Eumaeus Groupie Australia Joined 5527 days ago 75 posts - 134 votes ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) Speaks: English* Studies: Italian
| Message 25 of 104 04 November 2009 at 2:32am | IP Logged |
Gusutafu wrote:
Juan M. wrote:
Urban_Sasquatch wrote:
I have a 30-minute commute at a minimum, so I play a lesson on the way in... |
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This is how I use Pimsleur (and Michel Thomas) as well. I load a course on an MP3 player and listen to it whenever I'm not home. That way I don't waste any time and always have something entertaining to do whether I'm in line at the bank, waiting for a bus, waiting for someone, walking somewhere, etc. |
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You still sort of waste time, if you had been playing Assimil or some other more efficient course you would learn much, much more... |
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Well said!
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Juan M. Senior Member Colombia Joined 5822 days ago 460 posts - 597 votes ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg)
| Message 26 of 104 04 November 2009 at 3:07am | IP Logged |
Gusutafu wrote:
You still sort of waste time, if you had been playing Assimil or some other more efficient course you would learn much, much more... |
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But then I'd have to carry a book around to understand the material that is being presented. The advantage of both Pimsleur and Michel Thomas is that you don't need anything more than the recordings themselves, making them perfect to have on your MP3 player and listen to whenever you can.
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Gusutafu Senior Member Sweden Joined 5444 days ago 655 posts - 1039 votes ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) Speaks: Swedish*
| Message 27 of 104 04 November 2009 at 4:02am | IP Logged |
Juan M. wrote:
Gusutafu wrote:
You still sort of waste time, if you had been playing Assimil or some other more efficient course you would learn much, much more... |
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But then I'd have to carry a book around to understand the material that is being presented. The advantage of both Pimsleur and Michel Thomas is that you don't need anything more than the recordings themselves, making them perfect to have on your MP3 player and listen to whenever you can. |
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No, not really. One way you could use it is this: Read through the translations for a couple of lessons in the morning. Put the lessons on repeat in your ipod, like ten times each or so, and repeat or shadow as you listen to it during the day. In the evening you can check to make sure that you understood everything correctly, and listen a few more times to each lesson that you had time to cover.
If it's an easy language, vocabulary wise, like Spanish, or a language that is close to one you know (for example, I know Russian but do Polish now) you might not even need the morning reading.
The key is to refrain from worrying about getting everything right the first time. Even if I don't understand all at the first listening, it tends to clear up by the tenth. And since you correct any mistakes at the end of the day, any errors won't stick.
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Eumaeus Groupie Australia Joined 5527 days ago 75 posts - 134 votes ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) Speaks: English* Studies: Italian
| Message 28 of 104 04 November 2009 at 9:06am | IP Logged |
You are one step ahead of me again Gusutafu. Juan M, for me, it is helpful and important to listen to the Assimil lessons dozens of times and review constantly. If you were not confident listening to lessons without the book then just review old lessons that you are more familiar with. I have used the "bus stop and supermarket que" method for both Pimsleur and Assimil. For me, the difference between the two programs is vast.
Edited by Eumaeus on 04 November 2009 at 9:08am
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Juan M. Senior Member Colombia Joined 5822 days ago 460 posts - 597 votes ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg)
| Message 29 of 104 04 November 2009 at 2:58pm | IP Logged |
See, for me what you suggest would be a waste of time. With Pimsleur I get to practice different material from what I have learned at home, thus nicely rounding up everything. In my opinion it is much better to study material presented from different perspectives than shadowing the same recording over and over again.
Furthermore, I don't have the time or foresight to review the lessons before I leave; I'd have to plan in advance when I'm not going to be home and synchronize the contents of my MP3 player with my progress in the book. I'd also have to predict how much time I'm going to be in line at the bank so I review the correct number of lessons, otherwise I might run out of material. With Pimsleur and Michel Thomas I can study as much as I want whenever I can, be it five minutes or two hours, without advance preparations. With these two programs sufficient iteration as well as full explanations and translation are already built in, so I can pick them up, do as much as I want, and then resume them at a moment's notice, be it one week or one month later. Besides, like I said at the beginning, you get the tremendous benefit of being exposed to different contents and methodologies, making your knowledge of the language that much more robust.
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Gusutafu Senior Member Sweden Joined 5444 days ago 655 posts - 1039 votes ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) Speaks: Swedish*
| Message 30 of 104 04 November 2009 at 4:35pm | IP Logged |
Juan M. wrote:
Furthermore, I don't have the time or foresight to review the lessons before I leave; I'd have to plan in advance when I'm not going to be home and synchronize the contents of my MP3 player with my progress in the book. I'd also have to predict how much time I'm going to be in line at the bank so I review the correct number of lessons, otherwise I might run out of material. |
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Perhaps the solution to this has already struck you, but you could just read through a few lessons in the evening before! And if you are worried that you might run out of material, just prepare enough lessons to make sure that doesn't happen.
As to efficiency, the material you can potentially learn in one Pimsleur lesson is extremely limited. A few words, one or two constructions.
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Juan M. Senior Member Colombia Joined 5822 days ago 460 posts - 597 votes ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg)
| Message 31 of 104 04 November 2009 at 5:04pm | IP Logged |
Gusutafu wrote:
Perhaps the solution to this has already struck you, but you could just read through a few lessons in the evening before! And if you are worried that you might run out of material, just prepare enough lessons to make sure that doesn't happen. |
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As you might know or eventually discover, when one is studying many languages it is not often that one has the evening free. Most likely I would be watching, listening or reading in one of my languages the evening before. Besides, I don't always plan my schedule days ahead.
This discussion is pointless anyway, since you really cannot beat the pick-up-and-use convenience of Pimsleur and Michel Thomas which require you to simply carry a tiny MP3 player around to turn on whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Gusutafu wrote:
As to efficiency, the material you can potentially learn in one Pimsleur lesson is extremely limited. A few words, one or two constructions. |
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Whatever I learn by going through Pimsleur would be gains in addition to what I already know, since by doing Assimil the way you suggest I would at most be reviewing the exact same dialogues I have already studied and learned.
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Urban_Sasquatch Newbie United States Joined 5424 days ago 11 posts - 30 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Russian
| Message 32 of 104 04 November 2009 at 5:11pm | IP Logged |
This is why I suggested the addition of a vocabulary book.
What I like about the Pimsleur method is that while sure, you're not sucking down tons of information all at once, you ARE taking in information in digestible portions which fit in with an otherwise active lifestyle. For me the advantage lies in the lessons being perfect for a commute, when my hands and eyes are otherwise occupied and I cannot afford to be glancing at a book.
Sure, I could use a course which might (I'm not arguing the veracity of supporting statements or efficacy of the alternative programs) be more effective in some ways; but any lacking vocabulary could be made up on my own with a book while the nature of the presented lessons fits in with how my life is lived now.
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