1.Read this first:

You are encourage to read this entire documentation to help yourself make a decision on which product to purchase. At least, you are suggested to read "4. About Different Versions".

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2.About Dr. Pimsleur:

After years of research and development, including field studies of spoken language training with adults, Dr. Pimsleur created a new method for self–instruction in spoken languages that is based on the way the human brain takes in language as speech. Of the several unique features of the Method, two key principles: the Principle of Anticipation and a scientific principle of memory that he called Graduated Interval Recall This is the only language teaching program which incorporates these essential principles to provide you with the most easy–to–do, amazingly rapid, and highly cost–effective learning method available.

"Language, as Delattre says, is above all speech, not writing; a language that is not spoken is called 'dead'. If you will trust your ear, you are almost certain to speak with a good accent. Conversely, if you trust your eye alone, your accent may be a poor one."      --Dr. Paul Pimsleur 1928 - 1976

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3. The Pimsleur Principles

Before Dr. Pimsleur created his teaching method, language courses were based instead on the principle of repetition. Teachers drummed words into the students' minds over and over, as if the mind were a record whose grooves wore deeper with repetition. However, neurophysiologists tell us that, on the contrary, simple and unchallenging repetition has a hypnotic, even dulling effect on the learning process. Eventually, the words being repeated will lose their meaning. Dr. Pimsleur discovered that learning accelerates when there is an "input/output" system of interaction, in which students receive information and then are asked to retrieve and use it.

Principle #2: Graduated Interval Recall
Graduated Interval Recall is a complex name for a very simple theory about memory. No aspect of learning a foreign language is more important than memory, yet before Dr. Pimsleur's work, no one had explored more effective ways for building language memory.

In his research, Dr. Pimsleur discovered how long students remembered new information and at what intervals they needed to be reminded of it. If reminded too soon or too late, they failed to retain the information. This discovery enabled him to create a schedule of exactly when and how the information should be reintroduced.

Suppose you learn a new word. You tell yourself to remember it, but after five minutes you can't recall it. If you'd been reminded of it after five seconds, you probably would have remembered it for maybe a minute -- then you would have needed another reminder. Each time you are reminded, you remember the word longer than you did the time before. The intervals between reminders become longer and longer, until you eventually remember the word without being reminded at all.

This program is designed to remind you of new information at the exact intervals where maximum retention takes place. Each time your memory begins to fade, you will be asked to recall the word. Through this powerful method, you progress from short-term to long-term memory without being aware of it, while avoiding the monotonous rote repetition used in traditional language courses.

Principle #3: Core Vocabulary
The Principle of Anticipation and Graduated Interval Recall are the foundation of the Pimsleur Method, but there are other unique components that are also important. One is the theory of a core vocabulary. We have all been intimidated, when approaching a new language, by the sheer number of new words we must learn. But extensive research has shown that we actually need a comparatively limited number of words to be able to communicate effectively in any language.

Language can be divided into two distinct categories: grammatical structures (function words) and concrete vocabulary (content words). By focusing on function words and enabling the student to comprehend and employ the structure of a new language, Dr. Pimsleur found that language learners were able to more readily put new knowledge to use. There are very few content words that are used every day. The essential core of a language involves function words, which tend to relate to human activities.

Principle #4: Organic Learning
The Pimsleur Method centers around teaching, in the shortest time possible, functional mastery in understanding and speaking a language. You will be working on your vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation all at once, while also learning phrases that have practical use in daily life. It has been said that language is primarily speech. With this concept in mind, Dr. Pimsleur created his language programs on audio because he knew that students of languages would learn better with their ears, not their eyes. This is achieved through what Dr. Pimsleur called "organic learning," which entails learning on several fronts at once. His system enables the student to learn grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation in a natural and exciting way.

This course is designed to teach you to understand and to speak the essential elements of your new language in a relatively short time. During each half-hour lesson, you will actually converse with two people, using the type of language spoken by educated citizens in their everyday business and social life. The program's unique method for presenting dialogue relieves you of most common learning problems.

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4. About Different Versions:

Quick and Simple - This version is inexpensive but only contains the first 8 half-hour lessons. You'll need to buy the comprehensive version to continue.

Instant Conversation - This version contains the first 16 half-hour lessons. You'll need the comprehensive version to continue.

Compact - Less-popular languages will only have this version. It contains 10 lessons.

Traveler's - Includes 16 lessons plus a phrase card, six postcards, and two luggage tags.

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5. Study Guidelines:

Each lesson is approximately 30 minutes long. Dr. Pimsleur's research shows this to be the optimum period for learning, after which the mind loses its ability to retain new information. Try your best to work through one lesson each and every day. Whether you move on to the next lesson daily or repeat those you feel unsure about, it is important that you familiarize yourself with the language on a daily basis.

Once you've started the program, simply follow the tutor's instructions. The most important instruction is to respond aloud when the tutor tells you to do so. There will be a pause after this instruction, giving you time to reply. It is essential to your progress that you speak out in a normal conversational voice when asked to respond. Your active participation in thinking and speaking is required for your success in mastering this course.

Do not have a paper and pen nearby during the lessons, and do not refer to dictionaries or other books. The Pimsleur Method works with the language-learning portion of your mind, requiring language to be processed in its spoken form. You will only interrupt the learning process if you try to write the words you hear.

Rules of thumb:

• Complete the lesson units in strict consecutive order -- don't skip around! -- doing no more than one lesson unit per day, although you can repeat the lesson unit for the day. Daily contact with the language is critical to successful learning.
• Listen carefully to each lesson unit. Always follow the directions of the instructor.
• Speak out loud when directed by the tutor and answer questions within the pauses provided. Do this prior to hearing the confirmation which is provided as reinforcement.
• Do all required activities according to instructions, without reference to any outside persons, book, or course.

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6. Testimonials:

"Pimsleur's the best for learning to converse in a foreign language quickly. I had 2 1/2 years of Spanish in high school and 2 more semesters in college, but I could barely read and I could speak even less-- I spent too much time learning what a past-participle was or memorizing the vocabulary for every relative in my extended family. Pimsleur focuses on conversation. I should mention, in an effort to try different things, I've also attempted to learn Spanish through Berlitz, Michel Thomas, Teach Yourself, Lonely Planet, and Living Language. All of these methods would have taught me more vocabulary than Pimsleur (Pimsleur's main weakness) had any of it actually stuck in my head... but it didn't. The Pimsleur method is superior to any of those competitors for learning to speak a foreign language." --W. Dermody (St. Louis, MO USA)

"If it weren't for this program, I would've quit the idea of learning Chinese - but this program made it so easy and effortless that even after this first level I was able to exchange few words with a waitress in a Chinese restaurant in Chinese and be understood. That was a tremendous confidence booster that motivated me to keep going and the whole process of going through this program was so easy and enjoyable that it seemed entirely effortless. It has transformed learning Chinese from impossibility into something easy to accomplish." --Laura De Giorgio  (Canada)

"Well, it's a long story but I'll try to make it short..... While I was in college, I traveled to the Russian Far East many times. I was volunteering on A Siberian (Amur) Tiger rescue program (quite a story in itself). Many times I was out in the Siberian forest with 4-10 men that didn't know one word of English! I yearned to learn the language for many reasons. One, for survival purposes in the forest, and secondly (maybe this should be the first reason) while at headquarters (in Khabarovsk) I was dying to converse with the incredibly beautiful women there. Back in The States I learned that a classmate had the Pimsleur tapes and wasn't using them anymore. So, I borrowed them and learned A TON! The Pimsleur tapes cut down the learning curve. You will be engaged in conversations in no time! My pronunciation was so good that some Russians second-guessed whether or not it was my native language. For example, while at a restaurant my Russian friends told me to ask our waitress something. They told me what to say and I repeated it to her when she came to our table. I didn't know that I had just asked her to sleep with me (I was still on the first lesson)! But, my pronunciation was so true that she didn't know it was a joke. My friends were dying in laughter and I was looking at them with the word "TOTAL CONFUSION" stamped on my forehead! She said, "justa moment paleez." She came back and said "Eet wuldz be ah plezshur." Then looked at both my friends and stuck her tongue out at them! It was hysterical. Well, the point is....these tapes first taught me basic conversation skills and later I could talk to any Russian speaking person with complete confidence. And the point I was trying to make with the "waitress story" is that your pronunciation will be 'native-like'!" --Jason Cameron (Sacramento, CA United States) 

Many many more positive feedbacks could be found on Amazon.com...

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7. More Learning Options:

• If you have a personal computer and enjoy sitting in front of it, you might consider the award-winning language learning software Rosetta Stone. Click here to learn more abut Rosetta Stone.

Finally, wish you all the success in your learning.

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