Product Description

Teach Yourself makes learning Bengali easy

The languages spoken by the people in the India and Pakistan region are plentiful and diverse, just like their speakers. Here Teach Yourself gives you the opportunity to one of these major southeastern Asian languages. Teach Yourself Bengali Complete Course allows you to study in the comfort of your own home, at your own pace. It introduces you to practical themes, such as making travel arrangements, meeting someone new, shopping, and other every day activities. Includes two audio CDs with listening and speaking exercises.

Customer Reviews (10)

Where is it? I would love it ...
I have always been pleased with purchases from Amazon but sadly this particular product NEVER reached me! I am still waiting - can you check if it has been sent back to you? my movements over the summer were various and I may have missed it (took a long time for deliviery date 13.8.2010) ordered early July
very hard to find a place to tell you this!
yours sincerely
Antonia Hoogewerf

Could be a LOT better
The book does not have a lot of writing help - something I view as essential to learning a language. It just has a page of how the alphabet should look as it is written, but this does not help you figure out how to connect the letters or actually write words. I had to rely on my boyfriend (from Bangladesh) to become my teacher in that area.
Also - the author learned Bengali in the Bengal region of India. So if your interests lie in the country of Bangladesh, there are different words used there. For example, the words in the book for older brother, sister, etc, are more Hindu-based words than the words used in Bangladesh (which has a larger Muslim population).
I didn't like how the exercises for each section were all crammed into a part in the back of the book. They could have been a part of each section, so I don't really understand the thinking behind that decision.
All in all, the book is mediocre. I truly think that the only way you will be able to learn Bengali with this book is if you have someone who knows Bengali to help you where the book falls short.

good, but not for real beginner
I found the book very helpful, but I don't think is for real beginners.Good for the pronunciations, but not to write the alphabet.

Best Bengali Course Book Available
This is really the only Bengali/Bangla course book I would recommend after searching for quite a while for a program. It is a good start, and the complementary dvd is really helpful for learning pronunciation and listening to conversations. However, it is still no substitute to finding a native speaker to talk with and learn from. There are numerous subtleties to the language that I didn't feel the book covered in enough depth.

Good book to learn Bengali
If you want to learn Bengali, it is a good book to use. It's not 100% perfect, but it is good, especially if you have a little foundation. You can learn the alphabet well with this book, the CDs are helpful in learning pronunciation. It builds gradually over the course of the book. And also, this books is a good improvement from previous versions, so I would recommend it. Another good book, if you know already how to read Bengali, or are learning, is Milet Picture Dictionary: English-Bengali. I haven't seen the mini version, but that's also an option. Also, Bengali Flower: 50 Selected Poems from India and Bangladesh, Rabindranath Tagore and Bengali Flower: 50 Selected Poems from India and Bangladesh, Rabindranath Tagore, which also has a language section. Also, Dawn of a New Discovery: Poems of Life, Wonder, Conflict, and Far Away Places for poems about India and Bangladesh, Pakistan, Asia. ... Read more

Product Description
This book addresses the issue of how to teach English in diverse locations. Central to the discussion is the balance of power in classroom and curriculum settings, the relationship between language, culture, and discourse, and the change in the ownership of English.
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Customer Reviews (1)

Including the Other in ELT
In an attempt to develop a debate which in the TESOL world has had Robert Phillipson and Alastair Pennycook as notable contributors and which in the broader field of education can be traced back to Paolo Freire and earlier, Holliday seeks to go beyond questions directly related to the ever more efficient learning of English and interrogate practices, ideologies and discourses which he believes to be both morally questionable and educationally dubious. Despite what might be expected from the title he has relatively little to say about Jennifer Jenkins proposal to define a phonological core for English as an International Language - an English seen primarily as a lingua franca - and focuses instead on the teaching of English in a variety of international settings. His main themes are discourses which Other the student and the micropolitics of the classroom as well as an underlying unease about the meaning of culture.
By way of both methodology and interpretive framework he wisely chooses to ignore both Phillipson's vulgar Marxism and, frequent reverential tips of the hat towards it notwithstanding, Pennycook's dinner-party postmodernism too. Instead he has produced an ethnographic study based around reflections on his own years as a TESOL practitioner interwoven with and addressing comments from a range of e-mail informants in a variety of different countries. An autobiographical "thick-description" then, with a choral element, that aims to make certain reified practices and systems of thought answer for their effects in the classroom and beyond.
Culturism in general and a particular form of it that he describes as native-speakerism are the main targets of his critique. The former he defines as "...any thought or act which reduces a person to something less than she is according to an essentialist view of culture.", (p18) and the latter as

"...an established belief that 'native-speaker` teachers represent a 'Western culture' from which spring both the ideals of the English language and of English language teaching methodology." (p.6).

There is an acutely paradoxical element in a rejection of cultural essentialism based on an appeal for something that we essentially are to be respected. And such is the difficulty in avoiding thinking of the "Other" as being different from "Us" that Holliday himself sometimes falls prey to it when for example, (p.135) he uncritically mentions the existence of something called "the Chinese worldview".
That said, his portrait of the continued vigour of colonialist stereotypes in TESOL , in the form of the vigorous, modern, democratic, open-minded native-speaker struggling to teach the indolent, undemocratic student who is good at memorising but not at thinking for him or herself, is stingingly accurate. His reading of Foucault in the context of the micropolitics of the classroom- theU-shaped classroom as panopticon, the attempt to eliminate private speech by constant monitoring and the emphasis on the corrective aspects of pedagogy - also rings true. Furthermore, the parallels he sees between the use of realia in the classroom andthe offering of trinkets to "savages"as well as the raised, slow, speaking voice of the teacher and the District Officer addressing a group of "natives" are very suggestive.
Much of what he has to say about native-speakerism is also right on the mark. Who can deny that the view that English belongs to a certain sort of native-speaker from a particular handful of countries, and that such native-speakers are uniquely equipped with certain knowledges that make them ideally suited to teach English, though under increasing attack, still holds sway in many situations where English is taught? It is also seems to be the case that there is a close relationship between the exaltation of the native-speaker and the continued vigour of certain colonialist attitudes mentioned in the previous paragraph.
The assault on native-speakerism is one of the book's strengths. However a number of issues are either passed over too lightly or ignored altogether. The view that "... language learning is owned by the student..." (p.63)is promoted but little thought is given to what we might say to students who, no doubt wrongly, prefer and seek out native-speaker teachers in preference to their - in many cases - better trained local colleagues whose mother tongue is not English. Might not such students just be looking for foreigners to teach them and not wish to make themselves the objects ofnative-speakerism? An interest in the exotic is not unique to English-speakers from certain developed nations.
And no mention at all is made of the fact that the most enthusiastic proponents of native-speakerism are often not native- speakers themselves. I refer toprofessional gatekeepers such as teacher-training college staff who, having achieved a close approximation to certain forms of native-speaker oral production themselves,go on to form a comprador class within their local profession and seek to impose similar standards of oral production on others, develop relations with the US and UK academies and publishing industries and make energetic efforts to stifle any suggestion that sum of human wisdom on English and the learning of it might be located anywhere but London or a few North American cities.
In place of native-speakerism and cultural essentialismHolliday (p.89) wants TESOL practitioners to presume that

"...autonomy is a universal unless there is evidence otherwise - and that if not immediately evident in student behaviour, that it may be because there is something preventing us from seeing it - thus treating people equally as people."

The essential moral thrust and central paradox -some may prefer the word contradiction - ofHolliday's enterprise are visible here. He rightly condemns our tendencyto view our students as little more than mouthpieces for certain aspects of their culture, thus stripping them of something of their humanity and individuality, while at the same time seeing, when we see it at all, our own cultural baggage as unproblematic. However, the laudable desire to let the Other simply be is predicated on the notion that he or she is always already just like us; autonomous, critical and wanting to learn on his or her own terms, a veritable Modern subject, if only we had the wit to see it.
Try as we might in TESOL no amount of theoretical tossing and turning seems to lull us into the sleep of unreason and get us away from what Habermas calls the "unfinished project of Modernity" and the questioning subject that it implies.Perhaps we ought to stop trying. Adrian Holliday's valuable book is a notable contribution to the progress of the project.











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Product Description
You can use Teach Yourself Russian Complete Course to learn at your own pace or as a supplement to your classwork. This complete course utilizes the very latest learning methods in an enjoyable and user-friendly format.

The new edition also features:

• Engaging visual materials such as menus, photographs, signs, and tickets
• Two CD recordings allowing quick and easy access to individual lessons and exercises
• A clear, accessible new page design
• Strong, striking cover photography

Customer Reviews (25)

Didn't help me much.
I got this book to learn Russian, but it just throws you into what I feel is advance Russian.The CD also doesn't seem to help much either.I did learn a bit about the Russian alphabet, but other then that I didn't learn much.

A - Z
This is what I was looking for. Coming from a Russian family and speaking it often. But I want a refresher and want to re learn to write in Cyrillic.The alphabet section in the text book even shows you the handwritten form and pronunciation and everything.
Bottom Line: Very Good Refresher!

useful knowledge, rapid progress
I had already learned the basics of the Russian language when I bought this course package and it was exactly what I needed. It helps advance your knowledge at a rapid pace, adding useful vocabulary, which at intervals is repeated in different context for better assimilation. Grammar rules are presented in a simple, clear way, with the texts acting as a source of plenty of examples. It also includes audios in (I suppose) rapid Russian, interspersed among the regular lessons. On the whole very satisfactory, I am glad that I have bought it.

Fast Moving
The best thing about this is the CD's.It really helps to hear the letters pronounced correctly and the words.My complaint about this book, is that I think it moves too quickly.You need to know your Russian Script first.I highly recommend you buy this company's book "Beginner's Russian Script" first, then when you have completed that book, you can move beyond chapter 1 of this book. I don't care too much for some of the tools it uses to teach you, but, I have just begun as well.

Not bad
First impression: nice learning method, not too heavy on the grammar. The recordings are nicely slow, unlike many other methods. ... Read more

Product Description

Bestselling language courses now with audio CDs !

From Catonese to Thai, Gaelic to Modern Persian, learning the languages of the world is attainable for any beginning student. Learners can use the Teach Yourself Language Courses at their own pace or as a supplement to formal courses. These complete courses are based on thievery latest learning methods and designed to be enjoyable and user-friendly.

Prepared by experts in the language, each course begins with the basics and gradually promotes the student to a level of smooth and confident communication, including:

• Up-to-date, graded interactive dialogues
• Graded units of culture notes, grammar, and exercises
• Step-by-step guide to pronunciation
• Practical vocabulary
• Regular and irregular verb tables
• Plenty of practice exercises and answers
• Bilingual glossary

The new editions also feature:

• Clear, uncluttered, and user-friendly layout
• Self-assessment quizzes to test progress
• Website suggestions to take language study further

Customer Reviews (30)

Book, but no CD
The book came in great condition.However, for some reason I naively thought "complete course" implied that this version came with the audio CD which it did not.If you are looking to buy the two as a set make sure you're purchasing the [audio] version as well.

Worth it
Very good product. Provides small exercises and shortcuts to help the reader remember things better. The only complaint I have is that the font for the characters is very small, which makes it hard to read and even harder to learn to write. Overall, it is a very good tool for learning a foreign language. I would like to point out, though, that while it gives a list of vocabulary for each section right next to theconversations in Cantonese, it doesn't provide a direct translation into English. I didn't have a problem with it because it's very easy to figure out with the vocab and I think that it was done this way on purpose to force the reader to think, which helps (at least it did for me) the reader to remember better. I only point this out because some people want a direct English-Chinese translation.

I would also recommend Read and Write Chinese by Rita Mei-Wah Choy for someone who wants to learn to write properly because it shows the most common radicals and the order of the strokes.

Best Cantonese Study Course I've found
I have several Cantonese phrasebooks, CD's, and textbooks, and this one is the one that has helped me the most. I learned Cantonese when I was really young (ABC) from my family, but never studied it and rarely speak it. As a result my vocabulary and accent are pretty bad. The Yale romanization system this book uses is so much easier for me to work with than other books (best system for Americans) and although the book could use more vocabulary or a part 2 for intermediate speakers, it's an excellent start.

Great book but could use some updates
I am currently using Teach Yourself Cantonese as one of the textbooks for an Intermediate Cantonese class, and think it's an overall great product!The book has some very good dialogues, provides an overview of the grammar, and has fun exercises that help solidify your knowledge.Each chapter covers a different topic (fashion, education, law enforcement, etc.) and is geared towards teaching you the most relevant vocabulary.Grammatical structures are slowly introduced throughout the book, and reinforced through review.

As a word of warning, this book moves extremely fast, and might not actually be appropriate for true beginners (unless you are really willing to put in the work!).Although the first few chapters move slowly, the pace really picks up.Moreover, the dialogs are not translated into English, so you really have to review the vocabulary and make some intuitive leaps to understand the Cantonese.I would suggest this book for people with some background in Cantonese or otherwise, that you check out Pimsleur's Comprehensive Cantonese before starting with this book.

Although I think it's overall a great book, I do think it could use some updating.First of all, the high falling tone is increasingly falling out of favor in Hong Kong, although it is still used throughout this book.Especially for beginners who may already have trouble learning tones, I don't think learning the high falling tone is necessary at all.Also, there are some instances of archaic or outdated vocabulary that could be revised.

Nevertheless, I would not hesitate to recommend this book to someone interested in putting the time into learning Cantonese, especially in conjunction with Pimsleur and the Routledge Cantonese Grammar books by Virginia Yip and Stephen Matthews.Good luck with your learning!

Pretty good!
I am a native speaker with Cantonese as a second language. I like this book because it also has Chinese characters to go with the romanized Cantonese, which is a great help when my boyfriend (for whom I bought the book for) has a question about something in the book. As anyone who has a more advanced understanding of Chinese would know, there is no way to really understand Chinese without the characters. While it is true that this book is not up to date with all the latest slangs and usages, no book really can be, this book has everything you need to have basic competence, which is what you need for people to understand you. Really, isn't becoming someone who can understand and be understood the first and foremost? To learn all the newest slang and usage, you just have to live in Hong Kong or Canton or something.
The only drawback of the book is the lack of Chinese character use. I suppose for someone who doesn't understand Chinese characters at all, they don't notice this, but they don't use Chinese characters enough - only once during the initial dialogue that they put out, and then one more time in the vocabulary list. After that, throughout all the explanations and exercises, it is all in romanized Chinese without the accompaniment of Chinese characters. ... Read more

Product Description
Teach Yourself Teaching English As a Foreign/Second Language One to One is a practical, concise guide brimming with new ideas for motivating your students and helping them learn to speak, read, and write English. Includes lesson plans, teaching techniques, and a comprehensive resource bank encompassing online material. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great resource
Will purchase from this seller again.Shipping was on time and product was in the condition stated in the description.

very practical, modern approach !
It is a practical book for Teaching English one-to-one. It contains 1)advice on teaching techniques 2) sample lessons 3)tips on needs analysis right in the first 10 pages 4)a resource bank including on-line material. It has been written in response to a growing need for one-to-one teachers, not only aimed at experienced and qualified teachers but also to those who have not taught English before and who find themselves in a situation where their knowledge of the language means that they can help others to learn it. There is an Introduction followed by twelve chapters, an additional chapter on resources and ideas bank, a glossary or terms encountered in the profession such as lexis which means vocabulary, a list of useful books and other materials and an index. One chapter has only two pages (listening to the student).The chapters on a)Coursebooks, retrospective coursebooks and blank tapes b)Cuisenaire rods(brightly coloured,plastic or wooden rods, which measure from 1cm to 10cm in length c)Corresponding and writing d)Peopling and placing the room are MAJOR chapters in the book. Plenty of Sample Activity Sequences, forms and tables. Buy it, it is good value for the money. ... Read more

Product Description

Portuguese in just minutes a day!

Even if you have failed in traditional language-learning courses, you will succeed with Teach YourselfInstant Portuguese. In 35 minutes a day for six weeks (including one day off each week),you will be able to speak confidently in the language.

• You will learn 400 key words and expressions and only the most important grammar tips so youcan communicate quickly and easily. The two audio CDs provide you with pronunciation of vocabulary and reinforcmentexercises
• Great for beginners or those traveling abroad for its easy-to-use format and quick learning time
• This new edition contains additional exercises and flashcards

Customer Reviews (2)

Okay but not great
This book does a good job of covering basic material in a reasonably interesting way but it has several flaws.The two biggest flaws are:

1) The conversations are extremely silly and annoying.
2) Many of the exercises, like sections devoted to memorization are good ideas but the material chosen for the exercises doesn't seem to make any sense.In particular, the sentences chosen to be memorized seem unlikely to ever be used.

That said, my girlfriend and I did receive some benefit from working through the course.I would half-heartedly recommend it as a course for someone to work through after they have learned some basics but before they achieve an intermediate level of knowledge.Some much better options for European Portuguese are "Quickstart Portuguese," available on itunes, or "Take off in Portuguese."But start with Pimsleur's 10 lessons of European Portuguese before you do anything else.

Not bad for a first taste of Portuguese
For such a small book with only 95 pages, this course gives you a good start. I liked the way it involves the learner, with a progress chart. The flash cards help too. It is fun and stimulating, with a certificate at the end. It is all very communicative but it gives you quite a bit of grammar that helps you understand and make your own sentences. This is on the good side, but there are some typos and this is annoying. The Portuguese word for tennis is spelt sometimes with an acute accent, others with a circumflex accent. I am told that one is the European spelling, the other the Brazilian spelling. Perhaps it does not matter, it is only an accent. ... Read more

Product Description
Bestselling language courses now with audio CDs !

From Catonese to Thai, Gaelic to Modern Persian, learning the languages of the world is attainable for any beginning student. Learners can use the Teach Yourself Language Courses at their own pace or as a supplement to formal courses. These complete courses are based on thievery latest learning methods and designed to be enjoyable and user-friendly.

Prepared by experts in the language, each course begins with the basics and gradually promotes the student to a level of smooth and confident communication, including:

• Up-to-date, graded interactive dialogues
• Graded units of culture notes, grammar, and exercises
• Step-by-step guide to pronunciation
• Practical vocabulary
• Regular and irregular verb tables
• Plenty of practice exercises and answers
• Bilingual glossary

The new editions also feature:

• Clear, uncluttered, and user-friendly layout
• Self-assessment quizzes to test progress
• Website suggestions to take language study further

Customer Reviews (23)

Good but better with help
This book is entertaining and provides a good progression for the very important reading and writing portions. The only issue is that some of the rules in beginning aren't clear, like how a couple of consenants can also act as vowels. However, this was a minor issue for me because I had just checked out Marie Helen Brown's comprehensive book on reading and writing Thai from an interlibrary loan. The Brown book is dry but if I am confused about something in the TY book I can look to Brown's book to explain it more thoroughly. Unfortunately the Brown book is currently out of print and difficult to find. I hope they reprint it sometime because together these two books are a great way to learn to read and write Thai.

enjoyable
The Thai language is a lot of fun to learn, and this book is certainly a pleasant and user-friendly introduction. The grammar isn't too complex, (although it will be full of surprises for someone who has never tried to learn an isolating language before), but that is more than made up for by the six tones, the many difficult vowels and diphthongs (many of which differ only very slightly from each other) and a hard system of writing.

This book takes very effective aim at all these problems.In the beginning there is ample practice in learning the tonal system and the contrasts between the different vowel sounds, both in terms of recognizing them and being able to accurately reproduce them. To make it work, though, the accompanying CD set is an absolute must-have.

Moving on from there, the lessons move through a lot of everyday topics that a foreigner visiting or living in Thailand would find useful.Following the lessons is a section on Thai writing, which is introduced step by step. The later lessons show howtone is marked in written Thai.Finally, the lessons show how to actually hand-write the letters, an amenity that many otherwise excellent books teaching languages with different writing systems don't have. My only quibble is that the book ends just when things are starting to get really interesting. This book doesn't offer as much vocabulary as some other books in the Teach Yuorself Series.Still, what it does it does very well, which is to provide a foundation for someone completely new to the language to develop skill in speaking and writing. Anyone for a sequel?

Much Better Than Most
I've been studying Thai for awhile now.As the owner of a small school of Traditional Thai medicine that offers language classes, I have bought quite a few books and Thai language learning programs in an effort to figure what system would work best for myself as well as my school's students.What I have found is that whether you spend hundreds of dollars on Pimsluer or Rosetta Stone, or buy a ten dollar book - there is nothing out there that is perfect.Every system I have looked at has had its gaps and glitches.This book is no exception to this.That said, so far I think it's the best book I've seen.For audio I really do recommend Pimsluer, and for interactive computer learning I recommend Rosetta Stone.And for books, at this point, until I find something else, I think I'll be recommending this book.It has good bones for beginning Thai, great little knowledge extras that I don't see in enough books (i.e. a comparison of classifiers to english words that serve a similar purpose), and it doesn't forget to explain all those extra little words that are so often left as mysteries (suk, na, wah, gor...).Still waiting for my dream book, but this does a darn good job.

I'm Satisfied with it
I have to admit to being quite fond of this book.First of all, it provides you with the knowledge of Thai as you need it, if you're planning a trip.Secondly, it is one of the best introductions to the script that I've ever seen.
I'll compare it favorably with Benjawan's "Beginning Thai."Although I admit that the CD's in Benjawan's product are better to work with, "Beginning Thai" goes into too much detail about things that you don't immediately need on the ground in Thailand (after all, do you really have to know how to say "it's three o'clock in the morning" within the first few days that you're in Bangkok? - well, OK, maybe you will, but you know what I mean).

The one thing that pulls the rug out from under this book is the transliteration scheme, which is unfortunate, to say the least, and which will screw you up from using any other, more accurate transliteration of Thai.Hence the three stars.But if you're hoping to learn a bit before you go, with the opportunity to move on to more serious material, then this book is the one for you.

best book for learning the script
This is the best book for learning the script in the most graded manner.
If you study everyday you should be able to complete this book in 4-5 months time.

I have previously completed these three books on Thai: Colloquial Thai, Thai For Beginners, and Teach Yourself Thai.
My review is based on a comparison between them.

What I think this book does particularly well, is the gradual introduction to the writing system: in each chapter the Thai script is gradually taught in an uncomplicated way, and each chapter has writing and reading excercises for the script.
Compared to the other two books, 'Thai for Beginners' and 'Colloquial', this book is far more efficient and less confusing in rendering the script.

There are usually two reading passages in each chapter, the vocabulary taught in each chapter is not excessive, the grammar is explained with clarity, and the book also explains parts of Thai culture.

Of all the books I've used, TY Thai was the most fun to work with, it never felt like a chore working with this book, it has a nice balance between rigor and simplicity.

My minor complaint about this book is that it is too focused on "travel-Thai": most of the vocabulary presented here are those you need when traveling around Thailand for a holiday.
It may not be the best book for professionals - businessmen, scientists, etc - going to Thailand. In comparison Thai for Beginners had a much broader vocabulary, and Colloquial had the best vocabulary suited for business-purposes.

So, if you are going to Thailand for professional reasons or plan to stay for a longer time-period, 'Thai For Beginners' might be a better choice in the long-run because of it's broader vocabulary and more "complete" coverage of the script.

Overall, if you want a book that teaches you essential Thai as clearly as possible and has a bit of cultural information as well, this is a very good book to use. Especially if you are going to Thailand for a holiday or want to learn the colloquial use of the language.
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Product Description
A unique and authentic language learning kit from the country's leading publishing house. This kit teaches Hindi in the most simple and effective way using an auto effect for quicker grasp and assimilation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Awesome (even though the letters are smudged)
It's is awesome the only thing is that the letters are smudged but you can read it. I can read the whole thing I am working with the book and it is teaching me sufficiently (I am learning a ton in about 10 minutes). Even though that I didn't start reading it until 3 days ago I know it is awesome from my friends and because of my last sentence.

Simply Awful
Miserably typeset with all the look of having been printed with an antique moveable-type press.Parts of sentences are missing or illegible, and many characters are broken or smudged.Additionally, the Devanangari letters are tiny which makes it very difficult for someone unfamiliar with the alphabet to learn them.The chapters are poorly laid out both internally and as a sequence.Additionally, while I was hoping for something more 'correct' than the usual phrasebook rubbish, the language in the book is academic enough as to make my hindi-speaking friends lapse into reciting lessons from their school days.

Muddy print and missing letters
In Varanasi, cheap, shoddy hotels take the names of good hotels in hopes of luring unwary customers. In much the same way this book lured me in: I bought it thinking it was part of the "Teach Yourself" bookseries, but it's definitely not.

This book is a disaster. The type ismuddy and hard to read, which would be bad enough in an English text. Whena few of the letters in a pronunciation key are obscured, or when pieces ofHindi letters are missing, it's nearly impossible to work with. And notonly is the printing egregiously bad, there are actually missing letters,so that you have the sentence, "would be pronounced as ee" --with nothing at the beginning!

Do yourself a favor and steer clear ofthis miserable excuse for a Hindi textbook. ... Read more

Product Description
You can use Teach Yourself Tagalog Complete Course to learn at your own pace or as a supplement to your classwork. This complete course utilizes the very latest learning methods in an enjoyable and user-friendly format.

The new edition also features:

• Engaging visual materials such as menus, photographs, signs, and tickets
• Two CD recordings allowing quick and easy access to individual lessons and exercises
• A clear, accessible new page design
• Strong, striking cover photography

Customer Reviews (7)

It is just "average"
I am married to a Filipina, and at 60 years old, wanted to learn more of the native language of the Philippines.

This book is usefull, but not enough on its own.I got a good dictionary to help, and that did help.

This book often teaches in phrases, so trying to figure out the actual root word can be confusing.For example "mura ang halaga" is correctly translated as "the price is inexpensive" but the beginner would not know which word is which. Literally it is "cheap the price."Anyhow have a dictionary nearby, that will help.I am always looking up the root words, trying to find the prefix, etc.

Another problem, when I got to the Philippines, is that everyone who went to school learned English anyhow, and I knew even if I asked in Tagalog "Where is the bathroom," the answer would be in English.

And, there are so MANY dialects, so this book won't work everywhere.When we arrived on a visit my wife (my wife speaks Tagalog, 4 other dialects, and English) talked to one of the maids, and then told me that I would not understand what they are saying because it is a dialect.Then one of my wife's sons (a Pilipino) said, "Mommy, I don't know what you are saying, either!"And then he told me that he understood how difficult it is, because when he goes to "the province" (Cebu) with his wife, he has "no idea what anyone is saying."

The dialogues in the book, although helpful, are very short.While in the Philippines we went to the National Book Store at an SM Mall, and I looked for children's books. (98% of the books were in English, BTW.) I got Ang Bagong Kaibigan Ni Bing Butiki and Si Pedrong Pato at ang Matalinong Kuwago.Having the book I'm reviewing did help a bit, but the above children's stories were terrific as "vocabulary builders."

not what it appears
Yep, I gotta agree.It's not what it appears to be.Shipped without the CD's, and their customer service says the CD's are not included.That should be made crystal clear in their product description, since this title normally includes CD's.I recommend buying from someone else that will include the CD's.After all, the spoken verbal audio is critical when learning a language.

Not for the Nervous?
The title of this book is too short to be true to its contents and approach. It should be called "Teach yourself Tagalog, with a lot of help from your Filipino friends and a bottle of tranquilizers".

To be fair, a lot of hard and productive thinking has plainly gone into the design of this course. The underlying learning objectives for each of the twenty units are sensibly chosen, and the progression from unit to unit is intelligently planned and well paced. The dialogues generally are excellent examples of how to make introductory material understandable to beginners while not compromising too much on truthfulness to the living language, and there is a good mixture of strictly language-focussed learning with bite-sized but nevertheless generally informative cultural snippets.

One pervasive problem, though, is that syllable stresses are never marked in the printed texts. This is a serious drawback for the solo learner. Although real-life Tagalog texts, apart from examples in dictionaries and grammars, do not mark stresses (or final glottal stops), such markings are essential in primers meant for self-instruction, because Tagalog has many forms whose meaning is drastically changed by different stresses or the presence or absence of a final glottal stop. Unless these things are plainly indicated on the printed page, the learner is all too liable get into the habit of pronouncing such words wrongly, with maybe unfortunate results.

The accompanying CDs are not likely to be of much help. It's surprising how many publishers of language teaching materials (the BBC being a notable exception) don't realise that speaking such dialogues convincingly requires professional voice-acting skills, which are sadly lacking to the speakers used here. They are obviously natives, but that's not enough.

An even more serious problem with this volume, however, is its disconcertingly neurotic and unfocussed approach to grammatical explanation. A good language teacher knows how to build the learner's confidence by revealing and explaining the more difficult aspects of the target language in a controlled and progressive way. But this is not the same as making repeated pre-emptive strikes against anticipated panic attacks, especially if the alleged grounds for panic often seem slender anyway. This little volume is dominated by the assumption that the would-be learner of Tagalog is of a highly nervous disposition and is likely to flee in terror and never come back if such shocking terms as "verb" or "consonant" are mentioned without the accompaniment of soothing noises and profuse apologies for touching on unpleasant topics.

Now it's rather hard to write any effective language course, let alone one for a language as distant from European structures as Tagalog, while shielding the reader entirely from grammatical considerations (and therefore also grammatical terms of one sort or another); but at points when that necessity can't be avoided, the reader of this book is invariably reassured that there is "no need to panic" or be "bewildered", or they are urged to "try not to worry about" the point of grammar in question. The use of "try" here subliminally suggests that there are indeed grounds for anxiety, even though this particular phrase is used, for example, to soften the apparently crushing news that the plural form of a certain pronoun differs from the singular. But the reassurances are seldom followed by satisfactory explanations of the supposedly "frightening" items; instead, the recommended course is frequently to "ask your Filipino friends".Which for some learners a long way from the Philippines or from, say, a major healthcare centre, might well be something of a problem

In general, the grammatical explanations tend to make much ado about "explaining" things that will be perfectly plain to most people interested in learning a language anyway, or else they treat side issues at some length, while overlooking things the learner is more likely to find troublesome. For instance, in the first lesson, after a table of the main personal pronouns, we read the following "explanation":

Notice that "you" (singular) has two forms: ka and ikaw. The simple difference is that ka is always used as part of a sentence ... whereas ikaw can stand alone (without being used in a sentence).

Now that's true, but it's hardly what a learner most needs to know. Since, as this explanation correctly implies, both 'ikaw' and 'ka' can indeed "be used in a sentence", what the learner really wants to be told is which one of them to use in a given sentence(they are never interchangeable, and in some circumstances neither is used). On this matter, the authors are silent.

In lesson 2 we are introduced to the words "sino?" and "ano?". "Sino?", we are correctly told, means "who?" andis used to ask about persons, whereas "ano?" means "what?" and is used to ask about things. Since this is one of the rare occasions where there is a close match between English and Tagalog, that much should be plain sailing. But our ever-anxious guides feel it's necessary to remark "don't worry if this sounds daunting," which is more likely to give readers a disturbing sense that they must have somehow skipped a daunting bit without noticing it.

Yet in the very next lesson the authors broach a genuinely difficult point with no such show of concern, via a casual aside.After outlining the distinction between two Tagalog words for different types of negation, 'hindi' and 'wala', they continue, as though they were adding something perfectly obvious:"unlike 'hindi', 'wala' is followed by a ligatured pronoun". Now this really should be something to be worried about, because you will search in vain in earlier pages for anymention of a "ligatured pronoun", and such items are not likely to be in any learner's grammatical carry-on luggage. Our unfortunate learner issuddenly deprived ofthe assurances doled out so extensively and unnecessarily elsewhere, and left to work out the meaning from a couple of uncommented examples, before being puzzled still further by being told that "when followed by a noun, 'wala' takes a ligature". These two statements are more or less correct, though not particularly well expressed. But they presuppose that readers know what a ligature is in Tagalog (and other Philippine languages) and what "taking" one involves, and yet they are offered no explanation of the matter and are denied even the usual claim that they "need not worry", or can turn to those long-suffering "Filipino friends" for enlightenment.

The book's most serious shortcomings in grammatical explanation, however, concern what many believe to be the key to mastery of Tagalog: the verb system with its multiple voices (or, in an alternative terminology, "focus"). The authors' approach here is to pick on things that can be made to look, at a pinch, a little like the verb system of European languages and keep quiet about the rest. Many of the issues they leave untouched are, inevitably, exemplified in the dialogues, but they are left either completely unmentioned, or kept gingerly at bay via yet more referrals to those helpful friends.

Overall, for people who are lucky enough to have native-speakerfriends or family, and want to have a go at understanding what they say in Tagalog and take a stab at talking back, without any particular ambition to get beyond basic oral communication, this volume is good enough. It could also provide a serviceable text book for, say, an adult evening class taken by a teacher who could substitute his or her own grammatical explanations for those in the text while drawing on the strengths of the general structure and dialogues. But for solo learners who do not have ready access to a patient native speaker or who want to go beyond everyday gist comprehension and formulaic utterances, this book might just do more harm than good, because it merely toys with the real areas of difficulty and manages to obfuscate rather than clarify them in the mind of any reader with an ambition to get beyond the basics.

There is, of course, nothing wrong with elementary language courses. But, like elementary schools, what they teach and how they teach it shouldn't hamper the progress of those who want to go on to more demanding levels. Sadly, anyone who got to the end of this course then wanted take their knowledge of this fascinating language still further might well find they needed to forget most of the grammatical explanations offered them here and start all over again. The Teach Yourself series contains a splendid counter-example of how to get beginners confidently started on a difficult language and at the same time equip them for much more advanced studies if they so choose, in the form of Teach Yourself Korean, by Mark Vincent and Yeon Jaehoon. But that's another language, and maybe, one day, another review.

Good Start
This is a really great book and it has a good basis for what a new learner of the language would need, especially someone who is planning on traveling to the Philippines. The only thing that I have a hard time with is how fast they speak on the CDs, but that does make it more like it would be like in a real life situation.

Good Introductory Book
Quite a good book to get you started learning your new language!The CDs are very helpful and really give you the edge to learning pronunciation.The only drawback to this book is that it is hard to know the pronunciation for the words not spoken on the CDs.

However, the explanations on the uses of the words and topics are quite helpful and easy to understand.Also there are some good explanations of Tagalog expressions, as well as some explanations of the Pilipino culture.

If you want lots of exercises you might want to get another book in adition to this one.However, they CDs make this book a very good tool in learning the language.

I recommend buying the Hippocrene Standard Dictionary Tagalog-English/English-Tagalog by Carl R. Galves Rubino ... Read more

Product Description

Learn Welsh in just 10 lessons!

Teach Yourself Welsh Conversation shows youhow easy it can be to pick up a new language. It encourages you to speak out loud from the very start. The audio program features 10 topics that include 15 key words, three useful phrases, and one grammar point. Two sample conversations bring all those elements together correctly. There are plenty of review opportunities, so you can gauge your progress and reinforce what you have learned.

In addition, the third CD provides invaluable guidance on holding two-way conversations, addressing such issues as speaking with people who talk very fast or use words and phrases you do not know.

Includes three 60-minute audio CDs

Customer Reviews (3)

Teach Yourself Welsh Conversation
Thank you so much - product arrived in a timely fashion and was just as described.
Couldn't ask for more!

A good beginning for Welsh conversation
I own both the Teach Yourself Welsh and Teach Yourself Welsh Conversation courses.I struggled with the conversations on the CDs with the Welsh course; but the Welsh Conversation course is much easier to follow, takes smaller steps in teaching the Welsh language.In case you may not know it, Welsh is a difficult language to learn.So it helps that the steps are small and more easily learned.If you are familiar with the Pimsleur CD teaching methods, this course, Welsh Conversation, more like that.Frankly the regular Teach Yourself Welsh course is not that easy to follow during the CD conversations, and to this reviewer has been a bit of a disappointment.

teach yourself welsh conversation
Audio quality is excellent. Teaching is easy to follow and well presented.
Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
Intended to supply the beginner with a well-selected stock of words, this book includes lessons on how to speak, understand, read and write Tagalog. The 20 units are graded in complexity and arranged thematically. Each contains a dialogue, vocabulary list, exercises and cultural tips. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A Good Buy
I think this book was definitely helpful in helping me learn Tagalog, especially when there aren't many places to learn the language firsthand, such as a college or university.The tapes were also very helpful.The only complaint I have is that the book was made badly.The pages are only held together by a thin layer of glue.My pages fall out on a regular basis.Otherwise, an altogether good buy.

Easy to follow book
This was an excellent English - Tagalog book. I also bought a cassette to properly HEAR the words. However, I wish they would have an American college course in Tagalog, I am tired of learning to speak Spanish or French. My wish is that we could have a college course professor who would teach this language as an elective in school.

Very readable.
This book has a story which starts from their arrival at the airport. You will see dialogs of conversation. I am a local who is very familiar with Tagalog. I bought this for my European wife who wishes to learn. One thing we found is that the translations is around 98% correct. But the format is enough for one to learn the language. The approach is practical. We don't have the accompanying tape and I didn't know it had one as an option. So I would do the talking for my wife to get the proper pronunciation. I don't know how foreigners would read this book but I assume they are likely to get the wrong pronunciation without help. The phrases have no indication how you would pronouce them but I think it might be a distraction.

I found that the best way for a foreigner to learn is to be exposed to it by speaking it and being spoken to in Tagalog, or listening to an actual conversation. If this isn't available to you, then this book is close enough. I assume the tape would be a bonus if you can get it.

You can also join http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tagalog-e/ Here you can learn with others how to speak it or write it.

Far and away the best Tagalog book available
At last!A Tagalog course I can use!And tapes to go with it!

The Tagalog language has been long-neglected by publishers of language materials.This fine course helps make up for the deficiency.The lessons are very well-designed,the explanations of a grammar very different from our own are not difficult to follow,and there is a lot of interesting material about Filipino culture.Also,the tape I purchased with the book is excellent and an invaluable help in picking up the pronunciation.

Much has been made of the lack of accent marking in the text.I for one don't see why accents are not marked in the vocabulary lists for each lesson- that is the usual practice in texts on other languages with unpredictable accentuation- Russian,for instance- so that if the reader forgets the stress in the main body of the text,she can always refer back to the vocabulary. The book does have all entries in the back marked with accents,however it is a nuisance to have to consult the glossary to learn the stress of each new word,if you don't have the tape right at hand.That's a minor fault,however.

And I'm so happy to have a usable Tagalog course at last that I don't even mind.

This book is not for a self-instruction
I was pleasantly surprised to see a Teach Yourself Tagalog book was finally offered to the public. Upon opening the book, however, it was clear that the book would not do its job. The authors, for one thing, neglected to write stress marking on the Tagalog words so whoever uses this book and tries to pronounce will end up sounding like a blundering idiot. They had a lot of Tagalog literature at their disposal to help them with their explanations that it appears they didn't use. Whoever buys this book will have to ask a native to write the stress marking on each word so they can really learn to speak the Tagalog language. What a shame they published it in its current state! ... Read more

Product Description

A lively, practical way to develop and improve basic foreign language skills

This new, audio-based language series from Teach Yourself is an entertaining, nonintimidating way for beginners to build conversational proficiency. Each course covers 10 key situations—from greetings and buying food and drink to shopping, asking for directions, and visiting locals—and includes two conversations per topic. The explanations and instructions are simple and bite-size, making this a very accessible program.

Each audiopackage:

• Builds confidence through a variety of listening exercises, from repetition of foreign language prompts to replying to English prompts
• Covers structures, useful phrases, and strategies for holding two-way conversations
• Lets learners assess their progress with specific objectives and review sections
• Includes a 48-page guide with key words and conversations in written form for reference

Customer Reviews (4)

Fast-paced Russian while you Drive.....
Wowee, this CD collection literally "throws" you into the Russian language and literally trains your ear to pick up the highs and lows of Russian diction. The accompanying language manual "guide" also does a decent job.

Some cons: the voice guide goes very fast, and her quick British accent makes the language introduction sections a little "off." Why? The guide's rendition of the language is COMPLETELY different from the native speaker's version of textbook Russian, like ordering in a restaurant.

Other than that, this is a fun ear-training CD to chirp to, as you make your way through rush-hour traffic. Dashvidanya!

Overall Grade: B+ (the guide talks way too fast and she pronounces the words a little exaggerated)

Buy Earworms Russian CD first
This is the second Russian language course I've bought. I found the CDs of this course very difficult to use as a learning tool. Specifically, the problem I have is the way the CDs teach you Russian in sentence form. The course does not break down the sentence into what is the meaning of each word. For example, "oo vas yest...?" is translated as "do you have any...?" The literal translation is: "with you is...?" So you're left thinking that "oo" means "do" when it actually means "with." This may seem a small point, but when loose translation like this is used, you miss the exact translation of each word and you don't get a sense of how Russians construct their sentences and what each word means. This loose translation method is used throughout the course. Very frustrating.

Another frustrating part of this course is that the English translator spends too much time describing the situations of each conversation. For example, time is spent talking about setting up the scene with the fact that the couple is now going to order from a restaurant. That is obvious when they start to order. Wasted time.

By contrast, the first course I bought was Earworms Russian, which did a great job of breaking down each sentence into what each word means, both literally and figuratively, and repeating and translating the sentence word for word, a few times. If I had not bought Earworms first, I would be completely lost with these CDs.

On the plus side, this course does give more of a sense of how masculine and feminine words change endings of other verbs and nouns in the context of a sentence. It also gives more of a sense of real conversation between two people.

The booklet is useless. It breaks down each Russian word into the phonetic pronunciation with so many apostrophies that it's impossible to figure out where one word ends and another begins in a sentence. The Earworms booklet does a much better job of both phonetic pronunciation and actual Cyrillic script.

So bottom line is this CD course is not as good a learning course as I expected.

Teach Yourself Russian Conversation
This is the third product from the "Teach Yourself Russian..." series that I have purchased and they are all outstanding! I have purchased other products by Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone to try to learn Russian but this series is the best I have found.

Not bad
I haven't made it too far into this yet. This is because I also purchased the Learn Russian in Your Car series which I have found to be more to my taste.

The very first section in this course is quite repetitive to the point where I was losing interest fast. There are only so many times you can listen to and repeat the exact same conversation over and over. I would have preferred the course designer include more lessons rather than put so much repetition on the CD. If one nees to repeat something, that is fairly easy to do on modern day CD players.

My one big complaint about this course is that the inluded course text does not have the conversations in cyrillic (Russian). It is all spelled out phonetically in English. My opinion is that it should have both.

Overall, it is a good course for basic conversational Russian. For me, I've been reading the Penguin book at home, and then using the Learn Russian in your Car course which I like a lot. This course, Ive not been using as much, but I think if I hadn't also purchased the others, that I would be satisfied with this one. ... Read more

Product Description
For those who find learning a new language daunting, the Teach Yourself Beginner's Language Series is just what the language teacher ordered. Each friendly and practical course introduces the new language without overwhelming the learner and includes:

• Lively dialogues and exercises
• A helpful pronunciation section
• Manageable lists of practical vocabulary
• A glossary of grammar terms
• Hints on how to make learning easy
• Fascinating language and cultural information
• Accompanying dialogue recordings on CD

Customer Reviews (1)

One the best language teaching books I've ever met, period.
I have studied English and German and have lots of experience with various styles and books since 1980s. This is the first book I met that introduced the language so smoothly and without ever going into grammatical terms in such a subtle way that I even didn't realize how much Dutch I have learned, until I saw that I was reading a lot of Dutch text without many difficulties. The authors are the masters of what they do. Pedagogically speaking, I wish these types of books were available when I was studying English and German back then. I'll study every other language book written by the same authors immediately. ... Read more

Product Description
Bring Korean language learning alive with this 32-page brilliantly illustrated book with companion audio CD. Listen, learn and sing along with classic songs for children in this new dual language format. A perfect place to start exploring the Korean language with children of all ages! ... Read more

Product Description
Book Description Challenging and effective, this classic teacher reference is now back in print. Distler's 'Teach the Latin, I Pray You' offers concrete advice on how best to teach grammar, morphology,vocabulary, reading comprehension, and efficient review.

This book is an exceptional tool for the communication of the necessary skills of Latin. Covering a huge range of teaching techniques, resources, and educational theory, this book provides the material necessary for the development and implementation of highly proficient teaching techniques.

Also available:

Introduction to Latin Prose Composition - ISBN 0865166722
Lectiones de Historia Romana - ISBN 1898855412

For over 30 years Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers has produced the highest quality Latin and ancient Greek books. From Dr. Seuss books in Latin to Plato's Apology, Bolchazy-Carducci's titles help readers learn about ancient Rome and Greece; the Latin and ancient Greek languages are alive and well with titles like Cicero's De Amicitia and Kaegi's Greek Grammar. We also feature a line of contemporary eastern European and WWII books.

Some of the areas we publish in include:

Selections From The Aeneid
Latin Grammar & Pronunciation
Greek Grammar & Pronunciation
Texts Supporting Wheelock's Latin
Classical author workbooks: Vergil, Ovid, Horace, Catullus, Cicero
Vocabulary Cards For AP Selections: Vergil, Ovid, Catullus, Horace
Greek Mythology
Greek Lexicon
Slovak Culture And History ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Rethink and GO FORTH
Distler's book is an amazing tool.As a teacher of Latin for many years now who has used the Grammar approach it wasn't always easy for me to buy in to what Distler had to say, however, the more I read, the more he convinced me.He lays out the goals, the plans and proceeds to tell the reader how to accomplish it.That's pretty amazing in itself. This fall I will be changing not only my text books, but my approach. ... Read more

Product Description
Bring Italian language learning alive with this 32-page brilliantly illustrated book with companion audio CD. Listen, learn and sing along with classic songs for children in this new dual language format. A perfect place to start exploring the Italian language with children of all ages! ... Read more

Product Description
Bestselling language courses now with audio CDs!

From Danish to Spanish, Swahili to Brazilian Portuguese, the languages of the world are brought within the reach of any beginning student. Learners can use the Teach Yourself Language Courses at their own pace or as a supplement to formal courses. These complete courses are based on the very latest learning methods and designed to be enjoyable and user-friendly.

Prepared by experts in the language, each course begins with the basics and gradually promotes the student to a level of smooth and confident communication, including:

Up-to-date, graded interactive dialogues
Graded units of culture notes, grammar, and exercises
Step-by-step guide to pronunciation
Practical vocabulary
Regular and irregular verb tables
Plenty of practice exercises and answers
Bilingual glossary
The new editions also feature:

Clear, uncluttered, and user-friendly layout
Self-assessment quizzes to test progress
Website suggestions to take language study further ... Read more

Customer Reviews (37)

Ya, this book sucks
Since the books in the "Teach Yourself" series are all written by different authors, it's always a gamble whether you will get a superb piece of material (Teach Yourself Hindi, Vietnamese) or a piece of crap (Teach Yourself Korean).I went with this book having had good experiences with the other two, but this just does not measure up.

First, you're better off skipping the lesson on writing; as the authors present the characters in Hangeul, rather than presenting them immediately next to their Roman approximations, they present 5 at a time and then bury the romanizations in the subsequent paragraph, so you have to look back and forth.Not very useful for quick reference; hadn't they ever heard of a table?I learned to write through an online tutorial instead.

Then, as many people have mentioned, they make excessive use of Roman letters throughout the text, oftentimes presenting expressions in Roman letters and not including the Hangeul equivalent, which is moronic if they expect the reader to learn to read fluently.Not only that, the glossary is written entirely in the Roman alphabet.I am thinking they got lazy in the text formatting department.

The number of typos and mistakes gets to be frustrating as well.

I wish I knew of another, better book.I have tended to like the format of the Teach Yourself series, which this book has going for it, but the individual effort for this language was sloppy and it shows.Skip this and find something better.

Only if you have lots of time to commit
This one is more like a textbook--it is absolutely not a phrasebook--so it's not a good choice if you're trying to get enough basic Korean under your belt to get through the airport / taxi / restaurant / bathroom business while you're travelling.

From the first page, things are written in Hangul, so, again, if you don't have time to learn the Korean alphabet (which is admittedly not all that difficult) then you're going to be hobbled.If you do, though, this is a great approach in terms of attaining real expertise.Just maybe not so good for the casual student.

One thing these guys do that makes me crazy in just about every language study book is to transliterate rather than translate.So, for example, "Mwol ch'ajuseyo" gets you "What are you looking for?May I help you?" when to my way of learning it ought to get you "what (object form) look for (2nd person)?".Because now I understand the structure and I can adapt it to say other things with other nouns and verbs.(But, you know, that's just personal preference.)

Lose the romanization and correct the mistakes
Very disappointing. The romanization is irritating and the dialogues include several mistakes.

Ojingo is squid, not octopus

Teachers would not use "nim" to refer themselves. That's like saying "I'm the Honorable John Doe."

Overpriced
I thought this CD was all right until I played it for my Mom. She is Korean and ripped apart this CD. She thought it was overpriced, that the speakers used weren't that great. Her opinion was that the makers of the CD got students to do the speaking parts for a low price.

I thought that the CD would come with a book, but it did not. I also did not like how the Korean language spoken was not really translated. It's too bad I waited past the return period to listen to it. It would have been a return.

It's OK
This book's introduction is very helpful.However, once you get past that it can be a little overwhelming.If lots of words all at once is what you're looking for then it's good.One BIG problem I find is that the exercises are in romanized English, this is not helpful even if you are trying to learn just conversation because once you learn the korean alphabet it is actually easier to use that than English.I would recommend trying to find a book that just introduces the korean alphabet with English sounds and moves away from that romanization style right away.It does have some useful phrases in it but I think there are other better books out there. ... Read more

Product Description
You can use Teach Yourself Turkish Complete Course to learn at your own pace or as a supplement to your classwork. This complete course utilizes the very latest learning methods in an enjoyable and user-friendly format.

The new edition also features:

• Engaging visual materials such as menus, photographs, signs, and tickets
• Two CD recordings allowing quick and easy access to individual lessons and exercises
• A clear, accessible new page design
• Strong, striking cover photography

Customer Reviews (51)

Pretty good, but Turkish is hard for English speakers
My favorite so far is "Pimsleur Turkish Level I" with 30 lessons. But that costs a LOT more.

"Teach Yourself Turkish Complete Course Audiopackage" has much more info on grammar than "Pimsleur Turkish Level I". They both are very good and "Teach Yourself Turkish Complete Course Audiopackage" is a good value with good practice CDs.

But, a `sleeping dictionary' would probably be better. Although more expensive. Especially if you wife found out.

A Real Turkey
This book has good intentions, but it just wasn't thought out well enough.Vocabulary to the dialogues is not introduced where it should be; grammar is thrown in here and there without an explanation, which is highly confusing to any serious language learner.As a result of these shortcomings, the student finds himself turning pages and looking for vocabulary (which usually is not even in the glossary!) and looking for grammar explanations.It gives the learner the impression that the book was just slapped together with very little thought about sequential learning.I would encourage the authors to make vital changes in the next printing.Don't dumb it down, smarten it up!Just add more explanations and vocabulary in the right places.I have always enjoyed the Teach Yourself series for languages, but I have been disappointed by the books in recent years.Langenscheidt from Germany or Routledge grammars will probably serve you better, but they are a bit pricier.

Satisfied Customer Review for T-Y Turkish
The main reason I chose Teach Yourself Turkish was because the customer reviews said it is outstanding. The customers are right, it is very good. So far I've completed half the course and looked ahead at the grammar and coursework to come and am delighted with it.
You'll find plenty of praise for the course in the other commentaries; I leave it to you to check them and won't repeat those points. I'll add:

1) The authors have a genuine enthusiasm for teaching us Turkish. This comes through in their work and makes it an enjoyable experience to follow them through the dialogues, explanations and exercises they put together for us.

2) The dialogues are very up to date, contemporary and relevant to what we will actually want to be able to say. And the dialogues are lively stories. Be sure to get the edition with the audio CD's. I believe a learner must hear a language to learn it correctly.

3) The authors used judgment to choose what is necessary to learn for a basic level of Turkish language ability. A person needs to decide how much they want to learn, or to be practical, can learn in his or her circumstances. For example, there is the BBC Talk series on one end of spectrum for those who want to learn a few sentences before going to a foreign country for vacation, and there are 4 year university courses at the other end of the spectrum for those wanting in depth knowledge. Teach Yourself Turkish is in the middle and just right for me and many others who are self teaching at home.

4) They put things together for us: for example, the various question words, p.62; prepositions of place chart, p. 76;exclamations, p. 101; very helpful summary, "buffer y, n or s," p. 108, and the liberal use of chart format to make things clear.

5) They give us lots of practice, a lot of student involvement with various activities and exercises and plenty of audio to listen to (then we can listen and repeat).

6) Finally, the English translation for all the dialogues in the book is available on request from the publisher:
educationenquiries@hodder.co.uk educationenquiries@hodder.co.uk

send to attention of: Ginny Catmur, Teach Yourself Books

Being able to have the English translations is very important for me since this is a Teach Yourself program; we don't have a classroom teacher to check our work.Do work out as much as you can the translation of the dialogue. This is working with and effectively studying the language. Then, with the translation of the dialogues we can check our work.

You won't go wrong with this. It is as real good course.

Great fun language book, very useful!
I love this book. I think it is very suitable for whoever need next step to understanding Turkish language.
To me, it provides intermediate level after you finish general language pocket book.
- well organized contents
- easy to understand
- fun exercises
- good realistic examples and information
Highly recommended book to whom may interested in learning new language.
Good luck.

worst language book ever, by inexeprienced teachers despite their supposed experience
This is a very bad book. There is no communicative context to any of the lessons at all. All vocabulary seems to be introduced randomly. Not around real contextulized conversations. There is little or no spirling of material/vocabulary so that one do not build their skills on past lessons. There is way too much English explanations, when they could have used the space for more communicative conversations and introduction to real language. It is a good book if your interesteed in Turkish grammar, but knowing grammar does not translate into being able to communicate. How many of us can think of grammar rules and speak at the same time. Do not buy this book. ... Read more

Product Description
You can use Teach Yourself Czech Complete Course to learn at your own pace or as a supplement to your classwork. This complete course utilizes the very latest learning methods in an enjoyable and user-friendly format.

The new edition also features:

• Engaging visual materials such as menus, photographs, signs, and tickets
• Two CD recordings allowing quick and easy access to individual lessons and exercises
• A clear, accessible new page design
• Strong, striking cover photography

Customer Reviews (12)

Nice study aid
I've been sticking with it for two months, and overall it's been a nice study aid. It's more of an academic tool than one for hopping in on a visit and getting around. A little more explanation of the grammar would be helpful, and I needed to break down and use Anki to memorize the vocabulary each section to prevent holes forming in my lexicon. Still, I appreciate the breadth of vocabulary, and the authors do try to help with identifying gender and verb forms.

Just wish some of the conversations didn't have sexist comments. So far, Ivan thinks that women agree about everything, and Mr. Smith is joking that being single is better than being married and expressing happiness that his wife's fast asleep. Way to win points with female readers.

Quite good
I'm surprised by so many negative reviews for this book. Much of it sounds like frustration from learning Czech generally or the book not exactly matching what you expected. I've lived in Prague since 2003 and have read just about ever Czech language book on the market and I think Teach Yourself Czech is one of the best. It's somewhere between a phrasebook and reading lessons with the grammar learning implicit, at least as much as possible.The biggest problem I have with Czech language books is that they give you a list of vocabulary and then some grammar and declination rules and then a bunch of drills and they expect you to use it in conversation. It takes a very long time and lot's of practice. To form a relatively complicated sentence requires to know at least 2 or 3 or more cases and it's difficult to combine them fluently in a sentence, In Teach Yourself Czech, that'salready done for you and you remember the entire phrase and not just vocab lists, and your fluency increases rapidly because you aren't trying to remember 3 different case and gender endings, you just repeat the phrases as it's listed.This book is intended for more than just being a tourist, for that I'd recommend a basic phrase book, in Prague most people speak some English.I bought the Berlizt tape with phrase book and found it very useful for basic travel and it has the same methodology of using whole phrases. Then I'd recommend moving to Teach Yourself Czech and the Lida Hola book mentioned by other. I'm still reserving my 5 star rating for the perfect Czech textbook. Something like Raymond Murphy's Essential Grammar in Use but for learners of Czech instead of English. As a language teacher living in Prague, you can't do much better than teach yourself Czech for a basic conversational fluency.

Save your money, this book is useless.
My wife who is Czech, bought me this book to supplement her teaching me the language before we move back to Morava. Unfortunately this book contradicts itself page after page. If you are really interested in learning the beautiful yet complex language that is Czech, spend your money on lessons from someone who spoke Czech as their first language. This book will set your learning back a great deal.

Quit yer whining!
First off: Most of these bad reviews are coming from tourists who really only need to learn a couple of phrases like, "where is the shopping center?" and "will you take my picture?" This program is designed forpeople who want to learn the actual basics of the language and communicate effectively with native Czech-speakers. Since it was designed for that purpose, it is most definitely a terrible phrase book. But it isn't trying to be a phrase book, now, is it?

In any event, I have had a lot of success with this book. It's packed with a ton of information and the grammar points are laid out so they can be absorbed as painlessly as possible. Occasionally awkward phrases (like "My, they're in a hurry") seem to be the author's attempt to stress vocabulary, not merely goofy phrase supplements. The unit that it appear in introduces the verb "spchat" (to hurry), and the phrase is actually a nice way to get it to stick in your head.

That being said, this book does have one weak point in particular: there isn't nearly enough audio for it to be your only resource. Also, this isn't really a problem for me, but it seems to be a problem for some other reviewers; this book won't hold your hand while it walks you through the lessons. The back cover is misleading when it says you can progress quickly. You have to spend a LOT of time soaking up all the details they throw at you, because they do pop up later. Overall, though, the course is very comprehensive, you just need to actually spend some time studying. Of course, if you're very averse to studying, perhaps learning an entire language is not for you :(

More than I needed
We will be spending one week in Prague this fall, so thought it would be helpful to know some basics of the language. This product is way over-kill for our purposes, although it might be good for someone who will be there for an extended period of time.

We ended up ordering a phrase book instead--seems to be more fitting for what we need. ... Read more

Product Description
Bestselling language courses now with audio CDs!

From Danish to Spanish, Swahili to Brazilian Portuguese, the languages of the world are brought within the reach of any beginning student. Learners can use the Teach Yourself Language Courses at their own pace or as a supplement to formal courses. These complete courses are based on the very latest learning methods and designed to be enjoyable and user-friendly.

Prepared by experts in the language, each course begins with the basics and gradually promotes the student to a level of smooth and confident communication, including:

Up-to-date, graded interactive dialogues
Graded units of culture notes, grammar, and exercises
Step-by-step guide to pronunciation
Practical vocabulary
Regular and irregular verb tables
Plenty of practice exercises and answers
Bilingual glossary
The new editions also feature:

Clear, uncluttered, and user-friendly layout
Self-assessment quizzes to test progress
Website suggestions to take language study further ... Read more

Customer Reviews (47)

decent
took so long for the item to arrive, but it's awesome. fyi, the cd's are kinda off...

TMI - much needs to be slowed down and re-structured
I'm a former EFL teacher and student of four (other) languages.Hindi would be my fifth language and after reading reviews here, I decided to buy the Rupert Snell book.I find I really could love Hindi.I started from scratch but am living in Delhi temporarily for work.

I agree that the book is comprehensive; I agree that the book needs re-sequencing and has substantial flaws.

I started with the 'Learn Hindi Script' book, which only by reading here do I find is really the first of three books in the series. I worked through much of the first book and find that it was clear, well structured. and thankfully concise.Essentially, the first book was valuable in that it showed you a letter, described its pronounciation, showed how to write the letter, then moved on.There is a lot of other information in the first book and by steady practise I progressed to where I now feel qualified to write fairly well.At the end of the exercises however I did make a set of personal flashcards (some included with the book would be a stunning idea) to practise the symbols and letters which have not yet stuck.

Moving on to this book I found a blizzard of information at the beginning, most of it extraneous.There was quite a bit of advanced information even before we got to the first chapter ("Hello.I am Pratrap.)I am working my way through the very first chapter because now, being a thorough person - some might even say perfectionist - I find myself dwelling on the use of the chandra bindu in Persian loan-words, or some such other nonsense.In point of fact, I can only now call it nonsense because I've spent a good two weeks puzzling over and trying to memorise this kind of thing and realise that I cannot form even the most basic sentence.There are still many signs here that I cannot read / pronounce.

I could perhaps do better with this book if I would only ignore all the damned words that the author has put in the way of understanding.

The written forms and conjuncts thrown at my small heaving brain in the first three pages of chapter one have simply stopped me.I enjoy structure, I enjoy languages, and I find this book has nothing but encyclopaedic detail where a single synonym would do.At times it infuriates me because I see quite clearly that this is a group-course book for a very advanced and quick course, say a course at the London School of Oriental and Asiatic Studies, not a book for the general public.

The book is thorough; it is not kind.If you are the type who can ignore most of a chapter to glean the most essential bits, then this is your book.

As background, I am not the Rosetta Stone type, i.e. I do not enjoy hearing random dialogue repeated until osmosis strikes.I like having a little bit explained, then chewing on it for a while, then moving on to the next bit.Therefore there is in my opinion no book yet that is really _good_ in this sphere of learning Hindi.The Snell book is useful enough, if you can skip to the essence of the chapter and really self-teach using this raw material.But I thought that I bought this book so I could follow along and learn in a paedogogically effective and sound way.I was wrong; may you be a better learner than I am.

Excellent Beginners Guide to Hindi
I was using Rosetta stone and became frustrated about a third of the way through the Rosetta stone course with the lack of explanation of the grammatical structure, verb forms, writing ect...I ordered this book to help out and was very pleased. It comes with two audio CD's that have all the conversations included in the book. The chapters present topics and words in a coherent fashion and build quickly. I was a bit disappointed with the small size of the book when I first opened it but it is packed with information and doesn't repeat itself. An idea is presented once and completely explained and then it moves on, something I find very refreshing. There are 18 chapters as well as a series of informational appendices and a hindi-english english-hindi dictionary in the back. If you want to buy just one thing to learn hindi with, this book is it. I think it would be hard to really improve on the simplicity of this book. An excellent resource and tremendous help, dollar for dollar far more valuable to me than Rosetta stone.

Great grammar coverage, but CD could be better
I purchased this book and CD set after taking Hindi classes; I was hoping for more listening practice from the CD and more direct grammar discussion from the book. The book's grammar tips are indeed terrific--this is the best resource I've seen anywhere for people who want to master the grammar of spoken Hindi (as long as they aren't afraid of technical grammatical terms).

The CDs, however, could be better. The speakers in the dialogs often pause in peculiar places as if they were reading the material for the first time, which is odd. And some of the speakers are inarticulate or oddly flat in affect, making them harder to understand than they should be.

Teach yourself Hindi
I bought this book and dvd for my grand-children who did not know one word of Hindi or any other Indian language.As their grand-mother's national language, they wanted to learn atleast a few phrases of Hindi language.

After receiving this book, they really learned a few conversational phrases fast and loved the book. I highly recommend this title. ... Read more