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Any need for Pimsleur????

  Tags: Pimsleur
 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes Post Reply
21 messages over 3 pages: 1 2 3  Next >>
BOLIO
Senior Member
United States
Joined 4659 days ago

253 posts - 366 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish

 
 Message 1 of 21
10 July 2014 at 4:08pm | IP Logged 
I have completed;

michel thomas perfect Spanish
Assimil Spanish with Ease

Currently working on;

FSI Basic Spanish
Learn in Your Car Levels 2 and 3
Living Language Beyond the Basics Spanish

I use the Learn in Your Car series...in my vehicle and while walking. In two weeks I'll be done with the series. I know I can always go back to it but was wondering if Pimsleur would offer anything. I have no experience with their course. If the course were to be beneficial, where should I jump in...level 3, 4 etc?


Thanks in advance,

BOLIO
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Jeffers
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 4910 days ago

2151 posts - 3960 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German

 
 Message 2 of 21
10 July 2014 at 4:14pm | IP Logged 
Pimsleur could be thought of as somewhere in-between FSI and Assimil. FSI exercises uses single sentences with substitutions. Assimil, on the other hand, uses extended blocks of text. Pimsleur gives you a lot of repetitive verbal practice, but not as repetitively as FSI, so the exercises are a bit more like real conversation. If you are happy with the courses you are using, you could skip Pimsleur. On the other hand, if you want more directed verbal practice, then Pimsleur is useful.
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BOLIO
Senior Member
United States
Joined 4659 days ago

253 posts - 366 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish

 
 Message 3 of 21
10 July 2014 at 4:20pm | IP Logged 
Thanks Jeffers, any idea as to which one I should start with...2,3,4,?
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iguanamon
Pentaglot
Senior Member
Virgin Islands
Speaks: Ladino
Joined 5263 days ago

2241 posts - 6731 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Creole (French)

 
 Message 4 of 21
10 July 2014 at 4:40pm | IP Logged 
At your stage of Spanish, Volume 1 would be painful. Probably Volume 2 would probably be best- and maybe the middle of Volume 2. The thing with Pimsleur is "graduated interval recall". Going through one lesson until you get about 80% of it down until moving to the next makes for momentum. The graduated interval recall will through up something from the earlier lessons to solidify it in your memory- "Do you remember how to say, "X"?" Skipping some of it will mean you'll miss some of this because there are a lot of different ways to say something, but the course will have used one specific way. This can be frustrating at first when you jump in at where you need to be, but after a while it sorts itself out.

I'd only use Pimsleur if I could get it free (library) or very cheaply. I would use it as a supplement to other methods for synergy.

Edited by iguanamon on 10 July 2014 at 4:42pm

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Speakeasy
Senior Member
Canada
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507 posts - 1098 votes 
Studies: German

 
 Message 5 of 21
10 July 2014 at 4:52pm | IP Logged 
Bolio,

First, I am a very enthusiastic supporter of the Pimsleur method and have completed the full programme for each of German, Spanish, and Italian. Since you have already used other methods, note that a small "surprise" awaits you with the Pimsleur method in that it is truly all-audio. That is, while a so-called "Reading Booklet" is provided, there is no glossary, there are no transcripts, and grammatical issues are not presented in a straight-forward manner.

Second, under normal circumstances, I would not hesitate to recommend Pimsleur to a beginner. However, if you have already completed Assimil Spanish With Ease, in my opinion, you have already progressed beyond what Pimsleur offers and I suggest that you continue with your current programme of study. If you do decide to try Pimsleur, I suggest that you attempt the Phase IV Level. You might be able to find a copy at at a library. Otherwise, as far as I understand, the publisher, Simon & Schuster offers the lowest prices for MP3 downloads.



Edited by Speakeasy on 10 July 2014 at 4:52pm

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BOLIO
Senior Member
United States
Joined 4659 days ago

253 posts - 366 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish

 
 Message 6 of 21
10 July 2014 at 4:56pm | IP Logged 
Yo podrĂ­a tratar de encontrarlo en la biblioteca.

Como siempre, gracias I-Mon!

Speakeasy, thanks for the info. I will see if I can find it at the library. I am looking for all audio courses to fill the down time while traveling to and from work.
I am not an all audio learner to say the least. Reading and writing give me comfort and honestly, I cannot understand how someone could become proficient in speaking a foreign language using an audio only method. But, to each his own.

Thanks again,

BOLIO


Edited by BOLIO on 10 July 2014 at 5:04pm

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hrhenry
Octoglot
Senior Member
United States
languagehopper.blogs
Joined 5131 days ago

1871 posts - 3642 votes 
Speaks: English*, SpanishC2, ItalianC2, Norwegian, Catalan, Galician, Turkish, Portuguese
Studies: Polish, Indonesian, Ojibwe

 
 Message 7 of 21
10 July 2014 at 5:51pm | IP Logged 
BOLIO wrote:
...I cannot understand how someone could become proficient in speaking a foreign language using an audio only method. But, to each his own.

I don't think I've ever met anyone that has become proficient in an foreign language using just audio. Well, adult learners, anyway.

I think both Pimsleur and Michel Thomas are pretty good introductions for people that might otherwise be intimidated by a foreign language, though.

R.
==
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James29
Diglot
Senior Member
United States
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1265 posts - 2113 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish
Studies: French

 
 Message 8 of 21
10 July 2014 at 7:25pm | IP Logged 
At your level you should skip Pimsleur. Definitely. Spend the time working through FSI.


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