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LearningSpanishLikeCrazy (LSLC) w/ FSI | ||
Tags: Fake Reviews | LSLC | Platiquemos | Pimsleur | Reading | FSI | Book | Grammar | English | Spanish | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| heartburn Senior Member United States Joined 7213 days ago 355 posts - 350 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 49 of 193 23 April 2005 at 1:16pm | IP Logged | ||
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Hey! check out the new LSLC website.
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| heartburn Senior Member United States Joined 7213 days ago 355 posts - 350 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 50 of 193 23 April 2005 at 2:50pm | IP Logged | ||
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Patrick Jackson's Bankruptcy Law site
http://www.newyork-bankruptcy-lawyer.com/ A LSLC info page in the same domain http://www.newyork-bankruptcy-lawyer.com/info01/1/ 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Platiquemos Hexaglot Language Program Publisher Senior Member Panama platiquemos-letstalk Joined 7168 days ago 126 posts - 141 votes Speaks: English*, German, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish | Message 51 of 193 23 April 2005 at 2:58pm | IP Logged | ||
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It is hard for me to think of a more predatory gang than bankruptcy lawyers. However, they do say that birds of a feather flock together.
I think it would be most useful for somebody (the bossman, a moderator) to offer Jackson the opportunity to respond to my criticisms, rather than using his legal mafia contacts to threaten to sue. I'll bet you right now a month's pay he wouldn't take up the invitation! Edited by Malcolm on 23 April 2005 at 4:14pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| heartburn Senior Member United States Joined 7213 days ago 355 posts - 350 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 52 of 193 23 April 2005 at 3:14pm | IP Logged | ||
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I'm quite sure that Mr. Jackson is a frequent reader of this thread. It would be interesting to hear his side.
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| Malcolm Triglot Retired Moderator Senior Member Korea, South Joined 7321 days ago 500 posts - 515 votes 5 sounds Speaks: English*, Spanish, Korean Studies: Mandarin, Japanese, Latin | Message 53 of 193 23 April 2005 at 3:44pm | IP Logged | ||
I should be studying now, but I couldn't let this pass. It's ironic that the LSLC team, which spreads very fake reviews on amazon.com putting down other products (this is starting to become a common practice, but it's usually limited to praising one's own product), is afraid of a little criticism.
In my view, LSLC "irreparably injured its reputation" when it started the review campaign on amazon.com. There is nothing the company can do to compensate for this low move, except perhaps apologize. They might be selling a good product, so it's a shame that they've sabotaged whatever respect that I and other members of this forum would have had for them. The new website provides very little information about the course. When I'm buying a language course, I want to know exactly how far it goes in terms of grammar and vocabulary, as well as the total hours of audio. Instead, I've only seen hype about how I'll finally be able to learn "Real Latin American Spanish" (as if I've failed in all my previous attempts) and I won't have to suffer the embarrassment of speaking the language incorrectly (which, by the way, is something a mature language learner should get accustomed to rather than shun). They also have an attractive female "spokesperson" trying to persuade me to submit my name and email address for free sample lessons. Why not have the lessons right there on the site? I'd like to see (and I know the LSLC people are reading this) a more professional looking website providing a detailed summary of the course's contents, including total hours of audio and an approximate count for vocabulary. As a consumer, I'm not interested in hype or testimonials; I would only be interested in an accurate description of the course. As the moderator of this forum room, I'm going to leave Don Casteel's comments and opinions on this thread. I think it's smart of him to remove the comments from his website; his course and website have enough integrity on their own to defend his product. Keep in mind that my problems with LSLC have to do only with their marketing strategies and not with their product. As I said earlier, they might be selling a good product, and the FSI courses that come with it certainly are a nice bonus. If Mr. Jackson would like to defend his product on this forum politely, his presence would be welcomed. Edited by Malcolm on 23 April 2005 at 3:56pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| heartburn Senior Member United States Joined 7213 days ago 355 posts - 350 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 54 of 193 23 April 2005 at 4:00pm | IP Logged | ||
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I'd like to add that I think it's pretty low-class to require my email address before I can see any product information.
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| crylant Groupie United States cjrylantwealthmanage Joined 7203 days ago 85 posts - 85 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 55 of 193 23 April 2005 at 9:23pm | IP Logged | ||
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I went to the new LSLC web site today and I also don't particularly care for the new requirement for an email address, but, it is probably good marketing. I do like "Maria Lopez." She is nice to look at. This thread is getting exciting. So much contraversy. Edited by Malcolm on 24 April 2005 at 12:10am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| heartburn Senior Member United States Joined 7213 days ago 355 posts - 350 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 56 of 193 24 April 2005 at 1:33am | IP Logged | ||
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I've been thinking about what Malcom said earlier regarding LSLC's irreparably injured reputation. I've noticed that although many of us here have expressed skepticism, there are still those here who have purchased the course or have expressed an interest in it. So we are really left with two questions. "What can LSLC do to repair their reputation?" and "Do they really need to do anything?"
The onslaught of tainted reviews on Amazon is apparent to anyone. The fact that they slam competing products while plugging their own is reprehensible. When I first noticed the pattern of the LSLC reviews I thought, "How could anyone trust these people to teach them anything?" Of course, curiosity got the best of me and I checked out the site. The old LSLC website reminded me of the DAK catalogs. There were miles and miles of copy designed more to exhaust than to persuade a prospective buyer. And while the DAK catalogs aren't especially well written, the LSLC website was virtually unreadable. I remember laughing to myself "I hope they write in Spanish better than they write in English." But I still wanted to know more. So I got a couple of sample lessons. The written lessons were really nothing special. Believe it or not, there are no "Spanish Grammar Secrets." The deep dark mysteries of Spanish grammar were exposed centuries ago and are available right in your local public library. I just couldn't listen to the on-line lessons. They were nothing but irritating. I make enough mistakes all by myself. I don't need to listen to other people making mistakes. I only got to hear the first two or three audio lessons. To my surprise, they actually sounded pretty good. I would describe them as "home-grown Pimsleur." Unfortunately, there were only a handful of lessons available. Mr. Jackson assured me that new lessons were forthcoming. Well, I don't hand out my trust to just any shyster who comes along. But not everyone thinks the same way I do. Even those who've purchased the course have acknowledged some skepticism, but they chose to ignore it. I guess that risking a few hundred dollars on something that smells like a scam is no worse than gambling away a few hundred dollars at a casino. I'd be lying if I said I didn't consider it, but I'm not a gambling man. My decision was really made back when I first noticed LSLC on Amazon. It's one thing to write an objectively bad review. Writing a review, bad or otherwise, to further your own interests is an entirely different matter. I equate this with stealing. Every customer that LSLC attracts with one of their Amazon "reviews" has literally been stolen. It's no wonder that Mr. Casteel is angry. So, what can LSLC do to repair their reputation? An apology would only be a start. For me, they'd have to delete every Amazon review. And they would have to make it perfectly clear what it is that they're selling. I'll be damned if I'm going to spend several hundred dollars on an incomplete course with the promise of more lessons as long as I pay a monthly subscription fee. And, do they really need to do anything? The unfortunate answer to that question is no. They can just continue to steal. Edited by heartburn on 24 April 2005 at 11:23pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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