crazy has been an invaluable investment. (& fun of course)

I just need LSLC to hurry up and publish LSLC Level II

This program is great. Overall I felt Pimsleur was better for the true beginner because it has a great way for you to memorize words and they go through alot of them fairly quickly without overwhelming you. I feel that this program will be too much for some starting from scratch. Others may not have a problem. I suppose it all depends how well you learn. But because Pimsleur teaches you so many words it lacked the time to teach you all the different ways to say them. And thats where this program shines. It uses the same approach as Pimsleur, but stays with a word until you understand all the variations fully. Once you have a grasp on the language, this tape will be much easier to memorize and they do a great job explaining WHY you say the word a certain way. My only gripe is some of the noun choices. I cant imagine a scenerio where I would be on vacation in a Spanish speaking country and have to argue over whos pillow cases they belong to. I realize that the point is not to teach you how to say "pillow case" but to teach you the different ways to ask and respond when talking about a object in fem or masc form. But still, a better choice of nouns to learn wouldve been more satisfactory. There are a few in the program I found useless, but there are also many that will help a traveler. Its a small complaint, so pay it little attention. If you know a little Spanish and want to fine tune it, this program is your friend.

Like the creator of this series, I went through every home-study course I could find including Pimsleur (three levels), Rosetta Stone, and the diplomatic corps course. The other courses were good and very helpful for the most part. None are better than this, and this course, Learning Spanish Like Crazy (LSLC), has amazing bonuses and customer support. I ordered directly from the website and actually received much more than promised.

The approach is very similar as Pimsleur, and the lessons are actually fun to do. I am currently working on Level 2 of LSLC.

I am 68 and have moved recently to Central America. I am still learning Spanish and will be for several years--languages are complex and robust. I will always be grateful for LSLC, and I wish there were a Spanish version to teach English for the benefit of my many new Latin friends who want to learn English. I have searched a lot and they have nothing comparable with this.

I just finished the first level of this course.

My Spanish speaking friends at work are amazed with how much Spanish I have learned. I have struggled with both Spanish and French since taking the languages in high School and college.

Without mentioning any names, I have tried most of the other big name Spanish courses. I found this method not only to be the easiest method for learning Spanish but also the most fun.

In my opinion the course's strongest point is that it actually helps you develop a near perfect accent, as one reviewer already mentioned.

I know exactly what he means when he says that your accent will be so good that natives won't know if you're completely fluent in Spanish or not.

I have also learned a lot of vocabulary words with Learning Spanish Like Crazy. But I did find that it was necessary to buy a couple of books to help me with increasing my vocabulary. The two that I recommend are Easy Spanish Phrase Book and 1001 Most

Useful Spanish words.

I bought both books at a used bookstore for about 50 cents a piece. You can however by them here Amazon for about $1 for each book. The two books are only about 50 pages, but they will really teach you the vocabulary that you need to communicate Latin Amerincans.

I guess my only complaint is that the narrator of the course is not a native English speaker. So at sometimes I had to listen to the recording more than once to understand his English. But on the positive side since the narrator was a native Latino, he was able to do the narrative in Spanish more and more as the course progress into the later lessons. If he had been an American he would not have been able to do the narrative in Spanish or he would not have been able to do it with a true Latin American accent And since he was a native Latino he was able to explain a lot of the nuances about Latin American Spanish that only a native would have knowledge of.

If you use Learning Spanish Like Crazy with Easy Spanish Phrase Book

and 1001 Most Useful Spanish words, you will learn Spanish like crazy

(for lack of a better term). Now somebody please tell them

to please make a Learning French Like Crazy.

As someone who has picked up quite a bit of Spanish through contacts with friends, work, and general American culture. I even lived in Brazil and learned pretty good Portuguese -- but I never took a "real" course in Spanish, so I regularly make silly mistakes of conjugation or word agreement (gender or number). I have tried some tapes, cds, and the Pimsleur program (TOO SLOW) and books, all to minor improvement.

This course is PERFECT for me! This past weekend I plowed through 12 lessons, picking up all these little rules that I missed along the way. I can go through each lesson in sequence and not feel like I'm rehashing too much, while still reinforcing previous lessons that just roll off the tongue! I think of the hundreds/thousands of dollars I have spent over 20 years and wish I had this program available to me years ago.

Meanwhile, I just ordered Vol. 2 -- between these two volumes and the FSI materials (definitely worth buying w/ Amazon benefits), I only have myself to blame, but one week later, I'm feeling confident I'll get through this program!

Addendum (later): I finished the cd set and feel even stronger about the quality of this program. The last 10 lessons go deeper and quickly reinforce lessons from earlier and get a lot more vocabulary quickly than other programs. The vocabulary and the rapid pace of getting different verb conjugations make this an outstanding program. After finishing the first set, I was so excited to keep the progress I picked up Nivel Dos (Level 2) immediately and kept right on rolling!

Thanks to a review by Anna Rivera and a lot of other research, I bought these CDs. I have had 2 years of high school Spanish, 12 weeks of an immersion course and 2 weeks of immersion in living with a Mexican family in Cuernavaca. I have learned more with these CDs than I thought was possible. Please read Anna's review and ditto from me.

"As the editor of the Learning Spanish Products Reviews (LearningSpanishProductsReviews) site, one of my responsibilities is to review Spanish courses that are listed on Amazon. I am also a native Spanish speaker from Argentina and a professional private Spanish instructor.

I have recommended this course to at least a dozen of my private students. I had recommended it to a married couple that has studied Spanish for years and was finding it easy to read and write in Spanish and even understand the novelas, but was having difficulty speaking it. After several weeks of daily practice with this course, they are speaking Spanish much better and with a lot more confidence.

As several reviewers have pointed out, this course uses a teaching method that makes it possible for the student to really get a true Latin American Spanish accent. As a Spanish instructor I am very tolerant of students that have poor pronunciation or bad accents in Spanish. But as a native Spanish speaker, I can tell you that there is nothing more annoying than someone that has taken the time to learn proper Spanish vocabulary and grammar but has neglected to learn the proper pronunciation and accent. If you fall into that category, please give this course a try so you can get your Latin American Spanish accent right.

The sound quality of the lessons is also excellent. And to develop proper pronunciation and accent, you really need good sound quality like this course has. I was also impressed with the amount of content that the course covers.

As a native Spanish speaker, I can say that this course comes closer than other courses in teaching Latin American Spanish that is for everyday conversation, and teaching the Spanish that Latin Americans actually speak. Although I have not personally experienced them, one of my students told me that the course also includes a live weekly group class by telephone with a native instructor from Costa Rica. The students on the group class call and speak in Spanish to each other and the instructor in Spanish.

Without a doubt, this is the best course for learning true Latin American conversational Spanish. And also the best for refining a proper sounding Latin American accent."