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(More customer reviews)This is a very simple product. Each level has about 1500 words and phrases which are read by native speakers first in one language, then in the other. The word list is split into four sections--nouns, verbs, expressions and other (adjectives, adverbs, prepositions & conjunctions). Within each section, the order is random.
The first half of each section presents the English word or phrase followed by the Spanish equivalent. The second half reverses the order, presenting the Spanish followed by the English. So you get about 150 random expressions from English to Spanish, followed by 150 more from Spanish to English. Then you switch to verbs, from English to Spanish then Spanish to English, and so on.
You have to listen to each word several times to learn it. You will learn it best if you have a short interval before the first repetition, then a longer interval before the second repetition, and longer still before the third, etc. Pimsleur called this the "graduated interval" method. To mimic this process, I listen to a few words at a time, then rewind and listen to them again, possibly adding another word to the list before partially rewinding again. With this technique, I can learn about 30-40 words per day in my 1-hour commute. If I listen to the whole tape straight through, the gap between repetitions is much too long and I only learn about 5 words per day. For this reason, I recommend buying the cassettes instead of the CDs. They are cheaper, and give you much more control for rewinding, pausing and playing (unless your CD player is better than mine).
The cost of the tapes is a bit steep for a simple list of words and phrases. But it's the best set that I've seen, and worth the price if you are a serious student. The CD prices are outrageous. Oddly, the value of the Vocabulearn series increases if you are going to study multiple languages, because they use the same word list (more or less) for each language they offer. I find it helpful to have a basic "core" vocabulary that I can use fluently in each of the languages I study. I haven't found any other set that does this.
The publisher touts several features which I think are just hype:
1) The random order of the words is said to help with learning because it mimics the natural flow of speech. But natural speech is far from random. Words tend to appear in clusters organized by topic. Also, I find it easier to remember related words if they are presented together. For instance, I can learn "calentar" (to heat), "caliente" (hot), and "el calor" (the heat) much faster if I study them together--but Vocabulearn spreads them across different tapes. I think this was just an excuse to avoid the work of creating a useful organizational scheme.
2) The switch in word order within each section (English to Spanish, then Spanish to English) is said to improve your ability to translate in both directions. That would be true if the entire word list was repeated both ways. But instead, half of the list is presented only from English to Spanish, and the other half only from Spanish to English. For any word, you will only master its translation in one direction.
3) The background music (by Mozart) is said to help with learning due to the "Mozart effect". Research on the Mozart effect is less than compelling--and I don't think anyone would claim that simply putting Mozart on in the background can make you you learn faster even if you aren't listening to it (because you're busy memorizing words). If you like Mozart (as I do) the music helps fend off boredom. But don't expect to learn the words any faster.
UPDATE: 9/29/05. The CDs may be worth the investment if you can rip them to an MP3 player. With a flash card program and a few CDs I've turned my Pocket PC into a portable language lab.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Spanish/English: Set (3-Level Set): VocabuLearn: Music-Enhanced
Six 90-minute cassettes and three listening guides. Level 1 places emphasis on basic vocabulary and simple expressions. Level 2 expands vocabulary and adds new expressions. Level 3 features advanced vocabulary and more advanced expressions.
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