Mastering Spanish-With Book

By Barron's

Includes book and cassettes in a very effective learning format. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Audio Cassette
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812073258
• ISBN13: 9780812073256
• Release Date: January 1986
• Publisher: Barron's Educational Series
• Weight: 4.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.6" x 10.0" x 10.4"

Customer Reviews

Really learn to speak Spanish

I bought this course a long time ago, when I was working in Mexico, and got bored with it pretty quickly. Many years later, I married a Mexican woman whose family spoke no English, so I picked the course back up. It's tough (if you're not motivated, you'll give up), but thorough and good. Along with level 2 (and you'll need both levels, without a doubt), you will be able to carry on meaningful conversations in Spanish.

Solid But Not Perfect

I'm using the two Barron's tape sets along with the video series, Destinos, to teach myself Spanish. Destinos presents a much wider range of vocabulary and situations, but since (if you're using it on your own) you don't speak back to it, a lot of your learning is passive. The Barron's set gets you into a more active mode. The dialogues can be quite sexist--lots of comments about sexy brunettes, fat girls with glasses, etc.-- and you almost never hear a female speaker. Still, they and the drills are effective and well-designed from a language-learning point of view. The guys on the tapes speak at a realistic pace, not in the exaggerated, artificially slow language typical of beginning language courses--and the drills force you to respond quickly, too. The accompanying book is not terribly informative; for grammar issues I've relied on my knowledge of French and Latin. This probably isn't the best choice for a rank beginner, but if you already know another romance language, or if you've taken a little Spanish in school and want to get better, it's a solid course.

Parts 3 and 4

Many, mainly positive reviews, have been written about this course. I absolutely agree. This course is old, but the best I have found so far. The only information missing (and Barron's won't tell you) is that part three and four of this course are available from Audioforum... under the titles Advanced Spanish A and B, for 185.- each. There the subjunctive and the rest of the grammar is introduced.

An excellent teach yourself course

Barron's Mastering Spanish is terrific! I've studied MANY foreign languages and used a variety of audio tapes to help with my studies. The Barron's series is the best one I've ever encountered. It is true, however, that the course is long and in depth. You will have to devote a lot of time if you want to finish the course. (I've only gotten through the Level 1 course, and it's taken me 2 1/2 months.) I used them in my car, which is the perfect place to listen to them. They require quite a bit of concentration. This series would have rated a solid 5 stars if it weren't for the accompanying book. For some reason, the book presents all of the Spanish in both PHONETIC representation, as well standard Spanish spelling. The phonetics, which are given enormous precedence over the Spanish spellings, are not only useless, they're annoying and distracting! To add insult to injury, the dictionary appendix at the end of the book isn't even in Spanish alphabetical order. It too is in phonetic order, making it nearly worthless! The book aside, however, the tapes (I had the CD's actually.) are great. Other than the fact that I've lived in LA for half my life, and so have heard a LOT of Spanish in my everyday comings and goings, I've never actually studied any Spanish at all. After completing this set, I feel that I've gotten a terrific grounding in the basics of the language.

An Excellent Learning Tool

I really believe that this course encourages fluency by prompting participants to think in the target language. For the most part the dialogues and drills are structured in such a manner that the gramatical concepts can be grasped intuitively. The book can be a little confusing at first, but I truly believe that it supports the tapes very well. Once one becomes familiar with the structure of the units, it really is not too difficult to follow. The main complaint I have heard is that the book includes unnecessary pronouncation aids. Personally, I find these to be useful, especially for those that prefer to study sections in the book prior to listening to the tapes. Using this method, I have noted an improvement in retention level. All in all, this is an excellent program.