Reviews

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The Keys to French?

4 French, Books

This book by Annie Heminway contains lots of grammar drills, offering excellent opportunities for practice to people seeking to refine their skills. I’ve used Practice Makes Perfect: Complete French Grammar twice. Right after I went through it…

Wear and Tear Is a Sign of Affection

5 Italian,

This dictionary from Berkley Publishing Group was the perfect size and had the perfect binding and layout for my needs. As you can see from the photo, it got thoroughly thumbed—a sign of love. And usability! To clarify what…

This Is Before I Totally Beat It Up

4 Polish, Books

This Basic Polish book from Routledge says at the outset that it assumes no previous knowledge of Polish. Unlike many other language books, it sticks to that commitment. It begins at the beginning. I’m not going to…

I Like This Book

4-5 Japanese, Books, Kids

This book is a lot of fun. It teaches you to write all the characters in the two Japanese syllabaries, hiragana and katakana, which are collectively referred to as kana. The kana, 92 of them in total, are basic elements…

A Brightly Colored Block

5 Mandarin, Neighborhoods

This Chinatown in western Brooklyn is the furthest thing possible from a tourist trap. It is a large and thriving community and well worth a visit. To get there, take the N train to the 8th Avenue stop in Brooklyn…

Advance Your Spanish Skills

3-5 Spanish, Books

This diminutive book by Rogelio Alonso Vallecillos offers instruction in “topics that often cause trouble to foreign students, especially to English-speaking ones: topics like the correct use of object pronouns, when to leave out subject pronouns, how to generate sentences…

Mandarin Tone Quiz: I Hope You Do Better Than I Did the First Time

4 Mandarin, Tests

This 10-question quiz on About.com will score your Mandarin tone recognition capability. I will not tell you my original score, because it’s too embarrassing. However, the good news is that doing the Mandarin tone quiz helped me improve…

This Book Is Pretty Heavy

5 Spanish, Books

This book, by John Butt and Carmen Benjamin, is for people who take their Spanish grammar very seriously. It is a comprehensive reference guide that goes into gory detail on all things grammatical in Spanish.  To give…

Pimsleur Spanish Unlimited: This Is a Newer Option Than the One I Used

5 Spanish, Audio Lessons, Multimedia

A Pimsleur audio lesson is a marvelous thing: a roughly half-hour, highly interactive experience that develops your listening and speaking skills. For Spanish, the company offers a whopping 120 lessons, so you can get a ton of speaking practice without ever…

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