63 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worth the money, October 22, 2003
I used the previous edition of Pimsleur Spanish II, but I'm sure this edition is only improved.
Pimsleur's level two Spanish lessons continue the excellence of level one. Each lesson begins with a dialogue in Spanish to sharpen your listening comprehension. Then it proceeds to a combination of techniques. You are given a sentence in English to recite in Spanish, or instructed in Spanish to say something in Spanish, changing the verbs to fit your response. When new words or phrases are introduced, they are repeated and used in different contexts so you can remember them. The tapes give you time to repeat out loud to fix the words, sentences or phrases in your mind. The pauses aren't long enough for you to translate from English to Spanish in your mind; you have to respond somewhat quickly in Spanish, as you would in a conversation with a Spanish speaker.
These lessons make adroit use of repetition. If a word or phrase is introduced at the beginning of a lesson, it will pop up again toward the end. Grammatical points and vocabulary introduced in earlier lessons will come up again in later lessons, to give you a chance to recall them. These techniques make Pimsleur superior to other language self-study programs.
This is a wonderful program, and I highly recommend it.
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27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good For Beginners Only, January 15, 2006
When I got the three Pimsleur Spanish CD's I thought I'd be very far along with my goal to learn spanish. I have learned a lot via Pimsleur, but it didn't take me as far as I thought it would. It gave a pretty good overview of the basics in Spanish, but nothing more.
I've since switched to Platiquemos and I am just finishing up Level Two. Bottom line for me: Pimsleur is nice way to be introduced to Spanish if you can afford it. Platiquemos will take that introduction and run with it. There is some overlap between Pimsleur Spanish 1-3 and Platiquemos' Level 1, but I recommend starting at Platiquemos' Level 1 once you finish all three Pimsleur's. If you want to go the cheaper route just start with Platiquemos and work your way through Level 1. It may be tough at first, but you'll learn a lot quickly.
Good luck in learning Spanish!
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35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent series!, August 27, 2005
As a resident of Florida, I desire very much to become acquainted with the language, histories, and cultures of my Spanish-speaking neighbors and co-workers. I studied French in high school but as of today cannot speak or understand it.
Because of my work schedule, at this time attending night school or living in a Spanish-speaking country is not practical. I am attempting to learn Spanish on my own. I have bought all three levels of Pimsleur and have no regrets. For anyone who may balk at the price, you should consider that the tuition at a university or a community college may exceed the cost of one level of Pimsleur.
Pimsleur is an excellent start for a beginning Spanish student. Pimsleur effectively teaches you the technique of listening to a sentence in English, translating out loud in Spanish, hearing the phrase in Spanish, and repeating it. The pauses between the sentences are long enough to translate out loud in Spanish. You may have to repeat a lesson several times so that you translate accurately and quickly enough during the pauses. However, the lessons are never dull, and the sound in audio CDs is clear and easy to understand.
I use supplemental grammar materials to read and write Spanish and to learn grammar. But the Pimsleur CDs teach you to speak useful and interesting words, sentences, and phrases for real-life situations - ordering in a restaurant, asking for street directions, asking about one's family and health, and discussing the weather. These CDs are never boring.
In addition, if I have an especially busy day and do not have time or energy to do a reading or writing lesson, I can still find 30 minutes in a day to do a Pimsleur lesson.
Even with the three levels of Pimsleur, you will not be fluent in Spanish. I am starting the FSI Spanish series once I complete Pimsleur. I recommend that for those who are serious about achieving fluency Spanish, they take the multitrack approach - watch Univision, listen to Spanish radio, practice speaking with native speakers, etc.
But for those new to Spanish, I wholeheartedly endorse the Pimsleur series.
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