Pimsleur New Languages

[Agnella Datson]

PimsleurLanguage Programs (/ˈpɪmzlər/) is an American language learning company that develops and publishes courses based on the Pimsleur method. It is a division of Simon & Schuster, a publishing company which is a subsidiary of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Pimsleur offers courses for 50 languages with English as the source language, and 14 ESL courses.[1]

In 1983, Charles Heinle introduced SyberVision Systems founder Steven DeVore to the Pimsleur Russian program. DeVore, who had used a similar method to learn Finnish, exclusively licensed the Pimsleur programs. DeVore sold the programs in the SyberVision catalogs that were placed in the backseat pockets of major international air carriers and also mailed to 3 million SyberVision customers every month. SyberVision also produced and successfully sold Pimsleur programs via an infomercial that featured Beverly Pimsleur. SyberVision marketed the Pimsleur programs until 1997 before the license was sold to Simon & Schuster.

In 1995, Simon & Schuster took on distribution to bookstores. Before Heinle & Heinle Enterprises sold Pimsleur to Simon & Schuster in 1997, they added 27 new languages to the Pimsleur catalog. Since the acquisition, Simon & Schuster Audio has added another 27 languages. Pimsleur's catalog currently stands at 59 languages and over 200 courses. The courses are still produced in Concord, Massachusetts and are available as digital audio downloads, CDs, and select languages are now available in interactive software format.

In 2010, Pimsleur partnered with the USO, The Boston Foundation and Playaway to produce Pashto and Dari courses for U.S. troops serving in and being deployed to Afghanistan. This course is available for free to all military personnel. Operation Speak Easy[5] was funded by a Boston-area philanthropist and Pimsleur-enthusiast.[6]

In 2018, Pimsleur released its new Pimsleur app for iOS and Android devices and compatible with Amazon Echo devices. Pimsleur replaced the Unlimited product line with Pimsleur Premium available via in-app purchases or through their website.

In the same year, Pimsleur started selling its courses via a subscription model on its website for the UK, the US, Canada and Australia. The subscription model is also available worldwide via in-app purchase in the Pimsleur mobile app.

Pimsleur courses are audio based with supplemental reading and study materials that accompany the recordings. The audio lessons are generally 25 to 30 minutes in length. Courses are generally divided into "Levels" comprising 30 lessons. Some languages' courses offer more levels than others, ranging from one to five levels. French, for example, currently offers five levels, each comprising 30 lessons, for a total of 150 lessons and roughly 75 hours of total instruction.

Since the 2010s Pimsleur has expanded the number of levels available for certain languages. Previously Pimsleur offered a maximum of 3 levels for their most comprehensively developed courses for a total of 90 lessons. Some languages are now offered with up to 5 levels. Prior to this expansion of course levels, a terminating "Plus" Level was offered for select languages. These "Plus" levels contained 10 lessons which were published as additional material to be used by learners after completing Levels 1 to 3. The "Plus" levels are now discontinued and considered out of print, although they remain available for sale on the used market and in some public libraries.

Some languages offered by Pimsleur contain fewer than the standard 30 lessons in a level. Pimsleur also offers beginner courses and truncated courses under the series titles: "Basic" "Instant Conversation", or "go".

Each 25-30 minute lesson begins with a brief conversation in the target language. An English speaking instructor then presents the conversation (or the relevant new material after the first lesson) in English. The new material is then presented gradually within the context previous taught words and phrases. Long words or phrases may be repeated using back-chaining, where the instructor repeats the end, tacks on the preceding portions, and eventually says the entire phrase as the learner repeats. The lessons often conclude with a brief conversation in the target language to review the new material covered in the lesson. Learners are instructed to continue to the next lesson the following day if they feel they have reached 80% proficiency with the material covered.

The most comprehensively developed Pimsleur Language Programs (those with three or more levels) cover a wide range of material relevant to learners traveling or living in a place where the target language is spoken:

Some of Pimsleur's most popular courses have been updated to reflect cultural and societal changes, such as more casual phrasing, changes in currency, and by updating scenarios to reflect more current situations and sensibilities.

I guess my question is, learning multiple languages, is it a case of too much, or if i do a bit each day on each language, i will be fine? As i said, i feel good so far, and i know it gets harder, i just want to spread out and learn from other languages as well.

Many thanks for joining our community and sharing your experiences. As your current situation shows, it is possible to learn several languages at the same time. That means, you can learn more than one language if you spend a little time on every language every day.

For example, in the morning you can listen to the Pimsleur Polish tapes while in the afternoon you listen to Pimsleur Italian. In the evening you record a few sentences in Polish and then you write a short email to your Italian friends.

The next morning you wake up happy and you log on to english.best where you find a lot of interesting discussions on how to learn languages one of which is called Can I learn 2 languages at the same time?[/b][/url]

By the way, your name sounds intriguing and we would like to learn more about you. For starters, you might want to give us some information on why are learning new languages? And why have you picked Italian and Polish?

You are right, Pimsleur is great to get you started and you can use the tapes to build and refresh basic phrases. In addition (at the same time) you should listen to other resources too to reinforce what you have learned through Pimsleur.

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Yes, a Slavic language is probably more challenging to you than Italian, Spanish or Portuguese. Interestingly enough, Polish also contains quite a number of English words such as fajne (fine), sukces (success) and skuter (scooter). Well, of course there are more such examples.

Michael, have you tried to practice your languages through Skype or any other voice communication program? You could speak French, for instance, with people from Europe without having to travel there physically.

What about the university, youth hostels, internet caf?s and other places? Have you tried to find French speakers there? You might want to ask pub owners or shop assistants, who knows, they might tell you how many (or how few) of their customers are French speaking.

At this point, Italian is a language I enjoy hearing or listening to. Someday soon I will travel to Italy and stay there for a while so I can mingle with the local people and learn the language more actively.

By the way, can you distinguish different English accents? I mean, can tell what country a person comes from when you hear them speak English? (native speakers as well as ESL speakers?) Is there any English accent or dialect you like most?

I guess, if i could speak german, you could tell that i had an australian accent when i spoke??? Can you pick english accents up?? I guess it just takes time, to pick up how different people/nations pronounce words differently.

I think when you complete the 3rd level and you are comfortable with all the material it will be easier for you to understand spoken French and also to pick up new vocabulary. I recommend in addition to Pimsleur you listen to other authentic sources on a regular basis. Integrate them into your daily activities. For example, if you have a car and you use it everyday, listen to French dialogues or audio books in addition to Pimsleur. Mix Pimsleur with other materials you will see the positive effect this will have on your learning.

Also, because you can distinguish between differen accents, I suppose you like music? If so, do you have any songs in French?

I couldnt agree with you more! To build up your own opinions from your own experiences is so important. And yes, being able to know the language brings you to a more intimate position. To learn cultures and traditions etc.

Hi Torsten

I couldnt agree with you more! To build up your own opinions from your own experiences is so important. And yes, being able to know the language brings you to a more intimate position. To learn cultures and traditions etc.

You are absolutely right here, Michael. Learning a second or third language makes sense only if it serves a purpose. There are people who learn languages for the sake of the language itself. They want to study the structure and history of the language. Then, there are people who want to communicate with other people. They want to find answers to questions, maybe they want to advance in science and technology and most of the sources on that subject are written in a certain language. There can be lots of reasons why people would learn a second language and as you grow up your reasons change.

There are several language courses available to the traveler, and each has different approach. Rosetta Stone uses imagery to teach words and phrases. Some courses use a combination of text and audio. Pimsleur is strictly audio, but does a good job of reinforcing old material while introducing new material. You can easily learn while commuting or exercising, but if you are a visual person, the audio-only method may be a drawback. Since each person learns in their own unique way, they would need to sample the various language courses, and decide which approach works best for them. Start by downloading a free Pimsleur lesson, to see if this is the course for you. Not sure how 'fluent' a person can become with these courses, but any method that allows a traveler to speak some of the local language is a good thing.

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