The Importance of Variety

Recently, in my quest to learn Spanish, I've noticed that one of the walls I hit is one of interest.

As many of you who have used books, like Pimsleur or Berlitz, or tapes/CDs, will understand my point. It gets boring to drill on chapters of a book repeatedly - not to say that it isn't worthwhile to go through a book or CD/podcast from time to time.

I have a couple books, sites, and products that I'm using to learn (apart from the actual interactions I'm trying to have with people):
- Muzzy - The content is a little outdated (it appears that they are really trying to maximize the value of an investment by the BBC years ago), but it is still a piece of media. Some buyers I've talked to say they hate it - but I do pop in the DVD or CD from time to time, because I find the repetition helpful. At over $200 a language, it isn't a cheap thing, though. I bought it for my kid - as a substitute for Thomas videos.

- My First Spanish-English Visual Dictionary - This is just a kid's book - but it has a ton of vocabulary, and pictures too. I leaf through it from time to time, again, to reinforce vocabulary.

- Mommy Teach Me Spanish - A line of DVDs on the level of the Baby Einstein series by Julie Aigner Clark. The production values are similar - looks like someone produced it fairly inexpensively. However, it is, again, a fairly effective way to get some repetition and variety. The DVD was a gift to my son - and it is interesting in that it uses real kids in it, so kids may identify with it more readily.

- 3DLanguage - Full Disclosure - I'm part of the company that produces 3DL - Together with these other materials, 3DLanguage is really helpful in getting you listening to and speaking Spanish sentences. Unlike phrase books, the interactions are realistic and extremely interactive, so I get a chance to try my hand at words and phrases, and get real feedback. Kind of like a dress rehearsal. Rather than go into an extensive comparision of products out there, I'll just say that, based on using other products for Japanese and other languages, I find 3DLanguage to simply be more engaging - and that is a huge advantage when it comes to sticking to your language learning plan.

More later...