3 out of 5 stars

** Disclaimer for my review: I have taught English, Spanish, and ESOL at the high school and college (2- and 4-year college) levels. I have helped departments choose textbooks for all three specialties, so please take that into consideration when reading my review. I am probably a little pickier than the casual learner.

The Complete Learn Spanish for Adult Beginners Book (3 in 1) is a decent collection of grammar and vocabulary instruction and explanation, important phrases to know in various situations, and short readings to help aide the understanding in context of grammar and vocabulary learned in the previous two books. I would recommend using these books in the numbered order to ensure the best learning experience.

Book 1: Spanish Grammar Workbook for Beginners provides solid explanations of how Spanish is different across different populations and why it may not always agree with you might have learned previously. It doesn’t mean what you have learned was incorrect, it’s just that this is the vocabulary this book is using to prepare you for the later two books. There are good grids of comparative Spanish and English vocabulary. The chapters in this book are set up in a similar format of what follows: introduction, vocabulary/grammar grids/presentations (these are repeated a few times in each chapter, introducing a new set of vocabulary/grammar rules), and practice questions at the end of each chapter. The answer key for those questions is located at the end of Book 1.

Book 2: Spanish Phrase Book for Beginners is a good reference book for various situations in which you might find yourself. It ranges from explanation of money in different countries to transportation and medical phrases (and many other situational phrases) that might be important to help you throughout your travels. There are no practice questions in this book.

Book 3: Spanish Short Stories for Language Learners is a good collection of short readings ranging from one or two paragraphs at the beginning to almost full-page stories toward the end of the book. Each story has a similar format to what follows: Spanish story, same story in English, vocabulary list, questions for comprehension in Spanish and English, and historical notes. This format is effective in not only using the vocabulary and grammar in context that was learned throughout the first two books, but also in providing educational details about the readings themselves. To give an idea of reading level: if I were using these reading in teaching a traditional quarter or semester class, I would probably start in the last third of the first semester of learning and continue in the first part of the second class.

Overall, a decent set of books for learning. However, there are erroneous translations throughout the three books, as well as typos and formatting errors. The most egregious of these are some of translation errors. Translation is an art form and not everyone will agree on a single translation; however, I feel these books could have used another round of editing and proofreading to tighten up the knowledge provided. These books would have earned 4 out of 5 stars without those errors.

I received an ARC for this book. This review is honest and voluntary.