Rating: - Does what it says on the tin.
I went to Amazon.com having failed to find an audio aid to rote learning Spanish verbs in the UK. Although I chose the slowest and cheapest postage I was amazed how quickly the CDs arrived (4 days). More to the point I am delighted with the product. I did not want a tricksy show, just a simple repetition of the verbs that I can copy, and that's just what I got. Thank you Amazon.com and Stacey.

 

Rating: - Bad piece of software
I really enjoyed using Study Spanish in your Car -- that was the foundation of what Spanish I have learned. I enjoyed that series so much that when I had gone through all 100+ lessons I am paying a graduate student at my University to create more MP3's in this genre that were tailored to my interests. So I was hoping for more of same. No. An endless, boring, useless list of verbs. Total waste of money. No use at all. Get the "Study Spanish in your car" series but don't bother with this one.

 

Rating: - Flashcards
Consider this set of four CDs to be something like the flashcards you used when you were learning in grade school.

I feel that listening to this set, along with the other things I am doing to learn Spanish, will be helpful. I have gotten to the point where I can speak and read Spanish reasonably well, but then can not understand a native speaker when he or she replies to me; so I am trying methods that involve listening rather than reading, as this is a different type of learning and probably a better way to learn a language.

This is also helpful because I discovered that when I was pronouncing verbs I was conjugating as I wrote them out (my old method) I would sometimes place the accent on the syllable that changed rather than the proper syllable.

This set is currently priced on Amazon at $14 - that's a good value for a four CD set.

The only thing I am confused about is the pronunciation of the letter "V." The narrator usually pronounces it like the "V" is pronounced in English, instead of pronouncing it like a letter "B." I don't understand why the words are presented this way - is this a regional accent from where the narrator learned Spanish?

 

Rating: - Love it...!
This cd set is excellent for everyone wanting to learn. I have bought many cd sets and found that most of them are too advanced for me to follow along. Stacey did a great job. The cd set includes a small written pocket notebook that is exceptionally useful for quick reference to verbs when studying or testing classmates.

I recommend this cd set.



 

Rating: - Drums are annoying


********
Author is good with the Spanish. Her English is Monotone!
********

Overall this is a good practice program. Unfortunately you have to listen to a drum beat between verbs and it's nerve racking. To make matters worse the volume of the drums tend to be higher than the voice on the CD. A slight pause would have been sufficient. Thank goodness there were no "dings".

Yes the author is mono tone but overall the concept is a good idea.

I wish they would have taken one verb and gone all the way through the different tenses, i.e. present, preterite, imperfect, ..... then switch verbs. By doing so one would get the full flavor of the verb and the drum beats would be okay because they would not be as often. But the common protocol is to cover each tense with a different verb before switching tenses.

This product would have been really nice if it had a CD for the computer so one could select a verb then listen to ALL of its conjugations in ALL tenses and also see them written down.

I strongly agree with the person who said "reversed the order of the English and Spanish phrases so the CD's say the English form once, e.g., I speak, followed by the Spanish form twice, e.g., yo hablo"

Also, I believe the person giving the English words should be different from the person saying the Spanish translation. Doing so would stop the CD from sounding so boring.

I would have given the product 5 stars except for the following issues: drum beats (major issue!), each verb covered only one tense at a time, no computer interaction.

The most important thing is that this product has a lot of potential and hopefully if there is another revision the producers will listen to and incorporate the user's comments.

Rating: - excellent learning program
This is a very easy way to learn and practice verb conjugations and learn new verbs at the same time. No, you cannot do it in one listening so don't expect miracles. In combination with other Spanish learning CD's you can learn to speak simple sentences and understand them in no time at all.

 

Rating: - I loved these CDs
There were some holes in my verb conjugation (ok, I was pretty much speaking solely in the present tense), but after listening to these CDs, I feel much more confident speaking Spanish. Stacey Tipton has a pleasant speaking voice, and an amicable persona. I am going to order her CDs at [...] for the simple fact that I am easily amused and had a 2-minute chuckle when I saw the pictures that correlate with the lyrics of Guantanamera. She does make practice fun.

 

Rating: - It would work if they made one change
There is one big problem that renders this program worthless (other than just being boring). Namely, it gives you the answer before it asks the question. In all other Spanish tapes and CD's there is an English statement or word followed by the same statement or word in Spanish. That way, you are constantly testing yourself and thinking about the material. This program works in reverse. That is, the Spanish verb form is stated twice, e.g., yo hablo, which is then followed once by the English equivalent, e.g., I speak.

For that reason, there is nothing to think about or try to remember as you go through the program. If you had to think about your answer for even a second before you answered, it would take an awful lot of the monotony out of the program, and you would learn the material a lot faster.

If the author made just this one change and reversed the order of the English and Spanish phrases so the CD's said the English form once, e.g., I speak, followed by the Spanish form twice, e.g., yo hablo, this would have been a very useful and effective program. As it is, the program is pretty worthless.

I would be willing to bet if you injected the author with truth serum that this was a boo-boo made when the CD's were finalized just prior to being put on the shelves. Therefore, perhaps the author could fix it with a second (useful) version, which would be free or discounted in exchange for the current version.


 

Rating: - Monotone and Unenthusiastic... to the point it would drive you crazy
The voice on this CD could not possibly be any more boring or monotone than it already is.

The level of enthusiasm projected by the speaker is enough to turn anyone off from learning how to speak Spanish.

I have many other audio learning aids, for Spanish and other languages. This is by far the worst to listen to. It sounds like a bored robot speaking.

 

Rating: - A drop in the bucket
101 Verbs isn't even close to what you need to know. Try 1001.
Ademas, ignoring the vosotros form is an inexcusable trend in the yank hemisphere.

Rating: - In Defense...Mimicking 501 Verbs in Audio Form
As the author I don't pretend to be objective, but allow me to offer a defense to the stucture of the program. Basically I set out to create an audio version of the most popular Spanish book ever written: 501 Spanish Verbs.

Nearly all audio programs attempting to teach you Spanish offer some type of verbs used in sentences or some other context. That was never the goal of the program. In fact, quite the opposite. Part of learning verbs requires memorization - as boring as that may sound. But the program also teaches patterns and encourages the listener to visualize as well - something several of the less than generous reviewers here have failed to mention. I've had hundreds of customers write that my verbs programs have been enormously helpful for them, but I think it's because they didn't expect more from the program than what it offered: a chance to practice and memorize the most important verbs, as well as the patterns related to these verbs, in order to jump start your ability to conjugate new verbs on the fly.

Now the guy who complains about small tidits of humor and suggest there is idle chatter - must be offended quite easily! There is very little chatter indeed - and any tidbits of humor are there because 99% of the students who would use the program find that tidbits of humor make the learning process more fun.

Don't buy this program if you are looking for an immersion experience, or want a presentation of the Spanish language in full context. Rather, if you want verbs and only verbs - and a quick, light way to learn them through audio with a bit of music in between to liven it up - then Spanish Verbs 101 may be for you.

 

Rating: - It could have been great
Of all the ways not to learn a language, this is probably the most irritating. The verbs are read in a ceaseless monotone, out of context. In a nutshell, this is how no one speaks Spanish. It's like trying to learn a language by having someone who is very bored read you a dictionary. What a disappointment, because the concept is good and with only a modicum of imagination the results should have been great. Instead of bajo, bajas, baja, what if the verbs had been put in context? I'm going down the stairs? Did you go down to the river? etc. What if the basic sounds had been demonstrated? When you hear ...ere'or era, you know it's the future tense, when you hear ...ia, you know it's the past. Save your money!

 

Rating: - I love this CD!!
This audio demonstrates a "nuts and bolts' philosophy to spanish verbs. It is based on repetition, to the most common verbs - (the "back bone" of any language) However, it may be disappointing for one who wants more dialogue and examples of sentence structure, but for one who is looking to strengthen their verb skill - this is an awesome CD!!

 

Rating: - Effective - but boring
This is a great CD for those who want to memorize verb tenses. The CD is a little boring, as it is simply one woman who conjugates verbs, and then gives an english translation for each one. Each tense is done in order, then starting with the -ar verbs, then -er verbs then -ir verbs. It is the verbal equivelent of reading the 501 Spanish verbs book outloud! Note: the third person plural form, or the vos form, is not given. This form is mainly used in Spain.

Ex: Hablo - I speak
Hablas - You speak
Habla - He/She/You speak
Hablamos - We speak
Hablan - They speak

They go alphabetically from there. This covers the present, preterite, imperfect, future perfect, and present progressive (I think). There are no phrases, sentences nor context given, only cojugated verbs. This is much better than writing verbs over and over again, and good for learning some new verbs, but take it for what it is. A little maddening to listen to, but a good review if you need some intensive memorization. Better for the more advanced student, who is learning tenses past the present tense. The most annoying part of this CD is that after every conjugation, the english equivalent is given. For example:
"Hablo, I speak, Hablas, you speak" The half english in the forms is really annoying after awhile. The listener does not become immersed in the spanish experience.
 

Where to buy