Danish (Compact) CD

Rating:
Summary: Brief introduction
Review: (My other review didn't seem to go through, so I'm trying again.) Pimsleur only offers a brief, basic introduction to Danish, unlike their programs for languages which are in more demand such as French and German. Their drills are excellent, some of the best I have tried, and teach you to spontaneously say the phrases. They focus on learning a few things thoroughly, rather than learning several things which you will forget later. They are especially good for an absolute beginner. But it is disappointing that they stop after only 10 lessons. The program teaches you to SPEAK Danish, NOT to READ it. The reading is limited, but also useful. It focuses on learning key phonetic spellings in Danish, which you can apply later when you learn to read and write the language. You will have to find other training materials if you want to go much beyond the "How-do-you-do's." I would like to see Pimsleur get philanthropic with us poor learners and offer the more obscure languages in more detail, even if there isn't a huge profit in it.

Rating:
Summary: Even I can learn Danish...
Review: I have tried many language learning programs, and this is the only one that has worked for me. You can listen to it during you commute, for about a week and a half, and not once need to look at a text book. Yet you still retain the new words and phrases. Pimsleurs goes over words you have already learned, and integrates them into the next lesson, so even if you have not mastered a lesson 100%, you can still move on the next lesson, learn new words, and strengthen your vocabulary from the previous lesson. I only wish there was a second edition of Pimsleurs Danish. This edition goes over very basic words and phrases, but there is a whole language out there, and this doesn't cover it.

Rating:
Summary: Oh, I so wish I could give this a better review.
Review: I've previously (and very successfully) learned Spanish using the Pimsleur CDs, so when I was planning a trip to Copenhagen to visit a friend, I was happy to get a hold of the Pimsleur Danish CDs.

Unfortunately, while the Pimsleur method is by far the most effective I've found for learning to speak a language (as opposed to reading it), the execution of the Pimsleur Danish is CD is substandard. The dialogues are not of the same quality of those used in the Spanish lessons, and the male speaker has a markedly Swedish, not Danish accent.

If you do try to use these to augment your Danish instruction, model your responses on the female speaker, not the male. My friend in Copenhagen is still teasing me about my Swedish accent.

One of my friends at work, who is married to a Dane, recommends Colloquial Danish as the best Danish instruction CD/book combo she's been able to find. That's where I'll be headed next...

Rating:
Summary: A very limited introduction to Danish
Review: Thank you to the others who posted reviews! Your information was a huge help. Once I knew the male voice wasn't Danish, I was able to "model" the female speaker and resolve the aural discrepancy. There's a marked difference in the pronunciation between the male and female speakers.

A friend recommends the Rosetta Stone language learning series as very good. No "pick-up" lines. Honestly, what was the writer of the Danish series thinking?
It's a real shame because the Pimsleur teaching method is sound: I was very surprised at how much I am retaining from the Pimsleur lessons, not only the vocabulary but the rules that govern the Danish language.

Rating:
Summary: Program is okay, don't expect too much. 2 1/2 stars
Review: The one thing that bugs me is that this program claims that after you go through these tapes you will "comfortably understand and speak at a beginner level." Now maybe they have much lower standards for their definition of "beginner level" but I definitely disagree with this statement-- you only really learn how to say a few sentences. Put it this way: after finishing these tapes I went and watched "Italian for Beginners" (Danish movie) and only understood ONE phrase without the subtitles (it was "I don't know"). So, I definitely do not consider myself even at beginner level! The reason I gave it 3 stars is because yes, it does teach you good pronunciation (when they say the phrases one piece at a time especially), and gets you accustomed to listening to Danish at least. Here is another random thing that was kind of annoying though: the tapes totally assume you are a man. They have you try to ask a girl out to dinner, etc... every time you are talking to someone, it is a woman. Every time they play back what YOU were supposed to say to her, it is a man's voice. Don't know why but it got irksome after a while (me not being a guy). If I had to recommend a good beginner's program to Danish, it would actually be some of the software out there, not the Pimsleur method. Software on CD-ROM is way more fun, and the words stick in your head better because you have visual cues/reinforcement as well as audio. Do a search in the "software" section of Amazon and you will find some good stuff (I especially recommend "Talk Now!" by EuroTalk).

Rating:
Summary: Abbreviated lessons in Danish
Review: The Pimsleur method is very easy and rewarding. The drills are excellent, and I am able to remember the phrases and say them spontaneously. However, the Pimsleur Danish program is a scaled down, basic introduction, not the complete course available in other languages. I have contacted three universities within fifty miles of my home to see if they teach Danish. Two said "no," and the third said "we only teach obscure languages if we have enough demand. Then we will find a teacher. Fill out a request." (If you are reading this review, there are at least two of us who want to learn this delightful language.) So I was very glad to get a program like Pimsleur that actually has me speaking simple, common phrases. This is a good introduction. But I am disappointed that I haven't found a complete course. By the way, you need to listen to native speakers to figure out Danish pronunciation, and this set uses native speakers.