Learn Spanish for Beginners and Adults: Learning Spanish Like Crazy Level One–New and Improved Version (Lessons 1 to 30)

The media could not be loaded. First of all, let me give you a little background information about myself.I've been learning Spanish for about 20 years. I actually managed to achieve fluency and I now teach Spanish and help others achieve their goals. Whether that’s achieving a certain level of fluency or just learning enough of the language to enrich their travel experiences.Now let me go into my experiences with the actual Learning Spanish Like Crazy product line. I’ve actually purchased the entire product line. Including Learn Spanish like Crazy Levels 1, 2, 3 and this New & Improved version of Level 1. I also purchased New Millennium Spanish.So I have quite a bit of experience with the entire line of products. I first started using them back in the early or mid 2000’s – back when the first version of Learning Spanish Like Crazy Level 1 was released.And I am going be honest. The very first time I listened to the program I didn't like it too much. I really can’t tell you why I didn’t like it. But, I listened to it for just a little bit and I put it away for quite a while, probably a few months. And from what I recall, my Spanish wasn’t improving the way I had wanted it to improve. It wasn't going at the pace that I wanted. So I thought to myself, well, I paid for this thing, so I may as well use it.It turns out that decision was one of the best language-learning decisions I actually could have made. I started using, the product religiously. And at that time, I'd begun to travel a lot to Mexico. So I was actually seeing the benefits of using the product. After seeing the results of the product, I also bought Learning Spanish Like Crazy Levels 2 and 3.I was seeing huge progress and benefits. I could see this wasn't just in my head because I was actively traveling and speaking to people in Spanish. I'd picked up the habit of having conversations with any Spanish speaker I could find, whether it be at home or abroad. The product was truly working.And I can honestly say Learning Spanish Like Crazy became my go-to product. It was the foundation of my learning. And in all honesty, had I not been using Learning Spanish Like Crazy, I really don't know if I would've ever have achieved fluency. I can't imagine myself making the progress that I had made without it. Now let me talk a little bit about what I think makes Learning Spanish Like Crazy effective.For one, it's based on the listen-and-repeat approach. And if you've done any research at all into language acquisition, listen-and-repeat is a highly favored approach for learning a foreign language. And why is that? Because listen and repeat is very much like how you learn your native language. As kids, how do we learn our native language? We don't learn by studying grammar books. We learn by listening and repeating the things that we hear around us, especially the things that we're not supposed to hear - much less repeat.So again, it's a very natural way to acquire a language. The other thing is you learn a lot of useful Spanish. And I emphasize the point useful and common everyday vocabulary. You can go to any YouTube site or some webpage, where you’ll find tons of vocabulary lists. But the question is, how useful and how relevant is the vocabulary.With the Spanish you learn from this program, you know you’re going to be able to communicate with people. You're definitely going to get that everyday vocabulary that Spanish speakers use. Concerning Spanish verb conjugations, this is the greatest challenge of every Spanish learner, or really every language learner. Because there are so many verb conjugations and so many verb tenses. But with this particular product, you actually learn the conjugations via the conversations that they use to teach you. So instead of trying to use old fashioned rote memorization or flashcards, you're actually learning in a natural way. And you're internalizing everything by hearing the conjugations over and over and over again. And more importantly, you're learning them through context which I consider to be a much more effective way to learn.Another thing that I didn't really understand or realize until many years later is that the organization of the material in this program is very well thought out and very well organized. And it's presented in what I believe to be the most logical order to maximize your learning.One example of that is that with this product you're taught the command conjugation forms before you're taught to the subjunctive. Why is that? Well, it's not something they chose to do randomly by having you learn the command verb conjugations before the subjunctive. Why? Because the subjunctive conjugations are nearly identical to the command forms. So again, everything's been well thought out to help maximize your learning. Another benefit is that you're actually using the language as you learn it.With this program, you're listening, you're speaking and you're practicing your pronunciation. All of this is very important because for many people they either don't have a very good language learning approach or they don't have an approach at all. And the first time they try to put sentences together is when they're trying to have a conversation. And that's really not the most ideal way to go about it.So with this program, although you may not realize it at the time, with this listening-and-repeating method, you're putting sentences together and you're getting that verbal practice that you need which really benefits you. When the time comes to go out and actually have a conversation or even just say a few simple sentences to someone, you’ll find yourself confident in your Spanish-speaking skills. These are the major points as to why I think Learning Spanish Like Crazy is really an ideal product.There an expression, “many paths to the same summit”. And in the context of language learning, what that means is that there may be other of products that can get you to fluency or get you to reach whatever your goal is. But not all of them do it in the most efficient way possible.Some of them are a lot smoother, and some of them can take you out of the way and can be a much steeper climb to reach the summit. But I honestly believe Learning Spanish Like Crazy is going to take you on the most efficient and most effective path. It's going to be a somewhat difficult climb taking that path. But it’s the path of least resistance. And by using this path, it’s the best way and the quickest way to get you to the top of that summit.There's a ton of learning Spanish products out there. The majority of which I think are average and don't really give you your return on investment. But Learning Spanish Like Crazy definitely gives you a return on investment – and then some. And I say that because again, I've been using their products for years. I recommend their products to all my students. And it's money well spent. So if you are serious about, becoming fluent in Spanish or, or whatever your end goal is with learning Spanish, I think the Learning Spanish Like Crazy products are definitely the best route to take to achieve your Spanish-speaking goals.I hope you found this review of some benefit.And good luck with your studies.

The media could not be loaded. As of now I have made it through nearly all of level 1 here. I decided to get this and go through it as their original Learning Spanish Like Crazy level 1-3 was one of the, if not THE, key to me getting conversational rather rapidly. I had met my now wife online, and I did not speak Spanish and she did not speak English. I had met her in the end of July, and went to meet her in Mexico the following January. I stayed in a hostal in El Centro en DF o CDMX (downtown Mexico City). I spent the days with my novia, while I spent the evenings with the workers and fellow travelers at the Hostal. I was able to communicate decently well with her, with the locals and fellow travelers and with her family the one night I went to their house for her sister’s birthday party.The new, updated version is much more polished than the original (I admit I really did like the rawness though). This updated, cleaner version is the learning tool to get if you are going to a Spanish speaking country for vacation, have a Spanish speaking love interest, or just want to mingle better with your Spanish speaking friends. It gives warnings about possible embarrassing mishaps, and I will tell you from experience, Spanish speaking folks will take you for what you said as opposed to what you intended to say, which is usually harmless, but sometimes not. So, the warnings are definitely worth having!Being that this is more inclusive of the Spanish language in general, it is probably more than you are looking for if you are only going on a cruise, and looking to be courteous to those whom you interact with while in port. You will definitely get that with Learning Spanish Like Crazy, but it will also prepare you to go into the country, and make friends and mingle, or make a better impression on the parents of your novia or novio. It is not as direct and quick with those phrases that get you through a restaurant or a street of vendors as the point is to actually learn Spanish.If you are taking Spanish classes in school, but want to actually communicate with people (for me, the time I took a Spanish class in university was completely useless to me when it came to communicating with people face to face.) I now appreciate the idea of academic Spanish classes, and want to do that for more professional reasons such as writing essays and articles. But that does not get you shooting-the-shtick with your suegro, Learning Spanish Like Crazy does.It is my personal opinion that one should definitely get some good Spanish workbooks to work through. And repeat these lessons several times. Follow their instructions. Do not move on to the next lesson until you get 80% or better correct! Speaking and writing are two things that will get you proficient in speaking Spanish. Get this and a handful of workbooks (I like the Dorothy Richmond workbooks), listen and repeat EVERY DAY, and do at least a couple lessons in the workbooks EVERY DAY, and you will be having conversations in no time!

This is a really cool Spanish learning resource. I really like how this book is set up, for example, when being introduced to pronouns and conjugations in a typical Spanish class you would just memorize the words alone. In LSLC Level 1 New and Improved Version, they instead have you learn the same material, but in the form of easy to follow conversations. Therefore, you wind up learning several things at once! You learn the pronouns, simple conjugation and useable sentences all at the same time. This gets the learner used to appropriate structure and grammar with half the effort.There are also appropriately placed instructor sections where the information is further explained in brief, memorable chunks and areas where the reader is instructed to use memory recall to practice what was learned. And as most of us know, interactive recall and spaced repetition is key to really learning new material!The cherry on top is that there is a well made audio version of this program available so that you can actually hear this entire program. Of course hearing a language is key to being able to speak a language. For a visual learner like myself, being able to see the material is helpful for those times when my ears don't quite catch everything. This is a really well-rounded and easy to use program for learning Spanish.