Like Transparent Language, Linguaphone, and other programmes in the field, Talk to Me Spanish comes with voice-recognition software that will monitor your pronunciation. At the lower level, you participate in an interactive dialogue and select your response from three options. As things progress, you move to rearranging words in sentence order when they are thrown at you all jumbled up. The vocabulary becomes progressively more complex, but simply pointing the cursor at a Spanish word provides the English translation.

This is a highly competent software package. One of the best things about it is its sense of humour. In one of the dialogues, when asked whether they are a man, the student can reply "Soy un fantasma" (I am a ghost). Another role-play includes the glorious line "Soy una maquina, no tengo nombre" (I'm a machine, I have no name). This sort of wit is quite unusual in language packages and it really sets Talk to Me apart from its competitors. --Toby Green

Difficult to navigate, Talk to Me Spanish was a chore to use. The graphics and videos impressed at first but after looking a little deeper I felt fairly let down. Although the speaking exercises were useful, I felt the package lacked in content compared to other packages that I have used.


Really helpful for improving listening skills. good value.   March 20, 2004
 30 out of 30 found this review helpful

Very good value indeed.

I have a basic Spanish knowledge (about NVQ / Instituto Cervantes Beginners' 4 level - see www.cervantes.org.uk) and though I find reading and writing the language fairly straight forward, I've always struggled with speaking and listening to Spanish speakers unless they slow right down and speak to me like a child.

This is is a very useful tool for gaining the necessary speaking/pronunciation training that you require to improve your listening skills (basically by repeating phrases again and again until you achieve a decent score). By analysing my own speech and comparing it to the tutor, I'm certainly getting better at hearing the words even when spoken more quickly.

The software also has the option for you to set your learning priorities (Listening, Reading, Speaking etc) and then tailors the programme slightly for your needs.

This definitely wouldn't suit a total beginner, you need at least some spanish vocabulary and maybe a little grammar. The structure of this seems more like a phrase book - you learn what you need for a particular situation but it isn't enough to get a thorough grip on the language.

Very good as a SUPPLEMENTARY learning tool.


First impressions - powerful and fun   December 11, 2003
 43 out of 46 found this review helpful

I haven't had this tutor very long but from the first session, I have enjoyed it a great deal. I get obsessed by the crosswords and pronunciation exercises: I find them very compelling. It is important to realise though, as another reviewer has noted, that the pronunciation assessment is based, not on the voice you hear, but on some unheard reference.

If you forget this, you drive yourself mad trying to get 7/7 [top marks] by copying the voice in your ear [not a bad thing in itself], though the reference pronunciation may be different enough to lose you a mark or two.

A good example is the difference in how much more the letter "d" is softened to a lisp, as in the word ciudad ["ciuthath"], between one speaker and another - and presumably the unheard reference. So, as been noted, often one's first effort is the best and subsequent attempts are bound to lose marks because of this difference. I got totally hung up on the word "adonde" on this account.

But this is a great tutor for pronunciation and also diction. I found I rarely lost marks for what I considered was gabbling: it is impossible to speak too fast. An Oxford University Press book I have makes the point that spoken Spanish is virtually all run together and it is very interesting and more importantly, instructive, to use the graphic/aural analysis facility to see how this works in practice.

A powerful, enjoyable and instructive tutor and at this price, a steal.


Not for beginners   September 4, 2003
 35 out of 35 found this review helpful

Excellent value for money, but definitely not a package for the beginner. I have been learning conversational Spanish for three years and I struggled on a number of modules, with words I have never heard of before. However on the plus side it does significantly improve your spoken Spanish, for example on the first module alone, I realised I had been mispronouncing at least a dozen words wrong, for the best part of three years - no wonder they couldn't understand me!!

The S.E.T.S. technology is very impressive, but from my personal experience your first attempt is often your best - perhaps another glass of Rioja might help!!