Reviews (7)

works for me!
My pronunciation is great thanks to Jean Yates!

Not very useful for me!
I tried many accent reduction series. This one is not so useful to me. The way she go over certain difficult sounds I have did not make sense (to my ears). It might work better for other accent (non Asian/Chinese). Very hard for me to distinguish some sounds from the tape.

Finally a book that REALLY helps!
Finally, Jean Yates has taken something scary to so many, and made it so easy and fun--learning not just the words, but how to communicate! I was appalled by the previous review as I had been told how effective this book is prior to reading it...Upon seeing how this book helps people actually connect with, understand, and speak the language, it shows this reader 2 things: First, Jean Yates knows not only the language, but the art and importance of really communicating. Second, it shows the previous reviewer was simply pitching another book and didn't take the time to read this book and understand how it helps the confidence of those learning the language. Anyone trying a new language knows how frustrating it is to not only find the right words to say, but to find the right way to say them. Jean Yates comes across as a teacher of the language, and of confidence in those that want to learn it. Oh, and by the way, Jean Yates is a woman... Another observation missed by the previous reviewer.

Go for Ann Cook one!
The title says all. Her book, American Accent Traning 2nd edition, is MUCH better than this book... I REALLY want to return this usuless book and cassettes... There are many serious and hardworking international students who suffer from their accents and trying to find a way to solve their problem. I believe this book is just making fun of these serious students... I can believe how this author can publish such a incompleted and useless book... this guy should ashemed of himself.

aneed to learnd engalish
please i don"t have any question ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Language30, Irish
I thought this was a very excellent course for getting started at learning Irish. I liked the fact that in most of the course each word or short phrase was said first in English, once, and then slowly, twice, and only twice, in Irish, with a pause between words. For beginning to learn Irish, I thought that the simple, easy -to - understand phonetic spellings of each Irish word in the booklet were preferrable to more exact, but harder to use phonetic symbols found in some courses. I think that Irish is difficult to learn to pronounce compared with Spanish, German or French, which I learned easily.
It was easy to keep the booklet coordinated with the tapes because each section of the course had a title and a theme, such as "food" and because everything on the casette was in the booklet in the same order, and everything in the book, except for the very useful phonetic spellings, was on the tape. With some language courses, it is very hard to keep the book and tape lined up with each other.
I think this course is well worth its price. It's an inexpensive, easy way for Irish people to get in touch with their roots. There is a short section of long phrases spoken at normal speed, too fast for me to learn from easily, but good for hearing what the Irish language really sounds like. There is even a little bit of lovely-sounding poetry recited in Irish.
After studying this little course, I found it much easier and quicker to learn from Micheal O' Siadhail's Learning Irish, 310-page book and 4-tape set, than before I studied from Language 30. Micheal O' Siadhail's program is faster-spoken with mostly longer phrases on the tape, and it includes precise phonetic symbols, and detailed explanations of grammar. Language 30 was helpful preparation for this more rigorous course.

There are better courses to buy.
If you are travelling to Ireland, and feel a need to learn just enough Gaeilge to get by, then this is a good course for you to try. The purpose of it is just to teach you phrases so that you could say enough in the language to, for instance, order a lager at a pub. These types of tapes are great if going to Italy, France, Germany etc., and there being a great need to know a bit in those particular languages. In Ireland, however, there is no need to learn Gaeilge. Everyone speaks English, but not everyone speaks Irish! You should have no trouble at all ordering your lager at a Rose&Crown Pub. This defeats the whole purpose of the course. If you are truly interested in learning Irish, there are better courses to buy. If you just want to impress a few Irish people with your phrases in their native tongue, then don't waste any more time reading me, and buy the tapes=) ... Read more

Book Description

This attractive paperback book-and-audiocassette combination is anew title in Barron's "I Can Read" series.They introduce a second language tochildren of pre-school and early school age. An appealing story comes with full- color illustrations on every page, accompanied by simple text in two languages.The tapes repeat the books' bilingual texts so kids can hear the actual soundsof spoken Spanish and English. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

C'est une surprise!
In preparation for travels next year, my 4-year-old and I are attuning our ears to French. What's for Supper (along with other books in this Barron's series) is just our speed. Carol Thompson's appealing illustrations make it easy for a preschooler to "tell herself the story." Mary Risk's story of children buying groceries and preparing supper for their mother - a surprise! - keeps us turning pages, whether in English or French. The cassette is familiarizing us with the sounds, and the end-of-the-book phonetic spelling lists are polishing some of the rust off my encrusted college French. It will be possible to use these at developing levels, too. Right now we read the English, then the French on each page and listen to the tape doing the same. Later we can cover the English on the page and just read the French. And on the flip side of the cassette, we can hear the whole story in just English or in just French. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

harasho!
This book allows you to study advanced Russian in your car without the aid of a textbook. This book also contains two additional cassette tapes (Vocabulearn)to expand your vocabulary. I've studied Russian before, and now I study English, so this book is very useful for me! ... Read more

Book Description

Enjoy speaking Italian today!By the end of this program, you will be able to speak and understand basic Italian with confidence and ease in everyday situations.

If you have just started learning Italian, or just want to brush up on your language skills, this is the course for you.

This program features cultural tips with fascinating insights into Italian-speaking countries, activities to improve your communication skills, authentic, naturally paced dialogs and grammar basics with easy-to-understand examples. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Understand the title is BASIC Italian
This is a very good beginner/introduction course for comprehention and one of the few that applies the principle of listening to only the target language in action instead of translating and switching back and forth from English... But reading the other reviews here, there seems to be confusion as to what to expect.

First of all: this is NOT a "travelers" course, so don't expect these tapes to just drill you on specific phrases to order food, check into hotels and change money... The market is packed with travelers language tapes and courses that will better serve those needs (such as the Berlitz Travel series). But this is Basic Italian which means its fundamental goal is to get one thinking and responding in Italian starting from scratch, so of course it begins by using some very simple sentences such as "I want... you want.." and "Who is listening to music?.. Mario is listening to music" (as the lessons progress it does get more complex but never too much so). So this isn't a course for memorizing set phrases and "canned speech" as much as it is for learning the fundamentals of speech and grammer in action.

Second: Unless you already have some level of experience in Italian, these tapes are NOT meant to be listened to on thier own without the included textbook. Basic Italian is not to be confused with the "Learn in Your Car" or "Pimsleur" series as an audio-only course... absolute beginners with no knowledge of Italian MUST begin by following along the textbook and reading all the sidebar information in English as to understand what is happening and why. Only after following the directions does one gain the confidence to use these tapes on thier own (and those directions include never going on to the next lesson without having completely understood the one before: even being able to read the lesson from the textbook aloud with a correct accent and understanding everything being said)... So don't fear, you will NOT be required to "play detective" to figure out what is being said if you follow all the directions in the text!!

Some of the diolouge is a bit dated and goofy, but in the grand scheme of the course this makes no difference. When you reach the point where you can follow the tapes alone and understand everything and respond correctly and read the text correctly out loud, then you can be sure you are ready for the intermediate level.

Berlitz makes better products
I bought this set before going to Italy for the summer.Since it had 4cd's, 2 books and a dictionary, I assumed that it would be a great help to me in learning some Italian.But it wasn't.The presentation is not particularly orderly or succinct, and an entire section early on is devoted to how to say absurdly complicated things like "I'm married, but my partner has just left me with our children".And what I really wanted to learn was simply how to buy tickets, order food, and hold brief, polite conversations.

If you'd like to get started learning Italian, I'd recommend Berlitz's "Rush Hour Italian" which does a good job of going over the basics and helping you remember them.

Disappointing so far
I'm only through the first of the three CD's, but so far I'm not impressed; I wish I'd bought their Phrase Book/CD instead... Unlike Berlitz's phrase books, which are information-rich, the first CD is largely filler, and only 60 minutes, so the three CD's should really have been at most two, and perhaps only one.It's also presented as being new (August 2002), but there's considerable emphasis on the Lira, and no mention of the Euro.

Great for business traveler, less so for tourist
This is a fun and interesting immersion course but be warned that it seems geared primarily for business travelers, as many of the "scenes" take place in an office environment.It's also a little outdated in that secretary Sandra uses a typewriter and her friend Mario is amazed that she can use a computer, which makes a lot of beeping noises like a cartoon Univac.It would be nice to not only learn how to think in Italian but to also find out how to negotiate for tickets and converse with people on the street for directions, restaurant recommendations, etc.I'm learning language structure but not much useful vocabulary.

A good starting point for basic learning
This is a very worthwhile course for basic communication in Italian. It's not a course designed for short-term needs or for advanced vocabulary and grammer, but it does invite the user to use his/her immagination in learning more than other courses. I think this makes for a more activelearning experience rather than having every little detail spoon fed toyou. This course teaches to think in a new language instead of goingthrough translations so this might make it difficult if you have zeroknowledge of Italian vocabulary, but as it progresses u really do get afeel for how the language works.Eventhough no English is used, the initial "scenes" (what is usedinstead of lessons) are very simply presented and is not difficult at allto follow. Once you go through the course and master the simple vocabularywell enough, you can use these tapes in the car with no problem. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Good Start
First, if you already know the basics and can communicate effectively in Russian, you probably won't find much new material here. But when I bought this program I could barely say "good morning." If you are in that position and want to learn, this program is a wonderful starting place. I was a little disappointed at first when I saw there were only two tapes, but when I listened to them, and read the companion book, I saw that they had most of the phrases a beginner would need.
You can listen to the tapes in the car, and carry the book around to read in your spare time.
I would recommend using the them together the first time through, because the book gives you the spelling, phonetically and with the Russian spelling, while the tapes, which follow the book exactly, let you hear the words prounounced, once in English and twice in Russian. Sometimes the phrases are a little long, and a little frustrating, so the book is helpful until they become more familiar
As an added bonus, there is an interesting introduction to the Russian language in the beginning of the book, and some cultural notes at the ending of the book and the tapes. ... Read more

Book Description

A book/audio combination pack that includes a best-sellingBerlitz Phrase Book and provides the business or pleasure traveler with basic survival language skills and foreign language phrases. Each pack has beencompletely revised to include up-to-date language, more cultural tips, and mini dialogues that depict typical situations a traveler may encounter. In addition, the audiocassettes now reflect the content materials of the Phrase Books. A narrator introduces and explains the language elements, refers to exercises in the Phrase Book, and prompts learners. Audio materials, all recorded by avariety of native speakers, explore, review, and reinforce the phrases, dialogues,and vocabulary of the text. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Helpful
Not designed to learn the language, only for learning vocabulary. If you think you'll be able to converse in Russian after these tapes, you won't. There's no grammar, or anything like that. Although, that's not a bad thing! It's fun when going through a book-based course and saying "Hey, I already know that word!". It's a good supplement to a book-based course. It's been helpful to me because when I study using other methods, it's always good to have a few less words to memorize. It's a little boring just hearing "word - translation - word - translation", but the music makes it a little more tolerable. It's a helpful program, and with so many words, I think I'll be using it for a long time.

Russian/English: Set (3-Level Set): Vocabulearn
These tapes are an excellent tool to improve the language skills both for those who speak Russian and learn English as well as native English speakers who struggle to succeed in Russian. The best way to increase the vocabulary. If you are looking for the grammar drills these tapes are not for you. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

I changed my mind---it [is bad]!
I hate this thing, not only did it cost [$$$], but it has no english! This is not for beginners! I repeat, it has NO ENGLISH at all! None! Not even in the Audio! [...].

I have to say it for people who actually KNOW russian it a great product with audio tapes and work book.

[...]can't understand it.

IT HAS NO ENGLISH!!!

You need to know some basics first
These tapes and books will help you if you already have some knowledge of the language, as it goes right into conversation. But I was lost, forever lost in a world of unfamiliar letters, unusual sentence structure and words that incorporate the prepositions.

By far the best introduction to Russian available.
I bought this package before leaving for Moscow to study beginner's Russian. While the class at Moscow State University, with its starchy Soviet-style rote memorization system still in place, bored me to despair, evenings spent with Express Track to Russian quickly sent me to the top of the class and allowed me to quickly graduate to a more interesting intermediate-level course. Not only is this course package comprehensive, it is bubbling with cultural flavour. From the dialogue of the wife castigating her husband for reading the newspaper while eating breakfast ("It's bad for your health!"), to the hilariously aggressive intonation of "Allo!" employed by Russian men over the telephone (I repeated the telephone dialogue to a Russian student shortly after, making sure to copy the intonation, and she burst into laughter, asking me how I managed to imitate Russian intonation so quickly), the entire package is brimming with beautiful cultural nuance which will stay with the serious student of Russian for years to come. This is now my fifth year of studying Russian, and I can honestly say that this was the best, most memorable self-study course that I have ever come across. The only pity is that there is not a more advanced follow-up course (and that the other Express Track programmes (e.g. French) are not nearly as good).

Good learning source
I wanted to learn Russian, and I found this program to be worthwhile, and effective. Express track to Russian comes with a text book, work book, learners guide, answer booklet, as well as four audio tapes. This program emphasis all areas of language learning, speaking, listining, writing, and reading. If you are willing to put in the effort and time, this product will help you learn Russian.

Excellent
Very easy to understand and follow. The speakers on the tapes speak relatively clearly and the textbooks are fun without being too childish. An excellent program for those who have absoutely no knowledge of Russian, but want or need to learn. ... Read more

Book Description

Business in a foreign country, this audio program includes specific vocabulary for 13 different industries, introductions, project planning and reporting, socializing, and how to manage meetings and negotiate. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Norwegian Language
The tape is not the greatest if you are just starting from scratch, but it is helpfull. It doesnt help you that much with the structure and set up of the Norwegian Language, it simply repeats phrases over and over. However, I am still using it and I find it help full. The Phrase book also has usefull information.

A concise, but limited course
This booklet and tape set is not the most complete language set you will find, but it is adequate if you are in a hurry to pick up some of the language. I found the tapes to be most useful. Most of it is just repetition til it's drilled into you. ... Read more