If you are learning a second language like Spanish, there are basically two method you can employ. You can learn the language in a country where it is spoken – the so called immersion methods. Or you can stay at home and learn it through traditional or self study home courses.
Each method has it’s own positives and negatives but the immersion method requires extra cost and time to be able to do. This is often out of reach for many people that have jobs, a mortgage or a family. Learning a language is a full time occupation using this method.
Whilst it is not as convenient as a home study course, immersion learning is reputedly the most effective. This is logical as you get live in the country and take in all the cultural aspects of the country to reinforce your learning.
Using a home study course is not as expensive and you can fit it into any kind of lifestyle but it probably won’t be as effective because you don’t get the same type or level of exposure to the language as you would with immersion. With this said, a home study course can teach you some of the basics of a language.
So if you are motivated and determined to learn Spanish, a good self study course can help you reach a capable conversational Spanish level. It can help you when you go on vacation in a Spanish speaking country or maybe even come in handy when you have business involving speaking Spanish.
So here are a few home study learn Spanish computer programs that may help you reach your Spanish language goals.
Visual Link Spanish
This is a good learn Spanish computer program. It uses multi media to gets it’s point across. So a word or action is represented by a graphical figure or character doing the action/ representing the word. I also like the way it simplifies the sentence structure so that you can be saying reasonably useful sentences within about 5 minutes of using the program. In fact this is their catchphrase or byline on the product – that you will be speaking complete Spanish sentences in five minutes. Of course it gets more complicated as the grammar becomes more complex but it is a good program.
Rocket Spanish
Rocket Spanish is a good learn Spanish program that has been sold online for a few years now. It stands out from many other products in that it can be downloaded over the internet. so you don’t have to wait 2 weeks to get your course. you can be using it 30 minutes after purchase. Rocket Spanish is not strictly just a computer program. Although it has two computer games for learning comprehension and vocabulary, it also has an interactive pdf course and an mp3 course. So you can us ethe mp3 course when you are out and about and use the games and pdf course at home on the computer. It even has flash cards that can be printed out and played with other people if you want a bit of human interaction. You can sign up for a free six day course to get a feel for the Rocket Spanish program.
Before You Know It
Before You Know It uses simple phrases as the building blocks of language much like visual link. The computer program allows you to learn Spanish using sight and sound. It also has a feature to record your accent when speaking and play it back against a native speaker. This can be useful to hone your accent although I have never really liked these kinds of features. You also need to get a microphone. There is also a “lite” version of the program that can be downloaded for free. It shows you how the program works with a few of the introductory lessons. You can get a feel for the program and whether it would suit your learning style. Then you can upgrade to the paid version.
Any of these three programs can help tyou get to a reasonable level in your Spanish studies but ultimately they will only be successful if you apply yourself to the material. No course is a magic bullet and you will only get as much out as you put into it.
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