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Pimsleur method

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24 messages over 3 pages: 1 2
Johntm
Senior Member
United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name
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616 posts - 725 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish

 
 Message 17 of 24
09 February 2010 at 4:29am | IP Logged 
I was doing homework today and spacing out a lot and I decided to listen to Pimsleur Spanish while doing homework. I actually didn't mind it, when the lesson got boring I did work and I listened when I needed to. It wasn't too bad. Pimsleur is probably when you have something else to occupy you, it's not something you sit down and do.
1 person has voted this message useful



Normunds
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Groupie
Switzerland
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 Message 18 of 24
09 February 2010 at 11:23pm | IP Logged 
Johntm wrote:
I was doing homework today and spacing out a lot and I decided to listen to Pimsleur Spanish while doing homework. I actually didn't mind it, when the lesson got boring I did work and I listened when I needed to. It wasn't too bad. Pimsleur is probably when you have something else to occupy you, it's not something you sit down and do.
exactly - jogging, taking a bus, walking, ironing... you name it - any time consuming, mindless activity. it may be over-hyped and shamelessly overpriced for what it delivers - even all 3 parts together provide very little amount of words and phrases, but it has its use.
1 person has voted this message useful



TheBiscuit
Tetraglot
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Mexico
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 Message 19 of 24
10 February 2010 at 5:58am | IP Logged 
Paskwc wrote:
Asiafeverr wrote:
TheBiscuit wrote:
Nothing against Pimsleur but it's just so...
boring.

I found it quite entertaining to be in the shoes of an American man who asks random
ladies to go to his place and eat with him.


Perhaps the greatest post ever.

It may be. I LMAO. I think it's the relentless optimism in his tone of voice that just charms them right in.
1 person has voted this message useful



kmart
Senior Member
Australia
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194 posts - 400 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Italian

 
 Message 20 of 24
12 February 2010 at 9:56pm | IP Logged 
galaxy9 wrote:
Do you think that Pimsleur method of never teaching grammar explicitly is effective? I was thinking not, because adults can learn grammar much more faster just by looking at the rules, right?


I did all 3 sections of Pimsleur Italian without looking in a grammar book, then enrolled in a 2nd level Adult Education mini-course, having begged an exemption from the 1st level pre-requisite. I was very nervous, knowing that everyone else in the class had a head-start on me, but found that I was absolutely top of the class - my vocabulary was larger (this was only a recreational course, mind you, 30 hours instruction per level), pronunciation constantly praised by the teacher, and when she explained grammar concepts my brain said "oh, I already know that" ie the grammar concepts were implicit in what I'd learned from Pimsleur. Another advantage I had over the other students, was having no problems in not-pronouncing the "h" in Italian words - because I'd learnt words such as "hai" and "hotel" without seeing their written form, I didn't realise there was an "h"!
But I must admit, I'm not a shining example of language study, having spent 5 years to still be at a low intermediate level...
;-)
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Cainntear
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Scotland
linguafrankly.blogsp
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 Message 21 of 24
13 February 2010 at 12:18pm | IP Logged 
But of course, the flaws in Pimsleur are shared with many touristy courses....
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Sandman
Diglot
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United States
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Speaks: English*, Spanish
Studies: Japanese

 
 Message 22 of 24
13 February 2010 at 1:04pm | IP Logged 
I think Pimsleur is one of those things that sneaks up on you in terms of how valuable it really is.

After working your way through Pimsleur I and perhaps II of a given language you will feel much more comfortable with the grammar and vocabulary you'll see later and the pronunciation. (I did all 3 parts of Spanish Pimsleur (repeatedly) and have currently worked through Japanese I and II, going to do III soon)

I think one of the best things I did when I decided to work on Japanese, was to just do Pimsleur lessons for a few months before I ever looked in any written materials whatsoever. At that point I had a great, if incomplete, feel for the language and idea how to pronounce many of the core terms and from that point on it's just filling in gaps. The only problem with Pimsleur is that it can be boring, you are sometimes left wondering exactly what word you learned (since you can pronounce but aren't always sure how to spell), and that the vocab is a bit short ... but the vocab you do learn you will internalize quite well because you will hear and use it over and over (and over and over) again.

Pimsleur is boring, but if you're someone like me who drives a lot each day, it's probably the best thing you can do other than listening to the radio. I think one of the keys is to not listen all that carefully and just accept you might need to repeat a lesson 4 or 5 times before you move on. If you actually CARE and try to actively listen to everything while you have it playing you will get very bored, and it will still take 3 or more times to get a lesson down. By not caring and not putting any pressure on yourself you'll still get it although it might just take 1 or 2 more listens. Personally, I just put it on and passively listen 2 or 3 times not really caring whether I learn much or not, but by that time i will have incidentally learned most of the terms and then afterwards 1 or 2 more times of actually paying attention I'll be ready to move on to the next lesson. I find that cuts down on the frustration factor quite a bit.

I like Pimsleur. I definitely understand the critiques, but I don't think I've heard of anyone that said they went through all the tapes without saying that it was very beneficial. It just may be an exercise on your patience and discipline.


1 person has voted this message useful



fizzer
Newbie
United Kingdom
Joined 5304 days ago

17 posts - 25 votes
Speaks: English*
Studies: German, French

 
 Message 23 of 24
13 February 2010 at 1:04pm | IP Logged 
TheBiscuit wrote:
Paskwc wrote:
Asiafeverr wrote:
TheBiscuit wrote:
Nothing against Pimsleur but it's just so...
boring.

I found it quite entertaining to be in the shoes of an American man who asks random
ladies to go to his place and eat with him.


Perhaps the greatest post ever.

It may be. I LMAO. I think it's the relentless optimism in his tone of voice that just charms them right in.


I went through Pimsleur German in it's entirety, (and I am now well on the road to becoming a Pimsleur sex pest in French also). The protagonist in Linguaphone German is making more progress with the slutty daughter Renate after only 3 lessons than the hapless Pimsleur hero achieved in 90 lessons of stalking. He found out that she smokes - a fact she is hiding from her parents - and now she is going out to a club with him. Adult situations can't be far away.
1 person has voted this message useful



tractor
Tetraglot
Senior Member
Norway
Joined 5212 days ago

1349 posts - 2292 votes 
Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, Catalan
Studies: French, German, Latin

 
 Message 24 of 24
13 February 2010 at 1:28pm | IP Logged 
fizzer wrote:
I went through Pimsleur German in it's entirety, (and I am now well on the road to becoming a
Pimsleur sex pest in French also). The protagonist in Linguaphone German is making more progress with the slutty
daughter Renate after only 3 lessons than the hapless Pimsleur hero achieved in 90 lessons of stalking. He found
out that she smokes - a fact she is hiding from her parents - and now she is going out to a club with him. Adult
situations can't be far away.

He's Renate's cousin.


2 persons have voted this message useful



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