When you want to learn something new, do you turn to the Complete Idiot’s Guides or the For Dummies books? I love both of these book series because they give you all info you need to know, laid out in plain English.
The books are similar but may have slightly different information, a different format, or have information in different parts of the book.
Idiot’s Guide to Learning Spanish VS. Spanish for Dummies
To compare, I received Spanish for Dummies 2nd Edition and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Learning Spanish to compare and feature.
Has short exercises after each section with an answer key | Has a fun and games section after each section with answer key |
Each part starts with a simple comic | Each Part starts with a comic from The 5th Wave |
Has a conversion table for clothing sizes in American and Continental | Has a Talkin’ the Talk section where you can see a sample conversation illustrating what was learned. |
‘In a Flash’ – tips for learning Spanish in a fun fast way | ‘Tip’ – tips to help make learning Spanish easier |
‘Memory Master’ – reminder about grammar or rules | ‘Gramatically Speaking’ – discussions of weird grammar rules |
‘Atencion!’ – Warning about unnecessary or embarrassing mistakes | ‘Remember’ – important info to commit to memory |
Does more verb conjugations | ‘Cultural Wisdom’ – info and advice about Spanish speaking cultures |
Includes a section on why you should study Spanish and how to study Spanish. Also has verb charts as an Appendix/ | Has 4 Appendices: Ten Ways to Pick up Spanish Quickly Ten Things Never to Say in Spanish Ten or so Favourite Spanish Expressions Ten Phrases That Make You Sound Fluent in Spanish |
Mostly covers airports for transportation | Covers trains, buses, public transport AND airports |
Gives a small tour in the Renting a Villa section but only of three rooms | Gives a tour of your house and teaches you words for common things found in those rooms |
Similarities
- Almost the same amount of pages
- Both use a shoe/boot explanation for verb endings
- Both come with a CD so you can hear people speaking Spanish
- Both have a dictionary at the back of the book
- Both are good books to have when learning Spanish.