Pimsleur Spanish Basic Course – Level 1 By Pimsleur

I bought this Spanish fully audio set including 5 cds. There is no problem with packacing. Everthing is nice but I played the cds with Windows Media Player and you are just listening the cds, you can`t see what you are listening and damn just lestening.

You have to study this language before or taking some courses related to this language or you must have at least a basic knowledge about this language. So, you will have the opportunity to use the cds effectively. I bought both Spanish and Italian and I have a basic Italian knowledge and I listened cds easily and understand them. But again you won`t be able to see what you are listening to. It`s bad.
At least the cds must have been opened in a program and you select the lessons and it must have provided the chance what you are listening to.

You need a grammer book with this set. That`s all I can say.

I really like this course. I have gone on to further Pimsleur lessons.

Pros: It’s well-done. I like practicing, where I never enjoyed Spanish courses back in school. It’s intuitive. I trust the methodology. And it’s very convenient. I play them as I drive.

Cons: Sometimes there is too little time between the prompt that you say something in Spanish and the time when the speaker on the CD states the correct answer. Perhaps this is intentional. But I prefer to pause the playback, make my attempt, and then resume play in order to hear the expert answer. Depending on your car stereo, it may be difficult to pause the CD. You may have to turn your stereo off, make your attempt, and then turn it back on.

Suggestion: I was able to obtain the later lessons in mp3 format and play them on my car speakers using my phone. My phone app has the ability to pause. You can connect your phone via the phone jack and an audio in jack (aux) in your car. Or if you have a newer vehicle you may be able to stream it via Bluetooth. (I do this, and there is a button on my steering wheel that allows me to pause the playback from my phone.)

I have never taken spanish in school. I work in health care and really want to be able to communicate with my spanish patients. I am only through lesson 4 and I feel like it is very easy and that I am making good progress. However I wish it were Latin American spanish instead of the more formal version that is used here. I am just substituting “mucho gusto” for “encantada” when I respond out loud for example. I could see how the slow pace would frustrate those of you that have had spanish in high school or college, but for someone who has never had that background…I find the pace perfect. I have done each lesson twice, just to make sure I have it before moving on. I think that has helped me not become too frustrated. I really like the graduated recall. Because it keeps you from just stashing the info in your short term and moving on. You have to keep going back and grabbing the word. The speakers diction is great and easy to understand. I would recommend this for those that have no spanish background. After I complete this, I think I will try Behind the Wheel Spanish.

Good for beginners

This basic Spanish program consists of the first 10 lessons from the complete Level 1 of Pimsleur Comprehensive Spanish. The complete Level 1 of Pimsleur Comprehensive Spanish includes a total of 30 Lessons.

Each Pimsleur Spanish lessons is about 30 minutes long. What I like most about this Pimsleur program is that the teaching method is fun and easy. With this program you do not learn Spanish using boring text books and tedious written exercises. The program is 100% audio. And it’s audio that will keep you interested and engaged.

After completing Lesson 1, you will feel comfortable saying the following in Spanish and more: Excuse me miss, Do you speak Spanish? Do you understand English? Are you American? I don’t understand, I understand Spanish, I speak English, I speak Spanish, I speak Spanish a little, etc.

After completing Lesson 2, not only will you feel more comfortable saying the material that you learned in the previous lesson (after thoroughly reviewing it), you will also feel comfortable saying the following in Spanish and more: You speak very well, Thank you, Good morning, How are you? Good bye, etc.

After completing Lesson 3, you will feel comfortable saying the following in Spanish and more: Good afternoon sir? It’s not the afternoon, Good evening, I am Mr./Mrs. (your name), Where are you from? I am (not) from Los Angeles/Mexico/Chicago/Bolivia, And you? Good night, etc.

With Lesson 4, like the previous lessons, you will review and build upon previously learned material. After completing Lesson 4, you will feel comfortable saying the following in Spanish and more: Where is the hotel? It is over there, Where is the restaurant?

After completing Lesson 5, you will feel comfortable saying the following in Spanish and more: I don’t have pesos, I have one pesos, I have dollars, I don’t know, Do you know?

If you want to know what lessons 6 to 10 will teach you, I guess you’ll have to buy the program. The program also comes with a CD case that makes it easy to carry the disks to and from your car. Since I find it more convenient to add the audio to my smart phone, I didn’t use the CD case to carry the CDs.

The Spanish taught in this program is very formal. It is probably not the type of Spanish you would want to learn if you have a lot of young Spanish-speaking friends who you like to hang-out with and go to bars, clubs or other informal places. But if you are learning Spanish for business reasons or if you are learning Spanish because you want to vacation in a Spanish speaking country, this program is ideal.

The only flaw about this program is that it is somewhat dated. That’s the sole reason why I am giving it 4 stars instead of five. Both the Spanish-speakers and the English-speaking narrator sound rather old-fashioned. I also noticed that the program did not teach contemporary vocabulary related to computers, the Internet, tablets and smart phones. Simon and Schuster could easily improve this program by updating it and including conversations that cover present-day situations.

I think it would be more interesting to teach vocabulary that covers topics such as getting a gym membership, purchasing a smart phone, considering signing-up a dating site, etc. And not just the typical conversations that you find in many Spanish programs. Such as, what to say at a restaurant or what to say when checking-in at a hotel in a Spanish speaking country.

In closing, I want to leave you with a list of my favorite three learn-Spanish products available here at Amazon:

1. Easy Spanish Phrase Book NEW EDITION: Over 700 Phrases for Everyday Use (Dover Language Guides Spanish) Easy Spanish Phrase book. This is an economically priced, handy resource that easily fits into my back pocket. You can conveniently take it anywhere with you when vacationing in a Spanish speaking country in order to have more than 700 phrases in your Spanish-vocabulary arsenal. And unlike so many learning-Spanish books, there is also a section called “Computers and Technology” where you’ll find Spanish vocabulary related to modern technology.

2. Learning Spanish Like Crazy Level 1 CDR – w/ Super Bonus Package – Learn Spanish & Speak Spanish – New & Improved for PC/Mac – Free Updates for 1 Yr LSLC is my favorite audio Spanish program because the program focuses on everyday, Latin American Spanish. This is a new and improved version with new content and new native Spanish speakers, and I find it to be much better than the previous version. The program is geared toward the foreign-language learner who wants to eventually achieve fluency in Spanish instead of someone who just wants to learn a few travel phrases. Compared to the other programs that I have used, this one does the best job at teaching you how to develop an authentic sounding Latin American Spanish accent. The program also comes with a very impressive bonus package.

3. 501 Spanish Verbs with CD-ROM and Audio CD (501 Verb Series) 501 Spanish Verbs. If you think you can accomplish fluency in Spanish as an adult without mastering conjugating Spanish verbs, you are only fooling yourself. This book is an absolute essential resource for learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs.

If you have any questions about Pimsleur Basic Spanish, please post your questions below and I will do my best to answer your questions.

I’m on lesson 5 now. I am really enjoying it. Learning a language is tough, but I like this method. I just listen to the CDs in the car as I’m driving around. It’s nice to practice when no one is listening. You pick up on pronounciation and phrases, and you’re not afraid to make mistakes. I also feel like this is a very polished system for language learning. It keeps you moving forward at a pretty good pace, and goes back and reviews old words and phrases at unexpected intervals. They have the system down, and I am already comfortable speaking a few words and phrases.