Rating: 
Summary: Excellent, but prohibitively expensive
Review: I have lived and worked in a Russian speaking country for the past two years. When I arrived I had a relative send me Russian I. I found the process of speaking and listening and repeating very effective and even caught myself thinking in Russian after working through tapes. I would hear things on the street then hear them in the lessons and think, gee, so that's what that means. I quickly developed an ability to take the grammar framework and plug new words in. The speakers on the tapes enunciated clearly and at a perfect rate for me to develop new skills. In my opinion the program works as advertised.My only complaints are that the language was a little more formal than what I needed in my particular situation and the lessons were too expensive for me to afford Russian II or III, which could have helped me a great deal.
Rating: 
Summary: May not be your thing if you are a visual learner
Review: I have studied four Asian languages to the advanced level in the last two decades, and decided to learn Russian with this system recently. I concede that the Pimsleur system is unique and innovative and very well organized. However, I believe that persons like myself, who study languages with great emphasis on absorbing new material visually and rely heavily on written text for memorization of vocabulary, absorbing grammar rules, and review of previously studied material, would do better with a well-written, convential textbook/cassette format. I believe the Pimsleur system is a great tool for listening and speaking proficiency, but I question how proficient a person will become at reading and writing the language through this system. If you do not have the time nor patience to sit down with a textbook, and would prefer to learn through vocal imitation of audio cues, by all means purchase this course. For those of us who favor a structured system that contains sections covering and explaining grammar and verb conjugation, etc., best go elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Could be better
Review: I really like the Pimsleur method and have been successful with several of their programs but this one (Russian I) falls short of their typical quality, in my opinion. The material presented is good but the pace is a little fast for the complex pronunciation required. After a few lessons it is often difficult to determine just what the speakers are saying unless you listen very carefully. If you try to listen while driving, this is often impossible. The main problem I have found is with the male Russian speaker. He frequently slurs the words in a nasal tone or speaks so fast you cannot quite tell what he's saying. He also frequently pronounces the words and phrases a little differently from the female speaker and often differently from his previous attempts. When so much emphasis is placed on the intonation and pronunciation in order to speak comprehensibly, it should be imperative that the native speakers enunciate and speak at a pace a beginner can follow. Pimsleur really should produce a 4th edition and replace this male speaker with one who can be consistent with the female and speak at a beginner's pace...and be clear when he speaks. This guy just sounds drunk. After 6 lessons I've gotten so fed up with him I can barely get through the lesson.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful Way to Learn a Language
Review: I travel a great deal and need to know a variety of languages. Russian was a challenge! The Pimsleur tapes (I've done Russian I and II and Spanish I) allowed me to go to St. Petersburg and feel relatively comfortable conversing in the language. With this method, phrases come to me during normal speech. It is truly an amazing technique. The tapes are well worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful system ... but questionable grammar...
Review: No one in these reviews has touched on the questionable grammar introduced in these tapes... Perhaps these people have not gone on or tried to put their Russian into practice (indeed it is unlikely that someone they don't know will try to correct them on a trip), but I have continually had to 'relearn' certain mistakes in these tapes which were riddled throughout the series. This ranges from things which I have been told are 'unnatural' in conversation to downright ungrammatical. However either should be considered unacceptable, as in an AUDIO course with emphasis on speaking, I would expect emphasis to be on natural, conversational Russian. Also, many subjects of grammar are 'danced over', and never fully explained grammatically...I realize length of time prohibits this, but I as someone interested in grammar, I would have found it easier for a quick explanation, such as a word is in 'accusitive' form, rather than have them make up some 'layman's' explanation that I have to try to interpret, only to find out ultimately the concept was quite simple. All in all, this series is a WONDERFUL way to learn language...my attention was always kept and after completing just halfway through the second series, I already feel that I can convey some very simple things with my Russian... ...the only problem is that it's not entirely CORRECT Russian...
Rating:
Summary: # of times I listened to each CD
Review: Pimsleur is absolutely fantastic. I won't repeat what everyone else has said about it except to add that I actually listened to each lesson (2 lessons in each CD) on average 4 times. [This is my 4th language but the first I've learnt using Pimsleur]. I'm now finishing Pimsleur 2 and it's taken me about 14 months so far. I can't imagine anyone listening to a lesson less than twice, so it would almost have to be a minimum of say 2.5 times per lesson...
Rating:
Summary: Some1 finally got it right(enough)!
Review: Thank heavens. No sound effects (beeps, tones, gongs, etc., and perhaps best of all, NO ringing telephones), NO time-wasting lead-in music, NO smarmy "study tips"([condescending British-accented announcer: "don't study all atwunce--if you should become fatigued whilst studying, engage in lively conversation with friends, take brisk walks, or undertake an invigorating exercise regimen..." [Ahhh! PLEASE STOP!]), NO "culture capsules"("the _____s are a warm and friendly people..."), NO time-wasting self-promo's("Acme Educationla Products, the finest...with over x-million copies..." [AHHH!]). Nothing but practice! Some may lament the lack of written material, but this set has it's place. The only course on par with Pimsleur is ISBN-less/UPC code-less "Audio Forum" (tell Amazon you want 'em on here!).
Rating:
Summary: If you goal is to actually be able to converse in Russian
Review: The Pimsleur method strives to condition your mind first with the comprehension of words and phrases spoken by native speakers and to allow you to quickly form a response without puzzling over complex grammar rules. Secondly it strives to enable your spoken words to be pronounced correctly with the correct inflection. The concept is that most conversations in any language consist of only a few hundred words and that most people speak using common phrases or word groupings. If you learn the overall meaning of a phrase, or word grouping, you are able to comprehend what is being said even when the words seem to run together and preemptively anticipate a response. This contributes to a greater fluency of the language and provides an excellent foundation to build on. If your goal is to be able to converse in Russian this program is for you as long as your expectations are realistic. At the end of the programs I, II and III, if you are diligent, you should have a good foundation of spoken Russian on which to increase your fluency. What is more important is that you will have a good "feel" for the language and chances are you will get compliments on your accent. Some of the complaints in other reviews are that there is no printed lesson book that comes with the program to teach how to read Cyrillic Russian and that the accent of the male speaker is difficult to understand. If you wish to learn to read Russian as well it would be necessary to supplement this course with another more traditional course that emphasizes reading skills. Pimsleur does not claim to fill this need but rather focuses on being able to converse. As far as the male speaker goes, I have encountered more people on the streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg who speak with his accent than the female speaker's accent. In addition it is my impression that there is more than one male and more than one female speaker. There seems to be an attempt to familiarize the student with more than one accent and thus increase fluency. This is more of an advantage rather than a weakness.
Rating:
Summary: An Outstanding Method
Review: This is an outstanding method for learning Russian. I listen to these tapes when commuting and supplement them with some self-study books. I've had native Russian speakers compliment me on my accurate pronunciation and I have these tapes to thank.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: This is the best audio only series I've ever seen. I love it. I've tried many of the others and they all not good[]. This is the frist series that I've really felt I'm learning something. I agree with the reviews that say that it has a limited scope, if you want an "learn everything" Russian series, this isn't it. You will still need to learn to read Russian, but for an audio only series, I haven't found better. This is the best place to start and after series I, you should be primed to learn the alphabet and some written stuff. Well worth the money, as hard as that is to accept. I've wasted more than the price of this series trying to find something that was good for me.
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