The 10 Minutes a Day series was designed as a quick course for travelers to learn basic, conversational vocabulary they are likely to need. The course is available in French, German, Italian, and Spanish. I reviewed the Spanish course and references are to that course. Other courses are similar but might have slight variations. The heart of each course is the workbook, and you can also get companion audio kits.
The full-color,130-page workbook is illustrated and has a very attractive layout that should appeal to all students. Throughout the workbook, it shows the pronunciation of each word in small print above the Spanish word. At the bottom of most pages are five cognates (words that are very similar in both Spanish and English such as clase and class) and their translations. Explanations and instructions in both the book and the audio recordings often incorporate words from the new language into English sentences: “Now open your libro to the sticky labels on page 17….”
Over 150 peel-and-stick labels come with the workbook. Students are directed to attach the labels to items around the house that will help them continually practice the new vocabulary; they do this with groups of labels at a time that relate to the current lesson rather than all at once. The book has a few crossword puzzles, matching games, and a variety of other activities that make it interesting to complete the exercises.
At the end of the workbook are a glossary, beverage and menu guides, and flashcards. A menu translation guide is printed on cardstock and can be removed, folded in thirds, and taken on a trip as a handy reference tool. Flashcards, also printed on card stock, should be cut apart and used for drill on verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, and pronouns—words not covered with the stick-on labels.
You also receive a download for interactive software when you purchase a workbook. The software has four components (flashcards, sticky labels, numbers, and colors) each of which has multiple additional sub-components. These components allow learners to hear the language, repeat it, test themselves, and keep track of their progress. The digital download is not a digital version of the workbook. Instead, it provides additional exercises and a different medium for learning and testing. Learners of all ages should enjoy using the components, and children are likely to love them.
Audio CDs
You can purchase an audio CD kit for each language that includes the workbook plus six audio CDs and an interactive software program disc. (Each set of CDs can also be bought on its own.)
The audio recordings—with eight hours of instruction per course—are presented in “steps” that correlate with lessons in the book. They feature numerous speakers with different accents, but all are easy to understand compared to what I have heard in some other foreign language programs. Instructions are in English and include mention of when students should work on pages in the book. The audio recordings use the typical listen-and-repeat approach but with more explanation, such as that about the forms of plural nouns. The audio covers the material differently than does the book. Strong auditory learners might be able to learn the language with only the audio recordings, but for most learners, I recommend the complete kit.
Summary
Even though targeted at travelers, the vocabulary is practical for the most part. Beer, wine, and alcoholic beverages are mentioned on the menu but not in the text that I could find. Basic words for religion and church are included. It seems like the course is well suited for family travelers more than for those who want to check out the nightlife and parties.
The course stresses that students should spend no more than ten minutes a day. Clearly, this is not intended to be a comprehensive high school level course, especially since the coverage of grammar is very limited. Students write directly in the workbook, and the amount of writing should be manageable for students about fourth grade and up. In my opinion, this course should serve well as an introductory course for learners from about fourth grade up through adults. High school students might use only the audio recordings to supplement another course, especially one that has only a text.
Note: While I liked the Spanish course, one of my readers alerted me to a review for the French course that identifies a number of issues. Some of the shortcomings mentioned there apply also to the Spanish course, but I didn't find them as big of a concern if you are thinking of using this course as an introduction to the language rather than a thorough course to prepare travelers.
