Learn Spanish from Native Speakers

Learn Spanish Repetition Drills

The Spanish Basic Volume I contains Units 1 through 15 and comes with 15 CD's and a 690 page textbook.

The Spanish Basic Volume II contains Units 16 through 30 and comes with 21 CD's and a 718 page textbook.

The Spanish Basic Volume III contains Units 31 through 45 and comes with 16 CD's and a 580 page textbook.

The Spanish Basic Volume IV contains Units 45 through 55 and comes with 18 CD's and a 392 page textbook.

The Spanish Basic Combo contains Units 1-55 and comes with 70 CD's and four textbooks.

The basic dialogs are the core of each unit. These dialogs are recreations of the real situations a student is most likely to encounter, and the vocabulary and sentences are those he is most likely to need. The dialogs are set in a mythical country called Surlandia, which is described as a typical Latin American republic, insofar as. it is possible to extract conunon features from so diverse an area. To further provide information in context, many of the notes suggest regional differences in both the language and the culture that will be encountered in various areas of Latin America and in Spain.

In the first part of the book new vocabularly is introduced mainly in the basic dialogs. Occasionally, in the illustrations of grammar points, new words are introduced in order to fill out patterns needed to do the exercises. New words are always clearly indicated by placing them on a line themselves, indented between the line's that are complete sentences. Since each new word is introduced in this fashion only once, the student should take pains to be sure he learns each word as it is presented. Careful pains have been taken to see that each word introduced will reappear many times later in the course, to help the student asslmilate each word in a variety of contexts.

The student should very carefully learn both the literal meanings of each individual word or phrase that is given on an indented line and the meaning that appears in the full sentences. It should not be cause for concern if the meaning in context is strikingly different from the literal meaning. In the construction of each dialog, the Spanish was written first, and the corresponding English is its closest equivalent and not a literal translation. It is therefore not at all surprising if the'Spanish does not seem to 'follow' the English.

The student should learn the basic dialogs by heart. If they are committed perfectly to rote memory, the drills will go easily and rapidly. Roughly half of the estimated ten hours that are spent in class on each unit should normally be devoted to the basic dialogs.

Each unit can in some way be likened to a musical theme with variations. The basic dialogs are the theme, and the drills provide the variations. Patterns of the structure of the language which have been learned in the basic sentences are expanded and manipulated in the drills.

There are four kinds of drills in each unit. Of these, two are designed to systematically vary selected basic sentences within the structure and vocabulary the student has already learned. And two are oriented toward the structure of the language to provide a systematic coverage of all important patterns.

Pattern drills are presented in a format which provides both practice and explanation. First appears a presentation of the pattern to be drilled, then various kinds of drills, and finally a more detailed discussion of the pattern.

The presentation consists of a listing of basic sentences which illustrate the grammar point to be drilled. Then there is an extrapolation which shows the relationships involved in the pattern in a two-dimensional chart, which is further explained by a short note or two. This presentation should provide sufficient clues to enable the student to understand and use the pattern correctly in the drills that follow.

These drills are mainly exercises making substitutions, responses, and translations, highlighting the grammar points covered.

After the drills there is a more detailed discussion of the pattern drilled. These descriptions are written in a condensed and somewhat technical fashion. While an effort was made to keep these discussions clear and readable, it has to be recognized that a description of a language is a technical subject, and simplifications can only be attained by sacrificing accuracy or at a cost of a great many more words than space allows. The student who works through these discussions by a careful reading will find that he is acquiring a set of analytical tools that will be useful throughtout the remainder of their career of interest in language.

The student may notice slight differences in the respelling used in the aids to listening and in the grammar charts and discussions. The respelling useful as a guide to pronunciation for an English speaking student, records more details than a respelling to be used in grammar discussions where comparisons are made between Spanish forms, not between English and Spanish pronunciation.

The conversation section of each unit is designed to help bridge the gap between the more or less mechanical stimulus-response activity of the drills and the skill of free conversation which is the ultimate aim of the course. These recombination monologues and dialogs extend the abilities of the student into ever more natural situations.

Beginning with unit 16 reading materials are introduced for outside preparation with perhaps some classroom discussion of the questions provided. These readings can also be used to provide content information for oral summaries.

The readings are designed to provide information of interest and value about the culture which the Spanish language reflects and to provide insight into the practical problems an American is likely to encounter in adjusting to life in a Hispanic area.