Customer Reviews

Macedonian: A Course for Beginning and Intermediate Students

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

 

 

I've been carrying around this giant tome for 3 months in anticipation of a long-term stay in Macedonia. I've never been there and have zero background on the language or the culture so am happy to have this book to help me get prepared. However, I have learned other languages and used many other language textbooks whose layout and sequencing are superior to this one. Perhaps as a classroom text this book would work well - with the help of a teacher. But as a "teach yourself" text, I find it frustrating to try to use, especially without the accompanying CD that seems to be endlessly delayed. As an example, I would have found it helpful to have vocubulary introduced more thematically and more thoroughly. I've worked my way through 3 chapters and find that I don't have a lot of the basic, daily-use vocubulary (e.g., household items, foods, clothing, body parts, days of the week, counting, etc.). Telling time isn't covered until Chapter 7. Also, some basic layout adjustments would help, such as better demarcation between chapters, better use of headings and fonts to arrange things visually on the page, etc.
All in all, I'm happy to have the book, but as another reviewer said, it's hefty and (for me) overwhelming. I don't need 16 chapters worth of material. A beginners text of 8 chapters would have been a big plenty - and a lot easier to lug around.
I don't mean to discourage its use. Not at all. Just providing some insights for the would-be buyer.

The best book out there to learn Macedonian. If you really want to learn the language and not just a couple of phrases then this is the book you will need. Like most languages, if you really want to learn them you will need a teacher and any teacher worth his or her weight will use this book. Don't make the mistake of learning Serbian or Croation, the languages are not the same. If you want Macedonian, than you need this book.
Second generation Macedonian-American.

I haven't gotten very far into it, but it does seem very helpful now that I have figured out my learning style. Lessons are broken down into labeled sub-sections that are easy to over look while reading, but each "2.1" or "2.1.2" Denotes a separate key item, making it easier to pick out and digest pieces of related material. It makes making your own study aids a lot easier, as well as letting you track your progress as you make your way through the chapter.
The most frustrating thing for me on this product was how they kept advertising a CD-Rom you could get to accompany it. After making it to the publisher's website, it turns out they never finished it and never published one. However, I think that is because accompany material has been made available online at [...], from the same university as the author.
Overall, if you are trying to learn Macedonian and you aren't a linguist, this book is the only one out there to help you learn it.

So far so good, I found it difficult to find anything that could assist me in learning Macedonian, and so far this book has been great, you need a dictionary to go with it (which is also difficult to find)but if you want to learn macedonian then this book is your best bet. It goes on a bit about pronounciation, but i guess in a book, this is one aspect of a new language that it always difficult to explain. Good luck to all. If I can do it (aussie skippy) anyone can.

This is a great book, but there are no answers to the exercises. I'm learning on my own and I have no way of ferreting out errors. That aside, this book is very easy to use and seems to be very effective.

If you want to learn Macedonian or just brush up on your skills, this is the only serious book out there. The explanations are clear and precise making it easy to follow. There are a number of exercises and most importantly there are answers in the back so you can check and see if you are correct. This book is for beginners but it is still a good reference for more advanced speakers. Easily the best book available.

I am currently trying to learn Macedonian. I have searched very hard for a book that teaches the language. This book is very useful in learning the language. The only problem that I find with the book, is the lessons are somewhat hard to follow. I am greatful that I have a friend that is 100% Macedonian. She and her family are helping a lot.

This is an excellent language course for learning Macedonian. I highly recommend it.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to learn Macedonian. Being Macedonian born and bread, I'm already fluent in the language; however, I wanted to buy this book for a friend of mine.

And by the way, Dick, from Louisiana, it IS a fact that all Macedonian are Macedonian. There's no such thing as a Macedonian who is of another nationality. How about you get YOUR facts straight before pretending to be an expert on my country?