Customer Reviews

Lights, Camera, Spanish (Book + DVD): Learn Conversational Spanish by Watching a Romantic Adventure

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

 

 

Es una película muy bonita. I would recommend this movie to anyone with a little Spanish education and is a solid beginner or better; although, you can figure out what is going on, without knowing Spanish, by using the subtitles. This would be great for a high school teacher. The materials in the book follow the movie very closely and there is no worry about inappropriate material. The book goes beyond the movie by asking questions about the characters' personalities and how that may influence what might happen and also gives practice in reading and writing in Spanish.

Not only is the story wonderful but you will have an appreciation for the beauty of Santiago Chile and the culture. For example, in the scenes in the park, no one is wearing sweat pants or running shorts like we do in the U.S. The scences are beautiful and the story flow is very smooth; the quality is as good as any cinema movie. The authors should be proud.

While not up to Hollywood standards, this DVD has a cast of engaging characters following a classic and predictable storyline. Production values are good, the sound is excellent and the settings are very pleasing. But this DVD was primarily designed as a teaching tool and here it excels, the dialog feels natural even though it is carrying you along a very deliberate learning path. I do not know how it will stand up to repeated watchings - which is necessary, but I think as long as you approach it as a teaching tool rather than some piece of cinematic art, I don't see a problem. It is difficult to assess the intended level - high beginner to intermediate perhaps. The level increases throughout the movie which would make following the plot a little difficult for a beginner. Still there are subtitles in English and Spanish.
The book concentrates on your understanding of the movie rather than the language directly. Given the predictability of the plot, I am not sure this is the best approach. I would rather have seen a better explanation of the ways real life spanish speakers express themselves (when different from English)
Bottom line: I can absolutely recommend this product for any level spanish speaker.
ps You may recognize the author/producer's name - Bill VanPatten. He also did the excellent Destino's video series (still available free online)

This is James from James Spanish (the learning Spanish blog) with my review of Lights, Camera, Spanish

This is a really unique way to learn Spanish. This also happens to be my favorite learning Spanish resource. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I have recommended it in most of my Spanish-learner product reviews here at Amazon. Why? Because it is such an entertaining way to learn the language that you will forget that you are actually learning.
This is a 90 minute film called "Sol Y Viento" or "Sun and Wind" and it is about a Spanish-speaking American businessman who goes to Chile on business but finds himself falling in love. But this more than a love story. It is also the story of a corporate takeover of a winery. Although it is a love story, I think anyone no matter what age they are, will find that this film is not only fun and entertaining but an effective way to learn Spanish.

And since the film also comes with subtitles even a beginner can pop this DVD into the DVD player and start learning Spanish right away. And if you are an intermediate to an advanced level student, like myself, then I am sure that you will enjoy the challenge of watching this DVD without subtitles.

But be careful. The film is so enjoyable that you may forget that the film also comes with a 116 page workbook or " companion guide" complete with exercises to test your understanding of the film and to reinforce the Spanish that you picked up from the film. I only wish that there were more products that teach this same method of learning Spanish by using an entertaining film along with a workbook complete with exercises.

In closing my review of this product, I'd like to share with you a couple of other Amazon products that I have found most helpful in my pursuit to learn Spanish. If you are truly serious about achieving fluency, I'd recommend getting both of them in addition to on Lights, Camera, Spanish. If you can afford it. And if you cannot afford, then just be sure to get Lights, Camera, Spanish.

1. Verbarrator Version 1.1 (Windows Version) This software replaces the traditional verb conjugation books and makes learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs an interactive and fun activity. This should be a required resource for anyone who wants to improve their ability to conjugate Spanish verbs. Especially anyone who is challenged by the drudgery of learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs and who is looking for a new way to make learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs an easy and fun activity.

2. Diccionario esencial de la lengua espanola de la Real Academia Espanola (Spanish Edition) If you are really serious about speaking the language fluently, then at some point you will need to replace your Spanish-English dictionary and get a pure Spanish dictionary with both the vocabulary words and the definitions entirely in Spanish. I use this one only because it was highly-recommended by a friend from Spain who teaches Spanish.

I teach Spanish in Edinburgh, I have masters in media and I want to congratulate people who were working on that soap. First, Cast is brilliant, I know them because they have been on many soaps in Chile (I'm from Argentina in case) I don't agree with bad reviews, I'd advise this soap maybe better in classroom and not self-study cause many things (even there is a guide) you could miss contexts. About speed, look I'm using with intermediate and it's great. Other review said it's slow, great you might be master-advanced in Spanish, have a look at film "Nine Queens" (Nueve Reinas) to test how fast you are catching a true speed of spoken Spanish!
I highly recommend this soap Sol y Viento but maybe linked to a proper Spanish course, so Sol y Viento as part of ways to learn the language!!

I am Anna Rivera editor of the Learning Spanish Products Reviews site and free Spanish lessons site. I am also the author of Anna Rivera's 1000 Plus Most Powerful Spanish Words (Spanish Edition) and Anna Rivera's 800 Plus Most Powerful Spanish Phrases (Spanish Edition). I am also a native Spanish speaker and a professional Spanish instructor.

If you are the kind of student who is tired of learning the Spanish language through memorization and you are bored with fill-in-the-blank exercises, then Lights, Camera, Spanish may be the ideal way for you to learn Spanish. This program is specifically designed for students who are already on at least a beginner level of Spanish.

This is enjoyable way to improve your proficiency in the Spanish language. The film Sol y Viento provides the student with authentic Spanish while immersing the student in the film's intriguing story. The book also contains sufficient activities and review materials to advance the students Spanish.

Besides touching upon the plight of the Mapuche people and their struggle to retain their ancestral lands and live in harmony with the earth, the film is about a successful young California businessman who gets orders to travel to Chile to secure a land deal. While in Chile he discovers things such as the meaning of community and how people and their land may share a bond that can be as strong as the bond that two people would share. He also meets a beautiful young woman while in Chile who captures his heart. You will have to watch the movie if you want to find out the rest.

I've been enjoying this dvd/book. It's an inovative way to study Spanish. Unfortunately, amazon was not able to send this to me (it became unavailable right after I ordered it) I did find in at Barnes and [...] Now I'd like to find something similar in French!