All Talk Spanish: Levels 1 & 2 [Audiobook] (Audio CD)

As far as I am aware, Linguaphone have always had a high reputation within the language field so I was prepared to take a chance on this product even though I felt it was a little pricey for me....

There were several elements, which I found very annoying such as the use of a commentator with a very distinctive American accent. I felt it would have been better to use someone with a more 'neutral' accent because if you don't like the voice it becomes very difficult to listen to over and over again. There is one part in particular where this commentator is extremely annoying and the commentary goes something like this:
Spanish Voice - "Buenos Noches"
Translation - "Good night"
Commentary - "He is saying good night, because it's night time." Duh!
Now I may be a beginner to Spanish, but I'm not an idiot and commentary such as this is very hard to listen to more than once without it getting on your nerves. The manufacturers of language cd's and tapes need to realise that if people are going to listen to them repeatedly they need to keep it simple and stick to the basics of what people want to know without constantly repeating such patronising phrases as "....anything you are unsure about go back and listen to again." After all, isn't the point of buying language cd's and tapes so that we CAN keep replaying them?

I also felt that the contrived situation, based on a business woman going to Spain, was also quite annoying. The aim of the product is to teach you approximately 1000 words of vocabulary but instead of just focussing on simple structures to help the average person to get by, the programme has words which pertain to the story and so would never be used anywhere else unless you were in a similar business situation. I wish that I was able to give you some examples from the little booklet/dictionary that it has, but I was disappointed enough to take the product back for a refund and get something more relevant for my needs.

This is not to say that all is doom and gloom for Linguaphone. The package comes with 8 cd's and overall is pretty comprehensive. I thought the Spanish speakers were very good and clear with their pronunciation and the sequence of English, then Spanish translation, (pause for you to repeat) and then Spanish translation again worked pretty well.

If you like being patronised then this product should keep you happy!

It is more geared towards practical use of the language in day-to-day situations rather than towards giving full explanations of grammar. Vocabulary is its strongpoint - the claim on the box that 2000 words are covered is probably not far from the truth - I calculated that there are about 1700 in the accompanying booklet.

A story develops during the course and is featured on each CD. This is interspersed with other unrelated scenes, to elaborate on or practise some language point or other. The CD's feature native Spanish speakers, some from Spain and some from America, and also British and American English-speakers. All the speakers seem very professional, and are interesting to listen to. There is usually a run-through of new vocabulary before each section of dialogue, which is useful.

Worst points - some of the English narration is there simply to fill gaps in the story's plot and I occasionally found myself saying "let's get on with the Spanish". Like other audio courses, you cannot see the forms of the words and it is sometimes difficult to remember them because of this - unless you also use the accompanying booklet. Treatment of grammar is somewhat weak - verbs, for example, are usually recited simply in the form that they appear in the dialogue - only occasionally are the full conjugations given. So, for example, "empujo" may be recited in the list of new vocabulary, with its translation "pushed", but the full past tense conjugation is not given anywhere. This also applies to the vocabulary list in the booklet, incidentally - this too is restricted to the actual forms of the verbs used in the dialogues. The student will be left with no idea how to conjugate the full verb. Verbs in the subjunctive mood also appear occasionally in the dialogues, but no explanation is given as to why the verb has a different ending all of a sudden.

Best points - the booklet has all vocabulary listed in alphabetical order, but, vitally, the CD number is also given next to each word, so once a CD has been completed, it is possible to go though the booklet picking out and reviewing all words you have just heard.

Overall, I like the style of this course, the delivery, and the richness of the vocabulary, and the emphasis on realistic dialogue. However, the poor treatment of grammar is a slight let-down - especially the lack of verb conjugations in various tenses. Use this course if you wish to expand a very limited vocabulary to the point where you should easily manage basic day-to-day conversation - as a follow-on to Michel Thomas's 8-CD "Complete" (beginner's) Spanish Course for example.

If you wanna learn fast and to a quite a good standard then buy this!