Title: Good for a second course of study only
Review: For a true beginner this course is not truly user-friendly. I have been to Viet Nam and was married to a native in Ho Chi Minh City. This series did nothing to prepare me to communicate in the language. The tonal system is not explained, practiced, or heard in the attempts given. Vietnamese without true tonal understanding is unintelligible. The audio version leaps into full conversation with little to no preparation. It was necessary to take another course in a classroom type setting to understand what this series was trying to get across. The book is fine, but one would need a native speaker to record the lessons in lieu of the audio portion.
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