Pimsleur Spanish 1 Language Learning Course

About:

Principle of Anticipation

Our brains are hard-wired to automatically process speech and “anticipate” a correct response. It’s an intricate thought process that most of us take for granted. Dr. Pimsleur’s research demonstrated that new connections are activated whenever this dynamic system is triggered. By systematically asking for understanding, pausing for a response, and then reinforcing the correct response, Pimsleur courses accelerate learning, increase understanding, and activate new neural pathways in the learner’s brain.

Core Vocabulary

Effective communication in any language depends on mastery of a relatively limited number of words and structures. Trying to learn too much at once substantially slows the process, and many people quickly become discouraged. Pimsleur courses deliberately limit the amount you learn at any one time, giving your brain a chance to internalize each new item before moving on. Once this foundation is built, adding new words and phrases becomes easy and natural because there’s a clear framework to attach them to.

Organic Learning

Every new item introduced in a Pimsleur course is given within the context of a conversation or exchange. This helps learning and retention in a multitude of ways, from allowing your brain to automatically integrate intonation, rhythm, melody, and pronunciation, to embedding prompts for your memory. When you need a word, it’s there – seamlessly on the tip of your tongue.

Review:

To start out, I’d like to say that I have wanted to learn a new language for a long time. I’ve taken 4 years of Spanish in High School, however that was quite some time ago! I also took a year of French. I have wanted to brush up on my Spanish and this seemed like the way to go. I could pop a CD in the car and learn while I’m driving to and from work (which is 45 minutes or so each way).

When I first got the program, I was extremely impressed with the packaging of the program. It came in a very nice box with a magnetic flap to keep it closed. Discs 1-8 were in one sleeve, and discs 9-16 were in another sleeve. It also came with a “passport” with information on how to use the program. It also had a paper with a link to go and view the owner’s manual and reading booklet. I thought this was a nice added bonus.

So here are the pros and cons of this program:

The Pros:

It is entirely verbal. This helps us to learn better as when we hear a languages rhythms, etc. we can learn it better.

You will improve your pronunciation. This program is set in a way that makes you pay attention to how you are saying the words. You are listening to native speakers so you will be able to better able to compare your pronunciation to theirs.

You are encouraged to learn grammar naturally. They explain some of the more complicated grammar, but for the most part, you are forced to learn it on your own. I really feel that helps us learn and understand better as we learn naturally.

There is a lot of repetition. You will hear and say the same words over and over again. This is great for retaining the material.

You learn in clusters. You learn words on their own, and in a phrase or sentence. You will able to use and understand these words in part of a conversation.

The Cons:

It can get a little boring at times. While repetition can be wonderful for learning, it can get boring when you are saying and hearing the same word over and over.

It’s a slow pace. You will learn maybe 10 new words a day and review a few other words. I think it may be speedier learning to increase the words learned per day.

The vocabulary you learn is limited and sometimes odd at times. You don’t seem to learn enough words to put together a simple conversation right away.

It is a little pricey. It might be a little pricey, but other programs cost much more.

Overall Opinion:

Overall, I think you really are getting a great value and program here. You won’t be fluent from this program but you will be able to hold a simple conversation and be able to pick up key words in phrases/conversation. I think that is truly beneficial. If you can pick up key words, you are one step ahead of the game.

You will also learn how to properly pronunciate words and have the basic tools to make it through a trip to a foreign country!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Speekee Spanish for Kids Review + #Giveaway

About:

Speekee was founded in 2006 and has been building a reputation for quality Spanish learning ever since.

They recently created The Speekee Spanish Challenge, which is the most comprehensive Spanish learning program for children ever to appear online.

Speekee works for children between the ages of 2 and 11.

Review:

I took 4 years of Spanish in High School and loved it. I would love to have my son learn some Spanish because I think he’d really benefit from it. I was excited to be able to try out this program with my son and to blog about how he liked it.

Speekee Spanish uses a series of videos to introduce children to Spanish through songs, puppets, and skits. Each episode also has downloads to go along with the lesson.

While we haven’t gotten through the whole series, my son has started to learn a few Spanish words that he likes to use regularly. He thinks he’s “hot stuff” because he can speak some Spanish. I find this rather amusing. He does do a good job of learning the words through this program.

I think this program would be better suited for younger children (my son is 5), and less suited for older children as the older children will most likely not like how this program looks/works. They might not like the puppetry, etc.

My son doesn’t read too much yet so the subtitles in the program were not of any use to him, but they did help me to follow along better.  He was learning to say: I like, hot, cold, hello, and a few other of the easier words.

While the program does do a good job of teaching words to children, it doesn’t seem to really teach how to use the words in sentences. This program may do that; we just might not have gotten there yet.

Overall, this program is great for the younger children and does teach them various Spanish words. The younger kids seem to really enjoy this program and how it teaches.

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The Learning Success Program + #Giveaway

About:

The learning success program is a simple do-at-home program that will show you how to find the core problems and overcome them. Learning is made up of basic core skills. There are 16 of them in all. Typical learning difficulties are small weaknesses in a combination of two or three of these skills.

This program helps children overcome learning difficulties such as:

Dyslexia

Dyscalculia

Dysgraphia

ADD/ADHD

Each of these terms simply means that there is a weakness in two or more of these basic learning skills. But it doesn't define which. Once you get started in the course you'll quickly find the trouble spots. Once you do that your child will be on the path to learning success. You will learn simple exercises that strengthen the skills needed for successful learning. Modern scientific breakthroughs have discovered a number of methods for overcoming these problems. Once you do your child will actually enjoy homework.

Review:

This course is delivered to you via email. You will receive emails every day with exercises you can just print out to do with your child. It only takes about 15-20 minutes 3-5 days a week. It can take about 3 months to start seeing results, but it could be sooner. It could take a year to overcome severe problems. They continue delivering exercises for one year or until you cancel the program.

My nephews have severe ADHD and one of the two has other learning difficulties. I wanted to spend time with them to try this program. I spent time with them 4-5 times a week to work with them. I got emails daily with activities that I would print out and do with them.

They say you can quickly find the trouble spots, and this is true. We did find their trouble areas quickly with this program. We were quickly able to start working on their trouble areas, respectively. It actually only took a couple of weeks before we started to see a difference. It did not take near the three months or longer they said it could take. I was very shocked and surprised in how much of a difference was made so quickly.

I can’t say they were quick to embrace this program, but once they started to see the difference in their abilities, they were very excited and motivated to continue on with the program. They also look forward to my daily visits to work with them. It’s been a great bonding experience for us all. I can’t even express the gratitude that I have for this program. It really does work.

GIVEAWAY!

The Learning Success Program is giving one of my readers a subscription to their program

A $564 value!

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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.