Visually Speaking Spanish

[Speakeasy]

Although it has been a few years since I let my subscriptions with the "Think Language" online audio magazine lapse, I remain on their mailing list and, a few moments ago, I received the following promotional Email concerning "Visually Speaking Spanish", which appears to be new, subscriber-based, online source for learning Spanish. I have neither a commercial nor any other type of relation with either of these organisations and I do not profit from sharing this information. I merely thought that some members of this forum might be interested in this development, might wish to visit the website, and might wish to comment on the learning potential, pricing, et cetera of these materials.

TEXT OF THE EMAIL:

Hola,

I have a learning Spanish video to share with you. If you are in a rush, you can click this link and go watch the video right now:

http://visuallyspeakingspanish.com/vss-1/

But if you have a minute or two, allow me to tell you a little about the video first. The guys at Learning Like Crazy recently released a new and improved version of their Visually Speaking Spanish Levels 1 and 2. The NEW Visually Speaking Spanish is perhaps the best way for a *visual learner* to learn Spanish. And the new version includes both a desktop version and a web-based version that you can access on your tablet.

I have asked Patrick, the owner of Learning Like Crazy, to please offer my readers the same special deal that he has only offered to his very own customers. That is, the combo package consisting of both Levels 1 and 2 for just $19.95. And he has agreed! His web developer is now in the process of setting up a web page just for my Think Spanish readers to get a copy of the program. In the meantime, here's a link to a screen capture video that Patrick made demonstrating some of the features and benefits of the NEW Visually Speaking Spanish:

http://visuallyspeakingspanish.com/vss-1/

Hasta luego,
Kelly G.
Publisher, Think Language

[Speakeasy]

Given the under-whelming response to my initial post, I concluded that the members must have been waiting for Kelly's latest update. Frankly, I find the videos under-whelming myself!

PROMOTIONAL EMAIL AS RECEIVED:

Hola,

After I sent a link to my readers with a demo video from the NEW Visually Speaking Spanish program, I received quite a few emails from my readers, asking when can they get a copy. On Monday, I will send you a link to get your combo package consisting of Levels 1 and 2 Visually Speaking Spanish, along with a special bonus package which is only being made available to you because you're a Think Spanish reader.

In the meantime, Patrick Jackson, creator of the Learning Spanish Like Crazy program, made two more demo videos for us from the NEW Visually Speaking Spanish program. Even if you're not interested in the program, I still encourage you to watch these two short videos because you will learn some helpful Spanish from watching the following videos:

Video Number 2: http://visuallyspeakingspanish.com/vss-2/
Video Number 3: http://visuallyspeakingspanish.com/vss-4/

And don't forget to check your email box on Monday. That's when I'll be sending you the link to get your combo package consisting of Levels 1 and 2 Visually Speaking Spanish, along with your special learning-Spanish bonus package which is only available to Think Spanish readers.

Hasta luego,
Kelly G.
Publisher, Think Language

[AndyD]

I got the verberator (Patrick Jackson´s previous product) - which was probably the best spanish resource I´ve bought. It allows you to select verbs, tenses, subjects etc then tests you on them. Been a software developer I find it a delight to see an application that solves a problem and solves it well. It REALLY improved my conjugation of verbs.

I then bought visually speaking spanish... I used it a little bit...then again purely as I´d paid good money for it. It was similar to how I felt when I saw "Phantom Menace".

[jsega]

I got the verberator (Patrick Jackson´s previous product) - which was probably the best spanish resource I´ve bought. It allows you to select verbs, tenses, subjects etc then tests you on them. Been a software developer I find it a delight to see an application that solves a problem and solves it well. It REALLY improved my conjugation of verbs.

I then bought visually speaking spanish... I used it a little bit...then again purely as I´d paid good money for it. It was similar to how I felt when I saw "Phantom Menace".

On a more serious note. How did you go about getting a lot out of the Verberrator? Also, can you talk more on how it helped you? Did it make your speech more automatic (similar to how people speak about FSI)?

[Cainntear]

I got the verberator (Patrick Jackson´s previous product)

The Verberator was built by him to a design by a poster on HTLAL, so doesn't reflect Jackson's teaching philosophy at all.

[AndyD]

Well most of my work on Spanish has been talking with natives so I´d always been concentraing on getting the meaning across - often really rough at first. Using "voy a" and "van a" etc a lot. Pretty much all of my past tense was he, han, hemos etc.

So, when I got verberator I started on about a dozen verbs that I used a lot, adding preterite for every person and drilled over a few days until I became completely comfortable with the patterns than added past continuous, then habría etc. The future tenses and conditional I just added for completeness, never did subjunctive with it.

I did actually become automatic with the stuff very quickly - basically just substituting clunky spanish with less clunky spanish. Really, this was a tool worth every penny.

[AndyD]

I got the verberator (Patrick Jackson´s previous product)

The Verberator was built by him to a design by a poster on HTLAL, so doesn't reflect Jackson's teaching philosophy at all.

That explains a lot as the quality of Verberator is certainly much higher than the emails I get from the company with new products or "tips"

[jsega]

Well most of my work on Spanish has been talking with natives so I´d always been concentraing on getting the meaning across - often really rough at first. Using "voy a" and "van a" etc a lot. Pretty much all of my past tense was he, han, hemos etc.

So, when I got verberator I started on about a dozen verbs that I used a lot, adding preterite for every person and drilled over a few days until I became completely comfortable with the patterns than added past continuous, then habría etc. The future tenses and conditional I just added for completeness, never did subjunctive with it.

I did actually become automatic with the stuff very quickly - basically just substituting clunky spanish with less clunky spanish. Really, this was a tool worth every penny.

Cool, thanks for sharing. As far as drilling goes, I see Verbarrator as being potentially really convenient to drill specific problems (making conjugations automatic seems to be one of the more common pain points). Sure, it's not in a mobile format (something I'm sure people would claim as a negative), but you can choose the exact conjugations and verbs you want to work on making the whole point of drilling more efficient. There is a lot of ability there to customize your drill compared to all of the other prefabricated resources out there.

I think it's definitely a resource I'll be looking into later on.

[Tomás]

The free products, such as Conjugemos, seem to be just as useful to me, at far less cost.