Average customer rating:
- I can speak
- Simple Perfection
- Turn Down the Sound and Just Listen
- Realistic and Poignant
- pleased, as usual
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Just Listen
Sarah Dessen
Manufacturer: Viking Juvenile
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Binding: Hardcover
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Dessen, Sarah
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This Lullaby
ASIN: 0670061050 |
Book Description
Last year, Annabel was "the girl who has everything"—at least that's the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf 's Department Store.This year, she's the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. Until she meets Owen Armstrong. Tall, dark, and music-obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a commitment to truth-telling.With Owen's help,maybe Annabel can face what happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends.
In this multi-layered, impossible-to-put-down book, Sarah Dessen tells the story of a year in the life of a family coming to terms with the imperfections beneath its perfect facade.
Customer Reviews:
I can speak.......2007-10-14
I cried. When Ann(nick name) let Sophie walk all over her I was crying, because sometimes you don't even have the energy to defend yourself when people accuse you of things. I hated Sophie. The moment she was introduced in the book I was disgusted, how could Ann even consider being friends with that jerk? That back stabber who wouldn't take her best friends side over her boy friends(we all know he was a cheater and it wouldn't last)!
I fell in love with Owen(maybe because he reminded me of my 5th grade grammar teacher who I love and miss)the moment he stopped to help Ann while she was vomiting. I loved how edgy and philosophical he was. It was like we were the same person. I knew Ann and him should be together.
Reading this book was like taking a look into my own thoughts and feelings; it was like stepping into my high school again. The world where the coolest "It Girl" was the Queen Bee and what ever she said went, it sucked to know that Ann had once been on top but had lost everything in one moment because of some stupid guy.
I loved how broken their family was, the glass house that was their life; the home that only showed half a story. I think life's kind of like that.
Simple Perfection.......2007-10-07
I picked this book up in the public library by chance (and cause i liked the cover) and am i glad i did. What starts out as a typical chick book delves into something more sutle where you find yourself connecting with everyone. The characters are completely believable and the romance is simple and real without the over the top feel some teen authors go for. This book isnt just for young either i am in fact 18 and my mum (40 sumthing) both loved it. I realised when, 4 hours later i was still mulling over it and had to go back and re-read the perfect ending, that this is a real gem of a book and i encourage anyone to read it.
Turn Down the Sound and Just Listen.......2007-10-04
Told in first person, Annabel keeps a secret from her sisters, her parents and even the reader, only alluding to it in certain passages. She seems to think that some things are best untold, and although she has lost her best friend, Clarke, and is tormented by her fair weather friend, Sophie, Annabel remains silent. Her resolve "not to tell" starts to flicker when she befriends another outsider, Owen Armstrong.
Owen's life is about music and he shares his love with Annabel. It's one CD that leads her back to Owen with the truth.
I'm always amazed by authors who can write well. I don't mean grammatically correct, or making sure all of the proper elements are in the story. I mean taking characters and giving them each personalities and conflicts that make them leave the page and come into the room where you are reading. Sarah Dessen is one of those authors. My love for music brought me to this novel and my love of great writing will take me to another from her collection.
I will tell you that I consider this book to be for older middle school and high school readers. I also think that parents should look through this book. The subject matter is mature and can be a bit unsettling. Yet, it offers an opportunity for serious conversations.
Realistic and Poignant.......2007-09-08
In this captivating and touching novel, Sarah Dessen offers us a look into the mind of Annabel, a girl who is scarred and withdrawn because of her past experiences. She is terrified of confrontation, and so she hides her feelings from everyone, choosing to constantly tell white lies rather then expose her true emotional state.
Slowly, cautiously, Annabel reveals to the reader her emotional baggage, but never confesses everything at once, offering instead partial information that leaves the reader curious and eager to piece together the scattered bits and clues.
Annabel embodies emotions that everyone has felt, the desire to speak out and have others understand, the fear that prevents us from doing so, and the resulting feeling of being ostracized and alone. It is a joy to watch her slowing coming out her shell, transforming through her new friendship with a boy named Owen. Her feelings are realistic and acute, making her an incredibly sympathetic heroine.
The world that Annabel lives in is equally realistic and acute. Dessen's portrayal of high school is much more accurate and familiar then the depictions of similar authors. She succeeds in creating dynamic relationships and interesting situations without straying from realism. The resulting novel is vivid and honest, written in a simple, powerful and thought-evoking style.
pleased, as usual.......2007-08-23
im always pleased with her books, and this was no exception, she is an amazing writer and ive never been disspointed by anything ive read by her. not my favorite, but worth reading
Average customer rating:
- Fun and natural way to learn
- Listen and read and learn
- Learn to 'live' a language
- Learn to 'live' a language
- Learn to 'live' in a language
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Just Listen 'N Learn Italian (Just Listen N' Learn)
Brian Hill
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Italian
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Phrasebooks - General
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Rick Steves' Italian Phrase Book and Dictionary
ASIN: 084424676X |
Customer Reviews:
Fun and natural way to learn.......2007-04-30
The real-life street recordings are a bit more challenging than s-l-o-w studio recordings, but ever so much more entertaining. They also attune your ear to what you'll hear in Italy. Syntax, useful phrases, cultural info. and vocabulary introduced inductively and in context through the listening segments.
Some might complain that this approach is too focused on listening, but most second language acquisition experts now emphasize listening a skill the precedes speaking. The "silent period" hypothesis goes so far as to suggest that beginners should be given a chance to assimilate sounds and structures before being pushed to speak.
At any rate, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and likewise for other languages in the series. Most importantly, this book worked for me. I could hold my own in a taxi, albergo, or mercato on my first day in Italy.
Buona Fortuna & Buon Viaggio!
Listen and read and learn.......2002-06-22
If you are looking for a tape/cd to learn by during your commute; this is probably not the right program for you. If you have time to also do the book excerices then this would be good.
The dialogs seem to be authentic and are helpful in learning what an announcement on a train, in the train station, or airport sound like. However, IMHO there's too much time spent on reading you instructions and listening. Since speaking is an essential component, I would have preferred more opportunity to speak/ repeat key phrases.
Learn to 'live' a language.......2001-05-03
While it is true that you can't JUST 'Listen' to learn with these CDs (there is also an audio cassette version), I have found their method the most excellent and fun way to learn to use a language in the country where it is spoken.
The Italian lessons taught me not only the turns of phrase that Italians use (and which you will HEAR spoken in Italy) but also gave me a sense of typical situations and venues in which I would come across those phrases, concepts, and terminology. (A small example, I learnt that you don't always buy by the pound or even the kilogram at a grocers, but by the 100 grams, which are called "etti".)
Learning a language is not just learning how to substitute English words for a foreign one, it is to learn how to THINK and LIVE in a different way. These CDs go with an excellent book which not only gives transcripts of the conversations on which every lesson is organized, but also tells you alot about how shops, travel, food, and life in general is experienced in Italy.
While it would be great to be able to imbibe a language by just listening, the reality is that we learn languages by living in them - and these books guide you through the process of listening - to different accents in real life situations -, then figuring out what words, concepts and phrases people have used and, having understood these to be able to USE THEM ONESELF.
This simulates the process by which, over time, we learnt our native tongue (except we were children then, and MUCH more patient with and less demanding of ourselves). The course also organises the learning better than we would encounter in real life - once in a restaurant you stay there until you can wend your way through undertanding a menu, ordering, making special requests, and paying. Only then does it take you on to, say, boarding urban transportation.
I travel alot, as tourist and also to give lectures and interact with people - in Spanish, French, German and, now, Italian. Before I worked with the Listen 'n Learn courses, I stayed at a preliminary communicative level, from which I regressed during the time I was back to speaking English. Now that I go over old lessons and then do a few new ones before a trip, my level of understanding, communicating, and thus enjoying the experience grows by leaps and bounds as I am able to put what I learned into practice. I love this series and recommend it highly.
Learn to 'live' a language.......2001-05-03
While it is true that you can't JUST 'Listen' to learn with these CDs (there is also an audio cassette version), I have found their method the most excellent and fun way to learn to use a language in the country where it is spoken.
The Italian lessons taught me not only the turns of phrase that Italians use (and which you will HEAR spoken in Italy) but also gave me a sense of typical situations and venues in which I would come across those phrases, concepts, and terminology. (A small example, I learnt that you don't always buy by the pound or even the kilogram at a grocers, but by the 100 grams, which are called "etti".)
Learning a language is not just learning how to substitute English words for a foreign one, it is to learn how to THINK and LIVE in a different way. These CDs go with an excellent book which not only gives transcripts of the conversations on which every lesson is organized, but also tells you alot about how shops, travel, food, and life in general is experienced in Italy.
While it would be great to be able to imbibe a language by just listening, the reality is that we learn languages by living in them - and these books guide you through the process of listening - to different accents in real life situations -, then figuring out what words, concepts and phrases people have used and, having understood these to be able to USE THEM ONESELF.
This simulates the process by which, over time, we learnt our native tongue (except we were children then, and MUCH more patient with and less demanding of ourselves). The course also organises the learning better than we would encounter in real life - once in a restaurant you stay there until you can wend your way through undertanding a menu, ordering, making special requests, and paying. Only then does it take you on to, say, boarding urban transportation.
I travel alot, as tourist and also to give lectures and interact with people - in Spanish, French, German and, now, Italian. Before I worked with the Listen 'n Learn courses, I stayed at a preliminary communicative level, from which I regressed during the time I was back to speaking English. Now that I go over old lessons and then do a few new ones before a trip, my level of understanding, communicating, and thus enjoying the experience grows by leaps and bounds as I am able to put what I learned into practice. I love this series and recommend it highly.
Learn to 'live' in a language.......2001-05-02
I have recommended, and even gifted, this set of tapes and its excellent course book to many friends - particularly those who wish to spend summers in Italy - running a house, dealing with local Italians, and travelling around by car. I also often quote from it - particularly the loving humour with which aspects of Italian life are explained.
It is true that sometimes you have to rewind frequently to match the words on the transcripts and the sounds on the tapes, but this has the pay-off in that it does simulate real-life situations and so prepare you for them. When you speak to someone in Italy, there usually is alot of noise, people have varying accents and there could, moreover, be someone impatient behind you in line who would not enjoy your asking everything to be repeated several times!
Each of the lessons not only deals with a specific situation, but is followed by a "Did You know?" section which explains various aspects of the Italian way of organizing things. These relate to the OCCASIONS on which you would use Italian in Italy: e.g. when buying a train ticket (or a 100 gms of coffee), when lost on the road, or in a garage with a car problem.
Having only got to lesson 6, I was able that summer to shop (and find out about discounts), buy opera tickets (and understand schedule information), and even make friends with people at cafes and in museums. I also knew I must always take a receipt (we're required to produce one by law, within 200 metres of a vendor's location) whenever I bought anything. In fact, I felt I had 'lived' in Italian, not just 'been and seen'.
I recommend this course thoroughly and only wish their CD versions were equally easily available.
Book Description
The groundbreaking program for building conversational language skills
Just Listen ‘n’ Learn French, Second Edition picks up where formal French language studies leave off by giving you a feel for how French is really spoken by the “man on the street.” An engaging way to build basic conversational skills and confidence, this package is based on recordings made on location--in the street, in hotels, bars, pharmacies, shopping centers, and dozens of other everyday settings. You’ll get a full-color course book packed with photographs, illustrations, and cultural information and four 75-minute CDs recorded on location, featuring more than 100 authentic conversations as well as audio exercises. If you’re preparing to travel to a French-speaking country, this is the perfect guide for you.
Customer Reviews:
The Best Review Kit Out There!!!.......2002-08-11
All right, the first kit definatly was not perfection, but this one is. I say review kit, because it really is a review. You need to have gone over the first kit, or have some other experience with the French language, to actually appreciate what this kit has to offer.
I saw that another reviewer said that they speak much faster in this kit. Well, yes, that is true, but it is very clear to me. Unlike the other kit, where you'd frequently hear background noises, in this kit you hear none. Well, at least not as much as the other.
Most of what you'll find in this kit actually is review. They don't teach you a lot of new concepts, but what you really need is a review if you just finished up the first kit of this series.
Also, they received a lot of user-input on how to improve this kit, and I have to tell you, it worked. One of the things that I enjoy is that they now have more practice with speaking the language. After every dialogue, they give you "Travaux Pratiques", it's a set of exercises which help you practice the material you've gone over in the last dialog. At the end of Travaux Pratiques, you get a thing sort of like Your Turn To Speak, well, it's exactly like that, and it allows you to speak the language, something desperatly needed in the first edition of the series.
Anyway, this kit is very great, and it will put you at the head of your French class. I just started high school, I'm taking French I, and I am ahead of everyone else by far! I could probably move ahead to French II, or perhaps even French III. But again, if you really want to take advantage of this kit, by the first one too, it is a MUST.
C'est un excellent cours de francais............2001-01-03
pour ceux qui deja le parle. Si vous deja comprendez que francais est tres difficile, comme les autres langues de etranger, vous pouvez utiliser cet cours. Il n'y a pas facile facon d'apprendre le francais sauf ecoute, ecoute, ecoute. Cet cours vous donne le meilleur chemin a vrai francais parce que nous avons besoin ecoute, ecoute, ecoute! Les parleurs sont Francais et Francaise et ils parlent trop vite. On peut apprendre plus vite par ecoute, ecoute, ecoute. On doit etre un auditeur avant un parleur. Si vous etes serieux en apprendre le francais vous vous amuseriez avec cet cours autant que j'avais. Au revoir.
Excellent.......2000-03-30
A very useful course to get a real feel for the sound and use of the language. Not for beginners; you need to have worked with the basic course for awhile to get the real benefit. Is much more realistic than the normal "stilted text studio recorded" scripts.
Book Description
The groundbreaking program for building conversational language skills
Just Listen ‘n’ Learn Arabic picks up where formal Arabic language studies leave off by giving you a feel for how Arabic is really spoken by the “man on the street.” An engaging way to build basic conversational skills and confidence, this package is based on recordings made on location--in the street, in hotels, bars, pharmacies, shopping centers, and dozens of other everyday settings. You’ll get a full-color course book packed with photographs, illustrations, and cultural information and four 75-minute CDs recorded on location, featuring more than 100 authentic conversations as well as audio exercises. If you’re preparing to travel to a Arabic-speaking country, this is the perfect guide for you.
Customer Reviews:
Conversational Jordanian Arabic.......2006-03-05
This course teaches primarily the spoken Arabic of Amman; little attention is given to the written language, though the alphabet and the reading of some signs and menu items is taught. The series title, "Just Listen and Learn," is not appropriate; you must study the book carefully and have it open in front of you as you work with the recordings. Nor can you use the book well independently of the recordings; they are necessary for many of the exercises. The ability to back up your CD player over short passages of ten or twenty seconds is also necessary. Catching correct pronunciation from full-speed, natural conversations with background noise is not easy. There is far too much unhelpful English chitchat on the recordings. Strong points are the conversational approach, a good selection of vocabulary, and clear explanations of the literal meaning of Arabic phrases as well as their colloquial English equivalent. Grammar is clearly explained without becoming tedious. Numerous exercises prod you to start speaking. The best reason to select this course is why I bought it: I was going to Amman.
Not as great as it sounds........2005-12-30
I bought this program mainly for the 4 CDs. However, most of the "on-site" recordings are unclear, being too fast for the untrained ear. Plus, the narrator verbally repeats the written instructions for each exercise, and makes comments in english, meaning far more english than arabic is spoken on the disks. If you're a beginner looking to improve your oral comprehension, this is probably not it.
On the plus side, there is a short lesson on arabic script at the end of each chapter.
Book Description
The groundbreaking program for building conversational language skills
Just Listen ‘n’ Learn Spanish, Second Edition picks up where formal Spanish language studies leave off by giving you a feel for how Spanish is really spoken by the “man on the street.” An engaging way to build basic conversational skills and confidence, this package is based on recordings made on location--in the street, in hotels, bars, pharmacies, shopping centers, and dozens of other everyday settings. You’ll get a full-color course book packed with photographs, illustrations, and cultural information and four 75-minute CDs recorded on location, featuring more than 100 authentic conversations as well as audio exercises. If you’re preparing to travel to a Spanish-speaking country, this is the perfect guide for you.
Customer Reviews:
Listen 'N Learn to Lisp.......2001-03-24
This is a passable, if somewhat dated (1982), CD if you are intending to learn Andalusian spanish. If you are planning to use your spanish elsewhere in the world, such as Mexico, or South America, this CD is of questionable value. It is made with live recordings of Andalusians speaking their dialect. Unfortunately, they often make grammatical mistakes, and the dialect is unusual. The speakers often lisp "es" and "ze" sounds, ("Gracias" becomes "Grathia" and "Gonzales" becomes Gonthaleth"). The dropping of the final sylabants needlessly complicates the learning process.
The prerecorded local color in the background often forms noise that obscures the dialogue in the recordings.
Finally the CD is recorded without intervening skip marks, complicating the rehearing of dialogue, without listening to the whole chapter again.
I think that there are far better products out there.
Helpful for the beginner.......2000-06-18
Although I would have preferred a faster moving and more advanced tape, this Spanish instructional tape helped me strengthen my Spanish speaking and especially my listening skills. A great tool for a novice who is trying to learn Spanish, yet it also helped me, a student who has completed three years of Spanish, to better pronunciate my words.
Excellent way to develop listening comprehension.......2000-02-29
After borrowing this book from our public library, I have struggled first through the textbook and then started listening to the tapes while commuting. Of course, in the first days, I understood only about 10%, however, this has finally increased to about 95%. The recodings have a real life quality, both in terms of speed and content. I like this course very much and recommend it to anyone who wants to understand spoken Spanish. The explanations of grammar are only minimal, however, you can combine this with any other textbook that gives a more thorough background in the Spanish grammar. The great value of this course is its emphasis on listening comprehension of the real spoken Spanish.
Immersion is the Best Way to Learn.......1999-11-18
First some context. I own and use "Just Listen and Learn Spanish" and also "Just Listen and Learn Spanish Plus." I listen to these tapes while commuting, and read the text during my lunch hour or at home. At the same time I am using a grammar text "Spanish Now" to learn grammar. Listening in my car means I can't follow the directions to stop and do a reading or written exercise. I'm a bit out of sync with the design of the course.
Second a statement on immersion. I don't understand most of what I hear. That's how I learned English. That's how I learned French when I lived in an French home. It doesn't mean I'm not learning.
Why "Just Listen and Learn Spanish" fills the bill. The tape is 90% Spanish with enough English guidance to keep a general orientation. It ranges from scripted dialogs those not fluent in Spanish to radio programs. You have to tolerate the fact that not everything is translated and you mostly don't understand. But what a pleasure when you go back to something that a few weeks earlier you understood practically none of and you now get 85-90%. This is after less than three months of studying Spanish.
Decent introduction.......1999-01-27
This is not a bad introduction to Spanish. Dialogues are as real as they get in an entry level language book. The book covers the basics needed for a traveller who is about to visit Spain (it is NOT the Latin-American Spanish). The problems I had with this book: VERY light on grammar (past and future tenses are introduced in the last two chapters), some grammatical structures are used which are never explained - you have to memorize them without understanding, the short dictionary at the end of the book does not include all the words used in the course - in fact some words and expressions used are NEVER translated in the book, dialogues are supposed to be authentic, but it is just impossible to understand some of them - speakers mumble at the speed of light - what is the point of including those in the entry level course? Use this to get you going quickly, then, if you want to, move on to something serious... Oh, and DO NOT get the "plus" stuff, things get even worse there...
Average customer rating:
- Believe U Me
- Seriously Flawed
- Not so user-friendly
- Best Conversational Arabic Book
- A good course on spoken Arabic, but not perfect
|
Just Listen 'N Learn Arabic: The Fastest Way to Real Arabic (Just Listen 'n Learn)
Nadira Auty ,
Clive Holes , and
Rachel Harris
Manufacturer: Passport Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Arabic
| Foreign Language
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Arabic
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ASIN: 0844284688 |
Book Description
This highly successful language-learning method combines text and audio to provide everything students need to speak, read, and understand Arabic quickly and with confidence.
Customer Reviews:
Believe U Me.......2004-11-19
There is no way in the world anybody will walk away learning Arabic from trying this method. I don't know what this guy was thinking besides suckering people out of their hard earned money. Save your money and move to Egypt!
Seriously Flawed.......2002-11-01
This book claims to teach "The Real Arabic". There seem to be less than 200 words in this whole book printed in Arabic script. The learning and usage of the script is dealt with as an occasional after-thought. Anyone who speaks even enough of any Semetic language to argue about cab fares will tell you that the script is a prerequsite to learning anything really useful.
On top of this is the most fouled-up non-standard method of tranliteration that will confound anyone who has even a little experience with the language, and start off any new learners with a system they will see nowhere else on the planet. Compunding this problem is the lack of Arabic script to see what the heck these folks are transliterating in the fist place.
Even the "Teach Yourself" series "...Arabic" with it's tapes of mediocre quality is much better than this book. Save your money and pick up Awade and Samano's "The Arabic Alphabet: How to Read and Write It" to start and get just about any other book and tape set to listen to pronunciation.
Not so user-friendly.......2001-07-15
Just Listen and Learn Arabic is a decent course in the colloquial Arabic of the Levant IF you already know some Modern Standard Arabic. I tried using it before I knew any MSA and I found it totally confusing because it doesn't give a very clear explanation of Arabic phonology, or of the variations of pronunciation. Sometimes the dialogues would show a word written one way, but in the recording it would be pronounced another way and I didn't know why. After I learned some MSA and browsed some other Arabic books these things made more sense to me.
Once you're past those initial hurdles this book is pretty good. The dialogues are authentic conversations, not scripted ones, so sometimes they go fast and there are words you don't know, but in the long run that is very helpful in developing your comprehension. The dialogues involve topics very relevant to travellers, like ordering in a restaurant, reserving a hotel room, taking taxis, etc. It's not like some Arabic books which start with sentences like "The delegation is meeting to discuss the problems with transportation infrastructure".
Best Conversational Arabic Book.......2001-01-23
I have read every instructional book I can find on learning Arabic. Just Listen n'Learn Arabic is easily the best that I have found for learning conversational Arabic. This course also introduces the reader to Arabic script in a gradual and relatively easy manner. The conversations on tape are natural-sounding and they contain useful information for getting around or getting acquainted in the Arab world. Several times I have tried using what I have learned from the course with Arabs whom I have just met and I am always understood. This is always a delight and it makes the effort worthwhile.
A good course on spoken Arabic, but not perfect.......1999-05-04
This book (and tapes) provide a basic introduction to the dialect of Arabic spoken in Jordan, Sryia, and Lebanon. The book covers everyday situations such as greetings, shoping, resturants and so on. After working through the book, I feel like I have a good grasp of basic Arabic for travel puropses. One thing I really liked about the book was the fact that there are many pictures or the Arab world which help to break up the lessons. The main fault I have with this book (or tapes) is that the vocab words are never slowly pronounced so you can hear all the sounds in the word. Instead, there is just a dialog which is spoken quickly. As a result, it is difficult to pick out the sounds of the individual words. Since this is basicaly a course on spoken Arabic, I think this is a major flaw. However, if you are dedicated and work through the lessons you can pick up a lot.
Customer Reviews:
Best way to learn German, period!.......2003-01-24
This audio course in German is the best way to learn "real" German, since the conversations are taped in real life situations in and around Germany. There are also easy to digest lessons in grammar, aiding the listener in understanding word and sentence structure. The lessons are well organised and quick to learn and master. The listener is given plenty of chances to both listen and repeat German, aiding the learner in quickly mastering the language. Lessons are also geared toward travel situations that the listener might encounter - banking, hotels, dining out, introducing yourself, traveling on trams and trains and more.
If you've tried other German audio courses and failed, try this one. I've tried a lot of others and found this one to be superior for learning German. I've been to Germany and the taped conversations sound exactly like what I heard over there. They aren't acted out by actors like on other audio courses. They're actual conversations in hotels, restaurants, banks, on trains, museums and other places one might be inclined to go when traveling overseas. So you get to hear the "real" language in real life situations exactly as you'd hear them while traveling.
I give this audio course my highest recommendation, as one who's already been to Germany and Austria and heard the language in its native setting.
Easy and effective.......2000-08-17
I really like these Just Listen n Learn programs. They are well-organized and fun, I think. They emphasize audio comprehension, speaking skills, grammar and vocabulary. You start out by listening to several dialogues spoken by native speakers. Then you do some practice exercises, either written or spoken, which effectively cement the knowledge of what you just learned. There is a manageable vocabulary list and a page of grammar. Their attitude toward the importance of grammar in conversation is to take it easy, don't sweat it, and eventually you will get the hang of it, which is very comforting, since often German classes involve memorizing charts of the dative and accusative cases (UGH!) There is also a section on German culture, but in the German program it is generally not as interesting as I would hope. At the end of 15 lessons, if you are consistent and an active participant, you have not only learned a pretty extensive collection of words and phrases, but you can use it with remarkable ease. Not recommended for intensive writing or grammar study, and you really have to set aside a little time to do it, you can't just do it while you're driving, you have to use the book.
Highly recommended.......1999-05-31
Bought this set prior to a trip to Germany and Austria. A great value. Practical text, exercises, and cassettes, along with interesting and helpful historical and cultural information. I have just ordered the advanced course to get ready for next years trip. Sehr gut.
You can learn a lot from this course........1999-05-21
This is one of the best courses on the foreign language market. Not just boring drills, but real life situations as you follow Ruth Rach through different places in Germany. The situations are real life and not made up or rehearsed. You also get to test yourself at the end of the chapters. Recommended for anyone that wants to learn German. Nicht schlecht.
Best audio course I found.......1998-03-09
The tapes and book were easy to use. With English explanations for different thing in the book and on the tapes, I didn't have to look-up lots of things. The use of idioms made me sound like I knew more German than I actually did. German friends marvaled at my accent! By the end of the 3 tape course, I was able to actually reserve hotel rooms, order food (for myself and all my traveling companions), get help in stores, use public transportation, and meet locals in bars and clubs. I highly recommend this course.
Customer Reviews:
Ellénika mou..........2001-02-09
Riding on the waves of inspiration and dreams of Kefalloniá, I purchased the book and tape set. Like other reviewers, I found that the conversations are recorded by native speakers who run their words together; this is helpful, as it gives a true-to-life pronunciation of the speakers a foreigner would encounter. I also found it helpful that the language is printed in arabic and the Greek alphabet is introduced slowly. I strongly recommend for those in pursuit of a grammatical exactitude, a supplementary grammatical text. On the whole, this text and its tapes are truly excellent...and a bargain!
Don't buy just this book.......2000-01-04
This course focuses on developing conversational skills. The most valuable part of this course is that most of the dialogues you listen to are recordings from the streets of Greece. Most courses use studio recorded audio to teach you a language and this method does not realistically reflect how native Greek speakers truncate words, run words together, do not enunciate every word and speak fairly quickly. Listening to these dialogues will give you a more realistic idea of how people will speak when you reach Greece.
Because the book is conversation oriented, they do not emphasize the alphabet and you should buy another book to help you practice your reading skills.
One chapter (out of 15) focuses on the future tense and one on the past tense. This short introduction will not adequately prepare you to fluently use the future and past tense, but will at least expose you to the underlying concepts.
Points of grammar are introduced when they occur in a conversation and you must use the book for the explanation of grammar points.
Bottom line: Use another book, such as the Teach Yourself Greek or the Colloquial Greek (with audio) if your goal is fluency in the language. Get another course such as Greek in 7 Days (same publisher - passport books) to give you a conversational course where the audio is slow and controlled. Use this book either in conjunction with the Greek in 7 Days or afterwards if you are having trouble understanding Greek when it is spoken to you. This is where the strength of this book lies: getting you used to hearing Greek spoken outside a studio.
Far superior to FSI or Berlitz to teach understandable Greek.......1999-02-08
Kalimera! I purchased the Just Listen 'n Learn Greek with two tapes and a book. After studying through with the Passport Books program I have a great handle on Greek. In fact, my Greek associate understands EVERY phrase I speak to him in Greek. At 54 years of age I was skeptical about effectively learning a new language. The Passport Book system is outstanding for ALL ages! (I also just purchased a LANGUAGE/30 Revised & Expanded Edition Greek program and it is BY FAR inferior. If I would have chosen this program first I would have undoubtedly failed at my attempts to learn the Greek language.) Now, however, I am returning to the Passport Books program and will master the language as far as these tapes and book will take me. You MUST continue on ... and I would love to see an advanced or continued program to follow the Just Listen 'n Learn Greek Basic Course to Succeeding in Greek and Communicating with Confidence. Congratulations on a job fabulously done. AND, for Amazon.com ... it would behoove you to HIGHLY RECOMMEND this program to folks that inquire about the most effective resource for getting a handle on the Greek language as spoken by the people,quickly. I WISH I would have had that information before. With the confusion in government it is no wonder they recommend other systems to teach a language that are a COMPLETE waste of money and certainly time! To Brian Hill and to Amazon.com I say, "Efharisto poli!"
With esprit de corps,
Sandra Lee Koch CFO, PR & Marketing Western Shipping Management 120 El Camino Drive Beverly Hills, CA 90212
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