Berlitz Rush Hour Spanish (Spanish Edition) (Audio CD)

by Inc. Berlitz International (Author) "This is Rush Hour Spanish!..." (more)
Key Phrases: mesa para dos, tiempo para respirar, tan lindo, Carolina Hurtado, Jonathan Simon (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"You'll find yourself humming the words as you go about your day." AudioFile.

Product Description
"Rush Hour" is a language course for people on the go. It uses songs and music to reinforce language skills as we follow the main characters though a number of lively and humorous scenes. In the car, on the train or in the gym, "Rush Hour" is an introductory course to use anywhere, anytime.

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Product Details

• Audio CD: 120 pages
• Publisher: Berlitz Guides; 2 Com/Bklt edition (August 2003)
• Language: Spanish
• ISBN-10: 9812462104
• ISBN-13: 978-9812462107
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.9 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #318,628 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

139 of 148 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fast, Easy, Fun Way to Learn Spanish!, September 20, 2004

By	D. Whitman - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you've ever done a search for Spanish language courses, you know there's SLEW of them out there! They all sound so good. I've tried tape after tape after tape. Rented one after another from the library. Then researched them online. Then read reviews. Then placed orders. And joined an online Spanish course (mentioned by someone in one of their reviews for this program)... and cancelled it shortly thereafter. I even went to bookstores and carried an armload of books to one of their big chairs and looked though about 20 of them. I studied French for 4 years in High School and a semester in college, but never tried Spanish. Here's the bottom line on this Rush Hour Spanish program. 1) It's well produced 2) It's interesting 3) It's catchy 4) It covers a good amount of ground 5) It moves at a nice pace 6) It has you singing the songs all day long. (And for the person who complained that he can't get the songs out of his head... THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT! That's the beauty of the course. You find yourself practicing with no effort... you just start singing! It's fantastic. And the music is upbeat and pleasant. And when you need to use what you learned, you find the words roll off your tongue with ease because you've sang it so many times in your head... and out loud!) So many other programs are amazingly B-O-R-I-N-G. In fact, there was one program (I don't remember the name, but it was God awful. All it did was say a word in English and then in Spanish and then another word in English and then in Spanish... and so on... for 2 full cassettes! How the heck can you learn like that? It was like getting your teeth drilled at the dentist... painful... and you couldn't wait for it to end! Another 2-tape program by Fodors was almost as bad. This Rush Hour "system", on the other hand, is unique... never found anything like it. I'm very hard to please, and I tell you this program was very well done. I'm baffled that a couple people complained about the music. It's great! Sure, the words are corny, but who the heck cares?!?!? IT WORKS! You're not looking for a program that can win an Oscar for performance... you want to learn Spanish! Now, another suggestion is Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish book. So here's what I did. I got this Rush Hour program and play it when I dress... shower... and any time I'm getting ready to go out. It sort of installs the lessons in your head. (And my wife's head too... she's singing it, too! We're going to Mexico in 3 months.) And since I also need something more VISUAL, I also use the VISUAL LINK CD program (Google it). It's amazingly effective. It teaches you how to structure sentences and gets you talking FAST. Their website has a free mini-lesson. Check it out... it's simple and superb. I first ordered the free CD and blazed through it so fast I ordered the whole program. Then I turn to the Magic Key to Spanish book for written exercises because I don't want to simply be able to SPEAK it... I want to be able to WRITE it, too. The only other program I can suggest is: Barron's Learn Spanish, Espanol' the Fast and Fun Way. You can check out the book in the bookstore. I think you'll be impressed. Do yourself a favor and save yourself a lot of time and frustration. Check out the things I've mentioned in this review FIRST. They're among the very best. If you're just a casual learner and want the basic phrases for an upcoming trip, don't even think about it... just order the Rush Hour program. If you want to become fluent like I do, get Rush Hour... Visual Link... and either the Magic Key book or the Barron's book and tapes. Good luck, amigos!

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Silly, But It Works, July 22, 2005

By	Jennifer Bruja (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This CD is a great way to start if you are looking for an easy and fun way to be introduced to the basics of Spanish. I agree with the other reviewers that the songs are AWFULLY silly (a lot like a children's CD) but the tunes ARE catchy, and I found this actually helped me remember the material. (This was my first attempt at Spanish.)

Each segment has clear dialog between the characters who sort of introduce the theme of the lesson. Then comes repetition of basic words and phrases, and finally (gulp!) they break into song to reinforce it all. Between song "verses", the listener is asked to repeat key phrases or words to the beat of the music. You follow the main character John, (a kindhearted, slightly goofy fellow) through his day as he experiences getting dressed, having breakfast, strange weather patterns, catching a train, running errands, visiting his family, etc. The subjects covered are a great introduction to basics of the language, including pronunciation.

At first, the lessons had me laughing out loud with their seeming foolishness. I was thinking, "This will NEVER work-and I'll DIE if anyone hears me doing this!" But after a few lessons you get sort of "de-sensitized" to the corniness of it. The lessons don't focus much at all on verb tense or sentence structure, but I can honestly say that after listening to everything 2-3 times, I found I could remember and repeat key phrases and words just by RECALLING THE SONGS IN MY HEAD!

BOTTOM LINE: If you are looking for any sort of in-depth grammatical instruction, (or if you hate musicals/have no sense of humor) don't buy this CD. If you are a fun person willing to try something kind of silly to learn some basic travel/conversational Spanish, this is the one for you!

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mucho Gusto!!!, August 18, 2004

By	Kit Franz "Kit Franz" (Illinois) - See all my reviews

My husband and I have tried a couple of other Spanish programs that were pretty bad -- we just wanted a small program that would help us learn a few words so we could then take a full-fledged course without feeling lost. Also, my husband is dyslexic and often has trouble with English so we needed something very easy. Well, we are having a ball with this fun little course. Yes, the tunes are sappy, but that's what makes it fun and easy. Recently I dropped off a couple of boxes of clothing at Goodwill, and the attendant greeted me with a thick Spanish accent. I immediately responded in Spanish and was able to exchange a few sentences in Spanish with him. I was thrilled!!! The only suggestion I have for Berlitz might be that they make their little booklet available online in a .pdf format so it could easily be downloaded and enlarged. My aging eyes have a bit of trouble reading the tiny print. Yes, I can scan the pages and reprint them larger, but a .pdf file would be so much easier. I bought this program at Sam's for less than $13. I want to send a couple as gifts to friends who are interested and I will probably order from Amazon because their price is not bad and I don't want to be bothered with shipping.