Product Description

HEAR IT, LEARN IT, SPEAK IT®

What is the Pimsleur® difference?

The Pimsleur Method provides the most effective language-learning program ever developed. The Pimsleur Method gives you quick command of Swedish structure without tedious drills. Learning to speak Swedish can actually be enjoyable and rewarding.

The key reason most people struggle with new languages is that they aren't given proper instruction, only bits and pieces of a language. Other language programs sell only pieces -- dictionaries; grammar books and instructions; lists of hundreds or even thousands of words and definitions; audios containing useless drills. They leave it to you to assemble these pieces as you try to speak. Pimsleur enables you to spend your time learning to speak the language rather than just studying its parts.

When you were learning English, could you speak before you knew how to conjugate verbs? Of course you could. That same learning process is what Pimsleur replicates. Pimsleur presents the whole language as one integrated piece so you can succeed.

With Pimsleur you get:

• Grammar and vocabulary taught together in everyday conversation,

• Interactive audio-only instruction that teaches spoken language organically,

• The flexibility to learn anytime, anywhere,

• 30-minute lessons designed to optimize the amount of language you can learn in one sitting.

Millions of people have used Pimsleur to gain real conversational skills in new languages quickly and easily, wherever and whenever -- without books, written exercises, or drills.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #58447 in Books
• Published on: 2005-12-26
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 5
• Binding: Audio CD

Features

• ISBN13: 9780743550567
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Dr. Pimsleur devoted his life to language teaching and was one of the world's leading experts in applied linguistics. After obtaining his Ph.D. in French from Columbia University, he taught French Phonetics and Phonemics, and supervised the language laboratory at UCLA. He went on to become Professor of Romance Languages and Language Education, and Director of The Listening Center at Ohio State University; Professor of Education and Romance Languages at the State University of New York at Albany; and a Fulbright lecturer at the University of Heidelberg. Dr. Pimsleur was a member of the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF), American Educational Research Association (AERA), Modern Language Association (MLA), and a founding member of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). His many books and articles revolutionized theories of language learning and teaching. After years of experience and research, Dr. Pimsleur developed a new method that is based on two key principles: the Principle of Anticipation and a scientific principle of memory that he called Graduated Interval Recall. This program incorporates both of these principles to provide you with the most simple and effective learning method possible.

Customer Reviews

A great method, but not enough lessons
The Pimsleur method is great for learning the basics and sounds of a language. You very quickly learn to say and understand a few things. It feels amazing at first how quickly things start to fall into place. It is good for working on your pronunciation. But... it really doesn't go far enough. In only 10 lessons, you really can't learn enough. This course teaches you how to ask someone if they understand English, how to ask how someone is and how to respond, how to ask where something is (and understand the answer only if it is "here" or "over there"), and then mostly goes on about saying you'd like to have something to eat or drink, when, where and with whom. Finally they teach how to ask what time it is. It oddly teaches the numbers up to 9, except 6 and 7, so you can only understand some of the answers (and only if it's right on the hour). It kind of felt like it was aimed at teaching you to pick up a member of the opposite sex. Perhaps they think that that is the primary reason why someone would bother to learn Swedish, since almost all Swedes speak English very well. ;-)

It includes some very basic reading instruction/practice, which I thought was a good complement. It gives you a basic idea how to pronounce things you might see written down (such as a street name, the name of your hotel, etc.) Reading Swedish is tough for Anglophones, as the vowel sounds are all quite different. They do a decent job of explaining when one vowel might have two different sounds, though I did not find that I got enough practice to really remember it all.

I think that Rosetta Stone makes a good complement to Pimsleur. It adds a fair bit of vocabulary, but it is nowhere near as good as Pimsleur at really testing your knowledge and helping you to remember things. I'm still working my way through Rosetta Stone, but I feel like I'm only remembering a small percentage of what I learn. Because you answer everything in RS via multiple choice, it is easy to get the right answer without really knowing what the words mean.

Overall, I would suggest Pimsleur to any complete beginner at Swedish. It is a great way to get started, though it won't get you very far. I might also suggest that you look at the reviews of the 2003 version of this product, which I believe is nearly identical (but way more expensive), and has a lot more reviews.

Good start
I'm totally new to Swedish, so I used these CDs to get me started on the language. I listened to them on my way to work every day and learned a lot quickly. My favorite aspects of the teaching technique are the repetition of phrases, the breakdown of words, and the interactive style of the lessons. It feels like you have a personal Swedish tutor working with you one on one. I supplement with Rosetta Stones, which helps build vocabulary, but this program really helps you learn to speak quickly. I recommend this product for beginners.

Great
This is the best language tool i've tried. The pace is much slower than other programs so its easy to absorb the material. The conversation is also much more relevant. Very happy with it