Mastering Spanish, Level 2: Book and 12 Cassettes (Foreign Service Institute) [Audio Cassette]

Foreign Service Language Institute (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0812079191 | ISBN-13: 978-0812079197 | Publication Date: September 18, 1992 | Edition: Book and Cassette

The most advanced and comprehensive self-teaching course in Spanish available anywhere, this Level Two program is recommended for those who have already progressed through Mastering Spanish, Hear It, Speak It, Read It, Write It--Level One. Both programs were developed by the Foreign Service Institute, which trains U.S. diplomats in foreign languages.

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Barron's Educational Series; Book and Cassette edition (September 18, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812079191
• ISBN-13: 978-0812079197
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 10 x 2.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #667,097 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > Books on Cassette > Children's Books > Languages
  • #51 in Books > Books on Cassette > Languages
  • #66 in Books > Books on Cassette > Nonfiction > General

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent follow up to Level I class, November 9, 2003

By 

magellan (Santa Clara, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mastering Spanish, Level 2: Book and 12 Cassettes (Foreign Service Institute) (Audio Cassette)

I have both the Level I and Level II Foreign Service Institute courses, and since I've already reviewed in detail how the Level I course works and compared it with the other major offerings out there, such as Michel Thomas's, Berlitz, and Instant Immersion, I'll keep this review brief. If you're interested I refer you to my review of the Level I class which I've also posted on Amazon.

This is basically the advanced course and continues with the same philosophy and structure as the Level I class. It is intended to get you up to speed conversationally as quickly as possible without getting bogged down in too many formal details of the grammar. The approach here is to teach you the grammar by means of many examples of individual spoken sentences and brief conversations and through substitution drills, along with brief discussions of the grammar which are interspersed occasionally between the audio sections. The big, 600+ page workbook allows you to follow along with the native language speakers, which is very helpful also. This contrasts with Michel Thomas's approach, which is just as pricey, but contains no workbook, drills, exercises, or even any memorization at all. It also emphasizes starting with the most basic sentence structures and then building up slowly from there, so that the principles are acquired almost intuitively. I also have the Thomas course and it is excellent as well, and for many people would also be a good choice. I like having the detailed workbook that this course provides, however, so I still have a preference for this one over the Thomas offering. But if you're looking for the most painless approach possible, without the rigors of any formal grammar, the Thomas course might be your best choice.

I have a pretty strong background in structural and comparative grammar and linguistics in general so I don't mind a little formal grammar, but most people don't and just want to get a speaking command of the language as quickly and painlessly as possible. For that purpose this course serves very well and is regarded by many as still the best one out there for that. Someone who masters the 24 tapes in these two courses, which is twice as much material as in most of the other big self-study courses, should have a pretty good command of spoken Spanish and be able to do pretty well conversationally.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very thorough intermediate course; pace just right, January 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Mastering Spanish, Level 2: Book and 12 Cassettes (Foreign Service Institute) (Audio Cassette)

This 12-cassette series is a fairly comprehensive course in Spanish grammar and usage for those with a slight familiarity with the language. I spent about 3 months of commuting time, 1-1/2 hrs/day, going through the tapes (at least twice each), and felt it was equivalent to a second or third year high school course. This is not a course for expanding one's vocabulary, although of course some new vocabulary was introduced. For vocabulary, I would recommend the Vocabulearn series of cassettes by Penton Overseas. My only complaint is the accompanying book, which was much bigger than it needed to be, since all of the text was duplicated in a phonetic version which I felt was of little or no use. I have spent about nine months now learning Spanish in my car, and have tried out a number of cassette series, and can certainly rate this as one of the best. The time allowed for the student's response was just right, unlike other series which push one too fast or too slow.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most realistic program I have found., January 23, 2001

By 

Jeffery S. Herman (Baxter, Tennessee) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mastering Spanish, Level 2: Book and 12 Cassettes (Foreign Service Institute) (Audio Cassette)

I am studying intensely to learn Spanish for communicating with the many hispanic workers living in my area. The book is somewhat difficult to use, but it is well worth the trouble. Althought some users are unhappy with the phonetic pronunciation system provided in the book (along with the standard Spanish spelling) I have found it to be very helpful once I invested the time to learn it. I will say that this is the most realistic program I have encountered. The speech on the tape is full speed and is very realistic. It has helped my comprehension immensely.

Each new concept, especially gramatical forms, are presented in a variety of audio exercises which require you to "think on the go." The exercises in which you have to substitute one word in a sentence for another (and therefore adjust for plurality, speaker, gender, etc.) are nothing short of brilliant. Each new gramatical form is presented in a variety of contexts and exercises which help develop skills. The exercises have helped me learn to speak for meaning, not simply repeat rote phrases. I especially appreciate the manner in which various social settings (visiting a hispanic home, lunch with a hispanic friend, a visit to an area attraction) are presented along with the vocabulary most likely to be needed for that setting.

This series is for the serious student. If you're willing to put in the work this series requires, I don't think it can be beat. My only complaint is that the series is not available on CD at this time. The series is recorded using old technology; there is some tape hiss but it doesn't interfere with your ability to comprehend. The book is obviously somewhat dated, but the gramatical concepts remain the same.