"Review of Immersionplus Spanish Complete: The Final Step to Fluency!"

This is the kind of product that I would love to give 5 stars. I can say many great things about it:

1. The recordings have excellent sound quality. Just what the advanced student needs to fine tune her listening skills.
2. The conversations are well thought out and very interesting.
3. The conversations feature native speakers from Latin America
and Spain so that the listener can become accustomed to both accents.
4. When you compare the price of this product to the content that is
contained in it, it is easily one of the best learning-Spanish bargains on the market.
5. The conversations are done at normal speed to improve listening comprehension and then the conversations are done at slow speed to improve pronunciation.

So with all these great things to say about this product, why do I refuse to give it 5 stars? Well, the booklet or the transcript that accompanies the product is full of errors. The are instances where the subjunctive is used in the recording but not in the transcript. At other times, the subjunctive is used in the transcript but not in the recording. There are also words missing from the transcript that you will hear in the audio. There are also missing accent marks in many instances.
There is no excuse for putting out such a poorly transcribed document when the recording is top notch.

I still highly recommend that you buy this product. For this price and also considering that there aren't many products on the market for advanced students, you shouldn't hesitate to buy this product. And since understanding spoken Spanish when you hear it is one of the most challenging things for learners of Spanish, I recommend that you buy this product. After you finish using this product I assure you that you will notice that your listening skills have improved immensely.

Just beware of . . .

To read this whole review of Immersionplus Spanish Complete: The Final Step to Fluency! please visit Amazon.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 Latin Americans speak.

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

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.

The bonus DVD was also excellent. The instructor on the bonus DVD has a unique teaching method that I found both fun and interactive.

Click here to go to the Learning Spanish Like Crazy Nivel Dos web site to purchase the downloadable version for $99. Or you can find the CD version at Amazon.com for $247.

Pimsleur Spanish I also 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 speak Spanish.

You can order Pimsleur Spanish I for $217.35 at Amazon.com

Rocket Spanish also received 4 stars. It is tied with Pimsleur Spanish for second place. The instructor on the recordings is Mauricio Evlampieff, a native of Chile. Mauricio uses a brilliant teaching method that makes the learning-Spanish experience most enjoyable. He incorporates flash card games and other methods to make the learning experience easy and fun.

If you are the type of person that loses interest easily when learning unless you are having fun, then I highly recommend Mauricio Evlampieff's Rocket Spanish because Rocket Spanish is lots of fun!

Rocket Spanish offers a 25 CD version of the course for $299.95 and a digital downloadable version for $99.95.