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| The Times Education Series GCSE Spanish | 
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| From: The Times
Category: Software
List Price: £14.99
Buy New: £0.90
You Save: £14.09 (94%)
Buy Used from £0.90
Avg. Customer Rating:  (12 reviews)
Sales Rank: 6352
Platforms: Windows 95, Windows Me, Windows 98, Windows 2000
Media: CD-ROM
Number Of Items: 1
EAN: 5036319002805
ASIN: B00005B4Q4
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
Subtitled "El Misterio Del Castillo Precioso", The Times Education Series GCSE Spanish is an electronic personal tutor designed to help students practice their reading, listening, grammar and comprehension skills. Set in the eponymous mysterious house it's essentially a simple point-and-click problem-solving game where the object is to help a youthful detective--Luisa Lalupa--to gather nine clues hidden somewhere in the five downstairs rooms, which, when matched to her computerised criminal database, will enable you to unmask the infamous thief--Sombra. Naturally because the aim is to encourage players to habla Espanyol, all of the problems are in Spanish and are a good mix of grammatical conundrums (placing accents in the correct place with the mouse, correctly identifying masculine, feminine, singular and plural words against the clock) memory and comprehension (can you retype the sentence perfectly without referring to it?) as well as straight vocabulary tests. You can get general help at any time (in English) and there's a built-in dictionary which lists the trickier words used in the program; once you've guessed the identity of the crook, you can re-start the game with a new set of clues, questions and answers which should ensure that it has staying power. The disc also makes good use of various multimedia elements--particularly Spanish voice-overs--ensuring that it delivers a different kind of experience from a text book. Described by the authors as a "fun CD" GCSE Spanish isn't the kind of hardcore revision product you'd associate with students cramming for a final exam. Rather its purpose is to provide a series of relaxed refresher courses for those who want to brush up on their GCSE-level Spanish. Like most good language titles the emphasis is on fun, but backed up with long-lasting game play and good linguistic exercises. It's a combination that makes this product easy to recommend. --Rob Beattie
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 NO HELP!!! March 29, 2006
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This product was absolutely usless, it doesn't help at all.
Its mostly games, which don't help. It doesn't help you learn vocab or reading skills (may help a bit with listening, but there isn't enough). The game is all in french, but has a dictionary in the game, however this doesn't help because most of the words you need to look up aren't there! I wouldn't recomend this product to aid studying for GCSE.
helpful program March 26, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I find using this program is helpful for learning new vocab and that it's a fun way of doing so, but also agree that there isn't translation of instructions into english, and that often words aren't included in the dictionary. The first couple of screens have an english translation, by resting the mouse over a small menu at the bottom right, but, while visiting the 5 rooms, you must have a dictionary handy, as the instructions aren't translated!4 of the rooms provide clues via 2 or 3 activities. The activities are a varied and fun way to learn, and give good practice in the various areas e.g. one activity requires you to type what you have heard, another requires you to type what you have just seen, another involves choosing which book section in the library would most likely contain the snippet of spanish text you can see on the screen. The games room provides activities that don't need completing in order to obtain clues ... you can play various games here, for example testing either vocab or verbs. Each time you use the program, the criminal's identity changes. I think there are about 10 different characters, so there is plenty of scope to learn different vocabulary. I'd say you need to be at intermediate standard to benefit most from this program, and definitely have a trusty dictionary handy, but that it's a fun and useful learning tool well worth using.
Times Education series - GCSE chemistry July 4, 2004
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Chemistry is not the easiest of subjects and it can very easily become confusing. This aims to teach the user and so, is well structured, with simple text and diagrams adding to the overall success of this product.Simple and quick multiple choice tests are on offer as is an experiment section - allowing all the results, without the mess. The only real concern about the product is probably the overall presentation. Sometimes it can be hard to find what you want - but with patience it is found. The graphics aren't mind blowing, but then, they don't need to be. Overall an outstanding product, which does exactly what it says on the case.
 Times Education Series - French May 11, 2004
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I've been a long suffering French learner and was looking for a clear, informative, structured revision CD-R. I had been very impressed with all the other software in this series, for it's clear layouts and simple tests.That's why this was such a disappointment! What any GCSE student will tell you (myself included) is that although games like those on this CD-R can be fantastic, being a few weeks from your exam is no time to be messing around! The game is interesting and may have some revision benfits - but in the way of learning or picking up any new vocabulary I found it useless! It had nothing specific relating to speaking or reading tests - other than that fact it was all in French, which, to be honest, made it more confusing. Sadly this was not what I expected and I would recommend other buyers to stick to the textbooks!
 Times Education Series - GCSE Biology May 11, 2004
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Today, so many revision CD's focus on how many special features they can cram in, how much content they can include and how many graphics they have. This is probably not the most ''adventurous'' revision CD. Thank goodness!It clearly and slowly explains everything. It includes diagrams when they are necessary and when they don't confuse the learner. It is simple, easy to use and covers eveything I have done in my lessons. It has the option of not installing it and just using the CD, which is fantastic. It has simple multiple choice tests which are quick to complete and a very good focus section (showing all the topics on the CD-R and puts them at a click away). Its presented in slide show format. Which, yes, isn't really incredible - but its what you need when (lets face it) you have so much work and so many facts cramming up your head. Finally... If you need a clear, defined understanding of the work. For higher or foundation, then this is the CD-R for you.
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