Pimsleur Digital Foreign Language Audio Programs – A Review
Learning to speak a second language nowadays has become so much simpler with the development of technologies like downloadable foreign language audio programs, iPods and MP3 players, podcasting, fast streaming audio and other online and electronic resources.
Learning a new language can greatly you in your personal and professional life. It is a great way to expand your thinking and your horizons and develop new ideas and insights about things. Learning to speak a new language also facilitates travel, meeting other cultures, living abroad and interacting with people of different backgrounds.
Learning a new language is also a great way to challenge yourself and is an ideal resolution to make for the new year. Even though the first few weeks or months spent learning a foreign language can feel really slow at first, you will make progress if you commit to regular periods where you just immerse yourself completely in the task. This may include watching movies, reading magazines or listening to audio books and radio broadcasts in the new language, going out to eat in a foreign cuisine restaurant, frequenting parts of your city where people speak the language you are trying to learn, and of course, making plans to travel abroad.
There are a range of great audio courses available to help you learn a foreign language. One of the most established and proven programs available is the Pimsleur Method, published by Simon & Schuster. Pimsleur audio foreign language courses can help you learn a new language in as little as 30 days and uses the same learning techniques employed for many years by the FBI, CIA and many world travelers. You can easily search online for these courses – just type something like “Learn to speak Japanese Pimsleur” into Google.
About The Pimsleur Method – Structure And Underlying Principles
The Pimsleur courses are divided into different phases and lesson units. They are designed to be taken in sequence, starting with Unit 1: each successive course after the first builds upon the teachings of the previous course. It is generally recommended to start with Phase I of any given language course.
Pimsleur courses also come with accompanying reading materials. Although some courses are designed for the reading lessons to be completed after going through the course, in most cases how you choose to use the reading lessons is totally up to you. You can do them along with the lesson units, use the readings after every other unit or so, or decide to wait until you’ve finished the course, then do the readings all together. For certain courses like Pimsleur Japanese, ‘culture notes’ are used in place of reading lessons.
It’s also useful to know that each of the Pimsluer language courses contains around 500 new vocabulary words per phase. The main objective of the language courses, however, is not to teach you many disjointed vocabulary words, but to enable learners to use and manipulate the language, to understand the structure and be able to build their own sentences. Pimsleur language courses are based on the belief that once you acquire a strong structural foundation, adding new words becomes a natural and intuitive process.
Pimsleur Digital – A Convenient Way To Learn A New Language
Recently, Pimsleur introduced a new line of downloadable language learning audio programs called Pimsleur Digital. The new Pimsleur Digital foreign language audio programs offers one of the quickest and most effective ways for people to learn a new language fast. Dr Pimsleur’s Digital language courses work on any portable player including iPods and smartphones. Over 50 languages are currently available in downloadable format.
Some of the more comprehensive language courses available as a Pimsleur Digital download include:
- Japanese
- Russian
- Chinese (Mandarin)
- German
- French
- Tagalog
- Modern Green
- Japanese
- Armenian
- Thai
Whether you decide to learn one of the more popular languages like Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, or Russian, or become a fluent speaker of a more exotic language like Persian, Albanian, or Swahili, Pimsleur foreign language audio programs allow you to retain new language skills that will have you not only speaking a new language quickly, but also be able to begin to easily understand the language. The Pimsleur audio foreign language courses are designed to meet the needs of world travelers, busy executives who simply don’t have months to spend learning a new language, people who need or want to learn a new language quickly, or individuals who simply have a passion for learning new things.
Pimsleur Digital (Downloadable) vs Pimsleur CD Versions
With the Pimsleur digital products, all downloadable audio language courses are identical to the CD version, including all accompanying reading lessons and culture notes. The printed booklets that normally come with the CD version are also included with the download version in PDF format.
Because the courses are distributed electronically in downloadable format – which eliminates much of the cost of manufacturing and handling physical CD sets – they cost a lot less than the CD version.
Pimsleur downloadable courses have been carefully transferred to MP3 format from digital masters. What this means is that you can expect ‘near-CD quality’ when listening to the audio files. As well as the high quality, crystal clear standard MP3 format, the Pimsleur digital language programs have no Digital Rights Management or license keys to deal with.
Speaking of audio quality, it’s important to understand that audio quality can vary depending on a range of listening conditions. These include:
- Listening in noisy environments, such as when driving in automobiles, riding in trains, subways, etc.
- Using low quality or defective headphones or earbuds.
- Using earbuds that don’t fit comfortably in your ear, or that have inadequate sleeves that allow sound to escape.
- Using weak batteries to power your MP3 player or portable speakers.
- Listening through cell phones that play MP3 files. Depending on the model, some cell phones have great audio quality, while others have poorer audio quality.
- Listening through Bluetooth headsets. Although Bluetooth headsets generally offer great audio quality, it is better to listen to audio content through headphones or earbuds that cover both ears.
Downloadable Language Audio Courses – Additional Useful Information
If you’re considering purchasing Pimsleur Digital courses, keep in mind that downloadable courses take up space on your hard drive or portable device. Thirty lesson courses require on average around 500MB each of hard drive space. Download times for the audio files will vary depending on your internet service provider and a range of other factors. If using a high speed Internet service for downloading, on average, you can expect a 30 lesson course to take anywhere from 15 minutes to 50 minutes or longer to download.
Although hard drive space is required for storing the files, the advantages of buying a dowloadable course should also be taken into account. One of the main benefits of learning a foreign language using the Pimsleur Digital products is that you can access it immediately after purchasing. You can also download it later if you prefer, but it’s recommended that you download your course within six months of purchase and make a backup copy of the course onto a CD, DVD, or Flash memory stick for safekeeping.
One more point to note is that according to Dr. Pimsleur’s research, a key factor in learning a new language is to rely on your listening ability to absorb information while avoiding becoming dependent on written materials. Therefore, when learning a new language, it is generally advised that you not take notes or refer to written material while going through the Pimsleur programs, even if this appears to be counter-intuitive.
So, can learning a foreign language be as easy as speaking your own? Yes … with Pimsleur downloads it’s that easy. Learn on your own time, at your own pace, and wherever you choose, using the convenience of an iPod, MP3 player, smartphone, or even just while driving around in your car or exercising. All it takes is just 30 minutes a day!
For a great selection of Pimsleur digital language learning audio programs, go here: Pimsleur Digital Foreign Language Audio Programs
