... Instant Recall's definitely worth ... the price.While its offering of 200 words is a less than ideal, one can go through the course in about 4 hours realistically (including breaks, checking out the blooklet which includes spellings and pronounciations, and about 2 1/2 hours of listening, imagining and testing time).
I found that closing my eyes while listening to the CD, helped in imagining the associations between the Eglish and corresponding Spanish words. While there're no verbs (which is where I think most people would need help) a quick shot of 200 words is bound to help any beginner's confidence.
I picked up the words fast, it's not hard considering they're spilt in categories and fed one at a time, in sets of ten. A word is announced in English (by Alex) and then it's Spanish counterpart (by Isabella), after which Alex asks you to picture an association.
Alex: The word for soup in spanish is...
Isabella: Sopa!
Alex: Imagine a soup that tastes like soap.
You're given some time... enough to work your imagination, and then Alex & Isabella move on to the next word. After a set of ten in a particular category you're tested.
I think the technique works pretty well, but then again that might depend on the individual.
I recommend using this along with the Michel Thomas Spanish Audio CDs.
Neither audio set substitute good one-on-one teaching, but they're definitely good supplements (and should be good for those short of time).
Had it dealt with verbs it would definitely get five stars!
