NAUKA ANGIELSKIEGO ONLINE

Posts Tagged ‘Review’

I don’t exactly know what the real fuss with Learning Spanish is about. It appears a huge economic boom for Spain has been predicted and we might all need to know how to converse with Spaniards. Regardless of that Spanish seems to be a very popular language amongst a lot of young adults. Very recently someone asked me, “What should I do if I want to learn Spanish online?” This is what I told them.

Before you attempt to learn Spanish online you must be prepared for the substantial cost of software programs. There are a lot of programs that teach people how to speak Spanish interactively. This means that you can learn how to speak the language without the need for a tutor. But these programs are rather expensive even though they are very effective tools of learning.

However, if you do decide to learn Spanish my advice would be to get the Visual Link Conversational Spanish CD course. This software will be fun; easy and basic if you are used to learning in a complicated environment. This course teaches you to construct meaningful sentences; the structure of sentences and vocabulary.

Another tutorial program that offers Spanish lessons is Rocket Spanish. With This interactive tutorial you get to have audio lessons, three of them, as well as lessons to better your understanding of Spanish Culture. Rocket Spanish offers a six day learning course, after which you are then requested to buy or sign up for the full course. IF then you can afford to buy or sign up it is fine, but it is a good foundational learning option.

Learning Spanish online can be free if you’re serious enough to search for Spanish websites where Spanish is taught for free. On these websites you can get translations in English or any other popular language. Apart from these Spanish websites there is a lot of information on Spanish as a language that can be useful.

But learning Spanish online is not enough if you don’t practice. You will have to find someone to learn Spanish with or better still find a person from Spain to polish it up. But nothing actually beats going to Spain for a holiday, that way you will learn faster.

German language teachers and students are always on the lookout for interesting ways to present lessons or improve vocabulary. This DVD series may be a helpful resource. The vocabulary is simple, and the episodes are only 52 minutes long.

‘Nonni und Manni’ is a *REGION 2* DVD production released in 1988. If you do not have a DVD player capable of playing Region 2 titles, go to A-Language-Guide.com and browse through the ‘Advice’ section, or access the information at videohelp.com. Multi-region compatible DVD players are available at your local Wal-Mart for very reasonable prices. All it takes is a few clicks of the remote control, and your DVD unit will be able to play DVDs from anywhere in the world.

The original ‘Nonni und Manni’ TV series was produced in Icelandic - which is a North Germanic language. The German production has well-dubbed audio, spoken clearly at an easy-to-understand pace. There are no idioms and dialect accents to deal with. Intermediate to advanced students should be able to understand the speech (which, by the way, has no subtitles).

The ‘Nonni und Manni’ series is based on characters from children’s books written by Jon Svensson. Adults will enjoy the storyline as well.

The Plot:

1869: Nonni and Manni live near a small village on the coast of Iceland with their mother (Sigrid) and grandmother. Their father boarded a ship headed overseas before 8-year-old Manni was born, and the family has been awaiting his return.

One day a stranger named Harald comes ashore with the sad news that Nonni and Manni’s father has died. The family begins the mourning process, and Harald helps out on their farm in return for board. The boys form a bond with him, and begin to look up to him as a father figure. A local businessman, who is quite smitten with Sigrid, becomes increasingly irate about the situation.

A rich farmer in the village is murdered. Harald is blamed for the incident, and decides to flee into the mountains. Nonni and Manni are determined to help keep him safe and prove his innocence. With the help of a friend, they locate a secure hiding place.

As might be expected from any 12-year-old, Nonni devises several trips to the hideout with his little brother. They put themselves into peril by doing so, and the story progresses with several life-threatening close calls.

Miscellaneous Information:

The magnificent beauty of Iceland was the stage for this series. Production techniques in the mid 1980s did not use special effects like CGI graphics. The polar bear attack scenes are a smidgen unrealistic - but the suspense is maintained, nonetheless.

The background music is beautiful, with a distinctive melancholic edge. The theme song, ‘Ocean’, is in English - which seems to be the case with many foreign series. Costumes appear to have been well-researched. The boys wear wool outfits that appear a big irregular and bumpy, as you would expect from handmade clothing. The hats and hairstyles of the women are definitely something you won’t see in a North American western movie.

-Series writer: Joshua Sinclair I

-Director: Ágúst Guðmundsson

-Theme Song: Klaus Doldinger

-Online Purchasing: Amazon.de, Ebay, Abebooks.com. etc.

The same extra features are included on each DVD:

Short biography of Jon Svensson (1857-1944)
Film credits for Thor Cortes (Nonni) and Örn Einarsson (Manni)
Trailer
Photo gallery

Nonni und Manni, 3-DVD Set, 2 episodes each (complete series) - UPC Code:4250124320621

Book (January, 2007) - limited information available - ISBN-10:345170773X, ISBN-13:978-3451707735

Hardcover edition (1995) - ISBN-10:3451213567, ISBN-13:978-3451213564

Pocketbook (1990) - ISBN-10:3423702060, ISBN-13:978-3423702065

©Copyright Kathy Steinemann: This article is free to publish only if this copyright notice, the byline, and the author’s note below (with active links) are included.

Rocket Spanish is an online course offering lessons on three equivalency levels identified as beginner, intermediate level and advanced level. Those interested in the course can request a six-lesson beginners course referred to as a Free Mini Course.

This course gives interested parties a taste of the Rocket Spanish Course. The Mini Course takes students through a set of lessons during which students learn how to speak Spanish in a conversation.

Students receive the first three lessons of an Interactive Audio Course to get an idea of how the course works. The goal of three lessons is to acquire the ability to order a meal in a restaurant in Spanish, introduce yourself to others in Spanish and explain to someone how much Spanish you know, speaking in Spanish. With this knowledge, students can travel to a Spanish- speaking region and communicate with those who cannot speak English.

You will meet Mauricio Evlampieff, the author of the program and Amy Waterman who join him as an instructor in the Rocket Spanish course. Mauricio usually presents the Spanish parts of the lessons and Amy presents the English parts of the lesson. Each instructor takes an active part in the lessons guiding students through the presentations, exercises, audio sections and so on.

The first lesson will arrive in your email inbox shortly after you request the Mini-course. Each day for six days you receive a new lesson and each lesson builds on the previous lesson. In the first lesson and the following lessons there will be specific links to the Interactive online parts of the lessons. There are clear directions and built in to all of the online interactive lessons there are purple buttons. Clicking on these buttons activates the audio portion of the lessons. Students will always know when it is time to click on the purple buttons.

The first lesson is an Interactive Audio Lesson, during which you listen to Spanish words used in a conversation between Mauricio and Amy the two instructors. Then you repeat the Spanish words and practice until you can speak the words with surety and ease. The second lesson is a Text Lesson during which you receive an explanation of the grammar and vocabulary you are learning. The lessons will continue to arrive in your email inbox. There are always clear directions and links to follow for each lesson you receive.

The Rocket Spanish Mini-Course is an interactive audio course to help interested adults and older students get an idea of what Rocket Spanish can do for you. Rocket Spanish is a comprehensive Spanish course consisting of thirty-one progressive lessons. The complete course can teach help you achieve success as one who can speak, write, read and comprehend the romantic Spanish language. Once you learn the Spanish language learning, other languages such as Italian or French would be much easier.

Try the six-lesson Free Mini-Course from Rocket Spanish and discover why so many others have this program as their way of learning to speak Spanish.