Mastering Spanish - Level Two
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Title:
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Mastering Spanish Level Two
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Author:
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Robert P. Stockwell et al
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Publisher:
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Barron's Educational Series, Hauppauge, NY
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ISBN:
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0-8120-7919-1
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Reviewed By:
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Frank Fogg
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Review Date:
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May, 2003
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Rating:
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Barron's Mastering Spanish Level Two is a complete course for those seeking to improve their fluency in the Spanish language. It is a twelve cassette tape course with each tape holding about 70 minutes of audio dialogs and includes an instructional manual. The course is packaged in an attractive bookcase cover that neatly holds all of the cassette tapes and the manual.
 The lessons in this series of courses are presented in units. Each unit begins with a series of basic sentences, then these sentences and their structures are built upon to form the basis for the lesson. A variety of drills are used to reinforce what has been learned in each chapter, including pattern, word substitution, response, translation, variation and conversation drills. The dialog for each unit is laid out in a side-by-side format in the book along with the English translations and a pronunciation key. Finally, the dialog is repeated one last time for fluency.
This course is designed for training the intermediate to advanced level Spanish student. The program concentrates on improving the ability of the listener to properly conjugate verbs in all of their tenses, improving listening by presentation of dialogs at normal conversational speed, and on recall by reviewing previously presented subject material.
All of the units use a distinctive training technique to improve retention of the lesson. Basic sentences are demonstrated to the listener, then the phrase is changed one word at a time to show how it can be applied in various situations. The variety and type of drills provide substantial reinforcement of what has been learned and rapid expansion of vocabulary and understanding of grammatical concepts. There are also some short audio portions that cover cultural highlights in Spain and Latin America.
This course has a number of features that intermediate and advanced students will find highly attractive. Contrasting vowel and consonant patterns are presented to improve pronunciation of the language. All of the dialogs are presented at normal conversational speed, preparing the listener for Spanish as it is naturally spoken. The accent is relatively neutral, with an emphasis on Latin-American style pronunciations. The greatest strength of the program is the wide variety of material that is covered in great detail and repetition.
Some of the lessons in the manual only have the Spanish portion with no English translation. While I personally found this a little less convenient, it is one of only a few reservations I had about this program. Everything about this course and its production is first class. This is one of the few home-study courses available that allows the student to improve their listening and conversational skills beyond an intermediate level.
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