Customer Reviews

Musical Spanish: Learn Through Pop Music (includes music CD/interactive CD-Rom)

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

 

 

I travel to the Baja region of Mexico several times a year for business, and my daughter sent me a copy of this program to help me communicate a little better with the locals. I read the label and thought "pop music??" but the songs are quite fun - my favorite is "La Adelita" - and their version of La Cucaracha is hard to listen to without singing along. My Mexican friends now think I'm the gringo loco who can sing all of the words to La Bamba...

The CD-rom has been the most helpful part for me. I like to go through the CD-rom and practice saying each sentence from the songs. I've also found that the images from the animations have helped the words and concepts to keep going around my brain long after I've turned off the computer.

The book has quite a bit of grammar - nearly all of the basics, as well as a travel phrases section that I've just about worn out. I also bought the 501 verbs book, which is a good compliment to this program. The amazing part for me is that I've struggled with verbs for a long time (I've done all kinds of learn on tape programs) - and having the songs as a reference point has made it easier to remember. I don't get much past using the present and the past tense, but Musical Spanish has helped me to feel more comfortable actually speaking. I think the author is really on to something with this musical grammar business - heck if it works for an old fart like me it must do wonders for the young kids. Arriba with the Español con Musica!

Musical Spanish is pure genius! Exactly what I have been searching for! I had been meaning to improve my waning Spanish speaking skills so that I could better communicate with family friends who are staying with us and who are originally from Mexico City. The textbooks I checked out however, looked too much like that - boring dusty textbooks. I just couldn't get interested in opening them. And then a truly mortifying moment happened recently that jumpstarted me into finding something that would help. My friend's brother called from Mexico to speak to him and I was the only one home. He spoke only Spanish and I realized after babbling in broken English/Spanish that he had no idea what I was saying and I couldn't understand a word he was saying. After four or five incredibly uncomfortable and SILENT moments when we were both waiting for one of us to say SOMETHING he got me to understand that he would call back in 20 minutes. I wasn't sure how that was going to help since I was still the only one home but I was relieved to get off the phone. I emailed one of my best friends who speaks fluent Spanish and told her what happened and she recommended Musical Spanish. It has been a godsend. Not only has my vocabulary improved but my pronunciation keeps getting better and better! And what's more, it's fun! As for my friend's brother, he still teases me about that day but now when he does, I can respond...in Spanish!!!!

As a Junior High teacher, I am in constant search of cognitive ways to help my students learn. The Musical Spanish CD ROM provides students with colorful, entertaining animations along with upbeat rhythms and lyrics that solidify grammar concepts. The CD ROM also includes Spanish vocabulary building games, karaoke fun, and grammar assistance! The full color illustrated grammar textbook uses clear, youthful written examples of how to transfer the Spanish lyrics into daily Spanish conversation. I find the students immediately "catching on" with light bulb moments as they sing along to the Spanish pop music. Musical Spanish is a "must have" for all Spanish language learners of all ages.

Musical Spanish is a unique book and multimedia PC CD-ROM/audio CD combination, to help beginning Spanish students better learn and understand the language through 10 different popular songs. Filled with basic lesson primers, activities, and consumable workbook pages, the guide helps the student better grasp basic Spanish grammar while the music reinforces language learning on multiple aural and conceptual levels. A computer is not required to take advantage of Musical Spanish; the enhanced CD-ROM/audio CD can play its Spanish music on a personal computer or a standard stereo CD player. Musical Spanish is a unique and highly recommended supplement for enthusiastic language learners.

Why didn't someone write this books years ago? We paid for a tutor to help our 16-yr. old son, who was struggling with Spanish. She did help him conjugate verbs, but her pronunciation was terrible. Musical Spanish has helped our son sound like a native, and it has helped him to love learning the language. In fact, we all sing La Bamba around our house since we bought this book and cd rom. We highly recommend it to all parents who want to help their children enjoy language learning.

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They completely butchered these songs. I'm not that picky, but it's painful to listen to. It honestly sounds like chipmunks with an electronic keyboard.

The whole CD runs in Adobe Acrobat which isn't that convenient to navigate around. The music plays in a jukebox run by Flash.

This CD and thin book was a great idea, but more effort needed to be put into this production.

- Learning Spanish? Here's an innovative book (with Compact Disk) that teaches grammar using 10 traditional Spanish songs. This is great for beginners. The music has a good beat and it's a great way of learning. Music has a way of integrating different cognitive areas of the brain. Sing along to "La Bamba" and "Cielito Lindo" and learn important grammar lessons. You'll be tapping your feet and learning Spanish from head to toe.

This language series is good if you want to learn basic grammar concepts. It's cool to sing along with the songs that are included as apart of the learning process. However, it wasn't for me.

I like tools like Pimsluer's Spanish Program which teaches conversational tools. For me it's difficult to learn Spanish without it being in the context of a conversation. Musical Spanish is a great review if you have Spanish skills OR if you are already profecient in another romance language, Musical Spanish will give you a great foundation on which to build.

I think that this is a great supplement to Spanish learning. I've donated my copy to the local public library.

Musical Spanish is proving to hold the attention of my adult language learners. The content is so easy to understand and the book is colorful and interesting. The CD is packed full of exercises and hands on activities that keep students engaged and learning effortlessly. Don't miss the index page. Stacey Tipton lightens the load of heavy grammar rules.......my students are learning and singing their way into a new language. Thank you Stacey Tipton.

I was quite surprised at the wide range of grammar topics covered by the interactive CD. The songs are funny and easy to pick up, and the lessons then pounce on the words of the song and dissect things like tense, gender, subject/object, in an interesting and unconventional order - not too many Spanish courses introduce the future tense in the first lesson - but maybe they should, since it is fairly easy to learn. I was quite pleased with the clear, succinct grammar explanations. Though not exactly a video game, I found it entertaining to watch the animations. The words of the songs have been re-written to convey some basic words and grammar concepts, so it's not for Latin music purists.

On the other hand, this is a rapid survey, not an in-depth course. You won't learn much vocabulary and you won't get to practice much . Adobe Acrobat is kind of a pain to navigate unless you're used to it.

I have not tried listening to the CD, though that is an option, only using it interactively on my computer. I didn't expect high musical quality on my computer and can't speak to what it would sound like in an audio system.