Pimsleur Spanish Conversational Course - Level 1 Lessons 1-16 CD: Learn to Speak and Understand Latin American Spanish with Pimsleur Language Programs (1) (English and Spanish Edition) Audio CD – Unabridged, October 3, 2005

I read the reviews for this product and was a bit angered at some of the negative reviews so I wanted to write my own.Some say this product isn't great, but I really disagree. One said it's only for beginners--YES! If you don't know Spanish, this is a great way to start.I bought a Pimsleur course for Cantonese years ago before traveling to Hong Kong and I loved it. Even with the limited number of words and phrases I knew, I felt comfortable going into the remotest areas of the New Territories, where no English was spoken and thanks to Pimsleur I could ask for some things and even ask a waitress to take a photo of me and my dad.The same is true for Spanish. I bought this program because my fiancee is from Ecuador and I seem to be traveling to various Spanish speaking countries a lot now to meet her. I recently went to Panama while in the midst of the Pimsleur lessons.This was my third trip there and what a difference I felt knowing more Spanish thanks to Pimsleur. I was able to carry on a conversation with the taxi driver, the bartender at my hotel, and people in stores. I went on a tour with some people from other countries including Spain and Venezuela and could speak some to them too!No, my Spanish is not perfect, but I felt such a sense of power in that I was able to do things I wasn't able to previously. What a tremendous amount of freedom.This is just an introduction and you'll need to keep studying to learn more and increase your fluency, but the Pimsleur approach has really been the best for me. I have Rosetta Stone, but I got bored with it. I don't like clicking on one word at a time. I want to hear conversations--and Pimsleur give that to me. That's why, based on my success with the Cantonese program, I bought the Spanish one.I also like that they don't go over grammar, etc., but just give you conversations. You can figure the grammar out once you are familiar with the sentences. And as you learn new words, you can use the tools you have from this program to create new sentences.I have found that by just having a conversation with those people you meet in Spanish speaking countries and letting them know that your Spanish is not the greatest, they help you. They give you the word you're looking for and you add it to your vocabulary.I will continue with Pimsleur and will probably buy the big collection for further study. I can't recommend this one highly enough.

My goal in purchasing this program was to able be to communicate more efficiently and respectfully when I vacation in Mexico. I have traveled there several times, and although I had 4 years of high school Spanish (20 years ago), I never felt able to say more than simple phrases. I could convey my meaning because I know the names of many things in Spanish and I remember some verbs. However I had never received training in simple conversation. I rarely used complete sentences and probably sounded like a cave man, who happened to know the words for please and thank you, to native speakers.I'm halfway through this Conversational Spanish program and I can tell it's going to make a huge difference in my confidence and ability to communicate when we return to Mexico in November. Listening to a lesson each day while I drive to work and participating out loud in the exercises is working well for me. Here is a very simplified version of what I mean: Now instead of staying "Donde es bano?"/ "Where is restroom?" (totally cave man speak) I can say "Pardon senora, donde esta el bano de mujeres?" /"Excuse me ma'am, where is the ladies room?" Do you see the difference? Simple conversational Spanish is not only more correct, it's more polite. I will now be able to ask questions, give responses and have simple conversations in a more efficient and respectful manor. Does this program teach you every vocabulary word you might need while traveling? No. You can get an app on your smartphone for that and plug those new words into actual sentences you learned to form through Pimsleur.I'm not sure how my learning would have differed if I had not had previous training in Spanish. Going into it I know many of the words used, how they are spelled, pronunciation of certain letters and combinations and the rules of conjugating Spanish verbs. I don't know if knowing all of that was any benefit to me. It certainly is possible to learn language without knowing how to read or write it, evidenced by every toddler who has ever learned to speak. I'm exicited for my husband, who knows no Spanish at all, to try it. I will update this review if I can talk him into it and probably after my upcoming trip to Mexico.

The Pimsleur is `a way' to learn a language and I have found it a fair way. I bought the Spanish II book.Method.I am terrible linguist. Thus, I need repetition of words and phrases in both pronunciation and use of grammar. The Pimsleur method seems to introduce a word or phrase, repeat it, introduce a new topic, and then continually circle back to the older learning topics, though to a lesser degree throughout the lessons. It is good method since you meet the same subject again and again in the succeeding lessons. It helps people, like me, to remember a topic. If the method studied one topic and move on without the circle back, I would have forgotten the prior topic. In essence, you are building on the older topics and re-learning them again. Due to this method, you will not build a large vocabulary. Thus, like any subject, you have to supplement it with self-study if you wish to have a functional understanding.Production. It is a good product. You have four voices to keep you awake. I have no idea if the pronunciation is good but it is clear and it is probably Castilian. A drawback is that the CD has only two tracks of 30 minutes. If for some reason, you stop the player and the CD must restart (such as in car), you have to start at the beginning. In a way, that this limitation forces you to give the lesson undivided attention for 30 minutes.Support. The product has no written material. I guess it is the Pimsleur method for you to focus on speaking and hearing. This is the hardest part of the language education for me since I like written language better. However, I think there should be a vocabulary card for self-study before the lessons. I built flash cards.