Customer Reviews

Behind The Wheel Spanish For Your Car / 8 One Hour Audiocassette Tapes / Complete Learning Guide and Tape Script (Cassette) (Spanish Edition)

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

 

 

I am convinced that I received a different product than the one that has received the glowing reviews. I hope this review appears objective in order to help possible purchasers. The criticisms:
1. The CD program does not follow any apparent sequence/order, nor does the instructor provide any headings for each new section (I am generous with the word section here). I think this is important since one is relying completely on the instructor without the benefit of the book (compare Penton's Learn in Your Car series - short lessons, in a logical sequence, which are always introduced by the speakers - a far better organized course) With the Behind the Wheel program you will have no idea where you are (or why), or where you are going;
2. A great deal of the program is repetitive, although Frobose advises that repetition and review are important to the foreign language acquisition process. Admittedly, repetition and review are important - but why waste valuable time repeating "It's 5:30" 50 times when more time could be devoted to providing additional material? (I think numbers were repeated approx. 10 times - perhaps more) Repetition, it seems, is something better accomplished on subsequent listens;
3. Although more of a personal matter, I found Frobose to sound somewhat condescending. The "native" speaker is almost comical in the way he over-pronounces each word. Certainly, the words are expressed clearly, but if you pronounce the words in the same way as the native speaker, I am sure you will get some raised eyebrows; and,
4. Some reviewers suggest the interesting phrases/idioms are helpful for sounding "native." Honestly, the isolated phrases presented throughout the course have no context - they just come "out of the blue." Further, the phrases are not broken down for an understanding of the words/phrase (for a true "building block" system see Michel Thomas' Spanish with Michel Thomas. With MT you will build from an understanding of one word, then two, then three, etc. until you can formulate a sentence)
I would not suggest any one purchase this course. If you are looking for a solid foundation, start with Michel Thomas to gain an understanding of the structure of the language. I would follow MT with Learn in Your Car (3 volume) for additional structure and vocabulary (which MT lacks).
Hope this helps in the foreign language quest.

I am delighted with the excellent results I am getting from Behind the Wheel Spanish. As a commuter, both by train and car, I can say that nothing is more important to me than clear, effective, and enjoyable Spanish instruction. The results speak for themselves, and the process was so easy and fast!!

I am actually returning the tapes. I thought the sound quality was poor and the methodology was equally poor. There is little repetition and though the speaker requests that the listener repeat phrases, little time is given to repeat the phrases. The tapes spend alot of time on sentences and not on the actual words that make up the sentence. These tapes might be more appropriate for advanced speakers wanting to polish their skills but I would not recommend them for beginners.

This tape series is wonderful! I had a few years of high school spanish but was very rusty. I used these tapes to brush up. After listening to them over and over, I am able to speak pretty fluently with clients at work. The 2 speakers on the tape are enjoyable and professional in the way they interact. I feel like I know them personally, by now! It is nice to hear a native speaker as well as an american born person say the words and phrases.

I have been putting this off for years.... After several failed attempts to learn Spanish in a classroom setting I finally decided to make use of the many hours I spend in my car during the week. My car "trips" are relatively short (10-20 minutes), but several trips each day add up! I just keep the tape going... even when I feel distracted. When I'm actively engaged in the tape I stop it frequently to guess answers, or repeat Spanish sentences so that I can reinforce the new information and practice pronunciation. When I'm thinking about what I need to do tomorrow I just let the lesson go in one ear and out the other. I started learning how to make USEFUL conversation with tape one, and felt an IMMEDIATE sense of accomplishment. I haven't rushed this. I listen to each tape several times, trying to memorize as much as I can before moving on to the next tape. I'm now on Tape 3, side 2. The tapes repeat the nuts and bolts of prior lessons while adding new words and verb tenses. So, there is plenty of opportunity for review. The tapes are delivering EVERYTHING I had hoped for. I keep the accompanying book beside my bed - which has a transcript of each tape as well as lists of important words. I occasionally review what I have listened to that day. I find it helpful to actually "see" the words/spelling, but it is certainly not necessary. I am really appreciating the learning method utilized... I highly recommend Behind the Wheel Spanish!! Estoy feliz! (I just learned that tonight... forgive me if I didn't allow for the feminine form of the adjective.)

I purchased this course and learned a lot from it. I wanted to continue my lessons with another course from the same company so I purchased Conversational Spanish in Nothing Flat. When it arrived I started playing the first CD and to my shock, it was Behind the Wheel Spanish under a different name. I returnd this item and only received a 50% refund. So this mistake cost me almost $$$. So do not order this item if you have already purchased Conversational Spanish in Nothing Flat.

I am engaged to a Spanish man, who's entire family speaks Spanish most of the time. Using this program has really helped me get started on learning the language. Now when I am at family gatherings, I find myself understanding the gist of the conversations going on. I haven't finished the program yet, but I recommend this to anyone who wants to learn Spanish and has a long commute to work or spends a lot of time on the road.

I've tried numerous CD Spanish learning programs. This one was disappointing. It did not seem to follow a particular lesson plan and struck me as disorganized. I felt like I simply had to memorize phrases - the reasons for specific word order, usages, etc. were not expressed. At times, it seemed to repeat endlessly, so that on several CDs it repeats how you say the time of day (unnessary in a CD where you can rewind).
Good language CDs allow you to understand what you're saying *and* why it is said that way. If it is instead intended as an immersion program (this one is not), it is organized in a progressive manner so that you are constantly reaching a little further with each lesson and expanding your knowledge. And in either case, although review is important, each review adds something to your understanding. This CD set did not meet those criteria.
However, there were some interesting phrases included. Having used other CD sets, I understood the language enough that this CD set enhanced my learning despite that it did not include explanations and is not progressive. The pronunciation seemed clear. It seems like a fairly good program if you want to learn phrases to memorize for travel. And the book is quite good despite all of its errors/typos.
I would recommend this CD set if you already have a background in Spanish language and want to reacquaint yourself with it. If you are fairly new, this is not a good way to introduce yourself to the language. I preferred Michel Thomas for actually learning how to construct sentences (I used the 8-CD set), although his definitely is not travel-oriented. I liked Pimsleur for pronunciation, although it did not progress very quickly.

Very disappointing. They are tapes --I can play them again! Tape 4 contains about 2 minutes of new material and is a re-hash of tapes 1-3, which are all pretty much the same. The entire 8-hour series could go on one cassette.

I bought this for my brother for Christmas who has a 1 hr drive to work and home everyday and his car doesn't have a CD player.He loves it! He says the instructor speaks very clearly,he repeats the words and phrases twice then gives you time to repeat it.He also likes the fact that the tape is set up in chapters so if he wants to go back to the beginning of a chapter it automatically does it when he hits rewind,he doesn't have to search for it. He can already say simple phrases and he knew absolutely no spanish prior to receiving this.He says he likes it because he doesn't have to have a book to follow while he is listening like some of the other more expensive instruction packages.He is VERY pleased with it,it is exactly what he was looking for!I WOULD DEFINATELY RECOMEND THIS TO ANYONE!!!!!!!