Pimsleur Review An Honest Look at the Classic Language Learning Program

Pimsleur Review An Honest Look at the Classic Language Learning Program Pimsleur Review: An Honest Look at the Classic Language Learning Program Sometimes you dont feel particularly adventurous.You just want to order the burger and fries, stay in your pajamas all day  or re-watch your favorite movie.Pimsleur is like that.People may tell you its not particularly exciting, but theres something comfortable about it, even if youve never used it before.This isnt to say that learning a language with Pimsleur couldnt be the start of a fantastic adventure.Frodo and Sam had to do some walking just to make their way out of the Shire, after all.In this post, well look at the Pimsleur program, including the logistics of using it, who can benefit from it and how to get started. Pimsleur Review: An Honest Look at the Classic Language Learning ProgramThis post includes affiliate links that will earn us a commission if you click on them and make a purchase (at no additional cost to you). All products and services are thoroughly tested. We provide an honest review based on our experience and not influenced by commissions.Pimsleur language p rograms, which are based on a method of language learning developed by scholar Paul Pimsleur, have been around for a long time. They havent changed much and people still buy them.You could attribute this to the Pimsleur name having gained ground back when there was less competition in the language learning market and having just stuck around, sure. However, while name recognition probably figures into why people are drawn to the product, Im inclined to think that Pimsleurs continued popularity has more to do with the fact that people often prefer a very straightforward learning method.People dont always want the latest technology for everything, at least not all the time. For example, I spend plenty of time watching videos on YouTube, but if I click on a news article and a video starts playing as soon as I navigate to the page, I go nope and back out as quickly as I can. Theres a time and a place for everything, and sometimes its nice to know exactly what to expect.Lets look at what you can expect with Pimsleur.The Pimsleur Program: What You Get and How It WorksFirst of all, Pimsleur has traditionally been one of the pricier language learning options that you can go for, but they sometimes run sales with fairly deep discounts on their website, and they now offer monthly plans that make their lessons more affordable.You can either purchase lessons by the level or in smaller increments on CD or MP3, with one level of 30 lessons priced at around $120 on MP3 and CDs costing around three times that amount (CD level sets come with a reading booklet).Alternatively, you can access all audio lessons for a particular language for around $15 per month  and Pimsleur Premium, with supplementary materials like flashcards, for around $20 per month. These options, which come with a seven-day free trial, make Pimsleur more accessible to people who dont have hundreds of dollars to spend on language learning in the near future, and they also make it so you dont actually have to buy the products.The exact options available vary somewhat by language, though, as do the number of levels available.Regardless of how you access Pimsleur lessons, heres what you get:30-minute audio lessons. Pimsleur programs are split up into audio segments of around 30 minutes that focus on basic speaking scenarios. While you can theoretically go through these lessons however quickly or slowly you want to, I would say from my own experience that it makes the most sense to do one per day and to try not to skip days if you can help it. Pimsleur recommends that you master around at least 80% of the material in a lesson before moving on to the next one, and you can repeat lessons if you feel you havent mastered them sufficiently.Speaking prompts. The lessons contain speaking prompts that instruct you to repeat after a native speaker to learn the pronunciation of a word or phrase, to repeat a phrase youve learned earlier in the lesson or to try to construct a new phrase by piecing toge ther vocabulary youve learned. This integrates Pimsleurs principle of anticipation, the idea that systematic prompting and reinforcement of certain knowledge hardwires that knowledge into your brain.Core vocabulary. Pimsleur focuses on basic vocabulary first, operating under the idea that overloading on vocabulary slows down the learning process. This means that the lessons contain a lot of repetition and are more geared towards teaching you how to effectively use a limited amount of language than teaching you more words.Spaced repetition. Spaced repetition is a widespread concept that has to do with learning information at intervals spaced further and further apart over a period of time to aid memorization. Pimsleurs version of this is called graduated interval recall and is built into their lessons. Essentially, theres consideration given to the vocabulary you learn in each lesson and how often that vocabulary is repeated in subsequent lessons.Now lets look at some advantages of u sing the programs. Before we get started, Id just like to say that the observations below are based on my own experience using Pimsleur to differing degrees for different languages over a number of years.Ive generally found Pimsleur to be useful, but I havent often used it as a primary means of study. Others, especially those who have used it exclusively over a longer period of time, may have had different experiences, but Ive tried to consider as many angles as possible.Advantages of PimsleurIts hands-free and convenient.This might be a big deal if you just dont have the time to sit down and use a program that requires your hands and full attention. This isnt to say that Pimsleur programs arent mentally demandingâ€"they require a certain level of concentration, and you cant go on autopilot.However, you can use them while doing mindless chores, walking, driving or lying on a couch with your eyes closed. I would add that all of these scenarios might not be possible for everyone and y ou should probably consider how easily distracted you are before driving with Pimsleur, for example. But that goes for just about any kind of audio program or entertainment, and the convenience of the program may be a huge selling point for some people.Of course, because of Pimsleurs heavy focus on speaking, you probably wouldnt want to use the programs on public transportation or anything like that unless you want to be really annoying.Youll learn practical language.Pimsleur lessons generally revolve around common travel situations and use basic phrases that can be put to multiple uses.Theyre completely conversation-based  in that a lesson will begin with a dialogue, which is then dissected to teach the vocabulary in it so that you can understand the exchange by the end of the lesson. This means that youre not going to waste time learning isolated vocabulary or language that you wouldnt be able to use in an actual conversation.It can aid in speaking confidence.Perhaps the biggest a dvantage to Pimsleurs particular audio lesson format is that you can put yourself in a situation where youre forced to speak without actually interacting with anyone. The prompts make your physical reactions to the language more automatic, which makes you feel more prepared to go to places where you might need to use the language.Using Pimsleur can also feel exciting because you realize that with some relatively gentle direction, youre actually putting together the pieces of the language on your own as you speak it out loud. The program is teaching you, but youre doing the actual work of integrating the language into your speech patterns yourself, and when you see this, it can be a huge confidence booster.While, overall, Pimsleur is probably best used consistently and over a longer period of time, I think that even using it inconsistently or over a shorter period of time can be helpful in this regard.It can aid in long-term memorization.If you use Pimsleur consistently, it will help with the retention of words and phrases, and the nice thing about this is that you dont have to do your own planning or strategizing for how to memorize things. You can just commit to a certain amount of time spent with the lessons, and youll see progress that will likely stick with you.According to a study done at Columbia University, Pimsleur programs show major strengths in promoting noticing, awareness and longer memory retention (italics mine).Possible Downsides of Pimsleur (and How to Offset Them)Like any program, Pimsleur comes with its downsides, but many of these arent so much reasons not to use the program as factors to be aware of and take into consideration. Overall, Pimsleur is limited in what it teaches and does, but it can still be a very useful part of your language learning.There isnt much variety of speech, and you may not always find the material thrilling.One of the biggest general criticisms of Pimsleur is that its boring. Many of the scenarios, while useful, a re rather dry and can tend towards overly-formal.What balances this out somewhat is the excitement of getting to speak and seeing your speech and understanding come together as you learn to navigate your way around the language. Considering how intense the speaking requirements of Pimsleur are, Im not sure that youd necessarily want the subject matter to be too fascinating, as this might prove distracting and intimidating.At the same time, I imagine there might be room for them to improve the product in the future.However, Pimsleur gives you practical tools to apply elsewhere, and theres nothing stopping you from doing so at any time.This is why I would recommend combining or following Pimsleur with authentic materials, like those found on FluentU. FluentU takes real-world videosâ€"like movie trailers, music videos, news and inspiring talksâ€"and turns them into personalized language lessons.FluentU offers exciting content through a vast video library and uses learning features, lik e interactive subtitles, to reinforce the material. You can click on any word or phrase to find out more about it and see it used in other videos. You can also add content to customized vocabulary lists and flashcard sets for further practice. Sign up for a free trial to see the program in action for yourself!Pimsleur is like the glue that holds the main materials, the real substance, of a language together. While the scenarios in Pimsleurs lessons are practical, they arent necessarily realistic, but they give you a foundational understanding of the language that you can take to programs and resources that are more in-your-face with the language as its actually spoken.It might be anxiety-provoking for some!Foreign language anxiety is real, and Pimsleur will ignite some learners tendencies towards perfectionism. The anticipation of being quizzed on the material and the mental scramble to remember what youve learned can cause you to tense up and worry about getting everything right. T he program makes some strides towards discouraging a perfectionist attitudeâ€"for example, with their assertion that you only need to master 80% of the material before moving onâ€"but its still easy to feel discouraged if you havent mastered that 80%.One thing thats helped me immeasurably with using audio-prompt programs in general is learning shadowing. The general concept behind shadowing, which I dont think of as a language learning approach so much as a language learning skill, is that rather than listening to a speaker and repeating after them, you just start repeating immediately. Rather than overdoing your pronunciation, you simply lean into the speakers voice and let your voice be guided by theirs. This can help your speaking become more relaxed and automatic.Another solution to audio-prompt anxiety might be to do something with your hands while listening to a Pimsleur lesson. Washing dishes, crocheting, playing a predictable and largely visual game on your phone These activ ities can all keep you from focusing on your own speaking too intensely and help you respond to the prompts as if they, too, are a predictable and inconsequential game, which isnt so far from the truth.It doesnt teach you grammar explicitly.Pimsleur gives you a good foundation of practical grammar usage, but it doesnt generally explain actual grammar rules to you.Of course, counteracting this is simple: There are plenty of good foreign language textbooks  out there that you can use as a supplement to a resource like Pimsleur.Also, how much this factor really matters may depend on whether youve studied other languages before and, if so, which languages. Before writing this review, I tried out a Pimsleur lesson for Brazilian Portuguese, a language Ive only studied very minimally and wouldnt say I knew at all. There were some concepts introduced within this lesson that mightve prompted questions for me if I hadnt already learned French and studied other Romance languages. But because I had, I didnt feel that I needed to have the grammar explained to me.On the other hand, the one time I did try to use Pimsleur as a primary means of study, it was for Russian, a language fairly unrelated to others Id studied before. While I did feel that it helped me build a foundation and an understanding of some basic phrasesâ€"and maybe helped me get started on the language in a less intimidating wayâ€"I definitely felt that I needed to buy some books and get into the actual workings of Russian after that.Ultimately, theres no simple answer as to whether a program should incorporate grammar directly, and its fine to wait and see how you react to a no-grammar approach before considering a change or upgrade to your learning method.Vocabulary is limited.Along with there not being much variety in the type of speech you hear, the actual number of vocab words in Pimsleurs programs is limited, which, as weve already touched on, is something that Pimsleur does intentionally. I dont think this is necessarily a problem, particularly for complete beginners, as theres only so much language you can absorb at once anyway. But, not having a broader range of vocabulary will ultimately limit how far you can progress in a language.The lack of input in the Pimsleur programs, along with a lack of actual interaction, is one of the downsides brought up in the Columbia University study mentioned earlier.Again, authentic materials can be a good way to combat this issue. You can also greatly supplement your Pimsleur learning and improve the interaction element by practicing your speaking with exchange partners.Even if you dont have a regular partner, you can always use language exchange apps to get in some quick conversation practice.Who Benefits the Most from Pimsleur?So, taking the above into consideration, who should Pimsleur work best for?Busy people who don’t have time to devote specifically to learning.Pimsleur is undoubtedly a time-saver if you can do it while driving, doi ng chores or doing any kind of work that doesnt require a lot of brainpower. For that reason, it can be a great option for people who are looking for a serious language learning program that doesnt require them to stop everything in order to use it.Those who need a regular language routine they dont have to figure out themselves.While creative and self-directed language learning can be a lot of fun, it can also take up a lot of energy. Not everyone wants to spend time planning or messing around with different learning methods. This isnt to say that Pimsleur is necessarily an all-in-one solution, but its a way to start learning a language that requires little thought outside of the actual 30 minutes you spend doing each lesson.Learners who are blind, have low vision or want to limit visual learning for other reasons.Obviously, audio programs in general are going to be a better choice for people for whom visual learning isnt an option. But, a lot of audio programs are paired with text or other visuals. With Pimsleur, visual learning is optional, and the audio is truly self-contained and comprehensive, making it a genuinely good choice for people who need to do all or the majority of their learning through audio.Aside from those who arent able to learn visually at all, people who suffer from migraines or other conditions that limit sight temporarily or are exacerbated by too much visual strain might find Pimsleur helpful.Limiting visual learning can actually be a good move for a number of reasons, even if its not something that you strictly need to do. If youre a really dedicated language learner or if you have a job that requires a lot of time reading or spent in front of a screen, integrating audio into your daily routine, even just for a half-hour, can give you a much-needed break that might prevent headaches and stress and even help you think more clearly.People who need to learn language basics for travel in a short period of time.Again, every language learn ing program has something of a limited range, and Pimsleur most benefits those who want to pick up the basics of speaking a language quickly. Phrasebooks, textbooks, classroom learning and all-around programs meant for long-term use all come with their own advantages but might not give you the laser focus on mastering practical speaking in a short(ish) period of time that Pimsleur does.Pimsleur is a solid classic for a reason, and for many people, it may be the simplest, most obvious and most comfortable solution.And sometimes its okay to just go with what feels right.Elisabeth Cook is a freelance writer who enjoys pondering how to make language learning more relaxing. You can find her on Twitter (@CooksChicken).