Series: Comprehensive (Book 3)
Audio CD
Publisher: Pimsleur; 2 edition (August 1, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0743528956
ISBN-13: 978-0743528955
Product Dimensions: 12.5 x 1.7 x 11 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #294,768 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #21 in Books > Books on CD > Languages > Language Instruction > Spanish #111 in Books > Books on CD > Reference #303 in Books > Books on CD > Nonfiction
As others have said, Pimsleur is great for developing correct pronunciation and for getting comfortable speaking. In that regard, volumes 1 and 2 are excellent and gradually introduce more complex or idiomatic phrases as well as verb tenses gradually and in a natural way. Also, as others have said, you will not even remotely be able to say much (or understand much) if you ONLY do the Pimsleur lessons. You have to get a good vocabulary book (children's picture books are highly recommended), listen to Univision, etc., but getting grounded solidly in pronunciation and just the initial step of being able to put together sentences confidently is something Pimsleur 1 and 2 will definitely help in greatly. Course number 3, however, is a huge disappointment---it's not just "not good enough", it's actually extremely poorly done. Anyone who gets number 3 presumably has done 1 and 2 and is comfortable with pretty much any basic phrases (Muchas Gracias), how to do introductions (Mucho gusto in concerlo), filler phrases (No importa), etc. but in course 3, you will spend a significant amount of time simply repeating these same phrases over and over. There is also a completely mysterious enormous emphasis on certain phrases that end up taking up in total nearly an entire lesson apiece---for example, "un plato de la especialidad de la casa" (one plate of the specialty of the house). First of all, this is a phrase any reasonably knowledgeable person who has done lessons 1 and 2 could figure out without outside help---you don't need lesson time that you paid for wasted being introduced to something you can figure out yourself. But this phrase took up nearly an entire lesson. Other similar unimportant or phrases easily decipherable without help took up entire lessons.
If you're thinking about buying Pimsleur 3, you need to know why to buy this as opposed to other programs. I will admit that there are a lot of situation specific phrases that are repeated over and over again. Its very difficult not only to find a good language learning program but also to create one. This program was designed so that you can interchange all of the terms relating to the engineering field with terms from another field. Unless they made category specific programs for different popular career fields, I'd say this is probably the best way to teach you the way you need to speak. There is a lot I won't need to know from the program because I'm not going down to South America on business. But, there are others who won't need much of the informal stuff because they are only going to South America on business. I'm completely satisfied with the language you learn in the program and how you can interchange the language from your own field into it.If you've already done the other two Pimsleur programs, this teaches you how to have longer conversations. Sure, you repeat phrases initially that seem like it would be strange for them to spend time on (la especialidad de la casa) but they're training your brain and your tongue to speak in longer segments. That's much of the true value of this program. You come out of Pimsleur II speaking in segments and fragments. Pimsleur III helps you put the fragments together in order to have long conversations that are fluid and versatile.Another large piece of value you'll receive from this program is how to build on conversations speaking in past tense. You'll learn the right way to discuss something that has happened or that you've done (or someone else has). I needed extra help learning this so I made flash cards as well.
As a resident of Florida, I desire very much to become acquainted with the language, histories, and cultures of my Spanish-speaking neighbors and co-workers. I studied French in high school but as of today cannot speak or understand it.Because of my work schedule, at this time attending night school or living in a Spanish-speaking country is not practical. I am attempting to learn Spanish on my own. I have bought all three levels of Pimsleur and have no regrets. For anyone who may balk at the price, you should consider that the tuition at a university or a community college may exceed the cost of one level of Pimsleur.Pimsleur is an excellent start for a beginning Spanish student. Pimsleur effectively teaches you the technique of listening to a sentence in English, translating out loud in Spanish, hearing the phrase in Spanish, and repeating it. The pauses between the sentences are long enough to translate out loud in Spanish. You may have to repeat a lesson several times so that you translate accurately and quickly enough during the pauses. However, the lessons are never dull, and the sound in audio CDs is clear and easy to understand.I use supplemental grammar materials to read and write Spanish and to learn grammar. But the Pimsleur CDs teach you to speak useful and interesting words, sentences, and phrases for real-life situations - ordering in a restaurant, asking for street directions, asking about one's family and health, and discussing the weather. These CDs are never boring.In addition, if I have an especially busy day and do not have time or energy to do a reading or writing lesson, I can still find 30 minutes in a day to do a Pimsleur lesson.Even with the three levels of Pimsleur, you will not be fluent in Spanish.
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