www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Hello everyone,



Just thought I'd chime in with three recommendations for those that want to learn spanish but don't have time to attend a school.

From my local library I picked up a book called Latin American Spanish - A Complete Course For Beginners. (ISBN 0 8442 3932 1) It came as a set with 2 audio CDs and 2 cassettes (which I think have the same content as the CDs) and a little shirt pocket sized book by OXFORD called Quick Latin American Spanish. (ISBN 0 19 860739 3). Actually I haven't had time to get into the main book but I have nearly finished the Quick book and can wholeheartedly recommend it. I'm very impressed with it. Work your way through it and you'll be well on your way to speaking travelling - if not conversational spanish. Of course it's lacking in any help related to negotiating and having sex. For help there I recommend:

Lonely Planet's phrasebook - Latin American Spanish. (ISBN 1 74059 170 4). The Romance section starts on P113 and gets to the heart of the matter (SEX) on P116. I flipped it open to that page when talking to the chicas at two different strip clubs (when I had them in my lap) and the really got a kick out of it. So... if you like to hear beautiful chicas giggle and laugh - try it.

Finally, as Witling mentioned in another post, there's http://www.studyspanish.com/ which is a GREAT site. Lots of free instruction - with audio!

That's all. Have fun practicing those new tongue movements on the chicas now!

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Chica Chaser

I forgot to include a link to a great online translator.

http://translation.paralink.com/

It comes in very handy when writing to a chica and/or calling them. Try it out - and be sure to check the Back Translation. That's a good way to check see if you're saying what you think you're saying. Sometimes you're not - with hilarious results too.

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Chica Chaser

Chica Chaser,

Thanks for the link for the translator!

If you have the budjet nothing can beat the Berlitz schools that are all over the country, Spanish is their most popular course so if they have a big class it can be economical for you or if you have the budjet you could take one of their private classes and they shedule the class around your needs. I have see gringos who dont speak a lick of spanish suddenly hold long conversations hours on end.

So i recomend anyone to look into Berlitz as an option for spanish.

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Hey Guys,
There is a little book called "Hot Spanish". It is a phrase book, not intended for educational purposes but for instant trans. and fun. Published by Babelcom Press. I bought ot for $9.95 six yrs ago and Chicagoguy has searched for it and it must now be a "collectors" item as he could only find used copies ranging from $90 and up. If you can find it , it is a great little book with everything from simple phrases to "hot" topics like : take it in your mouth!!! The best thing is it fits in your back pocket and the chicas get areal kick out of reading the espanol/englese translations with you. It is good for a lot of laughs and instant raport!!!
PAX,
Sluthog

I believe the owner of TSM bought the inventory a few years ago.
He used to give them out when you became a member of the website.

I have a copy from 1995. Now what is my bid?

Don't anyone buy them untill I get my copy


www.singletravel.com/hotbooks/

Chica Chaser,

Thanks for the ISBN numbers. As you're all probably aware, there are several sites you can search by ISBN and it'll search for the lowest prices. I use:

http://www.campusi.com/bookFind/

As for learning, I've started taking small-group lessons, but I've been so busy working I've missed the last three weeks! The Audio CDs are best for me, because the only time I seem to have time is while driving and I tend to have a half-dozen 3+ hour drives a month. Any recommendations on CDs?

Thanks,
Loafie

If you are in CR for a week .. do CRLA ... excellent school!

Hello everyone,



I clicked a link at http://translation.paralink.com/ to their Pocket PC translation program. ( http://www.smartlinkcorp.com/translatio ... -info.html ). For anyone with one you might want to spend the $60. You can Try before you buy too. Now if I could just get my BE-300 working with XP...

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Chica Chaser

The best audio course I’ve found is called LEARN IN YOUR CAR by Penton Overseas. It recites a phrase in English and then repeats it twice in Spanish. I listen to it when commuting to work. It has 3 levels. The full package includes 121 lessons on 9 CDs with 3 pocket-size books. You can frequently find used copies on Amazon.com or buy it for $40 directly from the Penton Overseas web site.
http://www.pentonoverseas.com/learn-in- ... d-sets.htm

To get the most out of the above course, you need to know a little about the rules of grammar and verb conjugation. The free online course already mentioned in this thread is great for that:
http://www.studyspanish.com/tutorial.htm

There is also an online verb conjugator that is useful. You can use this free for a limited time before you have to buy the software for $30, then you can run it from your PC. I bought it and think it is well worth the price.
http://www.verbix.com/languages/spanish.shtml.

Don Giovanni,



That home study course you mentioned, LEARN IN YOUR CAR by Penton Overseas? I was going to buy it until I borrowed the course I mentioned from the library. I don't know though, maybe it would still be worth getting. Repitition repitition repitition eh?



Oh and thanks for the link to the online verb conjugator. That'll come in handy. I was, and probably still will, do a google for a printable list of the most often used. I'm tired of speaking in present tense.

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Chica Chaser

Hi Chica Chaser

I’ve only used that LEARN IN YOUR CAR course for 3 or 4 weeks, but I think I’ve made more progress than I did in 3 months working through the Living Language course. The main thing I learned is just how crucial the verb conjugations are and how bad I’ve been screwing them up, which explains why people don’t understand me or misunderstand what I’m trying to say. I’ve listened to about 15 lessons so many times I know them by heart, which really helps me to remember the grammar rules and conjugations they illustrate. I’m not trying to be a salesman for Penton, but this course works well for me. Of course, I commute to work for 2 hours every weekday so I’m getting a lot of practice.

One thing I forgot to include in my earlier post is an excellent free online Spanish-English dictionary. This web site not only provides definitions, it usually gives many examples of how to use the words—especially for verbs.

http://wordreference.com/

Pimsleur's "Learn Spanish on CD Audiobook" lessons are awesome. 3 sets/levels (I, II, and II)... each consisting of about 30 lessons of 20 minutes each.

They sell for around $200 each... but a friend of mine accidently downloaded all three levels (1800 minutes of instruction) free through a peer-to-peer file sharing service (by searching for "pimsleur" on KazAa or eDonkey).

He then, accidently of course, burned the whole mess onto about 30 CDs. Another option is to put the downloaded MP3 files on an iPod or similar MP3 player.

BUT - I am in no way suggesting that anyone violate US Copyright laws (as I said, like my friend did accidently).

Don, I received the same course last week. I am still on tape 1. I just play it over and over. I could easily see spending a few weeks on tape 1. Each time I play it I pick up a new word or a reason for el, la, etc. I believe I paid about $25 for the course. What is really helpful is the pronunciation, something a book could never accomplish. The small books are great since you can hear and see the words. I still have 4 weeks for my first trip. At least now I will be able to ask for a check in the restaurant. Actually I think I will be able to decipher la carta.

Good luck with the course.