Rush Hour Spanish

I bought three titles to learn Spanish, and almost instantly stopped the other two, (Raymond and Pimsleur) Senior Gonzales and the tactless singers really grow on you, and even with a PhD. I find myself singing in the car(alone). It is really worth the money if you need to converse with humans instead of become a walking Spanish Dictionary. I ended up liking it!

The first time I almost shut this program off after only five minutes. However, I went with it despite the goofy story and low budget Broadway style music. After three listens I knew the songs and the vocabulary. As I returned to my traditional Spanish lessons I found myself hearing the songs and remembering this material more clearly than I have any other program. I would purchase more of these were they availible.

I would recommend this to anyone interested in learning Spanish or brushing up before a trip. The songs and dialogue are a little cheesy but entertaining and most importantly effective. The words in some of the dialogue and songs are a little hard to hear, and this is probably more effective for someone with a little familiarity with Spanish. Someone starting from scratch should probably use this in conjunction with or after some basic instruction.

Although this series is certainly entertaining and easier on the ears, the songs just aren't a good way to teach Spanish. I had difficulty picking up anything but the most rudimentary phrases, as the more advanced stuff they just breeze over; the speed is quite random, they seem to focus on the easier stuff and gloss over the harder stuff. The songs get a bit annoying after awhile as well, but I definitely picked up enough Spanish to converse a bit. I think Pimsleur is better, it's not as fun but much more productive.

While the approach seems cheesey at first, it does sort of grow on you after a bit. I have a two hour commute each evening, and actually look forward to listening to it again on the bus. There is a story to the vocabulary as well, which furthur keeps you engaged.

I hope they come out with a Rush Hour Spanish II and pick up where the relationship ended.

I am really pleased with this program! I bought it hoping it would help my 8th grade daughter who is in her 2nd year of Spanish. It turned out to be the perfect program. It covers everything they learned last year and will learn this year. I couldn't have hired a better tutor!
A nice bonus was that my other 3 children absolutely love it.
~The first thing my 4 year old son asks for when we get in the car is, "can I hear 'Table for Two-Un mesa para dos' on your Ipod"? The second time he heard it he was already singing the songs and pronouncing the spanish words beautifully. He may not know what he is saying at this point but it's a great introduction to Spanish and it gets their ears used to the sounds of Spanish.
~I found it helpful for myself as well. Although the songs were a bit silly, I remembered more from those songs than I did from listening to the other Spanish lessons I bought.(Pimsleur..too sloooowww!)
~My only con is that sometimes they sing the phrases so quickly we have a hard time understanding what they're saying. We have to have my mother listen and translate. But for this price, so what!
~ I would recommend this as a GREAT family selection. Get everyone involved and sing the songs together. Then really practice what you heard around the house or when you come in contact with anyone that speaks Spanish. I think you're going to be surprised how much you pick up.

Really cheesey way to brush up on your spanish, but within five minutes I had stopped cringing and was singing along! What a horribly fun way to learn spanish. I would highly recommend this to anyone with a sense of humor.

At first it sounds a bit childish but you find yourself humming the songs during the day and realizing that your thinking about the lyrics in spanish. Give it a try it really works!

I was excited to buy this book based on the other reviews. I thought I could brush up on my limited espanol and expand my vocabulary. After listening to a CD full of Sesame Street-style, hoky music tunes, I opted to give it a little more time, as it did refresh my memory of how to translate colors, office supplies, clothing, and some other basic vocab.

Once the audiobook moved on to new vocabulary, though, I was in trouble. The garbled music tunes may have catchy melodies, but if you haven't learned the Spanish words they're using, you can't tell what they are saying. I would rather have a boring CD with someone E-NUN-CI-AT-ING the unfamiliar language. It was like trying to figure out the words to La Bamba without the sheet music: "baraballa la bamba! Sayeseita arrriba arriba!!!" Right?!

Do yourself a favor and buy a textbook so you can see the words, or find an audiobook that is less fun and more educational.

This one has catchy tunes. It is like a simple Spanish operatic love story and it is the best Spanish tape I have ever heard. I wish there were more of these.