Reviews (7)

One of the leaders in the field
My Master's thesis was a review and rating of large Spanish-English dictionaries. Since then, I have conducted follow-up studies to keep up with the market.
Extaordinary Piece of Work
This dictionary is the best you can find around. I?ve compared it with the Simon & Shuster dictionary and I have to say Harper Collins is way better, specially for people working as translators. A must have. It has no match!

HarperCollins Unabridged Spanish Dictionary
I did not think it was possible to exceed the old second edition, which I already had.If you are patient with this dictionary, you can decipher the meaning of just about anything you find written down and much of what is spoken.They give very good examples and hold back nothing.HarperCollins uses a no-star, one-star, two-star and three-star rating on words so you know if the word can be interpreted as something vulgar and just how vulgar it really is.The 8th edition uses highlighted text, which makes finding meanings, etc much easier.I think the binding quality is equal to that of my second edition and thankfully, ch is no longer a letter! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Dictionaries    2. English    3. English language    4. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    5. Foreign Language Study    6. Spanish    7. Spanish Language    8. Spanish: Adult Nonfiction    9. Foreign Language Study / Spanish   

Subjects:  1. Ancient Languages - Classical Greek    2. Inscriptions, Linear B    3. Ancient (Classical) Greek    4. Language Arts & Disciplines / General    5. Literary studies: classical, early & medieval   

Reviews (8)

Excellent for ELL in Elementary
I found this book had great strategies to apply in an elementary setting for all my students.

Practical
I think this book has many practical ideas, not just for ELLs, but for teaching in traditional classrooms as well.

Idealistic
I agree that Herrell focuses on practice as well as theory. As a teacher in a high school with a large ELL population (I have from 12-18 kids in each class; large by ESL standards), I sometimes found her suggestions laughable. Although I became a teacher knowing that it is not, no matter what anyone says, an 8-4 job, I find it fascinating that she believes I have the time to keep organized folders and journals tracking the daily success of each student when public education demands so much mindless, useless paperwork and other duties that makes it a miracle that I can even finish grading and designing lesson plans at all. I believe Heller has some beautiful, albeit idealistic ideas, but she often seems to forget about the difficulties in classroom management and "school business" that prevents many wonderful ideas from taking place. I guess what I really mean is that I was hoping for suggestions on how to balance the "corporate" part of public education with effective, motivating strategies. Also, maybe high school is different. I think a lot of these strategies may work better with younger kiddoes, who are often much more motivated to learn.
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Subjects:  1. Education    2. Education Of Special Classes Of Persons    3. English As A Second Language    4. English language    5. Foreign Language Study    6. Foreign speakers    7. General    8. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    9. Linguistics    10. Study and teaching    11. Teaching Methods & Materials - General    12. Education / Teaching Methods & Materials / General    13. English    14. Primary / junior schools    15. Secondary schools   

Reviews (1)

HAVE KIDS?
Then you must own this dictionary.It helped my 12 year old son immensely.With the help of this dictionary, he actually understood the vocabulary words he was assigned, could use them correctly in sentences as well as in converstation.Sorry Websters, this is a friendly, usable dictionary for students of all ages. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. English as a Second Language    2. Foreign Language Study    3. Language    4. Polyglot Dictionaries    5. ELT dictionaries & reference    6. English   

Reviews (5)

very good
I am married to a costa rican and we are moving in 1 month to live in costa rica. So I needed to learn more than the basics. I needed to learn how to speak in sentences,I knew plenty of words but I coudnt put them together. So I talked like a baby.Thisis a great set very easy to follow. The books are great in the begining but when I start to get the cd pretty good I will put it on while I am cleaning and work like that. I don't think my spanish will be perfect after this, that will take alot more time. But if you stick with it, you wiil get a very good base.

Easy to learn Spanish program.
I have reviewed a lot of Spanish programs and I believe that this is probably one of the easier to learn Spanish programs.
Speak in a week hahahaah
I found it easy to follow and very easy to understand. The book went right along with the CD...but like anything else, you have to practice, practice, practice and my accent sucks!!!But it is a great product to use for a beginer and my husband has gotten many hours of laughter out of my practicing!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Misc. Nonfiction    2. Foreign Language Study    3. Spanish    4. Spanish: Adult Nonfiction    5. Translating & Interpreting    6. Unabridged Audio - Misc.Nonfiction    7. Language self-study & phrasebooks   

Reviews (7)

Low Quality => Low Value
Seeing the merchandise in person is not as important if you're buying a book, but it really may change your opinion on whether or not it's worth the purchase if the merchandise is flashcards.
Worth the money!
I was put off buying these cards by some of the negative reviews, but went ahead when I saw a sample card in a store. In a Japanese bookshop, they cost about 8500 yen, or $85 in US dollars. They are well worth it, as they are a good size, contain exactly the right amount of information (not too little, not too much) and are cross-referenced to other courses. You can put 100 in your pocket and review them on the train. One wonderful experience I had was in a jam-packed Narita express one night, where all of the Japanese people around me were getting into it, cheering or groaning each time I turned over a card. We had a good-sized group of 'contestants' after half an hour or so! After all, some of Heisig's kanji are not so easy - even for native speakers. I am proud to say that I now know a few kanji that some of my Japanese co-workers don't...and it drives them up the wall. The cards have the Chinese and Japanese readings and the 'real' meanings, which are, 95% of the time, the Heisig one anyway. They also have example compounds - and it is a joy to realize that you can figure these out after a while with a bit of intuition!
kanji cards
I will admit the cards are helpful, but for the price, not enough. I expected better quality and better kanji information. Yeah, buying them savse time, but making them saves money and I've found that when I write the cards myself, I learn the information better. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blank Books / Diaries / Memory Books    2. General    3. Japanese    4. Language    5. Study Guides    6. Language self-study & phrasebooks    7. Writing skills   

Reviews (8)

I take exception for its usefulness for EVERY teaching situation...
This book has been of limited usefullness for me. I've found only a few activities in here that would be practical for my classes of 40 Korean middle schoolers, but I also believe I'm in a bit of an unusual situation trying to teach English to such big classes. That being said, I did find it useful for, if nothing else, getting my own ideas rolling. I would also like to add that it's rather pricey for a flimsy little book, but I'm sure that if my situation were different it would have been well worth the money. I can pretty much recommend it to everyone EXCEPT those with unusually large class sizes, but it would be good for them too if they could find it used. Otherwise there are good resources to be found online for free.

Good Activity Resource Book
This book contains many quick activities that require little preparation.It's a good tool for use in the EFL classroom.Many of the activities seem geared for middle school and up, though they can be easily adapted for elementary students.This book would be quicker to use if the activities were marked as appropriate for beginner, intermediate and advanced at the beginning of the description.

Excellent
This is an excellent tool for beginners and advanced teachers alike.This book helps you find ways to teach English, and while you are using it you will develop your own unique ways of changing their material to fit your needs. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Activity programs in education    2. Education / Teaching    3. Elementary    4. English as a Second Language    5. Foreign Language Study    6. Language    7. Language arts (Elementary)    8. Teaching Methods & Materials - Classroom Planning    9. ELT: teaching theory & methods    10. English    11. Foreign Language Study / English as a Second Language   

Reviews (6)

enhancements are available
the book is okay, i would suggest using the companion premium website and purchasing the program cds - set of 15. the latter is available through the publisher's website.

Ok, but not great
I actually ordered the wrong edition of the manual, but that's not why I didn't give it a great rating. I'm using the Mosaicos textbooks for a basic Spanish class, and I don't like the way they're set up. They teach phrases before grammar and put all the vocabulary at the end of the chapters instead of the beginning. Coming out of years of Latin where we learned the fundamentals first, I've had a hard time adjusting. Frankly I don't think I'm learning as well on this new set up.

Mosaicos Spanish
Worst book I have ever used to learn a language.Who ever wrote the book was into a lot more than teaching.You need to use this disc or that disc or use the internet.The Prenhall is not very user friendly either.The book is very confusing. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. English    2. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    3. Foreign Language Study    4. Spanish    5. Spanish Language    6. Spanish: Adult Nonfiction    7. Textbooks for foreign speakers    8. Foreign Language Study / Spanish    9. Language teaching & learning material & coursework   

Reviews (17)

This book is Great.
Before I bought this book I alredy had a vocabulary of about 200 words, but without knowing the skeleton of the language these words were useless. I bought Learn Filipino, in a hope that it would present the grammar and allow me to effectively make sentences and conversation.
great beginning book
I love the CD and book. Very attractive laid out and easy to read. I like that they include songs in the book too.

Learn Filipino
I used this book for approx 2 weeks prior to a trip to the PI. My friends are impressed with what I learned since I was there previously. I like seeing the cartoons, cultural notes, songs, etc. It is definetly not a mundane language book. It keeps the learning light and fun. The CD sequences are a bit out of order, but if you follow the accompanying CD sequence sheet, it is not a big deal. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Foreign Language Study / Southeast Asian Languages    2. Filipino language    3. Foreign Language Study    4. Philippine languages    5. Philippines    6. Southeast Asian Languages    7. Study and teaching    8. Tagalog language   

Features

• Audiobook

Reviews (33)

Great way to learn a 6th language
I already speak English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, and have studied Latin.I bought a Berlitz book some years back and tried to use it to study Russian but soon gave up.It was a good thing, too.The Pimsleur course taught me that the Berlitz book was teaching the WRONG PRONUNCIATION for at least half the words.
Please Read a Negative Review!
I sure hope you've finished reading the positive reviews, and will now come to this review, and see the other side.
Learn to Speak!!
Fabulous program for actually learning how to SPEAK the language. To get full benefit from the course you should repeat the lessons several times to have them ingrained in you memory. The lessons are very well done. They are systematically progressive. They slowly add additional material whileconstantly reusing material from prior lessons that forces you recall what you have learned. This ingrains the material into your memory for practical use, not just memorization. The best part about this course is it is a truly a speaking course. You learn to pronounce correctly. I have had many native Russian speakers compliment me over and over about my pronunciation having little or no accent, which I credit to this course. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Language    2. Foreign Language Study    3. Russian    4. Unabridged Audio - Misc.Nonfiction    5. Foreign Language Study / Russian   

Reviews (40)

Best Spanish Book on the topic of Pronouns and Prepositions
This is a Spanish book in a class by itself. Most Spanish grammar books focus on verb conjugation.
Spanish Pronouns & prepositions
Great tool for the Gringo trying to learn Spanish. I like the regular practice and exercises included throughout the book.

Good practice for the spanish student
If you are looking for a good practice book on spanish pronouns; this is the book. Spanish grammar can be a challege for many, and this book helps to make it more clear. I recommend this book to anyone who's a novice spanish student or someone at the intermediate level. The practice tests are very helpful in this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    2. Foreign Language Study    3. Language    4. Spanish    5. Foreign Language Study / Spanish    6. Grammar & vocabulary    7. Modern languages: grammar   

Reviews (18)

(Unfortunately) The best Korean language learning book on the market!
This is the best Korean language learning book on the market, and that isn't saying much. As a language instructor, I can identify a multitude of problems with Teach Yourself Korean (Complete Course). This book's biggest failing is that the instruction does not adequately prepare you for the exercises because there is NO instructional reinforcement of concepts. Many concepts that should be grouped together for comparative analysis (such as proper particle usage), are scattered throughout the book. The use of the Korean writing script is inconsistent, so when completing the exercises at the end of each unit, you won't be able to check your spelling against the answers in the back. Also, the exercises sometimes contain overly open-ended questions that can be answered in a variety of ways. A beginner comparing his answers to those in the back may not actually be able to determine if his/her answer is correct.
(Unfortunately) The best Korean language learning book on the market!
This is the best Korean language learning book on the market, and that isn't saying much. As a language instructor, I can identify a multitude of problems with Teach Yourself Korean (Complete Course). This book's biggest failing is that the instruction does not adequately prepare you for the exercises because there is NO instructional reinforcement of concepts. Many concepts that should be grouped together for comparative analysis (such as proper particle usage), are scattered throughout the book. The use of the Korean writing script is inconsistent, so when completing the exercises at the end of each unit, you won't be able to check your spelling against the answers in the back. Also, the exercises sometimes contain overly open-ended questions that can be answered in a variety of ways. A beginner comparing his answers to those in the back may not actually be able to determine if his/her answer is correct.
Excellent book- Very easy to comprehend
I love this book it has made the Korean Language easy to learn.I was kind of worried about learning Hangul (Korean Script) because I thought it would have been hard for me.This book made it very easy to learn how to read it.Also if you want to hear the dialect just play the CD which is spoken ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio - Language    2. Audio Adult: Language    3. Dictionaries - General    4. Foreign Language Study    5. Korean    6. Korean Language    7. Foreign Language Study / Korean   

Reviews (61)

Good for the Money
My opinion of this beginner's guide is that anything for this price with a decent word or two of Spanish on it is worth the few bucks it costs to purchase it.
simple
this book has all the basics. Good morning, good night, how are you. Most people know this already. If you are going to a spanish country and staying in a nice resort then this book could help. but if you want to learn to speak spanish this is not a very good book for you.

Vocab builder
I'd highly recommend it for building your vocabulary.I just wish it were more comprehensive.However, if you're just beyond the beginners' stage, just learning 75% of this material will take you a long way. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    2. Foreign Language Study    3. General    4. Glossaries, vocabularies, etc    5. Language    6. Spanish    7. Spanish language    8. Foreign Language Study / Spanish    9. Language learning: specific skills    10. Language teaching & learning material & coursework   

Reviews (7)

Best dictionary of its size, bar none
This dictionary was recommended by my Spanish teacher -- I don't regret buying it.Classmates who bought other ditionaries (such as the Oxford, I think it was) often needed to borrow mine.It simply has more of the words we needed to look up.Later, I bought the New World Spanish/English dictionary, and hated it.It seems to be missing a lot of words.Looking words up feels more frustrating.It's hard to explain.I just don't love the New World the way I love my Chicago.
Small but very useful.
I am working on upgrading my Spanish and, of course, have on hand to help me do this 20 or 30 books on grammar, lexicon, usage, etc., not to mention reading matter in Spanish.I have a large dictionary and one whose definitions are in Spanish.This is a neat little supplement, with intelligent and up-to-date word selections and definitions, easy to carry, pop it out and review a dozen or so words while you're having coffee or waiting for a bus some place.Sure, it's not the last word in dictionaries, but it's a good word.You won't regret having bought it.

A hack job, unworthy of its predecessors
In this new edition the editors have eliminated the greater part of the indications of regional usage. This had been one of the great selling points of the earlier editions of the University of Chicago Spanish Dictionary. In their introduction there is some explanation to the effect that tracing regional usage is "notoriously difficult". It is true that good lexicography is "notoriously difficult" and if the editors find it too difficult, they should go into another business.
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Subjects:  1. Dictionaries    2. Dictionaries - General    3. English    4. English language    5. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    6. Polyglot Dictionaries    7. Reference    8. Spanish    9. Spanish language    10. Spanish: Adult Nonfiction    11. Reference / Dictionaries   

Subjects:  1. Composition & Creative Writing - General    2. General    3. Language    4. Language Arts & Disciplines    5. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    6. Creative writing guides    7. Language teaching & learning material & coursework   

Reviews (18)

Italian Verb Drills Better With Behind the Wheel Italian Revised
I have owned and used Italian Verb Drills for years.I would describe it as the quintessential bedrock source for a simplified learning of a potentially complex subject, namely, Italian Verbs.The book is so complete that a simple review will not capture it all.Suffice it to say that it is organized in such a way that anyone is sure to maximize their learning and understand of Italian verbs and idioms in a minimum of time.
Better With Italian Behind the Wheel Complete
I took Amazon's advice and bought Italian Verb Drills to complement my Italian Behind the Wheel Complete Course.
Italian verbs
I am finding this work book to go along very well with my Pimsleur language CDs.There are good exercises to reinforce useage. I am a beginner learner and am finding it well written, easy to follow and extremely helpful.I am using it in conjunction with Barron's Italian Verb work book as well and am finding that they explain things a little differently from each other, so what I don't get from one I get from the other. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Composition and exercises    2. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    3. Foreign Language Study    4. Grammar    5. Italian    6. Italian Language    7. Language    8. Verb    9. Foreign Language Study / Italian    10. Language learning: specific skills    11. Language self-study & phrasebooks   

Reviews (12)

Well Organized
French grammar is hard to learn because although there are rules there are more exceptions than rules.This book does a great job of organizing things in a way to deal with all the expections.I especially like the way it presents the verbs.I own quite a few books on French grammar but the way this book groups the verbs is really much better.In terms of reviewing for a test (or for real life if you live in France) a book like this is essential, since most normal French text book are just too disorganized to find what you are looking for.Also it helps me to see all the rules about a certain topic in one place at one time.There are lots of exercises and the answers are in the back of the book to check yourself.Learning French grammar isn't ever going to be easy, but if you use this book it will be a lot easier than if you don't.Highly recommended.

Must have French learning companion
I don't have to describe the content in detail as the self-explanatory nature of the title.I studied French in L'Alliance Francais for some time.Their communicative approach almost makes me paralysed until I have this book.I can't imagine how a middle age person can learn a new language by merely listening and imitating the sound of teachers.On the contrary the grammatical approach in this book systematically illustrate every single bit of grammar detail for beginner (and intermediate level student). By reading and reviewing the explanation as well as practising the exercise, I can make a lot sense in French now.And I am not just fantizing it.The most exciting piece of news is that my progress is noticed by both my French teacher and my classmates.The mastering of basic is so satisfying and giving me advancement and enjoyment.

good for brushing up skills
I've worked through this book a couple of times now to brush up my French skills. It's excellent as a companion to a course, or just to practise. I would recommend it from the beginner, to the more advanced speaker who would like to refine their knowledge of the language. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Foreign Language Study    2. French    3. French Language    4. General    5. Grammar    6. Language    7. Study Guides    8. Foreign Language Study / French    9. Grammar & vocabulary   

Reviews (12)

This is a simple book
The biggest problem people have found with this book is that it has no Japanese characters in it. I was fortunate enough to preview the book in a bookstore before deciding to purchase it. On the first page inside the book, it says that the purpose of the book is to teach phrases and grammar and purpose and will not contain 1 Japanese symbol.
Know the purpose
On the cover of this book it says "Speak Japanese - the fun and easy way!"So why am I not complaining that it didn't include the writing?Because I knew that it was for speaking the language.This isn't exactly the advanced type of book, but it teaches a lot more than most Japanese books I have read.Most other Japanese books I have read only make you memorize specific phrases and sentences.But this one tells you how to put a sentence together.It would be beyond the scope of this book to list the writing, because this is aimed at beginners.When you get well-versed in the speaking, yes another book should do for the writing.But, for its true purpose, Japanese for Dummies does an outstanding job.

Konnichiwa!
This book is so awesome! When I was paying for it at a book store a man started speaking Japanese to me and I could understand what he was saying. We started talking and that was so awesome! The CD is so cool and I really love it! Everyone is impressed about my speaking skills and I think that's so cool!
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Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Language    2. Conversation and phrase books    3. English    4. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    5. Foreign Language Study    6. General    7. Japanese    8. Japanese Language    9. Miscellaneous    10. Foreign Language Study / Miscellaneous    11. Language self-study & phrasebooks   

Features

• Audiobook
• Unabridged

Reviews (13)

Spoken Chinese, the possible way
I'm enjoying this method every day, I'm at the end of volume II by now. I also have ended the first year of the China Academy in Brussels and volume one has certainly helped me to be the first of my class.
Addictive, and great results to boot
I wrote a good review of volume I. Now I'm on the last lesson of volume II (and I treated myself to volume III for Father's Day). Pimsleur Mandarin is wonderful in the way it teaches you sentence structure. You will need another source to accumulate vocabulary (perhaps Rosetta Stone, which I completed and is strong on vocab but weak on grammar).
If you think the script is too spartan...
To comment on the people who are calling the script predictable and not varied enough, Come on, If you are serious about learning a language with this incredible system, you should have had a good Mandarin to English and back again dictionary since halfway through Mandarin I.The Pmslr CDs teach you the language by giving you an understanding of the sentence structure and the ability to recognize and replicate the tonal system that is the single biggest hurdle to learning Mandarin for an English speaker.
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Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Language    2. Chinese    3. Foreign Language Study    4. Unabridged Audio - Misc.Nonfiction    5. Foreign Language Study / Chinese   

Reviews (12)

A must for Grandparents!!!
When my daughter got her Baby Signs Kit--I thought just another FAD.Then while the Grandkids were watching the DVD our 3 y.o. Granddaughter started to do some of the signs and trying to show our 1 y.o. Grandson how to do them.I was absolutely amazed and then I ralized how easy this could be.I looked at the rest of the kit and found there is a Parent Workshop and I'm signing me &Grandma up because we have an opportunity to do something really fun and educational with our grandchildren.
Love It!!!!!
I bought this product to send to my daycare to provide them with materials to help in signing to my son (who has over 65 signs).They loved it!!!The flip chart is on the fridge for easy access and they read the board books to the kids during circle time.The director of the daycare loved it so much that she is looking into the ECE curriculum for the entire school!!!

Visible results right out of the box!
I just recieved my kit and couldn't wait to check it all out! There were so many useful tools. My favorite had to be the parents DVD. I loved how they had a dictionary that could easily be accessed for a quick reminder! Having someone demonstrate the signs is also a big help. I tend to be more of a visual learner. I put the DVD in for my son and he loved it. Sat there watching attentivly and even attempting sign! Visible results right out of the box! The books are perfect sized for little ones to be hands on. And the quick reference guide willl help out family members and babysitters a great deal! I have looked into other programs however this kit sold me 100 % without a doubt! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Child Care/Parenting    2. Family & Relationships    3. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    4. Life Stages - Infants & Toddlers/Infants    5. Parenting - General    6. Sign Language    7. Teaching Methods & Materials - Reading