An independent guide to innovative language courses
Do you want to win more business in China?
Do you want to serve your Mandarin Chinese-speaking customers better?
Do you want to work more effectively with your international business partners?
Teach Yourself Business Mandarin Chinese is a three-hour, all-audio, straightforward course that will help you to acquire essential up-to-date business language to use in China. [Read more…]
The world-Famous Teach Yourself series covers over 50 languages and they’ll help you master a language at beginner or intermediate level, plus get you to grips with grammar, verbs, vocabularly and scripts. And, you can learn about the culture too!
01 Teach Yourself One-Day
level: complete beginner
languages: French, German, Greek, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish
method: audio
media: cd, booklet, dvd (French, Spanish only)
If you’re a complete (and we mean complete) beginner, then these may be the courses that get you started with French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish in just one-day. Perfect for that holiday or weekend break. Much better than just speaking English.
read our Teach Yourself one-day Greek review!
for more information and to buy Teach Yourself one-day, browse our Language Advantage Teach Yourself shop on amazon.co.uk>>
for more information and to buy Teach Yourself one-day, browse our Language Advantage Teach Yourself store on amazon.com>>
02 Teach Yourself Starter Kits
level: complete beginner
languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish
method: traditional with add-ons!
media: book, phrase book, flashcards, cd
If you’re a complete (and we mean complete) beginner, then these may be the courses that get you started with French, Italian and Spanish! A new series by Elisabeth Smith based on learning 5 words a day to give you a confident start. You have everything you need to get going with a language book, phrase book, flashcards and 2 CDs.
for more information and to buy Teach Yourself starter kits, browse our Language Advantage Teach Yourself shop on amazon.co.uk>>
for more information and to buy Teach Yourself starter kits, browse our Language Advantage Teach Yourself store on amazon.com>>
03 Teach Yourself Instants in 35 minutes a Day
level: beginner
languages: French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish
method: traditional with add-ons!
media: book, cd
Never been able to learn a language before? Then try the Instants. They offer a quick solution by teaching you only the words and phrases that really matter and bypass difficult grammar which gets you speaking your new language from the first week. And it keeps you motivated by telling you what you need to do for 35 to 45 minutes each day for 6 weeks!
read our Teach Yourself instants review!
for more information and to buy Teach Yourself instants, browse our Language Advantage Teach Yourself shop on amazon.co.uk>>
for more information and to buy Teach Yourself instants, browse our Language Advantage Teach Yourself store on amazon.com>>
04 Teach Yourself Conversation
level: beginner – intermediate
languages: Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Dutch, French, Gaelic, German, Greek, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Welsh
method: audio
media: cd
Where Michel Thomas has not gone, these audio-only Teach Yourself Conversation courses go! Learn to both speak and understand your language.
read our Teach Yourself Japanese conversation review!
for more information and to buy Teach Yourself conversation, browse our Language Advantage Teach Yourself shop on amazon.co.uk>>
for more information and to buy Teach Yourself conversation, browse our Language Advantage Teach Yourself store on amazon.com>>
05 Teach Yourself Complete Language Courses
level: beginner – intermediate
languages: over 50 languages from Afrikaans to Zulu
method: traditional
media: book, cd
Great if you’re a beginner or a ‘false’ beginner and you’ve studied a bit of the language before. From Afrikaans to Zulu, the complete courses offer a comprehensive guide to understanding, speaking and writing the language. Takes you from beginner to intermediate and will refresh ‘rusty’ knowledge. The complete course contains a book and CD.
for more information and to buy Teach Yourself Complete courses, browse our Teach Yourself shop on amazon.co.uk>>
for more information and to buy Teach Yourself Complete courses, browse our Teach Yourself store on amazon.com>>
06 Teach Yourself Improve Your …
level: intermediate
languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish
method: traditional
media: book, cd
Ideally suited if you have a good grounding in a language and are early intermediate. These courses will extend your languages skills at the same time as you learn more about the country and its culture. This series includes a book and double cd.
for more information and to buy Teach Yourself improve your …, browse our Language Advantage Teach Yourself shop on amazon.co.uk>>
for more information and to buy Teach Yourself improve your …, browse our Language Advantage Teach Yourself store on amazon.com>>
07 Teach Yourself Beginner’s Scripts
level: beginner
languages: Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Hindi, Japanese, Russian, Urdu
media: book
These books help you learn the scripts of non-Roman alphabets from scratch, with the help of examples of real-life text. The ideal companion to one of the Teach Yourself language courses.
for more information and to buy Teach Yourself scripts, browse our Language Advantage Teach Yourself shop on amazon.co.uk>>
for more information and to buy Teach Yourself scripts, browse our Language Advantage Teach Yourself store on amazon.com>>
08 Teach Yourself Essential Grammar and Vocabulary books
Teach Yourself Quick Fix Grammar
level: beginner
languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish
media: book
These pocket-sized books will give instant help to those learning a language and needing to get to grip with the most important grammar points quickly. This series is ideal for the absolute beginner or the intermediate student wanting to check grammar points quickly and easily, with one grammar point explained on each page. The ideal companion to one of the Teach Yourself language courses.
Teach Yourself Essential Grammar
level: beginner – intermediate
languages: Dutch, English, French, German, Irish, Italian, Latin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Welsh
media: book
These grammar guides are suitable for students of all levels. You can work through them as a course or dip into them to check a grammar point or extend your knowledge. The ideal companion to one of the Teach Yourself language courses.
Teach Yourself Essential Verbs
level: beginner – intermediate
languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish
media: book
If you need to refresh your memory on how verbs work, then this is the series for you. It covers 200 frequently used verbs and gives examples of how they can be used in context. The ideal companion to one of the Teach Yourself language courses.
Teach Yourself Essential Vocabulary
level: beginner – intermediate
languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish
media: book
These vocabulary books will take your existing knowledge and build up your vocabulary systematically with the most useful words. The ideal companion to one of the Teach Yourself language courses.
read our Teach Yourself verbs and grammar review!
for more information and to buy Teach Yourself Essential grammar, verbs and vocabulary, browse our Language Advantage Teach Yourself shop on amazon.co.uk>>
for more information and to buy Teach Yourself Essential grammar, verbs and vocabulary, browse our Language Advantage Teach Yourself store on amazon.com>>
09 Teach Yourself World Cultures
level: all
cultures: China, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Wales
media: book
The teach yourself world cultures range gives you everything you need to know about your chosen country in one book. Designed to enrich your course or stay abroad, the topics covered include language, culture, geography, food and drink, fashion and the practicalities of living in the country. Each chapter also includes a list of useful words and phrases, plus contacts and further information. These books give an insight into the customs and ways of each country, touching on subjects such as government, language, arts, festivals and food with fascinating facts and figures. These guides are full of really good information, so you can really get more out of your stay and get to know people more easily.
for more information and to buy Teach Yourself World Cultures, browse our Language Advantage Teach Yourself shop on amazon.co.uk>>
for more information and to buy Teach Yourself World Cultures, browse our Language Advantage Teach Yourself store on amazon.com>>
10 Teach Yourself Religion
level: all
religions: Buddhism, Catholicism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, World Faiths
media: book
teach yourself religion series presents all the essential information to gain knowledge of particular faiths. Covering everything from the religions’ key texts to dietary requirements, these books raise fascinating questions about specific religious beliefs and practices.
for more information and to buy Teach Yourself Religion, browse our Language Advantage Teach Yourself shop on amazon.co.uk>>
for more information and to buy Teach Yourself Religion, browse our Language Advantage Teach Yourself store on amazon.com>>
There are lots of different language courses you can download onto your ipod or mp3 player and take away on holiday with you.
One of our favourite download courses is the Michel Thomas Method, which is available in all your favourite holiday languages from Spanish to Portuguese.
languages: Arabic, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish
Learn a language on your iPod ® in the UK>>
Teach Yourself cover lots of levels and lots of languages – but these short courses are a perfect way to get learning for your holiday.
languages: French, German, Greek, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish
Learn a language on your iPod ® in the UK>>
BBC Quickstart is for you if you are going away on a weekend or short European break and want to grasp the basics of the language, without having to master any complicated grammar or phrases.
languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish
Learn a language on your iPod ® in the UK>>
If you’re a complete (and we mean complete) beginner, then these may be the courses that get you started with French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish in just one-day. Perfect for that holiday or weekend break. Much better than just speaking English.
languages: French, German, Greek, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish
method: audio cd, booklet, dvd (French, Spanish only)
read our Teach Yourself one-day Greek review!more information and to buy Teach Yourself one-day from our Teach Yourself shop [UK and Europe]>>
more information and to buy Teach Yourself one-day from our Teach Yourself store [USA and Americas]>>
Eight quick and simple audio lessons from Pimsleur to give you a start in conversation in your new language. It’s like learning a language when you were a kid – slowing building up key words and phrases. Just do 30 minutes a day and you’ll see progress in no time at all.
languages: Arabic, Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Greek (Modern), Hebrew, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Spanish
method: audio cd
read our Pimsleur quick & simple Mandarin Chinese review!more information and to buy Pimsleur Quick & Simple [USA and Amercias]>>
Talk Now! is the world’s bestselling language learning CD-ROM series for beginners, used by more than eight million people to date. It’s an ideal introduction to a new language for an absolute beginner and leaves you with the basic vocabulary to get by and the first building blocks of your new language. You can have fun learning through playing games and even record your voice to compare yourself to native speakers. There is an amazing range of languages – perhaps the widest ever available – over 100!
languages: Afrikaans, Albanian, Alsatian, American English, Amharic, Arabic, Arabic (Classical), Arabic (Modern Standard), Armenian, Assamese, Azeri, Basque, Bengali, Brazilian Portuguese, Breton, Bulgarian, Burmese, Cantonese Chinese, Catalan, Chichewa, Chuvash, Cornish, Corsican, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Farsi, Finnish, French, Frisian, Galician, Georgian, German, Greek, Gujurati, Hausa, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Igbo, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Jèrriais, Kannada, Khmer, Kirghiz, Korean, Kurdish, Latin, Latvian, Lithuanian, Luganda, Luxembourgish, Macedonian, Malagasy, Malay, Malayalam, Maltese, Mandarin Chinese, Manx, Maori, Marathi, Mexican Spanish, Mongolian, Navajo, Nepali, Norwegian, Papiamentu, Pashto, Pidgin, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Romansh, Russian, Rwandan, Saami, Sardinian, Scottish Gaelic, Serbian, Sesotho, Setswana, Shona, Sindhi, Sinhala, Slovak, Slovenian, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Swiss German, Tagalog, Tamazight, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uzbek, Vietnamese, Welsh, Xhosa, Yiddish, Yoruba, Zulu
media: cd-rom
platform: pc, mac
more information and to buy Talk Now! CD-ROM language software [UK and Europe]>>
more information and to buy Talk Now! CD-ROM language software [USA and Americas]>>
An independent language course review by Sarah Maddocks
The Teach Yourself One-day language series is great if you are off on holiday and don’t want to learn the full ins and outs of a language. It’s a 75-minute CD with a small vocabulary booklet for back up containing the 50 most needed words for your trip. With One-day Greek, the help of characters Liz and Andy and the vocab booklet, you can learn the basics of holiday lingo in just over an hour.
There are 10 sections on the CD and each of them has vital vocabulary lists which are also available in the booklet. I found that the CD would be especially useful for holiday-makers, as the series took me back to the days when learning how to ask for something in a shop was a chore and directions seemed so confusing.
When I first started the CD, as a complete beginner to Greek, I found it daunting. In the first section, Liz asked Andy about Greek words he already knew. This made me feel slightly apprehensive, as I had assumed the course would be for pure beginners and not beginners with a prior knowledge of the language. It turned out that the words he knew were only words he would have picked up from holidaying in Greece once – such as hello! Apart from this he was actually a pure beginner.
Towards the middle of the CD, Liz begins to introduce the sections with everyday role play situations. These are very fast and difficult to understand at first, but the good thing with this is that you can hear Greek at a proper speed and adjust to a real Greek accent. Liz then goes on to explain exactly what was said and how you would pronounce it. I found that I had to repeat the CD a number of times in order to hear the pronunciation and really take it in.
The format of the CD is effective, but some of the scripts seem to be forced and it was often hard to answer the questions as Andy’s answer was often said straight away. It is therefore a good idea to pause the CD once Liz has asked the question, think of the answer yourself, say it out loud and then check it against the answer that Andy gives on the CD.
At the end of the CD, there is a recap section going back over the whole course or the “one-day Greek challenge” (which sounds a lot more fun than recapping!). I found this a great way of actually discovering what I had learnt in Greek and what I had managed to remember. The challenge works in a way that makes it easy for you to skip back to the relevant section if you have forgetten any of the words. So you can keep revising and repeating the course until you can do the challenge standing on your head.
I found the vocabulary easier to remember by doing the series over a few hours rather than cramming it in to just one 75 minute session. For me to listen to Liz and Andy continuously for 75 minutes would have been a slight drag, but with breaks it is bearable and you can actually get the corny ‘gag’ that Andy has said out of your head!
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 This CD is a fab way of learning the local language and maybe even managing to socialise, having a conversation with the locals and jumping onto a bus and knowing what you have to say. |
Bearing all this in mind, this CD is a fab way of learning the local language and maybe even managing to socialise by having a conversation with the locals and jumping onto a bus and knowing what you have to say. It is also excellent value for money as it only costs £6.99 in the UK.
The only thing left for me to do now is go holidaying in Greece and really put this learning CD to the test.
Adio!
to buy Teach Yourself One-Day Greek [UK]>>
to buy Teach Yourself One-Day Greek [USA]>>
to find out more about Teach Yourself language courses>>
An independent language course review by Sarah Maddocks
Teach yourself Japanese Conversation is a 3-hour, 3 CD, all-audio language course which is aimed at complete beginners or people who want to refresh their Japanese. Don’t even think about trying to do the course all in one go – it would be near impossible not to mention brain frazzling!
The CDs follow a couple called Chris and Sarah (I know, original names!) whilst visiting an ex-colleague in Japan. The idea of the CD is to learn the language through 20 conversations that Chris & Sarah have with native speakers. The course is accompanied by a booklet containing transcripts of the conversations; the key vocabulary is in bold.
The content of the CDs differ. CD1 & CD2 have 10 real-life conversations about things that you’d be doing on a weekend break or a short holiday or business visit to the country. For each conversation, there are two dialogues in three sections: the first section is listen and repeat, the second section is using the language in context and the final section is practising the conversation again. The CD3 is a recap session and gives you lots more real-life conversations.
When I first started listening to CD1, the first thought that sprang into my mind was ‘why on earth had I decided to even attempt to learn Japanese’. I stupidly (stupidly as in for future reference don’t do this) made the mistake of opening the booklet before I pressed play and thought I was way out of my depth. Still, I carried on and am glad I did. From the start I knew I had made the right decision with this course. The narrator is not irritatingly bland like on some courses – in fact quite the opposite as she is reassuring and easy to listen to.
The fab thing about the CDs is they are repetitive (in a good way) and the narrator often advises you to pause the CD which is easy to do. Throughout the sections some basic grammar rules are explained, as well as when to use and when not to use certain constructions.
CD2 continues on from CD1 and the level remains the same throughout, which is great as it doesn’t progress too fast or too slow (in other words just right).
CD3 is what would be called the revision CD. All the conversations in the booklet are replayed at normal speed and then a different version is played, with a kind of question time at the start. I found this a great way of recapping and actually testing what I had learnt (seeing as in the past I think I have mastered a self-study tape but in actual fact I really have no idea about the language!).
The booklet offers explanations of what to do in certain cultural situations. This is particularly handy if you go to Japan. The last thing you’d want to do is blow your nose, offend the whole room and have no idea why!
This 3-hour course is absolutely fabulous (excuse the quote from the television programme!). To me it seemed like a great 3-hour exam preparation course. Instead of boring me slightly (GCSE German memories flooding back!), it was very entertaining and made me feel that I would be able to handle myself in any one of the situations played out in the conversations and more importantly understand what was being said back to me.
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I especially recommend this to people who have done language courses before and found them dull and uninteresting, as this is completely different. You actually come out of this course with a real sense of achievement. |
I would recommend this to everyone who wants to learn a more adventurous language and who isn’t scared of challenges along the way. I especially recommend this to people who have done language courses before and found them dull and uninteresting, as this is completely different. You actually come out of this course with a real sense of achievement and a feeling that you could now go to Japan and find the train station, and more importantly order a beer and a sake!!!
to buy Teach Yourself Japanese Conversation [UK]>>
to buy Teach Yourself Japanese Conversation [USA]>>
to find out more about Teach Yourself language courses>>
An independent language books review by Andrea Martins
Whether you are a complete beginner or an advanced learner, the Teach Yourself language books are a must. I used the Teach Yourself Italian Grammar and Teach Yourself Italian Verbs books whilst studying for a GCSE * Italian course last year. Although we had a text book as the main learning tool for the course, I chose to buy these books as extra aids for my studies. Even if you are not taking classes, the Teach Yourself books’ purpose is to do exactly that – Teach Yourself.
There are over 300 titles in the Teach Yourself range and they are advertised as being extremely functional, simple and easy to use and cover languages from Afrikaans to Zulu. Most of the language courses have CDs or a cassette with them, but with the verb and grammar series, there are no cassettes; just you, your Teach Yourself book and your interest to learn.
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It’s just you, your Teach Yourself book and your interest to learn … |
There are 22 units of functional grammar in the Teach Yourself Italian Grammar book; functional in that each unit covers a basic communicative function such as ‘Ask someone else’s opinion’ or ‘Talk about events and actions in the past’. Each unit is laid out in a very clear and non-technical way. There is, however, a Grammar Appendix which lists any grammar points not explained in the book as well as a list of the common irregular verbs. The Index also lists specific grammar points.
Each unit begins with a brief synopsis of what the unit contains highlighting the particular language points covered. You are then introduced to a few examples. These are explained with some individual points being given additional coverage (this section is called Language Plus). A particularly useful section of each unit is ‘Language in Action’ which comprises of up to four exercises as revision based on what has been covered in the unit. Exercises include: fill the gap exercises, reading and writing exercises, translating and so on. I found this useful not only for grammar revision but also for communicative use as the exercises show you how to use the language and grammar in the context of everyday life.
But it’s not all verbs, grammar and verb endings. There are some pictures, postcards, maps, letters and written dialogues which all enhance the grammar being covered giving you examples from spoken and written language. I personally found it helpful to work through each unit only after I had completely learnt and understood the previous one. You do not have to have completed one unit to begin the next one, although I did feel that this helped me with my own greater understanding and fluency. You are given the choice of systematically working through each unit like I did or work at the grammar points that most interest you. It is entirely up to you.
One disadvantage of this book is that the pronunciation of the Italian is not explained as you might find in other language learning books. I feel that this could lead to confusion for the complete beginner.
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It’s not all verbs, grammar and verb endings |
The Teach Yourself Italian Verbs book is a great book for learning that aspect of language learning that we all love to hate…verb conjugations! You can consult this book about any verb as each one is presented in their full conjugation under each tense (including the conditional and subjunctive tenses). Not all the verbs in the Teach Yourself Italian Verbs are listed though. The book would be huge otherwise! Instead, 200 of the most commonly used verbs are presented in the verb tables and many more are catered for in the glossary at the back of the book. Here you can find the verb that you want and the glossary directs you to a verb in the book that behaves the same way as the one that you want to use.
Each of the 200 verbs are set out one to a page and at the bottom of each page is listed the basic uses of the verb with examples, and well known phrases and expressions using that verb. Whilst taking the GCSE course last year, I found this book really useful for learning verb endings and verb uses. Each verb is set out clearly and with some hard grafting and memorizing, you too will understand how the tenses are formed and use the formulae for each new verb that you come across in your language learning.
For the complete beginner or advanced learner using this book for revision, the first section of the book ‘What are verbs and how do they work’ clearly explains the formation and tenses of verbs together with their grammatical uses. It is a really useful book to use alongside the Teach Yourself Italian Grammar book.
The only disadvantage to this collection of books is that you do need a lot of self-discipline to use them and be determined to complete the units (especially those in the Grammar book). Depending on how self-motivated you are you may find it difficult to continue using these books on a regular basis. Unfortunately, grammar and verb conjugations of any language can be the crux for fluent language learning and therefore some attention does need to be made on these language points.
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Grammar and verb conjugations can be the crux for fluent language learning. |
I would also say that the language learner would have to have learnt some Italian in order to have a go at learning the verb conjugations in the Teach Yourself Italian Verbs book as many of the verbs are not looked at even at GCSE level. This could seem daunting for complete beginners. However, the Teach Yourself Italian Grammar book states that ‘you need no knowledge of grammar terminology to use it’ – an advantageous point as grammar can be a very complex and boring subject at any level and even for language enthusiasts!
As an independent learner myself, self-motivation is the key to using these books. It may be best to use these books in conjunction with your own tapes and a course book (if you are taking classes) in order to hear the correct pronunciation and get an all round Italian language learning experience. Grammar and verbs and the way they are used are essential to learning any language but cannot be used alone. The great thing about these particular Teach Yourself Italian books is that they give you the freedom to choose whatever grammar point or verb you want to learn allowing you greater flexibility in your learning.
So give these Teach Yourself language books a try…..and see how motivated and enthusiastic you really are!!!
to buy Teach Yourself Italian Verbs or Italian Grammar [UK]>>
to buy Teach Yourself Italian Verbs or Italian Grammar [USA]>>
to find out more about Teach Yourself language courses>>
An independent language course review by Lisa Zealey
The Teach Yourself ‘INSTANT’ language series from Hodder Arnold is a must if you’re off to another country for your holidays or work and have little time to study. The INSTANTS are a way to learn the ‘get-by’ essentials without being bogged down with heavy grammar and confusion.
I have studied Greek, Italian and German using this series and have found the results amazing.
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I have studied Greek, Italian and German using this series and have found the results amazing. |
The Teach Yourself Instants are available in eight popular languages (and four for learners of English from French, German, Italian and Spanish), but each one is made up of the same structure and designed to be completed in only 6 weeks with 35 minutes of study per day. The book is divided into six sections with an accompanying cassette. This way you can mimic the speakers to get the perfect pronunciation!
At the beginning of each chapter the week is divided into individual days with instructions telling you which exercises to do each day. You have a set day-by-day study programme to follow of just 35 minutes each day which really gets you into the discipline of learning your new language every day. You can cross out the exercises you have done and test your progress at the end of each week, so you really feel that you’re getting somewhere. The great thing about these is that they are flexible and you manage your own time – if you miss a day, do an hour the next day!
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You have a set day-by-day study programme to follow of just 35 minutes each day which really gets you into the discipline of learning every day. |
On the first day of each section there is a short dialogue between Tom and Kate who are travelling in the destination country. You can listen to it and read along with the English equivalent on the opposite page which is translated ‘literally’ into French-speak or German-speak, so it is easy to become familiar with the different word order. Then you have a list of all the new words of the week for you to read through and then test yourself on what you’ve learnt. There is one page per section called ‘GOOD NEWS GRAMMAR’ to cover the basic points of the week and a passage to learn by heart. Even though this is tricky it is really worth doing because it is great for your fluency.
Each week you are given questions to answer in your chosen language to give you added practice of writing. These packs contain only the most useful words and phrases and are an incredibly useful tool for any lover of travel. They have the added bonus of FLASH CARDS with the English on one side and your chosen language on the other so you can really see how much you know. I found these really helpful, especially if you are learning with a friend and you can test each other.
The first pack I tried was INSTANT GREEK before going on a beach holiday to Zante with a friend. When I managed to tell the taxi driver where I wanted to go, where to stop and ask how much it cost, I felt a real sense of achievement because it is nothing like the languages I am used to leaning. It is worth noting though that if you are learning a language like Greek or Japanese which has a totally different alphabet the real written form is not used. Instead the foreign words are written with English script so that you can just focus on the pronunciation. I didn’t find this a problem with Greek because all I wanted to do was get by in the country but a little knowledge of the script would have been useful to recognise the written form. However, just a basic knowledge of the language is a great way to start conversation with the locals!
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When I managed to tell the taxi driver where I wanted to go, where to stop and to ask how much it cost, I felt a real sense of achievement. |
Secondly, after finding the Greek so helpful I learnt INSTANT ITALIAN for a tourist holiday in Rome. I found my new found Italian extremely useful when I was lost with a friend late on the evening of our arrival, trying to find our hotel! It was also great for ordering meals and getting information about trains etc. The INSTANTS just make it simple.
I completed INSTANT GERMAN at the end of 2001 for a New Year’s party in Germany. I was with some friends who spoke a little English but a basic knowledge of German was essential to introduce myself, communicate with them and wish everyone a ‘Frohes Neues Jahr’ (Happy New Year).
One minor disadvantage that I found was the fact that each pack contains the same set of six chapters so, if you have completed one INSTANT course and then go on to try another, you are faced with the exact same scenarios. This has the problem of being a bit repetitive but at the same time I can easily see how the stories are carefully structured to contain all the useful vocabulary which is great to know in any language.
So go on, before you go on your next travels get the INSTANT language advantage and give it a go!
to buy Teach Yourself Instants [UK]>>
to buy Teach Yourself Instants [USA]>>
to find out more about Teach Yourself language courses>>
Do you want to win more business in France?
Do you want to serve your French-speaking customers better?
Do you want to work more effectively with your international business partners?
Business French is a three-hour, all-audio, straightforward course that will help you to acquire essential up-to-date business language. [Read more…]
Are you lost for words when speaking a language?
Picture the scene: You’ve arrived at the airport in Spain, excitedly clutching your suitcase and sun hat, when you ask an airport official in your best phrasebook Spanish where the taxi rank is. It seems to work as he replies straightaway …… but that’s where the conversation ends!
languages: Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Cantonese, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish
for more information, reviews and to view the full range of Earworms Rapid Language courses>>
languages: Arabic, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish
for more information, reviews and to view the full range of Michel Thomas Method Language courses>>
languages: Arabic, Bulgarian, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, WelshLearn a language on your iPod ® on audible.co.uk>>
languages: Arabic, Cantonese Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Spanish (Latin American), Thai, Turkish, VietnameseLearn a language on your iPod ® on audible.co.uk>>
languages: French, German, Greek, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, TurkishLearn a language on your iPod ® on audible.co.uk>>
languages: French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish
languages: Arabic, French, German, Greek, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish
Learn a language on your iPod ® on audible.co.uk>>
