Pimsleur Blog from Pimsleur Direct
Pimsleur Language Blog
Subscribe to the Pimsleur RSS feed
June 01, 2010 Super Sweet Tweetstakes Extended
Over the last two weeks people from all over have been signing up to be apart of our Super Sweet Tweetstakes contest. We've been delighted to see so many people participating by commenting on our blogs and using Twitter and Facebook to share their stories of success with us. Since so many of you have been involved in our contest we've been experiencing an overwhelming request to prolong the Sweepstakes so more folks can participate. Pimsleur Direct has decided to extend the Super Sweet Tweetstakes contest two more weeks!
For those of you who have been commenting regularly this is a great opportunity for you because your chances of winning have increased significantly! For the people just getting started we encourage you to comment on our blogs regularly. You can boost your chances of winning by retweeting our status on Twitter and liking us on Facebook. When you become our Facebook fan we encourage you to interact with the other fans and share your stories and experiences using the Pimsleur method. Good luck and have fun!
May 26, 2010 Tips for Learning your New Language
Get the Gist
The Pimsleur method is all about learning your new language through natural conversation. You're never forced to recite each lesson word for word at 100% accuracy because it's unrealistic. Once you retain 80% of the material you're encouraged to move on to the next lesson. The reason being your previous material will be covered again. Your always learning something new while your reviewing older lessons. Don't get caught on one lesson constantly playing it over and over again. Progression is the name of the game, so get the gist of your lesson and if you forget a few sentences here and there, that's okay. Remember, 80% is your mark, and once you've hit it you're ready to move on.You can do it, even if you're nervous!
In order to learn to speak a language fluently you have get out there and SPEAK it! You learned with Pimsleur for a reason. We're the training wheels you need to get started on your journey of learning. When you go out to a restaurant, make an effort to order your food in your new language. Hold small conversations with people of that language. Things like directions, sports, or weather are great small conversational pieces you can use to practice. So get those butterflies out your belly and strike up a conversation! We know you can do it.
Mistake it up!
Don't be discouraged by mistakes because they come with the territory. Take is slow at first and engage yourself in simple conversation. Most folks will be pretty understanding of your efforts and are happy to lend a helping hand. Although this may be an emotional experience for you as well, don't let frustration or embarrassment stop you from practicing. Hearing yourself interact with native language speakers will give you the experience you can't get elsewhere. No book, language software or flashcard is going to give you in depth real world insight the way the real world can. A little conversation can go a long way, so don't be afraid to try out your new language wherever you go. You learned it to use it, so show off your new Pimsleur skills by getting out there and excercising them!
May 21, 2010 What about Latin?
Latin was at one time the lingua franca of the western world, the learned language for scientific and political purposes. English language today is hugely influenced by the Latin language because a wide variety of our vocabulary is derived from Latin. For more than a thousand years the Latin language dominated as it was the formal language of the Roman Empire.
After the fall of the Roman Empire the Latin language continued to dominate on a smaller scale through the evolution of the Romance languages. These Romance languages were predominate for many centuries as Latin began to decline. Latin was eventually replaced by French in the 18th century and English took over as the de Facto language in the 19th century.
Today Ecclesiastical Latin is the formal language for the Roman Catholic church and the official national language of the Vatican. Latin was also the official language of Portugal until 1926 when it was replaced by Portuguese.May 19, 2010 Cuatro Españoles
Pimsleur Spanish is without a doubt the most popular and most often-requested language course we have. We know there are more than a handful of you out there just waiting to get your hands on even more Pimsleur Spanish lessons. Well we have some great news to share with you! This coming November, Pimsleur will be introducing the Comprehensive Spanish Level 4 program. Yes, you read that correctly! You'll get more real world scenarios, more rapid Spanish conversations, plus more reading material to go along with your studies.
If you're new to the Pimsleur Spanish program and want to know about it, you have the opportunity of listening to the first lesson free of each level we offer. You can also check out other blogs like 'What Kind of Spanish will I be Learning, Mexican or Castillian' and 'Latin American and Castillian Spanish, is there really a difference' to help you understand the Spanish dialect that is taught and to learn more about the culture.
So if you've completed the first four levels we currently offer for Spanish but want even more, we've got you covered. Mark your calendar and check back frequently for exact release dates for this program.May 13, 2010 Pimsleur Direct's Super Sweet Tweetstakes
Pimsleur Direct is hosting its very own Super Sweet Tweetstakes Challenge! The grand prize winner will receive a brand new Apple iPod Touch and any language suite (levels 1, 2 & 3) they want. We have great prizes for second and third place winners too, so don't hesitate to participate! Three runners up will receive a Pimsleur Comprehensive language course of their choosing, and ten contestants will receive a Pimsleur Conversational language course!
Here's how to enter to win:
All you have to do is comment on our blog, Tweet about us on your Twitter and Like us on Facebook. Multiple entries mean multiple ways to win! You can also like one of our status updates on our Facebook and re-tweet us on twitter to increase your chances of winning. Every time we publish your blog comment, you are automatically entered into the contest again. The more your name is entered the better your chances are of becoming the grand prize winner! So blog big to win big and tweet twice to win super nice prizes!
Our Super Sweet Tweetstakes challenge ends on June 11, 2010 so spread the word! The grand prize winner will be announced through our blog on June 12, 2010. Please take the time to read the contest rules, some restrictions do apply.
May 04, 2010 Pimsleur Consistently rated the Best!
If you’re doubting whether the Pimsleur Method is the best language program for you, doubt no more. Our proven method has helped thousands of people learn a new language fast! When you learn with the Pimsleur Method, you can tell the results right away. That’s because Pimsleur was designed on the basic principals of how we naturally learn language as children. World-renowned linguist Dr. Paul Pimsleur put together a blueprint of how we learn our first languages and built his method around four core concepts of language learning: Core vocabulary, Organic learning, Graduated Interval Recall and Anticipation.
The key concepts that make up the Pimsleur Method are the same that you used to learn English. Today more people are getting out of the classroom and are making the decision to try out our language program. It’s so fun and convenient that your whole family can benefit from it. Our all audio courses feature 30 half-hour units. Each lesson you complete is a building block for the next. Audiofile.com found that “in the process of rating several language software programs “Pimsleur programs provide plenty of positive reinforcement that will keep learners on track, and we found that Pimsleur gave us more proficiency and confidence in speaking the new language than any of the other language course we reviewed.”
Additionally, we’ve got plenty of testimonials from customers young and old, who all agree the Pimsleur Method is the best choice for foreign language learning. Try out the Pimsleur Method today by listening to the first lesson of any of the 40 language programs we offer free.
April 30, 2010 Top Pop Translated to Romance
Get ready for your pop favorites of the 60’s and 70’s to be heard in four different languages: Spanish, French, German and Italian. Boston.com reports that Hip-O select is gearing up to release album ’Motown around the world: The Classic Singles which will feature artist like the Supremes, the Temptations and Stevie Wonder. Top singles like “My Cheri Amor” by Stevie Wonder and “My Girl” by the Temptations are sung in Spanish and German. Otis Williams the only surviving member of the original Temptations gives us some insight on the recordings. “It was an interesting challenge for us because we didn’t do so much talking in German and French back then!’ He adds, “We recorded those songs phonetically, and we were worried that we weren’t going to get them just right, but nobody expected us to get the language down perfect.’
Now when you’re studying your German or French lessons with Pimsleur you can also listen to your favorite oldies classic in your newly learned language. Just another great way to have fun while learning! Have a listen.
April 29, 2010 China is Broadcasting Big!
On April 5th 2010 in Beijing, China International Radio (CRI) celebrated its 60th anniversary of its broadcasting in Thai, Vietnamese, Myanmese and Indonesian. CRI began broadcasting in the four languages of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations April 10,1950. China International Radio will now be presenting China to the world in these four languages through FM and shortwave radio as well as the internet and print media.
If you thought China’s broadcasts weren’t diverse enough pay a visit to the newly released China-ASEAN website: asean.cri.cn which is a multi-lingual website of CRI Online. The site uses a variety of languages like Cambodian, Indonesian, Lao, Filipino, Myanmese, Malaysian, Thai and Vietnamese. The goal is to keep each of these nationalities informed about developments in the China-ASEAN free trade agreement as well as reporting on stories of exchanges and cooperation between China and the ASEAN countries.
Among those that attended the ceremony was Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhom who recalls as a teen listening to CRI stating she learned a lot from the Chinese people by listening to their programs. This is a great way to reach out to your neighbors, especially since so many of these countries are heavily influenced by China. We’re happy to see this level of commitment to language and can’t help but applaud China’s initiative.
April 21, 2010 Earth Day
Earth Day is steadily approaching and we’re thinking of all the ways we can continue to have a healthy impact on the environment. Last year we posted a blog entitled ’Go Green with Pimsleur Direct!. We mentioned only using eco friendly packaging for our iofy players and we’re sticking to that same pledge this year. In addition to eco friendly packaging for iofy players we’ll continue to use recyclable packing materials. We’re cutting down on paper waste by emailing your return labels and shipping and tracking information.
Did you know not only is it more economical to use audiobook chips instead of CD’s but it is also better for the environment! Just think, if your considering a purchase of a bundle course on CD how many CD’s you’ll have to juggle around? That’s 16 CD’s per comprehensive unit multiplied by three, so you’ll end up with around 48 CD’s assuming you didn’t purchase a sample package of the language before making the full purchase. With audiobook chips you get three standard sized SD cards with 30 units on each of them. It significantly reduces material waste not to mention these cards are easily recycled. Organizations like eprovided.com is dedicated to reducing electronic waste and will even purchase your damaged or corrupted materials.
If you’re interested in trying our audiobook chip format leave a comment letting us know how you plan to reuse or recycle your old electronic materials and you can purchase any comprehensive audiobook chip for just $99! Call Pimsleur Direct for details, this promotion ends April 31,2010 so act now!
April 14, 2010 Where is Cantonese Chinese spoken, and will Mandarin speakers be able to understand me?
The Chinese language is about as diverse and expansive as a language can get.
Over one billion people speak some form of Chinese today. Mandarin has around 850 million speakers while Cantonese Chinese is spoken by about 70 million.
Mandarin Chinese is the official standard language for mainland China and is also one of four official languages of Singapore. The Cantonese Chinese language has official status in Hong Kong as well as Guangzhou (formally known as Canton) in southern China.
Now because of the dialect diversities between different dialect groups, spoken Chinese has difficulty in communication between a Mandarin speaker and a Cantonese speaker. Unlike the Spanish language, the differences between Mandarin and Cantonese are too great for it to be mutually understandable.
For example Mandarin Chinese has only four tones (different tones has different meaning for the same sounds) while Cantonese has more than six, additionally each language uses different vowels and consonants. However because Mandarin and Cantonese use the same written characters (with few exceptions) a Mandarin speaker can effectively communicate with a Cantonese speaker through writing.
- Shopping Cart
- No items in cart yet
- Search
"There truly is something very powerful and familiar in the way Pimsleur taps into those primitive parts of your brain in the learning process, almost like hypnosis. Having done it successfully, I realize that it is a revolutionary learning protocol that was designed to bypass all the things that would get in the way of me learning and not wasting time."
