Reviews

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Practice Makes Perfect: Complete Spanish Grammar

3-5 Spanish, Books

Like other books in the sprawling Practice Makes Perfect series from McGraw-Hill, this one, written by Gilda Nissenberg, is packed with exercises. Some are good, but some could be better. I ended up skipping many of them. …

I Didn't Get Through 100 Words with This

2 Hindi, Books, Flashcards, Vocabulary

Your First 100 Words in Hindi (the titles in this particular language series always make me feel about five years old, which is kind of fun), I was happy to read that there are no capital letters, but…

This Advanced French Grammar Is Not Always the Easiest Book to Follow, But It Has Lots of Exercises

3-5 French, Books

This book by Véronique Mazet is full of grammar exercises, and I love grammar exercises. I also usually love grammar explanations, but Practice Makes Perfect: Advanced French Grammar wore me out. The sentences explaining grammar in this…

It's Hard to Find Good Hindi Materials, So I Am Grateful for This Book

4-5 Hindi, Books

Here’s some good news about the Hindi writing system: no capital letters, and no separate cursive forms to learn! Teach Yourself Beginner’s Hindi Script by Rupert Snell was one of my favorite products for Hindi. It…

Pimsleur German Unlimited on the Bookstore Shelves

5 German, Audio Lessons, Multimedia

Pimsleur offers highly interactive German audio lessons, roughly half an hour each, that give users way more opportunities to practice their oral skills than they would be likely to have in even the smallest of conversation classes. I love Pimsleur…

A Sentimental Attachment: The First Grammar Book I Used for This Project

4 Russian, Books

Teach Yourself Russian Grammar by Daphne West was the first grammar book I used for this project. It is, according to the introduction, “a reference and a practice book in one. It is intended for learners with…

Me Working Hard on Pimsleur Japanese

5 Japanese, Audio Lessons

A Pimsleur lesson is a highly interactive audio experience, roughly 30 minutes long, in which you are repeatedly prompted to say things in your target language. It is challenging but effective—more effective than any other self-help language-learning product I have…

Pimsleur Mandarin Chinese Develops Your Speaking Skills

5 Mandarin, Audio Lessons

Pimsleur is my favorite language-learning product to date across multiple languages. Over the past four years, if I count repeat lessons, I have done literally thousands of Pimsleur lessons.  A Pimsleur lesson is a highly interactive oral and auditory…

Italian Grammar Drills: Language Boot Camp!

4 Italian, Books

I am a big fan of grammar drills. I find them unbelievably helpful. In Italian Grammar Drills by Paola Nanni-Tate, I sometimes just jumped around randomly from section to section, working on whatever I felt my weakness…

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