Piensa En Espanol = Think Spanish | 
| Publisher: Think Spanish Magazine
Buy New: $45.95
Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 1530
Format: Magazine Subscription
Type: Trade magazine
Subscription Issues: 12
Subscription Length: 12 Months
Issues Per Year: 12
First Issue Lead Time: 6-10 Weeks
ASIN: B00009VPF2
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 3 months
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Keep your Spanish strong all year long! Designed to increase Spanish fluency, build vocabulary, grammar & improve listening comprehension. Learn about life and culture in Spanish speaking countries. Dynamic articles about culture, travel, art, people and more. Useful lessons and tutorials.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 A great magazine for learning to read Spanish March 13, 2004
Kim Boykin (New York, NY)
144 out of 144 found this review helpful
I've been trying, in a leisurely and sporadic sort of way, to learn Spanish, and I was looking for a magazine for Spanish-speaking children, figuring that would be suitable for my current reading level, but then I ran across this magazine, which is just what I needed. If you have at least a little bit of background in Spanish--the basic grammar and vocabulary you'd learn in a year or two of high school Spanish--this magazine is a great tool for expanding your vocabulary and practicing reading.
The magazine contains articles in Spanish, written by native Spanish speakers, about life in Spanish-speaking countries--history, culture, daily life, biographies, news, even recipes. Each article has a glossary next to it that translates well over half of the words and phrases in the article. You're expected to understand only really basic vocabulary and obvious cognates. For example, in the issue I'm looking at, these are some of the words that aren't translated: con, para, mi, esto, hay, cinco, nuevo, son, muchos, octubre, ahora, familia, radicalmente, internacional. And these are translated in the glossaries: aquellas, viven, respuestas, alrededor, mientras, quedaban, esperar, encuentro, desarollo, ayudar.
The magazine also includes Spanish crossword puzzles and brief lessons (in English) on Spanish grammar and usage. Each issue is relatively short--about 18 pages--but that's been more than enough for me each month.
(Incidentally, a great book for learning to read Spanish--just to read it, not to write or speak it--is "Spanish for Reading," which is suitable even for complete beginners.)
Get the CD edition! February 21, 2005
heartburn
89 out of 89 found this review helpful
I've been subscribing to this magazine for more than a year. It's really helped me with my reading. The issues are small and the articles are short. An article is usually from one to three pages in large type with glossaries in the margins.
Even though the articles are short, I will often concentrate on one article at a time, rereading it several times a day for a couple of days. When I can read the article straight through without consulting the glossary, and understand everything, I move on to the next.
Around April of last year (2004), the magazine began offering an optional audio CD. The CD contains each of the magazine articles read aloud. I think this is the best feature of the magazine. Now it helps me as much with my listening as it does with my reading.
Since I started getting the CD, I now listen to the article that I'm concentrating on over & over until I think I understand most of it. Only then will I read the article. I will read it until I understand it completely. Then I listen to it some more, until I'm comfortable with it.
The articles cover all sorts of topics from all around the Spanish speaking world: Geography, People, Environment, History, Culture. And there are regular features: recipes, crosswords, lessons.
If you're serious about learing Spanish and you're at a beginner-intermediate level (or maybe higher) you should try this magazine. The website (http://www.readspanish.com) has sample pages and audio online. I'm not sure if they sell samples or back issues, but they have a product called "Audio Guide to Places in Spain" that's fairly cheap. It's in a smaller format than the magazine, but it might help you decide if this sort of thing is right for you.
Very Good for those who've studied some Spanish February 25, 2005
Carl B. Carroll (Kansas)
52 out of 52 found this review helpful
If you would like to keep your reading and listening skills up but live in a situation where you do not have frequent chances to do so in real life, this Magazine should be very helpful for you. It covers a wide range of subject materials of all Latin countries, including Spain; the vocabulary improvement with these articles is significant. One word of Caution: I do not think that this magazine is for a brand-new person to Spanish. At least one year of formal Spanish in high school or college would be advisable. I had two years of high school Spanish and two years of University level Spanish and lived the first 30 years of my life in Texas; and yet, I still find this magazine challenging while at the same time very helpful. It also makes a great and unique gift. BE SURE TO BUY THE AUDIO CD ALONG WITH THE PRINTED MAGAZINE; that is more expensive but well worth it!
Beuna Suerte!
Great Product for improving your Spanish February 6, 2006
Belinda (Seattle, WA)
30 out of 30 found this review helpful
I have been a subscriber for four months and I love this magazine. I initially subscribed without the Audio CD but I added the Audio Cd after receiving my first issue. There are about 12 articles each month and I have found this is the perfect length for me. I am able to get through the magazine in a month and it goes along perfectly with the Spanish conversation class I am taking at the community college. I would say my level is 2nd year Spanish and I think this magazine could continue along with me for another two years. They give a suggested use part in the front and I highly recommend following it. If you stick to it you will be surprised at how much you are learning! And you get some cool culture/travel facts by reading the articles that I can't imagine you'd find anywhere else! Buena Suerte!
 Better than nothing but lots of errors, lousy delivery service November 29, 2005
rever (Tennessee)
18 out of 22 found this review helpful
This magazine and CD combo will help you improve your Spanish reading and listening skills - with some big "buts." BUT you will find that the translated words and phrases often aren't the ones you actually need help with. BUT sometimes the translation tells you nothing (ex: in an articla about a soccer tournament, the word "quadrilateral" was translated "quadrilateral" - it referred somehow to the tournament format but who knows how?). BUT there are numerous grammatical errors in the English and surprisingly frequent typos in the Spanish, which even I can spot. BUT each issue is rather short. BUT I've only been able to receive one issue on time - the first one - every one since I've had to email and report the issue not arrived and they have had to send a replacement from the office.
"El Puente: The Bridge to Better Spanish" was a far, far better magazine, with about four times the material each month, but it is unfortunately no longer published.
So subscribe with your eyes open, and don't expect too much out of this sloppily edited, abbreviated product.
|
|
|
