Review
Look ma, no textbooks! The Learn in Your Car series treats you like a child–in the best possible way–starting with one-word phrases (”please,” “good-by”), counting exercises, and simple nouns (”bus,” “train”) designed to imitate a child’s learning process. First you hear the words in English, then they are repeated slowly in clear, unaccented pronunciations. The method is extremely effective for those who don’t know a thing, or for those who want to brush up by testing themselves when the English words are spoken. The tapes emphasize the building blocks of communicating in a foreign country rather than rote phrases that only apply on the tape and not in real-life exchanges. Level 1 painlessly covers basic [Read More...]
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I found the lesson structure very effective. They begin simply and build on previous lessons. I had no prior experience with Spanish, but after completing the Level 1 tapes I would feel comfortable trying to communicate basic needs and questions.
I agree with some of the other reviewers that a separate book would be helpful to learn written Spanish. However, the included booklet was all I needed to successfully learn the vocabulary on these tapes. (By the way, I’ve tried other language methods that do not provide ANY written materials which was very ineffective for me personally. I need to see a word to fully comprehend it and how to say it.)
I ordered the cassettes (since the CD version was backordered), and I did experience some slight volume variances. The volume changes were slight and rare, so overall they didn’t impact my ability to learn the materials. I’ve just ordered Level 2 on CD, so hopefully that won’t be an issue.
My one complaint–about the cassettes specifically–is the difficulty of finding the start of a lesson while rewinding. That’s an issue with the medium, not the manufacture of the tapes. Hopefully the CDs will make finding the lesson starts easier.
In spite of my Spanish sir name, until I purchased this CD set, I knew very little Spanish. After going through this first Learn in Your Car series however, I feel like I can speak broken Spanish to friends and family. I get a great charge out of it. No doubt, learning a second language after your childhood is a daunting task, but it is possible in my experience. Don’t be fooled though, you must do the CD exercises again and again. Repetition is really important; it took me quite a long time to get past the first two CDs, and I have a very long commute.
This first set of CD’s really focuses on the basics, like travel, restroom, hotel, and restaurant phrases. I think that I will become far more appreciative of learning Spanish when I get the Level 2 CD’s.
Overall, I enjoyed learning Spanish in my car, and I do plan to purchase the follow-up series.
Hello.
Nearly all of these lessons are a convenient size for those around-town trips - not too long, not too short - and are a great way to use some of those otherwise-lost minutes driving to and from work.
Any less-than-ideal elements to these CDs? Yes. I have no opportunity to speak the Spanish I’m learning (apart from speaking along with the CDs), so most of my skill, so far, is in listening and reading rather than speaking. However, I can tell that when I find myself in a situation requiring the use of the language, it will be an easy next step.
I’ve nearly completed this first set and will soon order the second.
Adios!