Swedish: Level 1 (VocabuLearn): Level 1 (VocabuLearn)

click here for more details, find new or used items	Inc Penton Overseas Our price £9.57 (£14.50) New from £8.34 Used from £12.52 Pages: (Audio CD) ISBN: 1591255066 Pub: Penton Overseas Inc Pub date: 2005-03-01 Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 394291

Reader Reviews:

A superb idea - try it and see! (1/1 people found this helpful)

I took the plunge on this having tried all sorts of other 'traditional' methods and failed or got very frustrated repeatedly. This method works and, reading other reviews (in particularly one on the Spanish version), I know understand why.

I'm not the kind of student to sit and learn in a classroom - I get bored easily and I find it very frustrating when my brain doesn't want to learn in the 'recommended' manner (See Ms. Tawdry below). This method, which allows you to do all manner of things whilst listening (driving, housework, walking whatever), gets you to recognise the sounds and pronunciation of the language in superquick time. In no time at all, like the Spanish reviewer says, you'll think of the word in Swedish BEFORE it's said. Then, if you've made any pronunciation errors, the correct version is said by the native speaker.

And for me, having the words and phrases said randomly is far more fun than feeling obliged to learn all the vocabulary for a particular theme. How boring is that? This way, it's constantly interesting and challenging to your brain.

Once I'd listened to it on and off for a few weeks, a look at basic grammar had me hooked. By then, I had so much vocabulary, that I really felt I could do it, and having confidence when learning a language, really makes such a positive difference!

Cannot recommend it enough - hence the full 5 stars.

Random words lists no help to learning (6/8 people found this helpful)

To start on a positive note this CD has plenty of time between each piece of vocabulary to repeat each word, and comes with a good concise booklet listing the words. But those are the only positive things to say about this resource.

The major failing is that the vocabulary is generated in a completely random order "as would occur in actual conversation" according to the publishers. I can't remember the last time I had a conversation that included the words door, businessman, mistake, horse, water, tabacco and fashion in a short space of time. Generally, conversations follow some sort of theme, I find.

Allegedly this random word order also "makes the program more challenging, promoting faster learning and increased word retention". Challenging yes, I exhibited 'challenging behaviour' within 5 minutes of starting due to frustration at the (non)ordering of the book. 'Increased word retention' highly unlikely - as a qualified TEFL teacher, who has also had a fair experience of language learning, I find vocabulary learning based around themes rather more effective for recall.

A real shame for what otherwise could have been a really useful tool - the booklet on it's own would have been a handy pocket reference guide, had it been organised under themed headings.

Similar Products

Swedish: Level 2 (VocabuLearn): Level 2 (VocabuLearn)

201 Swedish Verbs Fully Conjugated in All the Tenses (201 verbs series)

Learn to Speak SWEDISH with PERFECT RECALL (2 CDs & book)

Teach Yourself Swedish Conversation with Booklet (Teach Yourself Language)

Essential Swedish Grammar (Dover Books on Language)

Categories

Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories: