Pimsleur Language Program: Russian

Rating:
Summary: I agree, These tapes rock!
Review: A friend of mine, and I decided to learn Russian as a bet. He had a tape set that just repeated unrelated words. I however; had the Pimsleur tapes. The next time we spoke, I had won the bet! [e-mail]

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Summary: Finally! A self-teaching Russian program that works!
Review: Finally! A Russian language program on cassette tape that teaches like a live teacher! No book required, so use it in the car. This program is very different from the usual repetition of unrelated sentences that are nearly impossible to memorize. Instead, a native speaker teaches you to pronounce the words, a syllable at a time. You say the words, then immediately begin to use them in conversations. The lessons provide a lot of review and reinforcement, while gradually introducing new vocabulary. The narrator, like a live teacher, keeps you involved by asking questions and telling you what to say. "How do you say, 'Excuse me'?" he'll ask, "Now ask, 'do you understand?'" At the end of the first 30-minute lesson, I amazed myself--I was able to repeat the short conversation with which the tape began. Before discovering the Pimsleur tapes, I'd tried three other programs--all of which I discarded without learning much of anything. I'd recommend the Pimsleur tapes to anyone trying to learn (or review) conversation in a foreign language on his or her own.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Program
Review: I needed to learn Russian quick, and these tapes seriously helped me. Except for two setbacks (there is no book, so you need to learn the Cyrillic alphabet seperately, and to continue you need to buy a seperate series of tapes) this is the best and fastest language program I have ever seen, and I have encountered a great deal of them. Paul Pimsleur deserves Kudos for his fine work and methods

Rating:
Summary: An excellent start...but beware!
Review: I studied Russian in college, but let my knowledge lapse. I love the language, and recently decided to refresh my skills. I went through three other audio programs before trying this one. The others were all "survival" and "travel" phrases that did nothing to help me regain my former abilities. This program's teaching style is excellent. Although I didn't learn much new vocabulary, it gave me outstanding practice at speaking and listening. However, what you're able to say after the eight lessons included in this program is pretty basic. Thus my caution... If you're really serious about learning Russian and want to do so with the Pimsleur method, you're going to have to buy not one, but two (or maybe three) complete 30-lesson programs that retail for around $345 each! It's probably worth it to a serious student and I'm leaning toward taking the plunge, so if you get hooked on the method, beware of the cost! Nevertheless, this introduction is an excellent way to discover if you want to learn more of this beautiful language.

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Summary: Looking forward to using the lessons in Russia!
Review: I'm going on a trip, and these tapes have really given me a base of conversational Russian to use while in the country. I am, however, trying to learn the alphabet on my own. Not all that easy. If you want to be able to communicate and do so quickly, these are the tapes for you.

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Summary: It works!
Review: It really works, I previously spoke almost no Russian aside from "yes" and "no." But wanted to learn more, so I checked out this set of tapes, and two others at the local library. Guess which one taught me better? No question, this one did. It really teaches you how to speak in an easy way, so with a little practice most people can pick it up. This is a great set of tapes.

Rating:
Summary: It works!
Review: It really works, I previously spoke almost no Russian aside from "yes" and "no." But wanted to learn more, so I checked out this set of tapes, and two others at the local library. Guess which one taught me better? No question, this one did. It really teaches you how to speak in an easy way, so with a little practice most people can pick it up. This is a great set of tapes.

Rating:
Summary: O'-cheen hah-rah-sho' (very good)
Review: Yes, the Pimsleur method does work! The eight lessons will give the listener a vocabulary of about 100 words, more than a few useful sentences, the ability to construct their own sentences, correct pronunciation (written Russian is not as phonetic as the books led me to believe), and a strong desire to find out more about this charming language.