Why I Decided to Give The Pimsleur Approach A Second Chance

Why I Decided to Give The Pimsleur Approach A Second Chance

A little over two years ago I began studying Russian with The Pimsleur Approach – thus launching my foray into language learning product reviews. In lieu of the company’s horrible

advertising campaigns and lofty price tag I was extraordinarily skeptical of the program and didn’t expect much.

You can read the original review here for a lot more on what Pimsleur is and is not.

Most of us have seen the advertising; the posters suggesting fluency in ten days, punctuated by the words ‘scientific’ and ‘secret’ better suited to commercials for male enhancement than language learning.

Despite this I ended up attempting Pimsleur’s Russian and experienced better results than I had anticipated, but overall was still met with a generally underwhelming experience.

Long story short; I didn’t write the kindest review and despite some success the program left a generally bad taste in my mouth.

However, two years later and many, many programs, apps and other systems reviewed for better or worse, I found myself drawn back to Pimsleur once more.I decided to give the program another go, a second chance with a new language and renewed interest, and perhaps a more open mind.

The reason I decided to reunite with Pimsleur is simple….

…Pimsleur promised me women in body paint if only I learned some Spanish!

 

Okay, seriously:

Since starting Pimsleur’s Russian two years ago, my motivation to learn and to continue learning Russian has remained strong. I attribute most of the success I’ve had in the language to Pimsleur – perhaps not directly – but as a result of having developed a passion for the language early on.

Love it or hate it, one of the Pimsleur Approach’s best qualities is the way success makes you feel.

The program puts enough of a time constraint on you that when you start answering questions correctly, within the time, the results are immediately apparent and make you want to continue learning.

While the program certainly slows down after a few weeks; rapid, early success with a new language is an enormous boon when it comes to sticking with your project for the long term.

Overcoming that first four or five hundred word slope can set you far enough along with your goal to recognize and appreciate your progress and catalyze your future studies – regardless of the methods you use – into a language learning machine.

Another reason that my sentiments towards the program have changed is that they’ve dropped their price tag considerably with the MP3 Version of their software. It still isn’t the cheapest method out there but I can safely say now that it is relatively cost effective.

If you’re interested in trying out the Pimsleur Method with me and keeping me abreast of your own experiences please check out this link!

Have you used The Pimsleur Approach? What was your impression?

 

Apex-editor of Languages Around the Globe, collector of linguists, regaler of history, accidental emmigrant, serial dork and English language mercenary and solutions fabricator. Potentially a necromancer. All typos are my own.