Customer Reviews

Spanish Made Simple (Made Simple Books (Doubleday))

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The format lends itself for easy learning of vocabulary. Grammar sections are clear but not too technical for an average learner. The ongoing story is interesting and informative. I use the book extensively for review, although I have learned enough that my level of knowledge is beyond the level of the book. I used it to learn the language on my own, but it would be an excellent text for classroom work. There are ample exercises and to do the exercises does much to learn and retain the language.

Spanish Made Simple is the absolutely best book for learning to speak and read contemporary Spanish. The book is written in the form of a interesting novel with the vocabulary and grammar seeded into the captivating narrative. Beginning with absolutely no knowledge of Spanish, I was able to converse on everyday topics within a few months. After two years of self-study, I tested out of 8 hours Spanish at the local community college. If you want to learn Spanish, this is the book to get. It worked for me. It will work for you.

While studying Spanish using the excellent Pimsleur CD's, I began to look for a book to add variety to my study. After trying several books from my library I concluded that Spanish Made Simple was far-and-away the best. I bought the revised (2004) edition which has an improved layout over the earlier (1984?) revision. After a brief introduction to pronouciation, the reader follows along as Mr.Adams is taught Spanish by a native speaker. I recommend that the reader also use an audio method of learning to supplement the book to get the pronounciation right. (The CD's mentioned above are very expensive but excellent.)

I took this book along with me as a study text while living for several months in Central America working as a teacher. While I found the pronunciation guide helpful, after struggling through the first 30 chapters or so over the course of 2-3 months I advise anyone interested in finding a sound Spanish introductory course to look elsewhere. While SMS may be useful for someone who is willing to learn set phrases by rote memory, it will be found extremely deficient by anyone who wishes to learn quickly the basic rules and structure of the language. As an alternative I highly recommend Madrigal's Magic Guide to Spanish. This text exploits the similarities between English and Spanish to give the student immediate access to a large active vocabulary, at the same time communicating clearly and effectively the essentials of grammar and verb conjugation, which are the key elements of any language for a new student. Madrigal's MGS would also be useful as a classroom text, as it's exercises engage the student's creativity rather than relying on formula questions.

Certainly not a one-star book. It can be very helpful, but you have to be willling to devote time for memorization. It is not for everyone. This book is very dense in information and will give you a solid background in Spanish, but you must devote time to studying it like you would any textbook, and limit yourself to one lesson a day, or it will frustrate you with all you cannot remember. Also, I do not like the 8-1/2 x 11 format.

This book, like the other four language Made Simple books, is a helpful resource for students who need a grammar base for their language learning--as most second-language learners do. The exercises eliminate the need to memorize and each lesson builds on the previous lessons. No, you won't become fluent with this or any other text; but you will develop a working knowledge of the language. I wish the publishers of Made Simple books would fund more books of its kind. Buy it.

This is a great book for learning Spanish. You have to devote a lot of time to it. But keep in mind that there is no course out there that can teach you a language fluently in a short time. I found the letters at the last chapters very interesting. It gives you some practice in reading Spanish.
I think this course give you all the basic Spanish you need to know and with further practice you are well prepared for a visit to Spanish speaking country.
I just would like to tell you that in order to speak a language fluently you have to practice a lot. No one book or course can teach you that. Especially with all the variations of Spanish in Latin America. But this book gives you the fundamentals, and a little more.

Having myself first learned Spanish with the original Spanish made Simple, I was eager to use this book as a teaching tool for an adult class. The most current edition is very close to the original , the revision being in monetary values and dates. There could have been some other revisions giving a more current touch to the story. Also, there are printing mistakes in the pronunciation keys that are very disconcerting to the beginner.
Having said that, it's still a much better book for beginners than the Spanish for Gringos, and a good book to brush up on what you may have forgotten !
I would recommend this to anyone wanting to learn sentence structure, not just the
one liners in the Gringo books.

This Book has been one of the bestselling Spanish Books for 50 years now! The reason why is that it works. A great complimentary book to a Spanish Students Library.



Tom Troughton "Editor of www.fantasticospanish.com" ...

Spanish made simple gave me a very solid foundation in Spanish. It helped me to read Spanish in a short while, and to pronounce clearly.

However, it did not help me to construct sentences and speak fluently.