So it seems I’ve gotten myself involved with a fella who doesn’t speak so good the English. The only thing worse than his English is my Spanish. He’s going to be taking ESL classes next semester and I plan on learning some Spanish. I’d rather not spend the $400+ a semester the community college wants to charge so I’m wondering if anyone has any experience with learning Spanish (or another language) on tape/CD? Any suggestions on good sets for beginners? Also any suggestions on a good Spanish/English dictionary?
To get some good recomendations, you could also contact the language department up at the community college. They could either give you the info, or you could talk with one of the teachers up there.
I’ve been using the Pimsleur tapes for Japanese. I think they’re great and they get great reviews on the web. Supposedly they’re based on some sort of scientific principle that has you recall the words at certain intervals so you remember them better. Don’t know if I believe that tho’. I do think they’re very good for pronunciation.
They have some Instant Courses that have 8 lessons and are fairly cheap (some libraries have them too). The whole lessons are pretty expensive tho’. Level 1 is 30 ~ 1/2 hour lessons and retails for $345 on Cd tho’ you can get it on Ebay for a little over $200…
I’ve also taken Comm Coll classes. I know $400 sounds like a lot but for what you get instruction-wise and entertainment-wise, I think it’s a great deal. When I signed up (I’m out of school and working full-time), I didn’t realize how much I woudl enjoy going to class and interacting with the other students.
Reading tremorviolet’s post reminded me… The college probably has a payment plan option, so you wouldn’t be responsible for the whole $400 at once.
Oh, I can afford the $400, but if I can pick up enough of the language to ease communication (and especially since he’s taking ESL classes) if I can get down some basics without spending that much I’d prefer it. I got no beef with community colleges, I’ve taken many a class there and have always enjoyed them.
you might want to try children’s audio book. audio tape + paper book together we can connect the sound and the letters.i study english that way.
for the dictionary, i recommend new franklin electronic dictionary. i am planning to get one when my half broken dictionary stop function one day…mine is so sturdy,almost frustrating.:mad:
http://www.franklin.com/estore/details.asp?ID=SCX-1870&nettrackerid=hlSCX-1870
I also have been using the Pimsleur tapes for Spanish and have had better luck with it than all the Spanish classes I had in school. The full lessons IMO are the best way to go. I also watch Spanish TV and can pick out some words and phrases, but cannot follow the story yet.
I have taken a bit of a break, but hopefully after the holidays and I move etc. I will start up again.
Well, it turns out I was looking at the degree course schedule. There are non-degree courses also for about $60. Presumably not as intensive as the degree course but for my purposes it should work. I’ll look into these Pimsleur tapes also. Thanks!