Product Description

For those who find learning a new language daunting, the Teach Yourself Beginner's Language Series is just what the language teacher ordered. Each friendly and practical course introduces the new language without overwhelming the learner and includes:

• Lively dialogues and exercises
• A helpful pronunciation section
• Manageable lists of practical vocabulary
• A glossary of grammar terms
• Hints on how to make learning easy
• Fascinating language and cultural information
• Accompanying dialogue recordings on CD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #906161 in Books
• Published on: 2003-11-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

About the Author
McGraw-Hill authors represent the leading experts in their fields and are dedicated to improving the lives, careers, and interests of readers worldwide

McGraw-Hill authors represent the leading experts in their fields and are dedicated to improving the lives, careers, and interests of readers worldwide

Customer Reviews

Good for vocab, not so hot on the grammar
This is a strange little book... There is no colour, so it's not the most inspiring to work through, however as each chapter is relatively short, it's not hard going. Each chapter is arranged around a theme, listed below:

who's who
where are you from?
More about yourself
how are you?
our families
moving around
arrivals and departures
wishes and requests
tastes and preferences
personal matters
between friends
make yourself known
at home
free time
travelling in Spain
I don't feel well
let's go shopping
eating and drinking
some practical matters
talking about the weather
accents and dialects/signs and notices/grammar

Each chapter is between 4 and 8 pages, so you can easily read a chapter in one sitting, or in my case, before going to bed.

As each chapter is based around a theme, gramatical constructs and verb conjugations are presented in a rather ad hoc manner, which makes this book no good as a reference. However I do find it useful for picking up vocabularly around the themes mentioned above. The 2 CDs nicely complement each chapter and provide useful pronounciation guidance.

Do note though, that this book only covers the present and present progressive tenses for the most part, although it does cover the useful "Quisiera" - "I would like"

I do feel that this book falls somewhat short - it doesn't really know what it is trying to be, or who it is trying to appeal to. It is neither a quick fix to basic spanish or a more comprehensive introduction to the language. It seems to fall between the two stools of Elisabeth Smith's "Teach yourself Instant Spanish" and Juan Kattan-Ibarra's "Teach yourself Spanish". I read the former in under two hours, it's really for those who want the very basics for a week long holiday on the beach. The latter to me looks like it could offer a more robust introduction to the language.

In summary, good for vocabulary building and an easy introduction, but you will be left wanting more and it is useless as a reference to grammar constructs. 3 stars.