Rating: 
Summary: a few tips
Review: I'm currently using Pimsleur to learn Japanese and Cantonese, and I'm thrilled with my progress. Pimsleur has a truly effective system for learning language painlessly and effectively. ...Here's how to make equal progress on just one listening: Each time you're prompted to come up with an answer on your own, *stop the tape* and give yourself time to think before you get interrupted by the soundtrack. If the tape gives you the answer before you've come up with an answer yourself, you haven't learned anything...
Rating: 
Summary: Fairly satisfied
Review: I've completed Pimsleur 2 and 3. Although I feel the programs have the right approach, Level 3 should have been more difficult. There was a considerable amount of redundancy between level 2 and 3...... IMO you can always go back and listen to level 2, level 3 should have moved on. Some of the dialogue should have even been covered in level 1, not levels 2 or 3.
New students NEED a grammar book.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Single Program
Review: I've read several reviews from folks slightly annoyed with what the Pimsleur course is lacking. If you are studying a language academically, and plan to become a book editor, etc. then they have a good point. Otherwise, language is first and foremost spoken and auditory. How did you learn your first language? BY LISTENING AND REPEATING! That is how our brains are wired. The Pimsleur courses are the only ones to embrace this certainty and gear themselves toward our natural abilities. When you put aside your preconceptions about proper grammatical structure in the past imperfect tense (yada yada yada...), you realize that you could speak and understand your first language fluently before you could read a single word. This is the order in which languages should be learned. Pimsleur can be used one of two ways. A) To give you an amazingly strong ability to communicate conversationally in a very short period of time. If you are planning a trip to a foreign country, I can't recommend Pimsleur enough to further enrich your experience. B) To be the first step in thoroughly learning a new language. You won't be a gramatical expert, nor will you understand all the rules simply from Pimsleur. You will, however, know what sounds right. You will have developed an ear for proper grammar, pronunciation, and conjugation. Further studies will be far simpler because the rules will make sense the minute you learn them. This said, I've done several programs (I have a considerable commute) and can comfortably converse in all languages. The proof is in the pudding, so to speak!
Rating:
Summary: The Best Single Program
Review: I've read several reviews from folks slightly annoyed with what the Pimsleur course is lacking. If you are studying a language academically, and plan to become a book editor, etc. then they have a good point. Otherwise, language is first and foremost spoken and auditory. How did you learn your first language? BY LISTENING AND REPEATING! That is how our brains are wired. The Pimsleur courses are the only ones to embrace this certainty and gear themselves toward our natural abilities. When you put aside your preconceptions about proper grammatical structure in the past imperfect tense (yada yada yada...), you realize that you could speak and understand your first language fluently before you could read a single word. This is the order in which languages should be learned. Pimsleur can be used one of two ways. A) To give you an amazingly strong ability to communicate conversationally in a very short period of time. If you are planning a trip to a foreign country, I can't recommend Pimsleur enough to further enrich your experience. B) To be the first step in thoroughly learning a new language. You won't be a gramatical expert, nor will you understand all the rules simply from Pimsleur. You will, however, know what sounds right. You will have developed an ear for proper grammar, pronunciation, and conjugation. Further studies will be far simpler because the rules will make sense the minute you learn them. This said, I've done several programs (I have a considerable commute) and can comfortably converse in all languages. The proof is in the pudding, so to speak!
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