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 Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 7:09 am
Pimsleur 1Pimsleur 2Has anyone else tried these? I don't suggest buying them (damn they're expensive!) but to do as I did and just borrow them from the local library. I found that the phrases will lodge into the brain pretty securely, but will leave one without knowing the complete grammar of the language. Take the Greek I listened to... I can still recite a few of the phrases I listened to months ago, but I can't always tell where one word ends and another begins.
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Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 8:36 am
*bump*
Am I really the only one that has run into this program before? The second link actually has a free lesson in each language if you wanted to check it out.
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Call Me Apple Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 11:48 am
My library has TONS O___O
What format are they in?
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Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 12:52 pm
They are in both Cassette and CD.
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Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2010 5:01 pm
I've heard of Pimsleur, and frankly, I hate it. :/
I like the whole dialogue-oriented thing they're trying to aim for, but the lessons are so annoying. I don't like how there's English interrupting every 5 seconds; I don't even like how they're speaking English in the lesson at all. I also don't like how the speaker breaks down words, nor do I like how much grammar the speaker is explaining.
Although, that's just what I think. I've heard that many people like Pimsleur and even that it's one of the top language learning tools, so I guess it can't be that bad.
And, just saying, I don't like how the guy speaking in the Italian lesson has such a neutral accent/no accent. But that's just because I care about having a native accent way more than most people.
Edit: I just tried the Hindi lesson, and I noted one more thing. The word usage, at least in Hindi, is pretty archaic. No one says 'Aangresi' or 'Amrikan' anymore. xP
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Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2010 1:07 pm
I once bought the first ten lessons of Pimsleur Hebrew. I liked how it really drills the words, but I did have some concerns:
1. Pronunciation. I knew the difference between aleph and ayin because of my other studies, but the course did not make a note of the difference. I would assume the same is true of other courses.
2. Snail pace. It goes so slowly, it's mind-numbing at times.
3. Weird vocabulary choices. In those ten lessons, they taught me how to say that I wanted to drink wine or beer, but not water!
The lack of grammar does not concern me, because many well-qualified people say that it is best to be exposed to language patterns before learning the actual rule.
Also, I don't think Pimsleur should be used alone.
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Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2010 8:28 pm
Britomartis-the-Valiant The lack of grammar does not concern me, because many well-qualified people say that it is best to be exposed to language patterns before learning the actual rule. I completely agree. Personally, this is one of the biggest reasons why I don't completely hate Pimsleur, and it's one of the reasons why I love Assimil so much (I just got Assimil Tedesco and it's great).
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Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 9:42 am
hm. I'm not so sure the program was designed with passionate language learners in mind. The first course (level 1) I think is just tourist information so they don't make complete asses out of themselves in the country. The later levels are a little more in depth. These same tourist types probably need the English guy every seconds to tell them what was just said because this program is probably the only one they picked up. I know it gets annoying (*SHUT UP ALREADY! I KNOW WHAT -WIE GEHT ES IHNEN- MEANS!*) but it's repeated enough to put it in permanent memory rather than short term memory.
I've been listening to level 2a in German. Level 2 starts to slowly take out some of the English speaking, so later on it might take it out completely.
I am a little huffed about borrowing from the library. Some of the people who checked out the discs before me really had no respect for public property. I had to clean all of them and they were all scuffed. Thankfully they all still played. I think they returned to the library in better condition than when they left.
...I think I mentioned it on the Transparent Language thread, but I found this program pretty cheap on half.com
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Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 6:56 pm
Just got the Japanese collection from my brother, He is getting Danish soon too, and I already have Chinese (Mandarin) I highly recommend using these, even if (as stated before by 'razielarcha') you should just rent them from a library. It's like learning in a classroom at your own pace.
The only draw back of course is there is nobody to help you fix your pronunciation except yourself, so finding a native is highly recommended as always with such a task.
And as I have read the concerns of other posts in this particular topic, I have to agree with a lot of them, especially the poster who commented on not using Pimsleur alone, I agree completely. Finding some type of reading material, be it a dictionary or grammar guide, or even one of those books with conjugated verbs, doesn't matter, just something more than the audio is a huge help, and someone to practice pronunciation with, what good is speaking another language if the people who are natives cant even understand you?
Sorry for the large post, I just enjoy this subject >_<
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