Rapid Spanish

Volume 1

By: Earworms Learning

Narrated by: Marlon Lodge

Length: 1 hr and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

Earworms mbt© is a revolutionary accelerated learning technique that takes the hard work out of learning.

By listening to these specially composed melodies with their rhythmic repetitions of Spanish and English a few times, you pick up over 200 essential words and phrases that will not just be on the tip of your tongue, but will be burned deeply into your long-term memory in next to no time.

If you like music, and want to make rapid progress without any formal knowledge of language learning, earworms mbt© Rapid Spanish is the course for you.

Volume 1 is your survival kit of essential words and phrases to get you by on your trip abroad. Volume 2 will have you talking about yourself, past, present, and future, expressing your opinions, chatting, and flirting (who knows?).

You will feel you are learning within minutes and might just be amazed by how easy acquiring a language can be!

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2005 earworms mbt (P)2005 earworms mbt

Absolutely Great!!!

The easy background music, clarity of what is being said, along with explainations you can understand, makes you want to pay attention and learn the language. I'd give this 10 stars if I was able to. This is the most pleasant Spanish language tape I've heard in ages. I hope Audible gets every volume, because I'm ready buy them.

Fun and helpful

The lesson and narrators were fun and easy to follow. A painless way learn simple Spanish phrases!

Good for basic vocabulary

Good for vocabulary review. We are doing pimslaur but using this for vocabulary review. Well worth the inexpensive price. Cool

An interesting approach

I have to admit that at first I was skeptical about this book once I started to listen to it. The background music and lyrical approach of the presentation of the language is completely new to me. I see this book as one more tool in my quest to learn some Spanish. It's not going to appeal to everyone, to be sure, but I'm not disappointed that I bought it.

I think that the more ways a person can expose themselves to language the better able they are to retain and understand the vocabulary and grammar.

Not sure about getting it? When you realise that taking a couple friends out for a chai latte can cost more than this book, I'd say you get full value for the money!

OK if you don't mind Castilian accent

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Not what I expected: the description mentioned music, I thought maybe this was another one in which the words are reinforced thru use of songs. Not so; the music is mostly background. It alternates between "techno", which I found a bit annoying at first but quickly got used to, and traditional Spanish-style guitar music. Actually made it kind of nicer for a work-out tape during exercising, which is mainly when I use it (I like to multi-task!)
I think there should be something on all Spanish language audio recordings, though, which indicates if the speakers are British English and Castilian Spanish, as these are, vs. Mexican/Latin American type phrases and accent. The speakers do pause every once in a while to mention differences in words or pronunciation between the two regions; but overall it is definitely written for a British person intending to take a trip to Spain. Since I am planning on traveling from the U.S. to Central America, this made things a little less useful for me.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The interaction between the characters was kind of cute, if slightly corny; definitely gave things a bit more interest than merely reciting a bunch of words and phrases.

Which character ??? as performed by Marlon Lodge ??? was your favorite?

I'm assuming Marlon Lodge only performed the male character (English) part, as there was definitely a female native speaker performing the other part!

Could you see Rapid Spanish being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Not really, unless the public broadcasting station wants to start a new Spanish language educational program.

Any additional comments?

I don't think it would be sufficient to use this program alone to try to learn Spanish; but for someone just beginning to learn Spanish as I am, it is a nice supplement. For one thing, it provides reinforcement of whatever you might be learning from a textbook, by hearing actual dialogue in Spanish with proper pronunciation (albeit Castilian); for another, with an MP3 player you can use it in the car or while exercising, i.e. places you might not be able to use a computer or a book. There is not a lot of attempt to explain the grammar or why you are saying things the way you are; so again, it is good just as a supplement to a book or computerized program.

Music is distracting and makes the words hard to understand.

Slow pace of learning and useful text. Good repetition and clear pronunciation. Useful words and sentences.

A fun way to learn Spanish

I purchased this book to listen to on my drive to and from work each day. The music is relaxing and the way the material is presented makes learning fun. I think it would be a great way for children to learn with a similar book on their level. I have always had trouble with languages but this has been both entertaining and fun. I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn Spanish especially if they are planning a trip to a Spanish speaking destination. Can't wait for Volume 2.

For Vacations

It is OK to learn a little bit of Spanish to visit Spain. The accent is Castillian which for someone like me in California is not what I would wish for. Not good if you want to actually learn a lot of Spanish but it is OK so you know how to order some food or take a taxi or other tourist stuff.

Can't Understand Always

You really need somone to interpret what she is saying if you want to use this course. She frequently talks too fast and the music makes her unclear. He has the clearer voice and is easier to understand in Spanish and it would be better if he said more of the phrases. If you have another course on Spanish and use this one in conjunction with it, it makes this course easier to use and more fun. I really enjoy the music along with the phrases once I figure the phrases out and it makes learning more fun.

I love it!

I just put it on in the background when I am at my computer, then when I am in the car I have it up louder and try to say the Spanish before the narrator does - it works like a charm!