Pimsleur: Language Learning 4+

I took Spanish through high school and 2 semesters in college. I still cannot speak conversationally, and the less I use it the more I forget it. As a nurse I encounter patients that only speak Spanish, and then I witness doctors insisting they do not need a translator and they could “use their 5 senses” but they cannot understand what the patient is actually telling them. Or they will not see a patient until the end of their visit in the emergency department because of the inconvenience of needing to get the translator iPad… that i have literally brought into the room. They literally just put tests in based on their complaint that is in the computer. I was appalled and I can only do so much but I know that my short time in one small southern town will not change the culture.

I have wanted to learn Spanish for a long time but I never took the time. What stumped me in school was all of the conjugation. And breaking down sentences. And when I read that this is what Pimsleur says is the problem with traditional learning, that made complete sense! I typically listen to audibles and podcasts so now I just listen to Pimsleur instead and it is very natural. Driving to work, on an airplane, walking around the store, doing the dishes, cleaning the house, cooking. I can listen anywhere and I’m actually remembering new words and have started using it at work already. LOVE THIS APP. If you’re hesitant…. I’m telling you just do it.

I’ve always wanted to learn a second language, but for some reason, I always thought that I didn’t have the intelligence to do it. well, I certainly learned that intelligence can be very subjective, because I have learned so much in such a small window of time and the more you keep going, The more fun you start having with it. i’ve decided that I want to learn how to speak Finnish, the national language of Finland. Something else that really took me by surprise was the fact that as you start learning words, you start making those neuronal pathways between where the original word in your mother tongue language is stored in the word that you learn through your second language, and once that connection is made it stays there, and in the beginning, you’ll start to hear the words, and then the English version of the word Will pop into your head as the definition. And then, as time goes on even more, and you’re learning more and more advanced words, you literally start to think in the new language. all I can say, is I recommend this program to anybody who wants to be able to start speaking a new language right away within the first lesson because it is true. You do learn how to speak some bear essential words in the first lesson.

I’m learning Tagalog, now into my tenth lesson of the first course. Having doubled down with this app and a few other language training apps, I can tell you that you WILL learn with Pimsleur. The training seems rooted in conversations that are both relevant and easy enough to follow along. My one main gripe—and what keeps me from giving Pimsleur a full five stars—is that there is no text to accompany the feature spoken dialogue of each lesson. Supplementary text-based training modules follow the feature spoken dialogue, and it is only by then that I sometimes learn I was speaking incorrectly throughout the whole lesson. For instance, in today’s lesson—in which I learned some words for telling the time of day—I repeated the word “balang” several times. Later, in the text-based training that followed it, I learned that I SHOULD have been saying “pa lang”. “Balang” and “pa lang” sound similar enough to be confused with each other by a new learner like myself, but these are entirely different words. Text to accompany the feature dialogue training would handily prevent such confusion from happening. And, it would obviate the need to have Google translate or some similar app handy to attempt word discovery while training. Pimsleur, add text to accompany the dialogue, and I’ll give you five stars. Everyone else, if you’re seeking to learn a new language, Pimsleur should be among your top picks. Just keep my caveats in mind.