Teach Yourself Haitian Creole

EDIT July 11, 2016: Still haven't finished the book yet, but I just found out that there are indeed audio files for this book in the Bonus Page at the end of the book (thanks to a very helpful comment I received!) With this new information, I had to increase the number of stars to 5 because the book is quasi-perfect. I haven't finished it yet, but if it turns out to end as good as it starts, then the 5 stars should remain. If it doesn't seem like I have a good grasp of the grammar or idiomatic usage of the language, then I might adjust the stars accordingly. But it might be some time before I finish the book since I want to go backwards and start again now that I have the audio files available to me. ************************************************************************************************************ Not finished yet, but I can give my initial impressions: 1. One of the very few books to learn Creole that are available for Kindle devices and apps, this deserves a big plus. It's not a simple phrase book, either, but rather a book that seems intended to get you conversational in the language by the time you finish. PLUS. 2. The book seems to touch on important and universal vocabulary - not like some books that seem to focus on business trips mostly. I wanted to learn Creole just to become conversational enough in the language that I can chat with some Haitians that speak it fluently and have minimal problems when it comes to talking about events or ideas (e.g., "Where do you work again?" "I saw her brother the other day, he was on his way to the store,"...things like that). It does have some business-y or vacation-y vocabulary like hotel and waiter, but this sort of vocabulary isn't given disproportionate amounts of emphasis. PLUS. 3. The book tries to make Creole an overly easy language to approach. It teaches you through conversations. That might become a plus in some people's books, but in my book, it's a negative. While I enjoy learning through conversation as you can see a back and forth discussion using the vocabulary you're practicing, it lacks a true grammatical section. There might be mentions here and there of certain grammatical points, but I would rather see all the grammar up front or divided into respective sections (e.g., a chapter related to adjectives, a chapter related to future tense, a chapter related to telling time, etc.). For me, this is a MINUS. (Though I realize that this might be a plus for some others with a different learning preference. 4. The audio doesn't seem to be accessible for the Kindle version. I'm not sure if that was intentional (I don't remember the description), but the lack of audio makes you feel like you're missing out on the learning experience. It also hurts you when you're trying to practice your listening skills. This is a minus for me. MINUS. Ultimately, I have mixed feelings about this book. I don't remember how much I paid for it, but I think that it was relatively affordable. For that reason, I would certainly recommend it to others. However, the minuses I gave are important to keep in mind, especially if you're like me and enjoy learning a language by getting the grammar in a more organized fashion and/or if you're hoping to practice with the audio exercises. If those don't bother you, then this book might be right up your alley. For me, I give it 3 stars and wouldn't mind seeing this same author make a newer edition of the book that involves straightforward lessons in how to properly use Creole grammar. But it's the only Creole book that covers the language in the depth that it does, therefore I have to be happy with what I have.

This is exactly what I was looking for: Clear explanations of grammar, great dialogues... And there is a web page where i can listen to the dialogues spoken by native speakers.

This book has been the best resource I have used to learn Haitian Creole, so far. I have tried Pimsleur CD's (ok, but would like to be able to visualize the phrases and have more variety-lost interest) and online learning courses. "Teach Yourself Haitian Creole" has been the most comprehensive and helpful. I am involved in medical missions in Haiti and the book addresses all types of scenarios, including chapters about being at the hospital, office, restaurant and hotel. The MP3 audiofile is easy to download and allows you to hear what you are practicing. In addition ,there are periodic quizzes (with answers in the back of the book) that require you to formulate sentences in Creole and translate sentences. A few of the answers are in the wrong order in the key, but that made it more challenging to rearrange them correctly. There are Bible verses and Christian phrases throughout, which was perfect for my learning. In addition, there is a 24 page glossary of terms in the back of the book. Thank you, Dr. Ogando, for this user-friendly and comprehensive resource!

There is the occasional typo, and the book is at times laid out confusingly, but! Overall, a very good book. Affordable, conversational, and helpful. I am by no means fluent, but this book has aided me immensely on my journey learning Haitian Creole. What would be nice would be a more concise answer sheet section to the questions at the end of chapters. Very good if you are looking for vocab lists from one source.

While I’ve not gotten completely into it yet, this book is different in that it contains more Kreyol than English. An ambitious adventure for the author and for the reader/new student to Kreyol, But, I’m wanting to pursue it and I see where it has an audio download available. I wouldn’t discount it, so am giving it five stars. Thank you to the author, and thanks to Amazon for offering it.

The content of this book is fine, but the book literally started falling apart upon opening it for the first time.

Very good

It’s a good book and easy to follow. It’s just the reader who is not consistent with the lessons lol. But it’s worth the purchase in my opinion. I gave it to my son. He was interested in learning the language. We don’t practice enough but that’s not the author’s fault 😉

Wonderful manual, well written and very practical...highly recommended!👍

I am a Brazilian studying Hatian Creole and I am really enjoying this fantastic book! I've got to say keep up bringing out books like this!

A very nice start off point

Very clear to read and follow. Easy stages. Some difficulty with the sound reproduction and not all the recorded conversations match up to the printed version. However an excellent introduction.

Given as a gift and she loves it