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Pimsleur with other forms of learning | ||
Tags: Pimsleur | Learning Technique/Method | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| Oyster2004 Newbie United States Joined 4548 days ago 13 posts - 13 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Dari, French | Message 1 of 13 19 December 2011 at 12:35am | IP Logged | |||||
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With Pimsleur language courses, it mentions not to refer to any other means of learning the target language because it will disrupt the learning process.
Has anyone ignored this and used other courses, books, dictionaries along with Pimsleur? Would you recommend doing this or not and how did it effect your learning, memory, and/or pronunciation of the language? Thanks 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| hrhenry Octoglot Senior Member United States languagehopper.blogs Joined 4941 days ago 1871 posts - 3642 votes  Speaks: English*, SpanishC2, ItalianC2, Norwegian, Catalan, Galician, Turkish, Portuguese Studies: Polish, Indonesian, Ojibwe | Message 2 of 13 19 December 2011 at 12:55am | IP Logged | |||||
I can really only speak for Pimsleur Turkish. It was the first thing I used to get into Turkish and it helped a lot. BUT... I had absolutely no exposure to Turkish before, and it was a decent introduction to the language. It got me used to hearing short Turkish sentences. I then went on to use Teach Yourself Turkish (which I found sort of mind-boggling mid-way through the course), then FSI Turkish. After I'd completed those two courses, after some time had passed I went back and re-listened to Pimsleur. I had a lot of "Aha! THAT'S why they taught X the way they did" moments. And it served as more reinforcement for everything else I'd learned after. I see you're currently studying French and Dari, so I don't know which language you're using Pimsleur for. I would think that there would be better options for French out there, though. I have no idea what else would be available for Dari. In any case, when I was using Pimsleur Turkish, that's all I was using. I don't feel like it slowed me down, rather it was just the first step of many to be taken. R. == 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Elexi Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5376 days ago 938 posts - 1839 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 3 of 13 19 December 2011 at 2:07am | IP Logged | |||||
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All the time - I look up grammar books and dictionaries to get a better grip on the points being 'taught' in the
Pimsleur lesson. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Jarvis1000 Diglot Groupie United States want2speakthai.com Joined 4699 days ago 74 posts - 101 votes Speaks: English*, Thai Studies: Spanish | Message 4 of 13 19 December 2011 at 3:12am | IP Logged | |||||
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I don't use pimsleur, but one that was done in the same style which is Learning Spanish like crazy. I am actually using it plus many others. Why because they emphasize different things. Its like doing sit ups every day. Yes it will work your abs, but why not do other exercises as well.
Does it mean I don't complete the course in the same "time period" they advertise? Yes, but my goal isn't to be able to complete a course. My goal is to speak fluently. So yes, even though I can't speak from personal experience with pimsleur, I never depend on just one source of language study. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| srh9592 Newbie United States Joined 5515 days ago 14 posts - 15 votes Studies: French, Spanish | Message 5 of 13 02 January 2012 at 10:15pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Like you, I'm currently learning French. I used Pimsleur for German and I'm now using Pimsleur for French. I like Pimsleur a lot... it's very basic but it get's you speaking right away. I'm using Pimsleur in combination with Fluenz. I do Pimsleur in the car during my daily commute and spend an hour every night on my laptop doing Fluenz. The programs are very different from each other (all audio with no grammar explanation (Pimsleur) vs. computer based/grammar explanations/typing answers/etc. (Fluenz)). Fluenz is expensive, but if you can afford it, I like this approach. I'd also like to start using French in Action, but I currently don't have the free time for a third program and FIA is more advanced (imo). I'll start using FIA once I get through Fluenz.
Bottom line: If you have the time, I recommend another program in conjunction. I'd suggest you block off different parts of the day for each program (like taking two different classes in college) and decide which program is your top priority. For the first 90 days, I'd have the Pimsleur lesson as your top priority. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| joesoefkalla Newbie Indonesia Joined 4523 days ago 22 posts - 22 votes Studies: English | Message 6 of 13 02 January 2012 at 11:14pm | IP Logged | |||||
Yup, I agree, FLUENZ French is quite good. 
Anyway, have you tried Rosetta Stone French as well? Edited by joesoefkalla on 02 January 2012 at 11:14pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| LpMagilicutty Newbie United States Joined 5998 days ago 24 posts - 26 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Mandarin, Tagalog, German, Italian, French | Message 7 of 13 02 January 2012 at 11:51pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I have a new respect for Pimsleur. I finally learned how to use it without making myself crazy. In my
opinion, with Pimsleur the idea is to focus on the spoken language. If the words are looked up it may influence the pronounciation. I am using Pimsleur Chinese and I found that because i don't see the words, even in my mind, I am able to hear the subtle differences between the pronunciation of the pinyin and the same-looking English letters. Not that one couldn't use another method in conjunction with Pimsleur. Just be aware that the written form will have an influence. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| leosmith Senior Member United States Joined 6361 days ago 2365 posts - 3804 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Tagalog | Message 8 of 13 03 January 2012 at 1:51pm | IP Logged | |||||
This notion that using other materials along side Pimsleur is damaging is essentially false. That is, unless these other studies keep you from doing Pimsleur lessons daily, or if you pause Pimsleur to look up words, try to pre-learn all the vocabulary, etc. There are certainly ways to mess up Pimsleur by using other materials illogically, but saying that there is some sort of mysterious bad thing that happens to you if you use other materials at all is false. Most people here agree that using a transcript with Pimsleur is a good idea. There are going to be times when your ears aren't good enough for you to nail down every consonant or vowel sound. I especially recommend learning the basics of pinyin and using a transcript to know exactly what you're listening to with Pimsleur Mandarin. Rule of thumb - the more unlike your native language the pronunciation is, the more you will need a transcript. Working through Mandarin and trying to pronounce everything correctly without getting a handle on pinyin is very difficult and inefficient. That being said, it's possible to mess up a Pimsleur lesson by using a transcript, if you use it illogically. For example, pre- learning anything on it, or trying to use it any time except after you have done the lesson is a bad idea. 3 persons have voted this message useful |
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