Spanish Exercise Books and Phrase Books

Language Index>Spanish>>Spanish Exercise Books and Phrase Books

Madrigal's Magic Key to Sp is the most highly loved and recommended exercise book for Spanish beginners. The creative teaching method it employs involves no memorization or drills. Originally published in 1951, the book has a few errors which need revising, and doesn't explain the grammar very much. However if you want an introduction to the language that will familiarize you with the patterns of the language, this is the book for you. If you already know some Spanish and are looking to build on it try one of the courses below.

Hugo Sp-in-3-Months is a brilliant course for anyone who is keen on learning the language grammar. This book specializes in Spanish as spoken in mainland-Spain and contains plenty of easy to understand explanations, practical exercises and accompanying audio material to back up what is learnt. If you're completely new to the language try Madrigal's course first, however, if you already have some knowledge this is probably right up your street.

Hugo Latin American Sp in 3 Months works in the same way as it's mainland Spanish equivalent, but teaches Latin-American Spanish. If you're planning on using your Spanish anywhere aside from mainland Spain, choose this Hugo course rather than the one above.

Ultimate Sp Advanced is an excellent tool for advanced learners who are already competent in conversation, but want to take their language skills to the next level. The course comes with 8 CDs of audio material. The exercises and conversations are based in different countries and provide a great introduction to the different dialects of the language.

Short Stories in Sp: New Penguin Parallel Text is a collection of short Spanish stories with their corresponding English texts. The stories throw pretty much everything at you in terms of verb conjugations, so we'd only recommend this for intermediate to advanced learners. The parallel texts are not translated word for word, and include many footnotes by the editor which give valuable insights into the language. Using this book will boost your comprehension of the language structure, increase your vocabulary and give you an insight into the different Spanish speaking cultures.

Internet Freebies:

World Nomads provides a free Spanish iPod phrasebook!

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