Mailed course vs. the downloadable version

Hola, Other than price and the effort to download the program, what does the mailed course have over the downloadable version? Thanks in advance for any info. Also, I purchased Topic's "Instant Immesion Spanish Deluxe 2.0". It doesn't seem to be very good :( . Has anyone heard of or used it? If so, your thoughts? Maybe because of my age (almost 50) my mind isn't as sharp as it used to be and I'm expecting more than I should? Bye the way Hola is about all I know at this point. Hopefully, this course will change that :) . Knezz

[quo]*Quote:* Maybe because of my age (almost 50) my mind isn't as sharp as it used to be and I'm expecting more than I should? [/quo] Hello son, how are you :o :o :o OK, joking. I am 61 next month and have only been listening to the course ( whilst doing other things ) nothing else, because of a lack of time . However after 3 months, I understand about 75 % of all mp3's . So, if I can, you can too. And how sharp was your brain when you were 3 years old ? ? ? But you did learn your native language quickly, didn't you. Think about it.... Learning a language is not about sharp brains, its about repetition. Have fun. Mauricio, Amy : I promise to get cracking this month more seriously than before :oops: :oops:

Hi, Knezz. I've tried the Spanish Instant Immersion Deluxe 2.0 and wrote up a quick review of it. These were my thoughts. 8 CD set for $39.95 See review at http://learn-spanish-software-review.toptenreviews.com/instant-immersion-deluxe-review.html Includes Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced programs which use Flash Player to guide you through different exercises. Includes four audio CDs on various themes (like the weather). Includes a Spanish-English dictionary. Comments: The interface seems rather unintuitive. It took me a while to figure out what to do, and some of the exercises seemed like time-wasters. The words are supposed to build upon one another. I would have like some more explanations of the grammar. Nevertheless, the notion is excellent: a program that leads you step by step through the exercises. The audio tracks don't seem to be integrated well with the rest of the program. They have a really long musical intro, and the female voice just repeats vocabulary in a way that feels repetitive, slow, and without context. I got bored fast. The best aspect of the program is the voice recognition. I’m not sure whether it works or not because I don’t have a microphone. It is supposed to correct your pronunciation and show you how to move your mouth to pronounce the correct sounds. It looks really cool ... if it works. Nevertheless, great value for money.

Ah! Almost forgot to reply to your other question. The main difference between the physical version and the downloadable version is the obvious one. The physical version is mailed to you as a 25-CD pack. The audio tracks are already burned onto CD, ready to pop into your CD player. They're also of higher sound quality than the downloadable version. Because of the extra production costs and labor, the 25-CD pack costs more than the downloadable version. However, for some people, the cost is worth it to get the audio CDs done professionally in easy-to-organize cases. If you're computer savvy and have a good internet connection, the downloadable version is the better option. You'll be able to download all the files as you need them and save them in the location you choose on your hard drive. The audio files come in MP3 format, which means that you can immediately put them onto an iPod or play them in your favorite media player. If you want to put them onto a CD, however, you'll have to go through the additional step of purchasing blank CDs and burning the audio files onto them. If this option sounds great to you, but you DON'T have a fast internet connection, the upgrade to the 4-CD set might suit you. You'll get the entire downloadable version on only 4 CDs. The audio tracks will be in the same format as they are in the downloadable version (MP3s), so you'll still have to burn them to a CD if you want to play them in your CD player. Hope that helps answer your question!! :-) Amy

Antonio, Thanks for the encouragement. I have read a number of articles on the internet. Quite a number of them point to adults being so afraid of making a mistake and looking silly. Hopefully, I’m strong enough to not be so sensitive. Anyway, if the person I’m speaking with isn’t patient and understanding that I’m attempting to learn, maybe I should be speaking with him/her anyway. I have a 5 year old granddaughter who I would like to learn Spanish. I did find a once a week (45min for 10 weeks.) Spanish Immersion program for her (kind of expensive). But I think it is worth I plan to work hard at learning. Much more than “Rocket Spanish”! If I can get her to the point that she can communicate in Spanish – I will have a built-in language partner. Amy, Will I be missing any of the written instructions by purchasing the downloadable version? I just receive the first lesson of the free course and it is helpful. I have a very fast internet connection and the ability to burn CDs without a problem. I plan on downloading the audio to an MP3 Player (which I did with the 1st free lesson). If I won’t be missing anything then the downloadable version is for me. Do you have any suggestions for my 5 year old granddaughter? She won’t be in a Spanish speaking household. By the way, this bulletin board adds quite a bit of value to your product. I’m making my way through all of the articles. Thanks all, Knezz

Dear Knezz The once a week ( 45 minutes )is in my humble opinion a lot of................ Let me explain. I teach English to Thai people in Thailand. I have my own private students. The youngest is 4 years old ( young ), a dozen are between 5 and 10, another dozen are between 10 and 13, and the rest are teenagers up to adults and many of them are doing or are finished with university . Those who come here 30 minutes a day, at least 3 times a week ( and they get homework from me too ), are learning a lot, and they are all number ONE's in the school for English. Further more, the parents told me that their grades inproved dramatically on other subject as well. Those who come once a week, for 2 hours, ( and of course have no time for practice ( for all kind of stupid reasons ) are progressing as fast as a snail can run.) If you learn once a week, the brain has 6 days time to forget, and you start all over again. it becomes boring and after a month, your 5 year old daughter will refuse to learn. If you keep her busy for 30 minutes a day ( with rocket spanish ) and make sure it's not every day the same ( boring ) story she will hopefully stay interested. Thai kids can learn to speak English very well n about 3 years , so , your kid can learn to speak Spanish in 3 years too. Amen. ONCE a week is c.... Don't forget, Kids do not study the same way than adults. Don't forget, kids take it in more easely than adult. I have done exactly the same in a private school 5 years ago with very good results. They key is DAILY repetion, not 45 Minutes a week. Cheers, I must go. otherwise I get carried away to much. See you Antonio

Antonio, Thanks again for your advice. After reading my last post, I realized that I wasn’t direct in asking – but you picked it up wonderfully – is the once a week class worth it? – will it work? I did think it was worth it to get her feet wet but after I pushed the send button, I had reservations about the time not being enough. You answered my questions on the tutor, and also you answered another question that I didn’t ask directly, “Will Rocket Spanish work for a 5 year old”? I take it as a yes! Hey, this course is getting cheaper and cheaper! Currently, I plan on having the 5 year old pay her share - $49.00. I have a room to renovate. I’ll have her help me hang drywall or something (at least minimum wage). :lol: If I can only get my wife interested then I can drop the course down to about $33.00 per person. She can help with the drywall – but she will probably pick my pocket. :cry: Amy, The voice recognition does work. It has a graph that shows the voice levels of the speaker and when you speak it compares your graph with the speaker’s graph. As I changed my voice the graph changed – depending on how radical my voice changed. I use a headset with a microphone attached – to reduce the ambient noises. You are correct in saying that the audio CDs don’t match the course. They are dry and slow. The other point is that you have to use a PC to study. I don’t always have that time at my disposal. You can’t load the program directly onto the PC, therefore you have to juggle CDs in and out of the PC. You can load the dictionary onto the hard drive of the PC though. It did take me a few days to figure out most of the options and how the program worked (even after printing the .pdf instruction manual). The statement of getting bored fast is why I found my way to your site. I did find it for $29.99 plus tax (BJs surplus store). I just got my free lesson #2 today. Therfore, I can't talk any longer. I have to get it downloaded into my MP3 player. If you are holding the fact that there is not difference on the downloadable version and not material will be missing (other than the quality of the professionally made CDs) I will be making my purchase in the next couple of days. With Antonio saving me money on my granddaughters tutoring – I can afford it now. Thanks, Knezz

There is no degradation of the quality of the mp3's. This is speech, not music. I play it on my computer, and it's as good as your speakers. I play it on my DVD/TV and it is 100% loud and clear. I have been on dozens of other sites, and their sound is crap, no Amy's voice. ( she sounds lovely, isn't Amy ? ) For your Grand daughter it is important NOT to drill her like in the army. It's a kid. Maybe a clever one, but still a kid. Treat her as such . Use the flash cards, they kill for it. Good luck my friend.

Thanks for the compliment, Antonio! :-) We do our best. Knezz, there's no difference in content between the downloadable and physical version. Sounds like the download version is perfect for you. Keep us posted on how your granddaughter likes Rocket Spanish! I started studying Spanish when I was in 2nd grade, in a bilingual classroom where twice a week the Mexican students would study English and the English-speaking students would study Spanish. To this day, I attribute my ease in speaking Spanish to that early exposure. Kids have almost a magical gift in learning languages. I've seen Welsh children raised in a household where Daddy only speaks English and Mommy is bilingual, and the kids somehow know to speak English to Daddy and Welsh to Mommy. They don't mix the languages, as you'd expect. Good luck! :-) Amy

I am an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher here in the US. Once a week as the previous poster said isn't going to help children. I have a newcomer from Guatemala and I work with him an hour and a half a day. I am in his regular classroom for part of the reading block and I work with him one on one at his level, and for math where I help him with what his teacher is teaching him. Then in the afternoon he is with me in my room for an additional 30 mins of 1-1 instruction. He has come a long way since the beginning of the year. My other students I've been working with for 3 years and they still have difficulty with content area language. Their social language is fine with a few lapses in grammar but that doesn't bother me. It takes 7-10 years for a non-native English speaker to reach the level of those students their age with regards to academic language. They pick up on the social language quickly and most teachers think that just because they can converse in English on the playground that they can understand everything that is going on in the classroom and that isn't true. I have to keep fighting this misconception. *I am fixing this so Antonio's post makes sense. I edited mine about the same time he responded. I had made the comment that I am married to a Latino man and I never speak Spanish with him and continue to try to learn on my own. I have the best of all situations for learning Spanish living with me and I won't speak it because I don't want to make a mistake. How dumb is that?*

[quo]*Quote:* How dumb is that?[/quo] I don't think it is outright dumb.( Hmm, Hmm ) This situation is more general than you think. I am married with a Thai Lady for 15 years, and I actually never ask her to teach me, I do it on my own or ask others. So do most of my friends. Why ? ? Dunno. Same reason as women don't want to learn to drive the car with their husbands ?

Someone read my post before I got to edit it. This really bothers my husband though. The few times he's heard me he's told me that I speak it well. I can mimic well (accents, etc.) Just can't always trill the r. Was told it's because I have a high palate. I can get it in the beginning of a work but the middle is difficult. Thanks for making me not feel so dumb.

I am also a teacher, but TEFL. As for your R's , that's a problem or not, depends how hard you try. Here , almost ALL students who start at age 7 and more have the " missing R " problem. All means 95 % . So, don't feel alone. But when you start at 2 or 3 Years old, none has it. My students sort it out with patience and continously practising. Sometimes it takes them a year or more. Usually they battle for a very long time, and then mysteriously the problem vanishes in a few weeks ( like an airplane taking off. 2 Km runway, and get airborn in the last 100 meter.) Some never manage. And it's not their palate, but the way they speak their native language. I am sure you can manage if you just could be patient with yourself and do the drill daily. Don't set a date to achieve your goal.