The Mimic Method

Speak a Foreign Language Like a Native

Pimsleur approach review - an honest opinion

Pimsleur Approach Review – An Honest Opinion

By Ivy do Carmo

Are you trying to learn a new language and searching for the best way to approach the new skill? Then you have probably already heard of Pimsleur, a well-known audio language course. Maybe you have read about it on a website or you have a relative or friend that has bought it. There are many polyglots who love it and other ones who hate it, but you can rest assure that there are no language enthusiasts who have never heard of it. Pimsleur has been a famous course for several decades and other courses were created based on its original teaching principles.

However, you may be wondering if it’s worth paying for, if it really works and how much time and energy does it require. After all, every language learner wants to become proficient very fast and spend as little as possible. This honest Pimsleur approach review will help you to decide if it is the right choice for you. Let’s get started by getting to know a little more about the background of the Pimsleur method.

The Creation Of The Pimsleur Method

Doctor Paul Pimsleur (1927-1976) was a respected professor and applied linguistics specialist. The focus of his research was trying to understand how can children learn their mother tongue without understanding its formal structure, in order to apply the same principles and methodology to help adults to learn foreign languages.

He found out that a language learner could remember a new word for a longer and longer period of time if he was reminded of it at gradual increasing intervals, thus making this word move into his long-term memory. Furthermore, he noticed that a person automatically anticipate the response to what another person says and that new brain connections are activated by this process.

He then developed a way of organizing the elements of a language into more and more complex sentences, creating what it was later called the Pimsleur Method. After his death, his colleague Charles Heinle continued his work and it was later sold for Simon & Schuster Group.

Pimsleur Principles

Pimsleur website claims that their method is “a scientifically proven set of principles designed to take a learner directly to the heart of the language, eliminating noise, confusion, and information overload.” What are those principles?

Graduated Interval Recall – This theory is the chore of Pimsleur Method. After you learn a new word, you are reminded of it at gradually more spaced intervals of time, until this word becomes part of your permanent memory. Once the word is part of your long-term memory, you will never forget it. Dr. Pimsleur carefully studied which would be the optimal spacing for information to be retained by the human brain, creating the Spaced Repetition System (the same system used by Anki).

Principle of Anticipation – Because Dr. Pimsleur noticed that our brain has the ability of processing speech and anticipating the correct answer to something that was asked or said, he could increase the comprehension of a language learner, thus reducing the necessary time to learn a new language. The Pimsleur Method always challenges the student to answer first and only then, after an interval of a few seconds, the correct answer is presented.

Core Vocabulary – If a language learner tries to learn too many different words, his brain will get exhausted, he will not retain what he has learned and he will ultimately give up his studies. That is the reason why the Pimsleur Method focuses on only teaching the main vocabulary, the most used words and sentences of that language. This allows the student to really stick on to his brain what he has learned before moving on to new vocabulary.

Organic Learning – The words and sentences you are going to learn are not random. On the contrary, they are always given within the context of a conversation which you could very well have with someone when visiting a country in which people speak the language you are learning about. This makes what you learn become more natural to you, making it easier for you to remember it later.

How Does The Pimsleur Method Work?

The Pimsleur course is available in over 50 languages, from the most popular ones, such as Spanish, Japanese, German and Italian, to others you may have never heard of, such as Ojibwe, Punjabi, Tagalog and Twi. The course itself is basically one hundred percent audio. Yes, it does have a reading program, but its main focus is to enhance your listening and speaking skills. It is divided into 30 units, each one containing 30 lessons of 30 minutes each. It is recommended that you do a lesson per day.

The good thing about the audio format is that you can listen and study while driving, walking, jogging or doing pretty much any other physical service. However, a word of advice here: be careful when studying while driving, since both activities requires your attention and the combination of both could be a safety risk. Another advantage of the audio format is that it can be very useful to the blind and visually impaired.

What to expect of a lesson? You will hear a one-minute conversation between two natives and then the narrator will explain what was said. He will later ask you to form new sentences using the vocabulary learned on that lesson. You do not have to worry about writing down everything it is said because the same words will be repeated over and over again, until you have memorized them.

Let’s give an example. Say you are learning some common German greetings and you have just learned to say Guten Morgen. After hearing it for the first time, you will be reminded of it in 30 seconds, then in one minute, four, nine, twenty, one hour, five hours, a day, three days, seven, fifteen, a month, two months, etc. This way, there will come a time when you will simply know that “good morning” in German is said Guten Morgen, remembering it effortlessly.

You have probably already noticed that, in order to succeed with the Pimsleur Method, there are two things you absolutely have to do:

  1. You have to study daily so you can follow the Space Repetition System and really memorize the new vocabulary and,
  2. You have to really engage on the lessons, answering every time the narrator asks a question and then checking to see if you have pronounced the words correctly. If you simply listen to the audios passively and do not answer to the questions out loud, it will not be an effective method.

Be advised that Pimsleur sometimes makes some pretty unrealistic claims, such as that with their method, you can learn a new language to an intermediate level within 30 days. Although you can learn a great deal if you study hard daily for 30 days in a row, it is obviously not true that you will advance so much, so fast. Let us now summarize my Pimsleur review by considering its advantages and disadvantages.

Pros And Cons Of The Pimsleur Method

Based on what was said in this article, it is clear that Pimsleur, as well as any other language course, has both positive and negative aspects. It is up to you to consider them and analyze if it is worth the investment of money and time in your particular case. First, let’s break down some advantages of the Pimsleur Method:

  • it has a decades-long scientific base;
  • all you have to do is listen;
  • the audios allow you to study anywhere and while doing other activities;
  • you listen to natives, which helps you to develop the correct accent;
  • the lessons are short, objective and effective;
  • you do not have to memorize vocabulary because of the space repetition system;
  • it is available in over 50 languages.

Because there is always two sides of the same coin, here are some disadvantages of the Pimsleur Method:

  • it gets boring pretty fast, due to the fact that all lessons have the same format;
  • because it focus on listening and speaking, it does not help you develop your reading and writing skills;
  • the course is made for English speakers, which makes it a little harder for those who have English as their second language;
  • it uses a more formal language, so you will not learn colloquialisms and slangs;
  • some consider it overpriced (for example, each of the five Spanish levels costs US$150 separately or all five cost US$575).

Pimsleur Approach Review: Final Considerations

After reading this and maybe other Pimsleur approach reviews, you are now better equipped to evaluate if it is the right method for you to learn a new language. One thing is for sure: Pimsleur really helps you lose any fear of speaking and enhancing enormously your pronunciation skills. If you are still not sure whether you should buy the Pimsleur course, how about trying a free first lesson to help you decide? Also check out their frequently asked questions to clarify any other doubts you may have. Where you can buy the Pimsleur course? Besides their official website, it is also available on Amazon and eBay.

Regardless of your decision concerning Pimsleur, keep doing your best on learning a new language. It is worth any efforts! To help you get the perfect pronunciation and improve your listening skills, be sure to subscribe to get a free language learning guide.