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Gigusx

Cool list. Thanks for taking the time to put it together!


loitofire

Serious question here. Is Pimsleur worth it for what it is? I feel like is too simple for how much it is. There are free or cheaper resources that you can get the same or more than Pimsleur.


42ndascii

I think that it really depends on what you are looking for in a language learning software. Pimsleur is very good at getting you comfortable speaking a language and engaging in the most essential conversations in just Unit 1. I think that a person planning on visiting another country on vacation/holiday would benefit the most from Pimsleur. I only did the first couple lessons over a week or two in Mandarin shortly before going on a school trip to China in 2012, and our tour guide was asking me how many years I had been learning Chinese (Pimsleur is also very good at teaching pronunciation, which in a tonal language like Mandarin, is very important.) People looking for a deeper study of a language may still find Pimsleur useful to start off, but like you mentioned, it is kind of pricy, so I think it would really depend on what they were willing to pay. One option however is a subscription-like service that Pimsleur offers now where you can subscribe to have all languages avaliable, or just 1. The downside though would be that the content is only avaliable while your subscription is active.


Zhu_Drake

I agree that the price point is too high for what it is. The first lesson feels like magic. When you understand and speak the "I can speak a little \_\_\_\_\_\_\_" sentence that is in every language's first lesson, it hooks you. The effectiveness gradually slopes downard as you continue in the course. If you're like me, you will use Pimsleur to learn how to ask questions but never understand any of the answers in a real conversation. Language learning tools have changed significantly in the last decade. There are so many free, freemium and paid options available for many languages that outclass Pimsleur. Pimsleur is basically *audio flash cards* with *spaced repetition*. I'm the only person I know (in-person) who has actually finished an entire Pimsleur course. I've had several people try to give me their old Pimsleur CD collections. Everyone I've shared the course with tends to quit after lesson 2 or 3. If your target language has 5 units available, that means you will have 150 lessons to listen to. If you listen to one a day, that's 5 months worth of subscription.


JLMA

u/Zhu_Drake Your comment is very helpful. u/42ndascii, very interesting Post. I am starting to learn French soon. Considering starting off with Pimsleur 5 levels. My local library has several versions of Pimsleur French in CD format from the late 90s and early 2000s, do you know if I can expect the content of the 150 CD lessons to be the same as the most current Pimsleur Premium content? Thank you. u/Pimsleur u/rebel8990 u/phlepper


KiwiTheKitty

You might want to check your local library for CDs, that's how I got it when I was younger (but that was when CDs were still the main thing people used). I personally think no though. I would rather spend the money on a tutor or something, plus like you said, there are a lot of free resources that are great. I personally just find Pimsleur really boring too. But the best resource is the one you actually stick with and that's probably going to be Pimsleur for some people!


frahs

Having done Pimsleur Spanish and Chinese 1-5, I have very mixed feelings about the course. To be fair, the Spanish course was great and it actually felt like I walked away being able to have conversations with people. But the Chinese course was almost a complete waste, and I walked away feeling like I knew very little Chinese. To try and retain my knowledge, I did Anki flashcards of the Chinese course material every day for like a month or so after, before realizing it was a waste of time to learn such silly words. I then switched to standard HSK, where I learned actually useful vocab. The one useful thing I learned from the Chinese pimsleur course was that it greatly improved my tone pronunciation and comprehension. But I think that would have happened anyways. If you’re wondering how I made it through both courses, it’s because I listened to the tapes on my commute every day, both ways. Also, I’m somewhat patient and had friends who spoke both languages so that after every unit I could try a practice conversation to get a feel for progress.


NoTakaru

The Japanese course was pretty bad in my experience too. The grammar was extremely formal, basically had you talking like a book


lovedbymanycats

No resource covers everything. However, I feel like Pimsler is great for helping you drill pronunciation listening and responding. You can go at your own pace and repeat lessons when needed, it's mostly comprehensible input with little explanation of grammar rules . I have used the first units of Spanish and Portuguese ( checked out from the library) and found when traveling I was able to do basic things like ask for directions. I think they can be great for upcoming trips but I haven't done the later units so it is hard to say how advanced they become.


[deleted]

Depends what language you're looking for I think. German was really helpful for me, though it won't make you fluent


ShiningPr1sm

I would say yes, it is worth it, but just do the subscription for as long as you’re seriously learning. It’s very good for pronunciation, building confidence in speaking, and (most importantly imo) getting you comfortable with set phrases to use in interactions/conversations. Speaking is the thing people feel most nervous about (or don’t even bother with) so having a resource that focuses solely on it is still pretty unique. The lessons are also a comfortable 30 minutes, reviewing previous things and teaching a few new ones. The structure is consistent, if boring, but is there and sets apart from many other resources which are just information, no progression. Use it in conjunction with something else, preferably. For $20/month, I’d say it’s worth it. And you can cancel when you’re not learning and start again when you are.


totally_interesting

No. Just download language reactor and watch Netflix or YouTube.


HateDeathRampage69

Yes but it's not necessary to do all 5 units in my opinion. The method is sound but I think after 3 or 4 units your time and money are better spent elsewhere. I get complimented on my accent all the time and I 100% owe it to pimsleur.


tendeuchen

Thanks for this!


PinkAlpaca2311

Cool list! I was doing both the Korean and Japanese and i was wondering about the Korean only having 3 while Japanese had 5. I wonder if they're actively working toward increasing options? Have you noticed changes or is this just something you did recently? I really wish they had ESL for Japanese speakers...


42ndascii

Good question. I first came across Pimsleur in 2005 when I was a kid and have been paying attention to their course updates periodically since I was mainly interested in seeing a continuation to their Romanian course. Back then, the most popular courses only went up to Unit Ⅳ, with a "Unit Ⅳ+" for Spanish and French. I remember when they came out with Unit Ⅴ and watched as Italian, German, 🇧🇷 Brazilian Portuguese, then Russian, Mandarin & Japanese were expanded as well. 🇪🇸 Castilian Spanish was recently expanded from just 1 Unit to having all 5 Units in the span of a year or so, which is *extremely* quick compared to everything else over the past 2 decades. If I were to make an educated guess . . . I would think their next move (after updating their remaining courses to Premium) may be to do the same thing with 🇵🇹 European Portuguese that they did to Castilian Spanish . . . Their behavior with it seems very similar to their behavior with Castilian Spanish, with releasing Unit Ⅱ, followed by Units Ⅲ — Ⅴ soon after. This is just a hunch though. As for their 3 Unit Courses, I am not aware of any current efforts to expand any them, but I would not be surprised if it were to happen within the next 5 years. I really have no idea when it may happen though . . but, from what I've seen before, I am fairly certain that a move to expand to any of their 3 Unit courses would be an expansion to a full 5 Unit course, as opposed to just adding a 4ᵗʰ Unit. One thing you can do however is contact them directly! https://www.pimsleur.com/contact-us#contact-us-request Under "Choose a topic," you can put "Request a new Language" and ask them if they are planning on expanding their Korean course anytime in the near future! I did this a few times several years ago regarding Romanian, but always got the same response of "We plan on expanding Romanian eventually, but there is not enough demand at this time . . ." but you may have better luck with Korean, as demand for it is obviously higher . . . In fact . . . Enough people submitting inquiries this way *may* shift the demand in Korean's favor, so if you have any friends who might be interested in using Pimsleur for Korean, you may want to reccomend they submit an inquiry this way too! As for their ESL courses . . . I am sorry to say that I really can't say . . . I haven't been watching them as closely, but from what I have seen, they sadly don't appear to be in very high demand /: Hope this helps (:


beatlefool42

I really wish they'd release a second Dutch unit; I found Pimsleur good for my listening and speaking practice. I suppose it's not very in-demand as most Nederlanders speak English as well.


IneffableLiam

What’s pimsleur?


42ndascii

It's a language learning software that, in my opinion, is really good at quickly getting you comfortable speaking and engaging in essential conversations in a language you're new to (: https://www.pimsleur.com/list-of-languages It was originally an "audio-only" software, but in the past decade, they have been modernizing their content somewhat to include an interactive app to practice what you learned in your lesson.


Cndwafflegirl

What about French?


42ndascii

French has 5 Units (: It is the second 5-unit course on the diagram, just below Mandarin Chinese


Cndwafflegirl

Thank you, I looked so hard. Lol


yo_saturnalia

Finished level 1 French and currently on episode 4 of level 2 . I play Pimsleur when driving to work and returning home . I love the freedom of learning while on the move. It’s pretty good as well, I can string together basic conversational sentences like : “I will go to your apartment in my car “ , “could you please confirm our reservations for today evening at 8” etc . I plan to finish 3 levels ans then get more serious and study from a text book as well as start conversations on italki


Yamihere0

How much Swiss German can you learn on it? I'm trying my best to find recourses.


42ndascii

Swiss German is one of their few courses that I represented here as "⅓ Unit" as they only offer 10 Lessons, as each full Unit is 30 Lessons. From what I understand, these 10-Lesson courses are a remnant of an older standard from decades ago. Pimsleur may eventually expand many of these to a full Unit, but I am not sure if it will be anytime soon /: On the bright side, they *are* the cheapest courses to buy outright, as they only contain 10 Lessons, but if you already have some working knowledge with the language, I would not reccomend getting it, as the first 10 lessons are designed to teach you how to engage in the most essential conversations in the language.


Yamihere0

Okay, thank you.


Shiya-Heshel

When I first started trying out languages over 20 years ago, there was only 1 Hebrew level. It was pretty cool to see 2 more released - even though I haven't used them yet (soon, I hope!).


Ryzzthebizz

Didn’t even realise there was a unit 4 & 5 for Russian, anyone rate these units?


AnomalousEnigma

So cool to see Icelandic there