"Review of FSI Programmatic Spanish, Level 2"

I will quickly attempt to compare this course to the Barron's version of FSI Spanish. Both courses seem to have enhanced sound quality. Although Barrons doesn't mention it, but from listening to the Barron's' CDs it is apparent that Baron's' has enhanced the sound quality of their FSI lessons which were also originally recorded about 50 years ago.

Both courses also use native Speakers which is a big plus.

Baron's' calls its teaching method the Guided Imitation method. The Guided Imitation method is built upon two premises. One is that one of the most effective models to learning Spanish requires the student to study a small body of material until the material is thoroughly mastered. And the second is that language mastery depends on effectively manipulating the sounds, sequences, and patterns of a language until the learner sounds authentic. In Baron's', each Unit in the course starts with a basic dialog that's a re-creation of a real situation that the student is likely to encounter in "Surlandia." Surlandia is a mythical country in Latin America.

In FSI Programmatic Spanish a typical unit covers a cycle of work that requires about 3 to 5 hours of study for the average to above-average learner. The learning that takes place during a typical unit is sequenced as follows...

To read this whole review of FSI Programmatic Spanish, Level 2 please visit Amazon.com

Or Click Here to go to FsiProgrammaticSpanish.com

Learning Spanish Like Crazy is my number one pick. The course is audio-based. From listening to some of my students that I have recommended the course to, it seems that this course helps you develop a Latin American accent that is almost perfect. Although the teaching method is a lot like Pimsleur's teaching method, I found that the speakers in Pimsleur weren't lively enough and would eventually cause the student to grow bored which results in the student studying less. The speakers in Learning Spanish Like Crazy were more fun to listen to.

The vocabulary in Pimsleur was also limited and dated. Learning Spanish Like Crazy covered more vocabulary than Pimsleur and the vocabulary in Learning Spanish Like Crazy was also more like the everyday Spanish that you will hear from native speakers from Latin American.

At the LearningSpanishLikeCrazy.com. web site, they offer a $97 instant downloadable version and a Premium CD package with almost 50 CDs for $347.00. But the premium package only has about 15 CDs from Learning Spanish Like Crazy, and the remaining CDs are from FSI (Foreign Service Institute Spanish).

You can also buy the Learning Spanish Like Crazy CDs (without the FSI CDs) at Amazon.com for $197.00.

There's really only one tool that I would consider a required resource for learning Spanish. And that tool is the Verbarrator. The guys at Learning Like Crazy have really revolutionized the way people are learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs. What used to be a boring and tedious task has now become a very fun and addictive way to learn how to conjugate Spanish verbs.

Click here to find out more about the Verbarrator.

This course may be the most effective way to learn the subjunctive mood. LSLC Nivel Dos uses a fun and easy method to teach the subjunctive mood (unlike the effective, but tedious method used in FSI Programmatic Spanish Two to teach the subjunctive mood). Arguably, Learning Spanish Like Crazy Nivel Dos, is the best course available for learning the subjunctive mood.

I also found that Nivel Dos did the best job of any course that I have reviewed so far when it comes to teaching commands. Although there are a couple of excellent courses on the market that do a good job teaching verb conjugation, I found that Nivel Dos did the most complete job of teaching commands. And without mastering "commands," you can never truly be fluent in any language.

Click here to go to the Learning Spanish Like Crazy Nivel Dos web site to purchase the downloadable version. Or you can find the CD version at Amazon.com.

Click Here for more info about Rocket Spanish

"The interface of Rosetta Stone V3 Spanish Level 1 has been greatly improved. The old software interface was very ugly and archaic looking. But this interface is much more attractive with contemporary photos. The sound quality is also much better than the previous version of the software. Another great thing is that this version of the software is lot more interactive and fun than the previous version of the software.
The best thing about Rosetta Stone Spanish V3 is that . . . .


To read this entire review please visit Amazon.com"

Pimsleur Spanish I gets 4 stars. The Pimsleur teaching method is one of the best teaching methods if not the very best. Pimsleur also gives the student several of levels of Spanish lessons for the student to improve his or her Spanish, including three comprehensive levels (15 hours each) and a plus level. With the Pimsleur method you will be able to recall almost everything that you learn. But I am not going to give Pimsleur 4 1/2 or 5 stars for couple of reasons. Unlike Learning Spanish Like Crazy, the vocabulary was dated and a little too formal. A great deal of the the vocabulary is not the vocabulary that Latin Americans use in everyday speech nowadays. It's certainly not the vocabulary that my college-educated friends and my non-college educated relatives use in our everyday conversations. But don't consider that a major drawback of Pimsleur Spanish. Latin Americans will still understand you with the Pimsleur Spanish vocabulary and will appreciate your effort to learn Spanish.

You can order Pimsleur Spanish I at Amazon.com

Click Here for more info about Pimsleur Spanish I