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Spanish III, Comprehensive: Learn to Speak and Understand Latin American Spanish with Pimsleur Language Programs (Comprehensive) | 
| Author: Pimsleur
Publisher: Pimsleur
Category: Book
List Price: $345.00
Buy New: $327.75
You Save: $17.25 (5%)
Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 378926
Format: Audiobook
Media: Audio CD
Edition: Revised, 30 Lessons + Reading
Number Of Items: 16
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.1
Dimensions (in): 12.7 x 11.2 x 1.5
ISBN: 0743528956
Dewey Decimal Number: 468
EAN: 9780743528955
Publication Date: July 12, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
Comprehensive Spanish (L.A.) III includes 30 additional lessons (16 hrs.), plus Readings, which build upon the language skills acquired in Levels I and II. Increased spoken and reading language ability. Level III will increase your vocabulary and grammatical structures and triple your spoken proficiency. Upon completion of a level III, you will be able to: * participate in most informal and some formal discussions on practical, social, and some semi-professional topics, * form longer sentences while maintaining the target language syntax, * be understood even by native speakers unused to dealing with foreigners, * handle increasingly difficult grammatical structures, * enjoy fluent conversations with a variety of strangers, * have a near-native accent, and the subtleties of the language will be apparent in your speech, * read at the same level at which you speak. Note: In order for the Pimsleur Method to work correctly, you must first complete the Level I + II language programs before proceeding to the Level III language program.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 Skip #3, but 1 and 2 are good September 14, 2006
25 out of 26 found this review helpful
As others have said, Pimsleur is great for developing correct pronunciation and for getting comfortable speaking. In that regard, volumes 1 and 2 are excellent and gradually introduce more complex or idiomatic phrases as well as verb tenses gradually and in a natural way. Also, as others have said, you will not even remotely be able to say much (or understand much) if you ONLY do the Pimsleur lessons. You have to get a good vocabulary book (children's picture books are highly recommended), listen to Univision, etc., but getting grounded solidly in pronunciation and just the initial step of being able to put together sentences confidently is something Pimsleur 1 and 2 will definitely help in greatly. Course number 3, however, is a huge disappointment---it's not just "not good enough", it's actually extremely poorly done. Anyone who gets number 3 presumably has done 1 and 2 and is comfortable with pretty much any basic phrases (Muchas Gracias), how to do introductions (Mucho gusto in concerlo), filler phrases (No importa), etc. but in course 3, you will spend a significant amount of time simply repeating these same phrases over and over. There is also a completely mysterious enormous emphasis on certain phrases that end up taking up in total nearly an entire lesson apiece---for example, "un plato de la especialidad de la casa" (one plate of the specialty of the house). First of all, this is a phrase any reasonably knowledgeable person who has done lessons 1 and 2 could figure out without outside help---you don't need lesson time that you paid for wasted being introduced to something you can figure out yourself. But this phrase took up nearly an entire lesson. Other similar unimportant or phrases easily decipherable without help took up entire lessons. Very little in the way of additional verb tenses were introduced in the entire course number 3, and a very specific set of vocabulary was introduced entirely geared towards foreign engineers making business trips or going to conferences in Latin America (I'm not kidding---that's the vocab you get repeated endlessly and not all that useful outside of very narrow situations). So all in all, number 3 is really terrible and should be avoided even if you get it for free---it simply isn't worth the time. But number 1 and 2 are strongly recommended as good tools for getting to a basic "comfort level" from which you can really develop on your own.
 Excellent series! August 28, 2005
22 out of 24 found this review helpful
As a resident of Florida, I desire very much to become acquainted with the language, histories, and cultures of my Spanish-speaking neighbors and co-workers. I studied French in high school but as of today cannot speak or understand it.
Because of my work schedule, at this time attending night school or living in a Spanish-speaking country is not practical. I am attempting to learn Spanish on my own. I have bought all three levels of Pimsleur and have no regrets. For anyone who may balk at the price, you should consider that the tuition at a university or a community college may exceed the cost of one level of Pimsleur.
Pimsleur is an excellent start for a beginning Spanish student. Pimsleur effectively teaches you the technique of listening to a sentence in English, translating out loud in Spanish, hearing the phrase in Spanish, and repeating it. The pauses between the sentences are long enough to translate out loud in Spanish. You may have to repeat a lesson several times so that you translate accurately and quickly enough during the pauses. However, the lessons are never dull, and the sound in audio CDs is clear and easy to understand.
I use supplemental grammar materials to read and write Spanish and to learn grammar. But the Pimsleur CDs teach you to speak useful and interesting words, sentences, and phrases for real-life situations - ordering in a restaurant, asking for street directions, asking about one's family and health, and discussing the weather. These CDs are never boring.
In addition, if I have an especially busy day and do not have time or energy to do a reading or writing lesson, I can still find 30 minutes in a day to do a Pimsleur lesson.
Even with the three levels of Pimsleur, you will not be fluent in Spanish. I am starting the FSI Spanish series once I complete Pimsleur. I recommend that for those who are serious about achieving fluency Spanish, they take the multitrack approach - watch Univision, listen to Spanish radio, practice speaking with native speakers, etc.
But for those new to Spanish, I wholeheartedly endorse the Pimsleur series.
PIMSLEUR DEVELOPS A SPEECH CENTER January 23, 2007
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
No where in the literature that Pismleur puts out does it claim to be the "end all" Spanish program. I mean, really! It would impossible to put everything you need to know in three short courses. What it claims to do, it does. It gets you to a certain level of SPOKEN FLUENCY and no more and no less. When I did the research for my book, "YOU CAN LEARN SPANISH or Any Language No Matter Your Age or Disposition," what I found was that Americans particularly have the most bizzare idea of what it takes to develop spoken fluency in a second language. The course, "FSI Programmatic Spanish", is one that should be done after the highest level of spoken fluency is achieved. What "FSI Programmatic Spanish" does is address material to the short and long term memory and not to that portion of the brain that develops a "speech center". If you want to know what a "speech center" in your brain is, just note how your six or seven year old child can communicate in his native language BEFORE ever learning what a part of speech is. When I went through the " FSI Programmatic Spanish" course so I could review it for my book, I thought it was dreadfully boring, mind numbing, and did not at all address the development of a Speech Center...Pimsleur, however does. Pimsleur is not "A" method for second language acquisition...it is "THE" method for beginning spoken fluency. One comes before the other. In fact, in my book, avaialable here on Amazon.com, I mention Pimsleur as part of the course of study for developing spoken fluency.
 Semi -disenchanted November 2, 2007
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Here's a very honest review. I've been through all 4 levels of the Pimsleur Spanish Language programs (I, II, III, Plus). It took me about 18 months to get through it all with my commute to work. I went through each lesson multiple times, and I can now go back through the CD's and get probably 95% of it correct. It was an enjoyable introduction to the language, and an efficient use of my time (what else am I going to do in my car?). However, my initial hope was that I'd be able to understand Spanish conversations, radio, and TV. And I must tell you I get maybe 10% of it. Was recently in Dallas where there's lots of Spanish spoken, and I don't pick up much. The Mexican guys that painted my house...couldn't understand a word they were saying. I'm not giving up, from here I'll try more audio courses, classes, whatever is available. But if you're like me and read these reviews in the outset, don't be fooled, it's not all they make it out to be. It's ironic, but after going through their "advanced" courses, I'm still at a very beginner level. I wonder if some of these reviews are written by the publisher. And by the way, I found all 4 courses completamente gratis at my local library. Busca ahi primero.
Just great September 7, 2005
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
I love these tapes; I've used several of the Pimsleur series and they're fantastic. By stressing *listening* over reading, these tapes lead to excellent pronunciation, and the "graduated recall" system seems to improve retention. The one thing I missed was that another tape set offered mnemonic devices (e.g., in spanish "bathtub" is "tina", so you imagine a girl named tina in a bathtub to help recall), so with Pimsleur I just make up my own as I listen.
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