Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 Amazing! September 17, 2004
Languagelover (Manchester, England)
124 out of 125 found this review helpful
This follow-on from the 8 hour course and two hour language builder course has lived up to expectations, it is excellent!As the name of the course suggests it is designed for students that have either completed the first courses or acquired a grounding in Spanish through other means. If you are an absolute beginner you should come back and purchase this course when you have picked up the basics, its not for you yet. I have been studying Spanish for more than ten years on and off and whilst I have studied all of the tenses in these discs before it is the fact that you have a chance to consolidate and use them in context that makes this course invaluable. Michel uses the same technique as the 8 hour course, two students (one male and one female) and himself. The students (you will no doubt be relieved to hear) are different from the 8 hour course, they make very few mistakes. The benefit is that when listening to the course again you will not continually have to wait for the mistakes of others to be corrected. This was a problem in the preceding 8 hour course. The fact that the students are so good seems to have relaxed Michel, it may be me, but I thought he sounded a lot less tetchy than he was before (although I must admit that I did find this hilarious). There isn't much new vocabulary in the course but what you do get is a thorough analysis and chance to practice quite advanced Spanish grammar . He spends a long time going over the past tenses in Spanish which were only lightly touched on in the first course. In addition, every students dread, the subjunctive, is covered in a way that I can only describe as brilliant. My fear of the subjunctive has now gone! There is a small booklet that accompanies the course but there is no more than a summary of the course content on each disc so if you are looking for a written explanation of the grammar you would be better buying Madrigals Magic Key by Margarita Madrigal. To be honest I think this is a good companion for anyone listening to these discs as all of the tenses described by Michel are included in here along with more written practice exercises. In fact the method used in both Michel Thomas and Margarita Madrigal is very similar. A word of warning for those looking for advanced vocabulary, there is not much in here. If you are familar with Spanish grammar then you should buy other materials to improve your vocabulary but for intermediate learners this course is definitely good value for money and should be high on your list of Spanish materials to buy! Buena suerte
Excellant follow-on to the 8 Hour Course! October 25, 2004
Languagelover (Manchester, England)
33 out of 33 found this review helpful
This follow-on from the 8 hour course and two hour language builder course has lived up to expectations, it is excellent!As the name of the course suggests it is designed for students that have either completed the first courses or acquired a grounding in Spanish through other means. If you are an absolute beginner you should come back and purchase this course when you have picked up the basics, its not for you yet. I have been studying Spanish for more than ten years on and off and whilst I have studied all of the tenses in these discs before it is the fact that you have a chance to consolidate and use them in context that makes this course invaluable. Michel uses the same technique as the 8 hour course, two students (one male and one female) and himself. The students (you will no doubt be relieved to hear) are different from the 8 hour course, they make very few mistakes. The benefit is that when listening to the course again you will not continually have to wait for the mistakes of others to be corrected. This was a problem in the preceding 8 hour course. The fact that the students are so good seems to have relaxed Michel, it may be me, but I thought he sounded a lot less tetchy than he was before (although I must admit that I did find this hilarious). There isn't much new vocabulary in the course but what you do get is a thorough analysis and chance to practice quite advanced Spanish grammar . He spends a long time going over the past tenses in Spanish which were only lightly touched on in the first course. In addition, every students dread, the subjunctive, is covered in a way that I can only describe as brilliant. My fear of the subjunctive has now gone! There is a small booklet that accompanies the course but there is no more than a summary of the course content on each disc so if you are looking for a written explanation of the grammar you would be better buying Madrigals Magic Key by Margarita Madrigal. To be honest I think this is a good companion for anyone listening to these discs as all of the tenses described by Michel are included in here along with more written practice exercises. In fact the method used in both Michel Thomas and Margarita Madrigal is very similar. A word of warning for those looking for advanced vocabulary, there is not much in here. If you are familar with Spanish grammar then you should buy other materials to improve your vocabulary but for intermediate learners this course is definitely good value for money and should be high on your list of Spanish materials to buy! Buena suerte
Now I'm getting somewhere! September 2, 2005
sarah sollom (Malaga, Spain)
22 out of 22 found this review helpful
Having used the beginners' course, which helped me a lot,I found the Advanced level really moved me onto another plane. I am speaking with real confidence now. The course moves at a lively pace and I repeated some areas to consolodate what I know. I have tried all sorts of books, tapes, language school and other methods and this has proved to be the best value by far. I no longer need it!
| 
