Ok, so… I was recently offered to try this new Spanish learning program called Bueno, Entonces…, released by General Linguistics. But wait? Most of you know that I speak Spanish already; in fact, it is my main language. So why am I reviewing it? Well, its fresh look and dynamic approach caught my attention. Have in mind, that my review comes from the point of view someone who knows Spanish pretty damn well.
Bueno, Entonces… (ok, so…) What is it?
This is a fresh Spanish course that is highly focused on visuals and conversational audio. In fact, this course is more like a show, where you see South Park-like animations with the faces of David, a Brit who traveled to Buenos Aires to learn Spanish, and Jimena, his attractive teacher (who David can’t stop hitting on). There are other character that pop in every now and then explaining grammar and vocabulary points.
I found it was a fun way to learn a language since the lessons are delivered in forms of conversations that range from normal things you would encounter in your daily life to more heated discussions like sex (Yes, David is always hitting on Jimena… but it is so funny to watch and hear). There is a lot of wit and charm in the dialogue, which makes each lesson more interesting and engaging.
There is a lot of emphasis on the visualization of words. As the conversation goes, you see every Spanish word on the screen as well as its English translation, and in some cases a representative illustration. But what I found to be the key to making this course more efficient is the unique color-coding structure. Verbs, nouns (masculine and feminine), adjectives, etc. are given a specific color that will help you assimilate the words, instead of just memorizing. In my opinion, they do a great job at establishing when a noun is masculine and when it’s feminine (something that is not so apparent in English). This is one of the most important aspects of learning Spanish, and it is one of indicatives of how well you know it and speak it when having a conversation.
Take a quick look at an excerpt of one of their lessons in this video.
So, is it good for you?
In my opinion Bueno, Entonces… is good for:
- People who want to learn conversational Spanish and have beginner and intermediate knowledge of the language – specifically, Argentinean Spanish. This course is taught through an Argentinean teacher, so, some of the slangs, proper words (like vos instead of tu and llamás instead of llamastes), and accent are very Argentinean. Still, this is applicable to the general Spanish language spoken in most Latin America and South America.
- People who want to learn it fast. At points the course goes a bit fast, but that’s ok, since it is based on assimilation rather than memorization, and repetition is key. So, you can watch the videos a couple times to get that solid base.
- Visual and auditory learners open to cheeky attitude (which will make you laugh and make the process more enjoyable)
- If you want to reinforce your high school and other Spanish courses (psst… even I reinforced a couple points in the grammatical structure)
- If you want to learn while on the road. This course/show is also custom built for iPods, iPads, and other media devices, giving you the flexibility to learn while you are traveling.
What’s included?
Bueno, Entonces… comes with 30 video lessons of 30-40 minutes each, divided into five weeks. These are five days of lessons plus a revision class that tests you on what you learnt that week.
In addition, there is a series of PDFs that serve as support material and exercises for each class (a key for the symbol and color system, a list of Argentinean slangs, and insults and pickup lines from across Latin America).
Where can I get it?
You can either download the course in five .zip files or have it delivered by mail on DVDs. There is also the option to buy each lesson individually on iTunes app store. Of the above, the cheapest and fastest way to get it is by downloading it as a full package for $147, instead of the $199 for the DVDs. Still, both a great price compared to other courses like Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur.
If you aren’t sure about whether this course would be good for you, then you can try it risk free. They offer a 100% money back guarantee for the first 90 days.
Learn more about Bueno, Entonces… and start learning Spanish in a fun and effective way!
Note: There are affiliate links in this article, but the opinions expressed here are genuine.
Spanish is a really important language to learn at the moment…maybe I’m not a natural with languages (our Turkish is still slow and careful!) but I was a bit lost with this lesson. Maybe because it wasn’t the first lesson? Good fun though. Think lesson 1 would be important…
One thing about this course is that it is very fast paced, even in the first course. Even I, who speaks spanish very well, found it tough to catch up. Not because I didn’t understand their English or Spanish conversation, but because I wanted to understand how I could learn from it. So, you might need to go through it a couple times before you assimilate things.
I found Argentine Spanish sooo difficult to master!
Here’s another interesting article on it. [Porteño spanish|http://www.expanish.com/blog/2010/11/learning-spanish-in-argentina-the-porteno-way]
This looks a great fun package. Don’t you think though that this is more for a tourist visiting a Spanish speaking country? You get 15 hours of tuition for $145. Given my recent article on learning languages, where I believe you need 250 hours of tuition to become an intermediate speaker, it’s probably not going to take you as far as some people may want to go. But probably ideal for someone just visiting – the more you learn the language of the country you are visiting the better your experience will be.
http://thefrenchway.wordpress.com/2010/11/26/formula-for-learning-languages/
I agree with you John. While this course can give you a good spanish base that you can use perfectly anywhere, I think it is more suitable (and possibly targeted) to travelers who wish to “defend” themselves in spanish speaking countries. It is very urban, quick, and straight to the common and daily use. So, yes, I don’t believe you will become the ultimate Spanish speaker, but this course can take you a long way in conversational Spanish.
I remembered I took Spanish from Jr HS all the way to Highschool. I never use it in real life and I forget everything … =T bad for me.
Ha! Just like my French. I took it at elementary, and since I never used it I forgot it.
It is pretty darn funny! I would call myself an intermediate Spanish speaker, and I would have to agree with the above comments, that it might be a little tough for a complete beginner. I think it would be better for an intermediate Spanish speaker who wants the repetition and refresher. She does speak pretty fast!
It is funny!! And I agree with what you said. This is perfect to refresh your Spanish since the course starts straight in an English/Spanish dialogue and it works well with the repetition.
I have my ear used to hearing Spanish, so I find it interesting that Spanish sounds really fast to people that are learning it or that don’t understand it. Maybe it’s the enunciation of words. In this course, Jimena does speaks fast from time to time, but even when she’s not, for someone new to this language she will sound and give the impression of speaking pretty fast. lol
Bookmarked for when we hit South America.
Like you I speak Spanish fluently, so wouldn’t know what to say about a course. But other languages I always learned with a privat teacher, 1 month, 2 hours a day, 1 hour practise on your own. It’s the only way.Worked for me for Turkish which isn’t easy.
That’s really nice you found a way that works for you to learn new languages. I think the benefit of a teacher (whether private or other form of tutoring) is that you can actually practice it by establishing real conversations. I think consistency in studying the language and practice are key.
Like the look of this. The delivery looks refreshingly natural and I like the combination of conversational audio and clear visual, key word (no, not those type of keywords!) stuff to reading. Good find!
I think the look and the delivery method are very fresh for a language learning course. It’s entertaining quality is also a good addition to make the learning process less mechanical.
Jim, definitley look this programme up if you’re heading to Buenos Aires. I spent a couple of weeks doing it while i was on the road and found it really pretty useful. It’s perfect for preparing you for the very leftfield spanish spoken in Argentina (having thought i had mastered the basics of the spanish language, arriving in Buenos Aires really threw me, it was almost like having to start learning spanish all over again!!).
I am going to check it out. We have Rossetta Stone (part of our 2011 goals is tightening up our Spanish) but this looks like it would be well worth a look.
Thanks, Norbert.
Nice 2011 goal! Ok, I’ll help in the process by responding to your next comments and communicating with you in Spanish. lol
I really love to learn Spanish. Actually, I live in a country where our language is rooted from Spanish words so it will be easy for me to understand some Spanish words. I am confident enough to really learn speaking the language. I need to try this course!
Thanks for stopping by Cole. If you already know a language rooted from Spanish, learning it will be much easier.
Well, learning any language is not so tough if if don’t take it seriously.
Try to learn it with fun also discussing with other friends who are also learning the particular language, it would increase memory power to learn the words….