I have never taken spanish in school. I work in health care and really want to be able to communicate with my spanish patients. I am only through lesson 4 and I feel like it is very easy and that I am making good progress. However I wish it were Latin American spanish instead of the more formal version that is used here. I am just substituting "mucho gusto" for "encantada" when I respond out loud for example. I could see how the slow pace would frustrate those of you that have had spanish in high school or college, but for someone who has never had that background...I find the pace perfect. I have done each lesson twice, just to make sure I have it before moving on. I think that has helped me not become too frustrated. I really like the graduated recall. Because it keeps you from just stashing the info in your short term and moving on. You have to keep going back and grabbing the word. The speakers diction is great and easy to understand. I would recommend this for those that have no spanish background. After I complete this, I think I will try Behind the Wheel Spanish.

I bought this Spanish fully audio set including 5 cds. There is no problem with packacing. Everthing is nice but I played the cds with Windows Media Player and you are just listening the cds, you can`t see what you are listening and damn just lestening. You have to study this language before or taking some courses related to this language or you must have at least a basic knowledge about this language. So, you will have the opportunity to use the cds effectively. I bought both Spanish and Italian and I have a basic Italian knowledge and I listened cds easily and understand them. But again you won`t be able to see what you are listening to. It`s bad. At least the cds must have been opened in a program and you select the lessons and it must have provided the chance what you are listening to. You need a grammer book with this set. That`s all I can say.

I really like this course. I have gone on to further Pimsleur lessons. Pros: It's well-done. I like practicing, where I never enjoyed Spanish courses back in school. It's intuitive. I trust the methodology. And it's very convenient. I play them as I drive. Cons: Sometimes there is too little time between the prompt that you say something in Spanish and the time when the speaker on the CD states the correct answer. Perhaps this is intentional. But I prefer to pause the playback, make my attempt, and then resume play in order to hear the expert answer. Depending on your car stereo, it may be difficult to pause the CD. You may have to turn your stereo off, make your attempt, and then turn it back on. Suggestion: I was able to obtain the later lessons in mp3 format and play them on my car speakers using my phone. My phone app has the ability to pause. You can connect your phone via the phone jack and an audio in jack (aux) in your car. Or if you have a newer vehicle you may be able to stream it via Bluetooth. (I do this, and there is a button on my steering wheel that allows me to pause the playback from my phone.)

As described, I learned basics hello/goodbye, how are you

I use the CD while I drive. It was easy instructions and I was speaking some Spanish in a week