Schaum's Outline of [xxxxxxxxx] Vocabulary?

[Expugnator]

I've just started using Schaum's Outline of Chinese Vocabulary and I must say it is a quite demanding resource, like those textbooks that want to act as 'vocabulary killers' for each of the themes chosen. My Chinese is at a 'shaky' B1 level and there is no way I could have used it before and made a good use of it. I plan to review it later when I travel to China, because I like the way the vocabulary is introduced both on the sample sentences and on the exercises, almost like a role-play but also with a good share of repetition and fill-in-the-blanks.



What about you guys,what were your experiences with the series? I'd be particularly interested in reading about the ones for opaque languages, as I plan to use the Russian one as well later.

[Speakeasy]

The “Shaum’s Outline” series helped me survive the rigours of Senior High School and of Junior College in numerous academic subjects. Years later, I even purchased their tome on Spherical Trigonometry to help me with the mathematics of Ocean Sailing and Astro Navigation whilst a (much younger than now) Naval Cadet. Thus, I quite naturally turned to their “Grammar” series for French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Russian, when I began studying these languages.

Shaum's Outline of French Grammar.JPG

The “Grammar” series presents clear, yet concise, explanations of the major elements of grammar and includes numerous exercises; all this at very modest prices. I would recommend the “Shaum’s Outline” series to anyone wishing to reinforce their understanding of numerous subjects, including the basics of grammar of several commonly-studied languages.

I purchased the “Shaum’s Outline” edition of “German Vocabulary” and I would say that it measures up to the same high standards I came to know with all of their other publications. Nonetheless, my own experiences in actually “using” these materials left me somewhat deflated.

Shaum's Outline of German Vocabulary.JPG

Please note that I am NOT decrying the quality of these materials, NOR am I holding the publisher of this series for my disappointment. Rather, I found that the elements of vocabulary, in the one volume that I purchased, had been amply covered in most of the introductory German courses that I studied.

Furthermore, I prefer to work with contextual audio recordings when learning vocabulary and the Shaum’s Outline series contains printed materials only. So, while I greatly admire the “Shaum’s Outline” series in general, including the “Grammar” series for all of the languages that I have studied, my own learning preferences would cause me to shy away from purchasing other "Vocabulary" volumes in this series for the languages that I have been studying. I cannot comment on the usefulness of this series for the "more exotic" languages.

EDITED:
Insertion of two images of Shaum's Outlines books.

[neofight78]

Oops, just realised you were talking about the vocabulary books! Never mind, I've typed it all out, so here's my thoughts on the grammar book:

I have the Russian one. I'd say it's one of the better grammar books, and from what I've seen in other corners of the internet it's a reasonably popular choice in general. If there's a spectrum, with read from start to finish tutorial on grammar at one end, and comprehensive grammar reference at the other. I would say Schaum's sits somewhere in the middle. Generally the explanations are pretty good, and there are plenty of examples and exercises. The chapter on conjunctions is pretty useful and contains practical stuff that is missing from some of the more basic guides. Overall I think it strikes a nice balance.

I've bought quite a lot of grammar books, on the basis that some things are better explained in some books than in others. Also when you get past all the really core stuff (e.g. cases), coverage becomes more patchy and you'll finds some things are in one book and not in another. So to get better coverage several books works well. I also like to practice grammar using example sentences made into flashcards, so more books equals more sample sentences.

Anyhow overall I'd definitely recommend the Russian edition, it's one of my most used and liked grammar books.

[Monox D. I-Fly]

Schaum's Outline has language series? All along this time I thought they only focuses on mathematics...

[lusan]

I just bought the one for French grammar, after finding in the bookstore. It looks great as a reference and a quick read bed.

[AnneL]

The Schaum Outline series is very dear to my heart. I used it systematically for every subject during my Uni years while studying chemistry, physics and maths. When I tackle a new subject, to this day, I still check if something in the series is available for it. I found it for Italian Grammar for the few months I studied the language, and thought it was what I needed. I always liked the fact that it had more exercises than most resources, and to me it's a staple for rehearsing things I have learned elsewhere, or clarifying things. It still didn't feel enough for me to memorise everything, and this is because I was in a hurry and only had this resource. If I had something for Korean right now, I would first learn the grammar elsewhere, and once it's sunk in, work on the exercises.
I also love the paper quality, just fits right in with the exam-cramming feel I need to get me going. I will go now check if anything is available yet for Korean, I found nothing last year sadly. Thanks for reminding me.