Pimsleur: Language Learning 4+

I remember being just a kid when I first heard about the Pimsleur Method for learning languages and wishing I could access it. Years later as a post-baccalaureate student and in the age of smartphones and ease of access to subscriptions, I finally got my hands on Pimsleur after years of using Duolingo to learn various languages. I decided to pick up Mandarin, and immediately, you get straight into the speaking while trying to pronounce words similar to the speaker. I was surprised at how many words I actually ended up learning in just the first level alone and how much I could actually put the pieces together based on what Pimsleur taught me to correctly say sentences I wanted that weren't reviewed in the lessons at all! I finally mustered up the courage to ask a new friend of mine to help me practice speaking what I learned in person, and he was so impressed at how natural my Mandarin sounded! I get very self-conscious about how I sound when I'm learning languages too, so this was really validating for me. I'm almost finished with Mandarin Level 2 and I just have to say that Pimsleur exceeded my expectations and is so, so worth the price. I also practice Spanish on here as well to get better at it even though I learned it when I was a kid. Along the way, they implemented the pronunciation mastery feature, which is also such a very useful tool! Years of waiting to get my hands on Pimsleur was such a dream come true!

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.