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#1
5 STARS!

Affordable Spanish

Affordable Spanish has recently totally revamped their site as well as simplified their product line. They have condensed all of their products into three easy to understand packages. After speaking with the owners, they said that a few of their students were having difficulty navigating through all of the various product packages, so they decided to simplify the entire process. Now, their packages are easy to understand. There are four products that are available now: Beginner's Spanish, Intermediate Spanish, Advanced Spanish, and the All Spanish Levels Package. The All Spanish Levels Package is a combination of the other three levels at a discounted price. So what does this change in their structure mean to you as a Spanish student? Well, their entire package is now more affordable than ever and their product line has gotten even easier to follow. This means that you will be able to go in and have immediate access to your Spanish files after sending your payment, and will be able to get started with no confusion because of the incredibly simple organization of files. Just add the package you want to your cart, checkout, and get started! Their checkout process is incredibly simple and their file structure is extremely convenient. Because so many of their students asked about adding the files onto their iPod, Affordable Spanish went ahead and transcoded all of their files into mp3 format. This means that you can burn them to CD for your car, or you can add them to your iPod without having to recode anything! Our #1 pick has just improved their entire user experience, making them an even better deal for the students!

Their Beginner's Spanish description is below (according to their website):
Our Beginner's Spanish product explains the entire language of Spanish to you in an easy to understand and follow format. We are convinced that you need a solid understanding of how the Spanish language works before you overwhelm yourself with trying to learn to speak and understand it. This section breaks down the foundation of Spanish into three essential parts. The first part of Beginner's Spanish is a detailed explanation of the 14 verb tenses used in Latin-American Spanish (including commands). No matter what other programs might tell you, you will need to MASTER all of the verb tenses if you want to effectively speak and understand this language. This is the most essential brick in the foundation of your Spanish.

The next part of Beginner's Spanish is a detailed explanation of the usages of Pronouns in the Spanish language. The pronouns can be largely blamed for giving Spanish students the most difficulty while learning this language because the use of pronouns will change the word order of the sentence. After our step-by-step walk through of the uses of pronouns, you will truly be THINKING in Spanish in no time.

The last part of Beginner's Spanish is an explanation of the 7 different uses of the word "se." We are yet to find another program that even comes close to our explanations regarding this tricky word. Most other programs attempt to teach you one or two of these uses, but we will cover all 7. This is the last essential part of your Spanish learning foundation.
            
            Their Intermediate Spanish description is below (according to their website):
With our Intermediate Program, you will go straight into using what you learned in the Beginner's Spanish program. Everything that you have learned so far will be put into practice as you listen to these mp3 files of native speakers. You will be challenged in using all of the verb tenses as well as the pronouns and uses of "se." Furthermore, you will start becoming more efficient at speaking and understanding as you mimic the native speakers voice. These dialogs are professionally recorded by certified court translators and native speakers.

As you are listening, you can follow along with the speakers with the transcripts that are provided for you, and can reinforce what you have learned with crossword puzzles and other games to make sure that you are caught up with your understanding of this level of Spanish. Our Intermediate Program of Spanish will take you far past most other "Advanced" courses as we get you listening and understanding real conversations at native speeds. Buckle up, and enjoy this Spanish ride!

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#2
4.5 STARS!

Learning Spanish Like Crazy

Learning Spanish Like Crazy Level 2

Learning Spanish Like Crazy receives our second highest rating of 4.5 stars. The reputation of Learning Spanish Like Crazy speaks for itself, and there is plenty of reason for all the hype. With thousands of satisfied customers, it's no wonder why Learning Spanish Like Crazy is one of the hottest language learning programs on the planet. They pride themselves on teaching "real Latin-American Spanish" and only use Latin-American speakers for all of their dialogs. Similar to Affordable Spanish, they also offer two levels. The first level is an introduction into Spanish, but don't let that fool you. Their "introduction" will expose the listener to more Spanish than all three Pimsleur sets ever thought about. Their second set goes even further, and gets well into "advanced" Spanish. Almost all of the verb tenses are covered in these two Levels, and the student will have plenty of examples of their usages. Not only that, but Level 2 does an excellent job of exposing the listener to the subjunctive mood, which is often thought of as the hardest aspect of Spanish for English speakers. These levels are both fully downloadable, or available on CD upon request (with additional costs). They come with plenty of extras, and all of the lessons are accompanied by the pdf transcripts of both the English and Spanish dialog.

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#3
4 STARS!

SHORTCUT TO SPANISH / SYNERGY SPANISH

Shortcut to Spanish is an EXCELLENT resource for the absolute beginner to the Spanish language. It can literally have a complete novice to the language speaking in complete sentences by the end of the first hour. I was pleasantly surprised with the great results that this program produced. They have recently released a "Shortcut to Spanish 2" and it has proven to be equally as effective as the first set. If you are a complete beginner and are looking to get involved with Spanish, this product can produce some excellent results very quickly. These audio files are accompanied by a very large pdf file which is a great help to reinforce the topics covered in Shortcut to Spanish. The only drawback which keeps Shortcut to Spanish from receiving a 5 star rating is how it is geared only for the beginner, and offers very little to the intermediate or advanced student. However, since it is very affordable and instantly downloadable, this makes it easily attainable for the beginner student. For more information, click HERE to visit their site.

Synergy Spanish was made to compliment Shortcut to Spanish, and does exactly that. Synergy Spanish takes the Shortcut to Spanish graduate, and extends on their abilities using the skills that they acquired in Shortcut to Spanish. I was pleased to see that Synergy Spanish takes Shortcut to Spanish students to the next level. At the end of Synergy Spanish, the student can expect to be speaking in simple paragraphs and being able to converse "lightly" with topics that they are familiar with. This set is an INCREDIBLE stepping stone for the beginner students, or could together be called "Survival Spanish" and could be issued to tourists. Together, they are an excellent set which we highly recommend for the beginner students of Spanish. Click HERE to visit Synergy Spanish.

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#4
3 STARS!

FSI SPANISH LEVELS 1, 2, 3, AND 4

             The FSI Spanish set is one for the serious student. Originally developed by the Foreign Services Institute (FSI), this set consists of four levels which are loaded with information. They have recently seemingly merged (been bought buy/were overtaken by?) with Learning Spanish Like Crazy as their site now indicates on the front page that Patrick Jackson is sending the newsletters. In fact, if you buy Learning Spanish Like Crazy Level 1, you will receive FSI Spanish Levels 3 and 4 absolutely FREE. This course has tons of vocabulary, builds verb usages quickly, and will expose the listener to quite a bit of Spanish in a relatively short period of time. This is a lot of material that can take a student pretty deep into Spanish, but that is not to say that this course doesn't have it's shortcomings. This course seems to be Patrick Jackson's strategic maneuvering of eliminating competition, but the quality of his Learning Spanish Like Crazy set is much higher. The recording quality of the FSI program is less than adequate, and the speaker seems quite monotone and (quite frankly) boring. If the student is able to understand and keep interested by this course, then there is much that can be learned from it. Click HERE to visit their website and get more information regarding their program.
 

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#5
2 STARS!

THE ROSETTA STONE

The Rosetta Stone claims that they have sold more language learning tools than anyone else in the world. Undoubtedly, they have been quite successful in taking the forefront of the language learning industry. Their commercials are everywhere, and you can buy their product anywhere. But the actual product itself is what we will review here, not the company as a whole.

For those who are not familiar, The Rosetta Stone is interactive computer software that will introduce the student to Spanish throughout a series of game-like programs which will enhance the user's vocabulary. The student will be exposed to gradually larger amounts and more difficult quantities of vocabulary, and even complete sentences or multiple sentences.

 Clearly this is a very popular language learning product, so why has it only received one star? Well, The Rosetta Stone has done a fabulous job at making a professional product, and one that would benefit any student. There are many different "games" that the student can play which help enforce reading, writing, speaking, and listening. It is also nice that they offer three levels. However, these three levels have quite a few drawbacks. First and foremost, even into the third level- the material is not very challenging for even an intermediate student. Second, the student is never really "immersed" in Spanish. True, the directions are given in Spanish, the text and audio is in Spanish (in the later lessons), and all of the voice narrative is in Spanish- but the Spanish is always in sets of maximum three sentences. This is not true conversation.

 The Rosetta Stone claims that their product is the fastest way to learn a language. However, we feel that after mastering the Rosetta Stone, the student will have less working knowledge of the Spanish language (though quite possibly more vocabulary) than a student of the above courses.

 For more information, click HERE to visit their website.

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Here are some other resources that you might want to look into:

Rocket Spanish

Learn Spanish in 12 Days or Less

Surefire Spanish

Spanish by Myself

How to learn any language

A Guide to learning Languages