Customer Reviews

Spanish in 10 Minutes a Day®

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is just right for the beginner or someone that took Spanish in high school or college, but never really got off the ground with it. Now, years later, you really want to take it seriously, but what about all those verbs and odd sentence structures? Well, this is a good way to get back into it or learn it for the first time. The book is colorful, easy to read, contains crossword puzzles and other creative exercises for review. When I finished this book I called the publisher to see if they offered an intermediate-level version of the book. I was sorry to hear that they currently do not. Hey, it's well worth the money and will help you get off to a good start. Try it, you'll like it!

I'm a Spanish teacher and currently teach adults. I begin by using my CD and booklet "Viva la Musica" which teaches Spanish through song, but I later use other material along with it.

One of my classes uses "Spanish in 10 Minutes a Day" and enjoys it very much. The students especially like the "bilingual pocket pal" which they can pull out of the book and carry with them to Mexican restaurants, when traveling or for practice in spare moments. The stickers to put on objects around the house are a big hit also, and the flashcards are very useful. Unlike many books, it doesn't contain verb conjugations or deal with lots of grammar early. That can be an advantage. My students were eager and ready to conjugate verbs by the time we reached that section.

I also recommend this book to those who decide to study on their own after a few weeks with a teacher. I ran into one of my former students who said to me, "I love the book."

This whole series is a great way to get started on what you'll need to know as a traveling tourist. I've used the German and French versions, and was able to make hotel reservations, buy train and plane tickets, ask directions, and order dinner. In most cases, people in foreign countries will try to speak to you in English, if necessary, once they've seen that you are trying to speak to them in their language. You may need to supplement this book with a tape to hear the pronunciation, but even so, this book is a wonderful way to get started...just paste the stickers everywhere around you and jump in!

I have used this book to begin learning Spanish. It teaches you a lot, but is not boring or repetative. The extra things (stickers, menu, pocket guide, flash cards) make it even more fun. I liked it so much that I think I'm going to buy another one in a different language!!! I HIGHLY recommend this book. It's great!!!

I have tried so many times to start learning Spanish but somehow never really got into it for one reason or the other. "Spanish in ten minutes a day", makes learning so easy and fun, that in a short time you'd be speaking more spanish then you probably would going to formal classes, and for a whole lot cheaper too. An absolute must have for beginers!

I love the way the author integrates Spanish words(palabras) for the English counterpart into the text. Soon you'll be seeing items and thinking in Spanish as well as English, I think that this is a great way to learn. I'm half way through the book and am starting to converse with more confidence with my Spanish speaking friends and they are amazed that someone with no Spanish in their background, not even one course in high school could be moving this quickly. I'm taking a trip to Spain in May and now feel that I have at least a small appreciation of the language and by the time I finish the book will be even more so. If, in the future I wish to learn other languages I'll definitely use this series as a jump start into the new language.

I HIGHLY RECOMEND THIS BOOK BECAUSE IT IS A EXCELLENT WAY FOR BEGINERS TO LEARN THE LANGUAGE AND FEEL COMFORTABLE SPEAKING IT,WHILE HAVING FUN! IT'S NOT JUST BORING STUFF,THIS BOOK HAS EVERYTHING YOU NEED SUCH AS FLASHCARDS,STICKERS TO HELP YOU REMEMBER OBJECTS IN YOUR HOME, A MENU, AND MUCH MORE.IT REALLY IS A WONDERFUL BOOK!HAPPY LEARNING

I've never tried to learn Spanish, however, living in Southern California, it is now a necessity. Therefore, I wanted a book to give me the basics so that I could have an immediate ability to speak Spanish. This book has given me a very good basic foundation.
The only way to make this book better would be to include CDs with pronunciation so that you knew you were pronouncing them correctly (although it does have the phenetics for the words). For me, this is a good way to "get my feet wet" and begin the learning process. I do 5 chapters a week, then use the weekend to review, and I also make practice tests to test myself. This works really well for me and really enables me to drill the information.

I wrote a five star review for the previous edition. I don't think this new edition is as good as the older one because the "pocket pal" in the back of the book was eliminated. The pocket pal was a laminated sheet with numbers, foods, and expressions in Spanish and English that one could take out of the back of the book, fold and carry. It was one of the best features of the book. I still think the book is good, and would probably rate it four and a half stars if I could, but I'm very disappointed that they took the pocket pal out. You can buy a separate "language map" that looks like the same idea with more phrases than the "pocket pal," but you'd have to order that separately.

This was the text used in a beginning Spanish class I took recently. Unlike the other reviewers, I found it patronizing and irritating. The basic concept--that by using pictures and a mixture of Spanish and English beginning students can gain confidence--is not necessarily a bad one, but I found myself frustrated by the very limited amount of information actually presented. The book has lots of dull English text, written in a pseudo-sprightly style, with random Spanish words sprinkled over the surface. There is no progression from the beginning of the book to the end. For me, it was a waste of time. In contrast, some of the bilingual storybooks that are now available, have provided me with both the feeling of support beginners need -- and some genuine Spanish. Also, the pictures are awful.