Customer Reviews

Teach Yourself Lithuanian Complete Course Package (Book+ 2CDs) (TY: Complete Courses)

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This is a welcome addition to the Teach Yourself series, but for some reason authors in this series seem to make their books unnecessarily dense, especially at the beginning.

Lithuanian is a complex language, so there is no getting around that. I have studied it for several years casually and know it takes some getting used to. What is so frustrating is that this book continues the almost-universal trend in language books of authors who promise to keep it simple and nix the grammar jargon, but do nothing of the sort.

For example, from the introduction: "We wanted to write this book in such a way that it would not be difficult to study for a person who is not especially interested in grammar or linguistic matters or who does not necessarily know linguistic terminology." So far so good, even acknowledging that when it comes to studying Lithuanian, you have to face some tricky grammar eventually.

But just a few pages later we get: "Remember that there are three main forms of the verb; the question word of the case governed by the verb and the most popular prefix of completed action are introduced:" and some examples are then given next to an infinitive.

Can someone please decipher this for me? While no Ph.D. in linguistics, I have studied enough language books to know most grammar terms, but I have no idea what "the question word of the case governed by the verb is," let alone how to recognize and translate it.

So what we have is a mixed bag. Beginner's will be frustrated, no doubt, but the layout and overall thoroughness of the book are both welcome and necessary for those wanting more than 10 lessons of Pimsleur or the baffling "Colloquial Lithuanian." This may be the best Lithuanian book/audio package out there, which itself is kind of disappointing.

First off, this course is for beginners who know their grammar. If you aren't familiar with noun cases and verb conjugations, this book is not your starting point -- "Beginner's Lithuanian" takes a step-by-step approach that would be more ideal. Short Lithuanian courses can also be found online, complete with audio, that can teach you the basics for a smoother transition into this course.

If you have some prior knowledge of how the language works or feel comfortable with taking on unfamiliar grammar, then this course is ideal for you. The first two units alone are daunting with the amount of information packed into each one, but the truth is that the rest of the coursebook is organized the same way. It teaches an impressive amount of vocabulary that works both for getting by in tourist situations and for everyday conversation. Each unit begins with a list of vocabulary terms (not recorded), followed by four or five short dialogues (all recorded) followed by a mix of grammar notes, exercises (a number of which on the recordings), and cultural notes. An answer key to the exercises, a listening guide to the recorded exercises, an appendix on stress/pitch, and a short dictionary are supplied at the end of the book.

I'd strongly recommend getting the full course, i.e. the book and CDs instead of just the coursebook itself. The native speakers speak carefully and intentionally through the entire course, often so slowly that it becomes annoying. This is done to ensure that you learn the correct pitch and vowel length of the words spoken -- take note of the slightest differences in pronunciation of noun endings and verb forms. Of the thirteen units, only the last one has the dialogues spoken at a normal rate of speech. Had this technique been incorporated a few units earlier in the course to teach learners how the language is actually spoken, it definitely could have been a five-star course. Understanding the faster pace of normal speech is a big gap to jump after this course.

From this point, if you complete the course and want to continue studies, I'd recommend "Colloquial Lithuanian". It emphasizes both grammar and spoken language and as is slightly more advanced. The accompanying audio to the course teaches the normal rate of speech, so it can definitely prepare you for what you'll actually hear.

I own a couple other Lithuanian books and while this one's layout is certainly not atricious, it's not the best. They make a concerted effort for the reader to understand the words and to be able to replicate them accurately, but it gets to the point where even the last sound file goes so slowly and painfully that I at least was ripping my hair out. Nevertheless, I was incredibly grateful for the sound, the presentation, and the fact that while it did need to be supplemented, it complemented all of my other books (Beginner's Lithuanian, in particular). And indeed, I'm very pleased with it so far.

Shows the words in the book and hear,on the cd's, the pronunciation while following the the lesson in the book.

This was a huge disappointment. Because it comes with CDs, I expected it to be a CD-based course - one that would include the opportunity to listen to vocabulary words and conversations and repeat them. No such luck. Instead, the book chapters begin with a list of vocabulary words followed by conversations. The CDs just repeat the conversations in Lithuanian. You have to go back to the vocabulary lists in the book to translate them. I don't know how you can learn from that if you don't already know the language. The CDs begin with the alphabet and the pronunciation of various letters, which is slightly better than useless. I'm really shocked at the positive reviews this has gotten. If you're a flat-out beginner, look elsewhere.

This book with CDs seems to be very useful. Very distinct pronouniciatin, not too fast and subsecuently easy to follow. Grammer well explained.

Very good program for learning Lithuanian. My mother had learned Lithuanian from her parents and at school. She enjoys the program very much. This progam has been a great review for her.