Spanish Phrase Book

First I should say I went overboard and bought 5 (yes FIVE!) different spanish audio CD kits... I did this because: 1) They are cheap enough to, 2) I thought if I got bored of one I could listen to a different CD from another kit, rather than listening to the same CD 5 times over, and 3) Hardly any reviews have been written and you just don't know what you're buying (meaning: I couldn't decide, so I bought them all!). I can tell you they are not created equal. For a single CD + phrase book I'd rate the DK kit in the top two. The other good one being the Collins Gem phrase book + audio CD. If you can afford it, and you're looking for an easy introduction to spanish, I'd buy both before tackling a more detailed spanish audio program. Both this kit and the collins gem kit complement eachother very well. ____________________________________ I am just beginning to learn spanish & I think you need to hear the spoken language before you can really begin to learn it. It's best if you can repeat the words to yourself. Now on to the info about this set... The 70 minute CD has a bit of an intro, which is good, rather than just jumping straight into it like some of the other spanish audio CDs. I find this pschs you up for it more so! It's nice to hear: "Welcome to the Dorling Kindersley spanish travel pack..." and something like "here are some numbers starting on page 19..." at the beginning of most tracks, etc. This is followed by any important notes. The english speaking host is a female, with a british accent, which I find easy to listen to. The spanish voice is provided by a male, and it is pleasing to hear as well. In the beginning, the word or phrase is 1st said in english, followed slowly in spanish, and finally spanish @ normal pace. This is followed by a brief pause to allow you to repeat the word. At about the halfway mark, they ditch the slow spanish. Even so, there is quite a lot of material to be covered here, and it is presented at just the right pace (if it seems like a case of brain overload the 1st time, listen to that section again). It was never fast enough to get fed up with it, and not to slow to start skipping tracks (but then finding yourself getting overwhelmed). I thought I would be able to listen to it in one sitting, but there is too much to learn. I found it took me about 3 hours to listen to it over 2 or 3 days. The CD is good because, like the collins kit, they cover appropriate, essential & simple words first. This may seem obvious but some of the other kits don't do this - they start with the most odd words and phrases (or worse, they rattle on for 5 minutes a load of spanish words with no english translations). It is 30 minutes longer than the collins one which is a definite plus. Another plus: It does not include any unnecessary stupid-sounding melodies! (The berlitz CD was the worst offender in that department) Yet another plus: None of those annoying american accents, which the rest of us can't stand to list