I studied Pimsleur Japanese about 20 years ago on cd. I made it a little ways into the course when my cd player broke. I never finished. Then, ended up going to Japan and had no issues. In one instance a cab driver wanted to know which “You Me Town”, it’s like a big box mini mall, I didn’t know how to tell him because I didn’t know exactly where it was. So I basically said, “ Please take me to you me town near Saijo (town) train station.” He was floored a big American spoke Japanese. I was hired last year by a Japanese Corporation. I still remember about 50-60% of what I learned all those years ago. I use some of it daily. I ask them if they understand. Usually they say yes. I then ask do you understand very well? Then they will carefully consider and either say yes, but sometimes ask me to please explain. Then I was detained by Tokyo police. Apparently I wasn’t supposed to be holding my luggage at the airport. You’re supposed to ch ck it in immediately. I was able to understand him pretty well. He wanted to know if I understood that he was not security, but an actual Tokyo Police Officer. I was able to tell him that I understood what he was saying very well. He then started with his questions. Answered all of them, and they told me I had to leave. I very politely thanked him and told him to have a nice day. 100% recommend. I’m going to sign up for the month to month.
Thanks, it's always nice to hear these stories. For some reason, some people don't believe in the power of Pimsleur. They clearly haven't persevered long enough.
I am 68 years old and planning to visit Japan in 2024. Pimsleur is helping me to learn and REMEMBER key conversations. I don’t expect to be fluent. I just want to be able to navigate restaurants and train stations and hotels. I expect to sound like a 5 year old kid but it’s really really fun and I’m making new brain cells in the process 😂
Pimsleur is actually really good for this. And honestly you can go through faster than 5 months. Just do the course work twice as fast and you can do it in 10 weeks. Makes for a perfect pre trip study timeline.
I have been studying Japanese on my own for 3 years. I feel confident that I could survive if I was dropped in the middle of rural japan. To me satori reader, watching Japanese news on RUclips , and doing anki decks has been the fastest way to improve comprehension. Along with just watching a bunch of Japanese content on RUclips or Netflix etc .Obviously if you can afford some sort of online Japanese conversation tutor that is really helpful too. Good luck on your visit to Japan.
@@jaimemartinez8300 Do these: "Kanji in Context: Revised Edition" and "Remembering the Kanji 1, 6th edition (2200 kanji)" -- do these as you do the following decks: JLPT Tango N5 Japanese, AND, Japanese Core 2000 Step 01 Listening Sentence Vocab + Images -- do these at the same time. When you finish these decks (i.e. no more new cards available) go on to the following: Then do JLPT N4 Omega AND Japanese Core 20000 Step 02 Listening Sentence Vocab + Images use these Anki settings: ruclips.net/video/Zbrq1-euph0/видео.htmlsi=9Y9y6IXGJca181Fs&t=666
Pimsleur is sensational! I love it. To start learning, I would recommend it first thing. Not reading anything and sticking only to audio in the beginning is what prevents you from speaking with a heavy foreign accent, because you have to really imitate what you hear. Reading from the start would get you to inadvertently speak using phonemes from your own language, and it's difficult not to create an accent.
I really like Pimsleur, and I’m working through Japanese - the 5 levels offer closer to 1400 words in total, however that’s impressive considering it’s Japanese imo. One thing though is that the lessons usually take me longer than 30 mins, more like 45, if I pause when I get stuck and give myself time to actually dig the answer out of my brain (I find I retain things better that way). I also found that it’s not something I can do while doing another task (which is something everybody praises about it) because it requires 100% of my attention (perhaps I’m just slow!) and so I prefer to sit or lie down for the duration where I can easily do a quick pause to allow myself time to think about how to say the words and connect dots / come to realisations.
Hello Lois.. I am from Saudi Arabia.. I have always been interested in learning Japanese.. Of course the reason is that my father spent 8 and half years in Japan between 80s and 90s and obtained a diploma, bachelor's and finally a master's degree from the prestigious University of Tokyo in (Total Quality Management) and during that time he delved into learning Japanese and when he returned to Saudi Arabia everyone was shocked at how he mastered it even in vocal expressions and he still does.. Japan is a great country and I hope it flourishes every day.. Thank you for all the useful information you provided. With Love❤
two rocks, one bird 😉 great video. pretty wild how hard it is to find a 'down to earth' review from the perspective of someone who's learned multiple languages; seems like ego fights its way in far too often anyway, thank you for this! i've been bouncing around different programs, and this is exactly the nudge i needed to settle into a solid routine
Hi Lois, I am from England and it is currently 2:30am and I was bored just browsing youtube to put me to sleep and came across your video posted 30 minutes ago and it is just the video I needed. I want to learn french as I want to move there in the next couple of years and I am going to start it by using Pimsleur. I have completed lesson 1 today and hopefully the resource will serve me well as I have heard a lot of good reviews and feedback from it. Great video though!! Your channel is one of the best language channels out there in my opinion, I love how genuine and honest your videos are so whenever you say something I will always trust what you say haha. I am baffled as to how you only have 1.32K subscribers at the time of posting this comment though...?!?!?!?!?! I do not know how you don't have way more!!! Keep up the great work Lois, I look forward to more of your language learning videos.
Thanks a lot for the feedback. Just a heads-up, I'm going to be posting more videos about Pimsleur in the future (for other languages). The points I will make will be pretty much the same, so, you probably don't need to watch them if they ever appear in your feed
Hi SBH, I have been learning French with Pimsleur from July 2022 and I am on Level 2, lesson 18 as of Dec 11, 2022 (today). I have found that I need to do each lesson about 4 or 5 times before moving to the next one (you will see why starting lesson 5). Otherwise , Pimsleur is great I love it and recommend it. And I have to say it is probably the best way to start learning any language especially French. All the best !
I suggest for those people who want to try the Pimsleur method to read the book "How to Learn a Foreign Language" by Paul Pimsleur himself In this book, he detailed why his courses were designed that way and how can you make one for yourself. It can also give you an idea on how to use the course properly so you can learn more effectively.
I studied Japanese on and off for the better part of 20 years (beginning in the 90s). Sadly, I never become fluent but had a good grasp on grammar and writing. After all those years, I finally had the chance to go to Japan, so I studied hard for ~7 months primarily relying on 'shadowing' a dozen or so podcast episodes of a now-defunct Japanese podcast. While in Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka), I actually did pretty well nearly everywhere I went, albeit in a limited capacity - navigating the train station, speaking with a cab driver, ordering food, etc. While it cannot replace the absolute best method (complete immersion), Pimsleur relies on a technique that I have personally experienced to be effective - shadowing dialogue and like you said, spaced repetition. Also, I feel like it does a decent job at 'mixing and matching' vocabulary/material you've already covered to create new sentences or things to say. Currently using it to learn Italian, after 6 months I speak at a level that took me significantly longer to reach for Japanese. Sad.
I am doing Pimsleur Japanese. Just beginning. I really like it. However, my memory is not that great so I repeat each lesson 3 or 5 days in a row. So it is slow going for me. With Spanish, Italian, and German I could do 1 lesson and then move on. But for Japanese, it is harder for me so I have to repeat it several days in a row. So it will take me a long time to finish it. But Pimsleur definitely works.
I’m learning the way you do too, and I’ve got to lesson 6 and I’m like ‘I gave to listen to 4 and 5 at least once more’, and I realise that’s maybe just the resistance of a‘confidence jump’ - nit wanting to miss something or make a mistake. What’s helping me is to write down the phrases that don’t stick or that confuse me in a notebook. I also watch the Japanese from zero video lessons on RUclips, and channels like ‘Yuka Chan’ (the rickshaw girl). That helps.
hello...thanks for the video. I am currently working my way through the early stages of the Pimsleur course, and am wanting to do a bit more each day, but not necessarily more Pimsleur. What kind of things do people recommend as a potential supplement to the Pimsleur course? For a little context, I am trying to learn as much conversational Japanese (I studied the alphabets a while back and am not so interested in reading/writing right now) as possible during a few months of summer holiday...I assume just more listening to suitable content, etc, and so if anyone has any recommendations on such content that would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance :))
Hey, not sure if the link isn't working, but it's not leading to the monthly subscription service but to the pimsleur home page? I can't find the subscription service you were talking about.
I will say pimsleur has more authentic sounding audio then all of the other ai generated learner apps. And you'll become more accustomed to hearing japanese which is a huge help in the beginning
Louis, thanks for your excellent and helpful review! I need your advice here. Im actually learning jaoanese with pimsleur and Ive just finished level 1 ( today indeed); Im also learning French actually level 1 in the 20th lesson, and started arabic actually my third lesson in the app,, ( it happens that my french tutor in italki also is an arabic native speaker, so she is helping me with both languajes. As you can notice that leaves me with three pismleur classes daily. Do you consider is adviceable / posibke to keeo doing so? I think Im not having many issues with French because my native languaje is spanish , but arabic its a real challenge. Any suggestions with this? And by the way Im eager to try fluent falcon! Best wishes!
3 languages is a lot, especially considering that Japanese and Arabic are extremely hard. If I were you, I would drop either Arabic, or Japanese. French is fine since you are a Spanish speaker.
Je suis anglais, et en college j'ai etudié Français. Mais je ne suis fluent en le langue. Nous aprons environ 400-600 mots mais j'oublié le nombre exactment. C'etait en experience incroyable, mais j'ai vouderais apron plus. I don't usually speak french though so I do forget quite a bit of it. It still sticks with me though even after my speaking exam was over a year ago, I think, now. Good luck to everyone learning a new language. I just started learning Japanese with pimsleur and it's been a good experience so far. However I have enough time in a day to do two lessons (usually). So I'm 4 days in and on lesson 7 of level 1. I don't think that it has reduced my learning though.
Any advice on what to do after finishing the Pimsleur course? I’ve really been enjoying having such structure and progression for my learning and it has really paid dividends, but I am worried I will lose the momentum when I finish the course. Cheers!
Have you had any major conversations in Russian yet? I did 10 lessons of Pimsleur Spanish in 2004 and moved on to the similar but more informal Learning Spanish Like Crazy. I also did 10 lessons of French then moved to Michel Thomas. It was only the costs that made me check the others. They were good, really good. But I'd be lying if I didn't say Pimsleur was the greatest springboard beforehand. Without them I'd have never believed i could be more than monolingual and now 17 years later I speak 3 languages and dabble in like 6 more!!!!
@@bflatfive9456 No, Chinese is not 2000 words. The European languages have about 500 words per level if you are including the different variations of words. Like verb conjugations. Chinese, which is a more difficult language is not the same as the European languages, so the vocabulary is notably lower. Maybe 200 words per level, so slash the 2000 by half. Likely 1000 words overall, considering the amount of repetitions that need to be accomplished in Pimsleur itself.
I’m a truck driver sometimes I can 3-5 lessons in one session. A lot of times I just listened to the tapes most of the time but it is good to repeat what is being said. My only issue with Pimsleur is the audio tapes do not have a subtitles within the conversation.
Interesting video. I agree with all the ideas; how a well structured audio course with built-in SRS can help you approach fluency much faster than other traditional textbook methods. However, I am very sceptical that in 5 months, doing only 30 minutes per day, Pimsleur (or any other method) will get you to a B1 level of Japanese. If you look at the Foreign Service numbers for the number of study hours needed to attain fluency in Japanese, this becomes obvious. According to the American FS, who probably know a lot more about language learning than you or me, it takes on average 2200 class hours, plus extra individual study, to get to minimal fluency. Even if that is to a higher level than B1, the difference in hours is enormous. You were talking about 75 hours study time TOTAL for Pimsleur. I have been studying Japanese for nearly a year, and I have recorded all my study sessions. So far I have done exactly 646 hours with several different apps and methods. I can say with certainty that I am not at a B1 level yet. The idea that you just do a course and magically remember everything may work for a few geniuses, but it obviously doesn't work for the Foreign Service diplomats, who I imagine are not complete dummies, and it doesn't work for me. I have to do Genki, then do it again, then review all the vocabulary on Anki, then watch a ton of RUclips videos, have lessons with a native speaker on Italki, then listen to podcasts, etc. Things take A LOT of repetition to really stick, and selling people the dream that they will become fluent in Japanese after 5 months of just listening to 75 hours of audio lessons while they commute to work, is setting them up to fail, unless they have genius level learning capabilities.
Yeah. A couple of things to take into account regarding Pimsleur is that there "might" be something like 500 words on level 1, but since many of these are repeated at each level, the total number of words are more like 1250-1500 after 5 levels. That equals more like a strong A1 or low A2. An other thing is the grammar, you have very basic grammar with Pimsleur, as it is inteded just for conversations. The last thing I want to add is writing, it is nonexistant with Pimsleur. There are reading excerps, but those are not included in the 75hrs. With that in mind, I would still recommend Pimsleur for beginners that quickly want to be able to speak. It is a good method for pronunciation and the you will be able to construct sentences with the words you know. Every word will be active, not passive. When I started arabic we sat for 4 weeks just with the alphabeth and then many more with the case system. I couldn't say more than a few sentences after many weeks. That is not the case with Pimlseur. I'd say that Pimsleur is excellent within its limitations, and a good way to start to learn a language, but not a complete method.
Did you know the subscription is only available for people with a billing address in the US, Canada, UK or Australia? I'm so disappointed. Now I can't use it.
I tried pimsler. I may get it, I just wish that it was in 15 minutes sessions instead of 30. My mind wanders and is very blah by the time it gets to 20 25 minutes.
@@loistalagrand Yes, I am taking it. The only thing that's worrying me is I'll do the lessons and I would hear masu, desu, and ka at the end But when I would watch a Japanese reality show like Terrace house, The Japanese people would rarely end a sentence or ask a question with those words at the end. And so I'm just worried if I'm learning just super formal Japanese compared to what or how they would really talk
I do it in 15 minute sessions. Yes, they recommend 30 minute sessions, but it is not absolutely necessary. I agree it is boring after a while. Better to take a break and then come back to it. And I frequently repeat lessons, especially at first. It may take 2 or 3 repetitions to remember a lesson. You can do it the way that works for you.
Quick pronunciation note with a bit of additional information: Sī-mon and Schū-ster is nearly 100 year old, very important publishing house in the US, third largest according to Wikipedia. Also, the 'o' in "month" is not pronounced like 'on' like off and on, but rather like the 'u' in 'under'. So like, 'munth.' It looks worse than it sounds! (Man, your English is so much better than most native speakers, whether UK, Commonwealth, or US! I can only strive for something close in French. Beautiful!)
I’m trying to learn Japanese so I can work at a restaurant in Tokyo Japan 🇯🇵 ❤ After I get married to my dream Japanese wife in my favorite country I’ve never been to Japan but I’ve heard it’s such a beautiful country to live in 😊
I studied Pimsleur Japanese about 20 years ago on cd. I made it a little ways into the course when my cd player broke. I never finished. Then, ended up going to Japan and had no issues. In one instance a cab driver wanted to know which “You Me Town”, it’s like a big box mini mall, I didn’t know how to tell him because I didn’t know exactly where it was. So I basically said, “ Please take me to you me town near Saijo (town) train station.” He was floored a big American spoke Japanese. I was hired last year by a Japanese Corporation. I still remember about 50-60% of what I learned all those years ago. I use some of it daily. I ask them if they understand. Usually they say yes. I then ask do you understand very well? Then they will carefully consider and either say yes, but sometimes ask me to please explain.
Then I was detained by Tokyo police. Apparently I wasn’t supposed to be holding my luggage at the airport. You’re supposed to ch ck it in immediately. I was able to understand him pretty well. He wanted to know if I understood that he was not security, but an actual Tokyo Police Officer. I was able to tell him that I understood what he was saying very well. He then started with his questions. Answered all of them, and they told me I had to leave. I very politely thanked him and told him to have a nice day.
100% recommend. I’m going to sign up for the month to month.
Thanks, it's always nice to hear these stories. For some reason, some people don't believe in the power of Pimsleur. They clearly haven't persevered long enough.
😂😂😂😂
I am 68 years old and planning to visit Japan in 2024. Pimsleur is helping me to learn and REMEMBER key conversations. I don’t expect to be fluent. I just want to be able to navigate restaurants and train stations and hotels. I expect to sound like a 5 year old kid but it’s really really fun and I’m making new brain cells in the process 😂
Pimsleur is actually really good for this. And honestly you can go through faster than 5 months. Just do the course work twice as fast and you can do it in 10 weeks. Makes for a perfect pre trip study timeline.
I have been studying Japanese on my own for 3 years. I feel confident that I could survive if I was dropped in the middle of rural japan. To me satori reader, watching Japanese news on RUclips , and doing anki decks has been the fastest way to improve comprehension. Along with just watching a bunch of Japanese content on RUclips or Netflix etc .Obviously if you can afford some sort of online Japanese conversation tutor that is really helpful too. Good luck on your visit to Japan.
@@SuonoReale which Anki decks did you start with , there are so many!
@@jaimemartinez8300
Do these:
"Kanji in Context: Revised Edition" and "Remembering the Kanji 1, 6th edition (2200 kanji)" -- do these as you do the following decks:
JLPT Tango N5 Japanese, AND, Japanese Core 2000 Step 01 Listening Sentence Vocab + Images -- do these at the same time. When you finish these decks (i.e. no more new cards available) go on to the following:
Then do JLPT N4 Omega AND Japanese Core 20000 Step 02 Listening Sentence Vocab + Images
use these Anki settings:
ruclips.net/video/Zbrq1-euph0/видео.htmlsi=9Y9y6IXGJca181Fs&t=666
Pimsleur is sensational! I love it. To start learning, I would recommend it first thing. Not reading anything and sticking only to audio in the beginning is what prevents you from speaking with a heavy foreign accent, because you have to really imitate what you hear. Reading from the start would get you to inadvertently speak using phonemes from your own language, and it's difficult not to create an accent.
Glad there are other Pimsleur lovers out there!
I really like Pimsleur, and I’m working through Japanese - the 5 levels offer closer to 1400 words in total, however that’s impressive considering it’s Japanese imo. One thing though is that the lessons usually take me longer than 30 mins, more like 45, if I pause when I get stuck and give myself time to actually dig the answer out of my brain (I find I retain things better that way). I also found that it’s not something I can do while doing another task (which is something everybody praises about it) because it requires 100% of my attention (perhaps I’m just slow!) and so I prefer to sit or lie down for the duration where I can easily do a quick pause to allow myself time to think about how to say the words and connect dots / come to realisations.
Hello Lois.. I am from Saudi Arabia.. I have always been interested in learning Japanese.. Of course the reason is that my father spent 8 and half years in Japan between 80s and 90s and obtained a diploma, bachelor's and finally a master's degree from the prestigious University of Tokyo in (Total Quality Management) and during that time he delved into learning Japanese and when he returned to Saudi Arabia everyone was shocked at how he mastered it even in vocal expressions and he still does.. Japan is a great country and I hope it flourishes every day..
Thank you for all the useful information you provided.
With Love❤
i am a french native speaker and didn't realize he was a french native TT
Thank you very much, I would never have realized your native language is French, your accent is superb!
two rocks, one bird 😉
great video. pretty wild how hard it is to find a 'down to earth' review from the perspective of someone who's learned multiple languages; seems like ego fights its way in far too often
anyway, thank you for this! i've been bouncing around different programs, and this is exactly the nudge i needed to settle into a solid routine
Thanks! 👍
Gracias Lois por tu recomencacion.
Wonderful review
Hi Lois, I am from England and it is currently 2:30am and I was bored just browsing youtube to put me to sleep and came across your video posted 30 minutes ago and it is just the video I needed. I want to learn french as I want to move there in the next couple of years and I am going to start it by using Pimsleur. I have completed lesson 1 today and hopefully the resource will serve me well as I have heard a lot of good reviews and feedback from it. Great video though!! Your channel is one of the best language channels out there in my opinion, I love how genuine and honest your videos are so whenever you say something I will always trust what you say haha. I am baffled as to how you only have 1.32K subscribers at the time of posting this comment though...?!?!?!?!?! I do not know how you don't have way more!!! Keep up the great work Lois, I look forward to more of your language learning videos.
Let me add also, as a native English speaker your English is amazing!!!
Thanks a lot for the feedback. Just a heads-up, I'm going to be posting more videos about Pimsleur in the future (for other languages). The points I will make will be pretty much the same, so, you probably don't need to watch them if they ever appear in your feed
Hi SBH, I have been learning French with Pimsleur from July 2022 and I am on Level 2, lesson 18 as of Dec 11, 2022 (today). I have found that I need to do each lesson about 4 or 5 times before moving to the next one (you will see why starting lesson 5). Otherwise , Pimsleur is great I love it and recommend it. And I have to say it is probably the best way to start learning any language especially French. All the best !
I suggest for those people who want to try the Pimsleur method to read the book "How to Learn a Foreign Language" by Paul Pimsleur himself
In this book, he detailed why his courses were designed that way and how can you make one for yourself. It can also give you an idea on how to use the course properly so you can learn more effectively.
It is an excellent book!
I love the way you speak english..plus the fact that you are a good looking guy..😘😍🎈🎈🥳🥳
I studied Japanese on and off for the better part of 20 years (beginning in the 90s). Sadly, I never become fluent but had a good grasp on grammar and writing. After all those years, I finally had the chance to go to Japan, so I studied hard for ~7 months primarily relying on 'shadowing' a dozen or so podcast episodes of a now-defunct Japanese podcast. While in Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka), I actually did pretty well nearly everywhere I went, albeit in a limited capacity - navigating the train station, speaking with a cab driver, ordering food, etc. While it cannot replace the absolute best method (complete immersion), Pimsleur relies on a technique that I have personally experienced to be effective - shadowing dialogue and like you said, spaced repetition. Also, I feel like it does a decent job at 'mixing and matching' vocabulary/material you've already covered to create new sentences or things to say. Currently using it to learn Italian, after 6 months I speak at a level that took me significantly longer to reach for Japanese. Sad.
Excellent review, your English is terrific, better than many Americans. I am definitely given much consideration to purchase the course.
Thank you!
Great video Loïs
Thanks!
I am doing Pimsleur Japanese. Just beginning. I really like it. However, my memory is not that great so I repeat each lesson 3 or 5 days in a row. So it is slow going for me. With Spanish, Italian, and German I could do 1 lesson and then move on. But for Japanese, it is harder for me so I have to repeat it several days in a row. So it will take me a long time to finish it. But Pimsleur definitely works.
Slow and steady wins the race!
I’m learning the way you do too, and I’ve got to lesson 6 and I’m like ‘I gave to listen to 4 and 5 at least once more’, and I realise that’s maybe just the resistance of a‘confidence jump’ - nit wanting to miss something or make a mistake. What’s helping me is to write down the phrases that don’t stick or that confuse me in a notebook. I also watch the Japanese from zero video lessons on RUclips, and channels like ‘Yuka Chan’ (the rickshaw girl). That helps.
hello...thanks for the video. I am currently working my way through the early stages of the Pimsleur course, and am wanting to do a bit more each day, but not necessarily more Pimsleur. What kind of things do people recommend as a potential supplement to the Pimsleur course? For a little context, I am trying to learn as much conversational Japanese (I studied the alphabets a while back and am not so interested in reading/writing right now) as possible during a few months of summer holiday...I assume just more listening to suitable content, etc, and so if anyone has any recommendations on such content that would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance :))
Hey, not sure if the link isn't working, but it's not leading to the monthly subscription service but to the pimsleur home page? I can't find the subscription service you were talking about.
The link will lead you to a free trial. When the free trial is over, you'll be presented with the monthly plan.
I will say pimsleur has more authentic sounding audio then all of the other ai generated learner apps. And you'll become more accustomed to hearing japanese which is a huge help in the beginning
Louis, thanks for your excellent and helpful review! I need your advice here. Im actually learning jaoanese with pimsleur and Ive just finished level 1 ( today indeed); Im also learning French actually level 1 in the 20th lesson, and started arabic actually my third lesson in the app,, ( it happens that my french tutor in italki also is an arabic native speaker, so she is helping me with both languajes. As you can notice that leaves me with three pismleur classes daily. Do you consider is adviceable / posibke to keeo doing so? I think Im not having many issues with French because my native languaje is spanish , but arabic its a real challenge. Any suggestions with this? And by the way Im eager to try fluent falcon! Best wishes!
3 languages is a lot, especially considering that Japanese and Arabic are extremely hard.
If I were you, I would drop either Arabic, or Japanese. French is fine since you are a Spanish speaker.
@@loistalagrand thanks a lot! I will do as you advice, japanese and french!
Je suis anglais, et en college j'ai etudié Français. Mais je ne suis fluent en le langue. Nous aprons environ 400-600 mots mais j'oublié le nombre exactment. C'etait en experience incroyable, mais j'ai vouderais apron plus. I don't usually speak french though so I do forget quite a bit of it. It still sticks with me though even after my speaking exam was over a year ago, I think, now. Good luck to everyone learning a new language. I just started learning Japanese with pimsleur and it's been a good experience so far. However I have enough time in a day to do two lessons (usually). So I'm 4 days in and on lesson 7 of level 1. I don't think that it has reduced my learning though.
Any advice on what to do after finishing the Pimsleur course? I’ve really been enjoying having such structure and progression for my learning and it has really paid dividends, but I am worried I will lose the momentum when I finish the course. Cheers!
probably start trying to have real conversations with real people, whether its in person or online
I’ve finished 3 leves in Russian after 5 months still remember everything,
Great! How would you rate Pimsleur overall?
@@loistalagrand to me is great 👍🏻, but now im not only with pimsleur , I use tandem and found many people to talk with , that way im leaning more
Have you had any major conversations in Russian yet?
I did 10 lessons of Pimsleur Spanish in 2004 and moved on to the similar but more informal Learning Spanish Like Crazy. I also did 10 lessons of French then moved to Michel Thomas.
It was only the costs that made me check the others. They were good, really good. But I'd be lying if I didn't say Pimsleur was the greatest springboard beforehand. Without them I'd have never believed i could be more than monolingual and now 17 years later I speak 3 languages and dabble in like 6 more!!!!
Great job bro! How many words do the Chinese Mandarin offer? 2000 as well? Thanks in advance!
Pimsleur Chinese also has 5 levels, so yes, about 2 000 words
@@loistalagrand Thanks for the rapid reply!
@@bflatfive9456 No, Chinese is not 2000 words. The European languages have about 500 words per level if you are including the different variations of words. Like verb conjugations. Chinese, which is a more difficult language is not the same as the European languages, so the vocabulary is notably lower. Maybe 200 words per level, so slash the 2000 by half. Likely 1000 words overall, considering the amount of repetitions that need to be accomplished in Pimsleur itself.
I’m a truck driver sometimes I can 3-5 lessons in one session. A lot of times I just listened to the tapes most of the time but it is good to repeat what is being said. My only issue with Pimsleur is the audio tapes do not have a subtitles within the conversation.
Thanks for sharing
Did you start when you are absolute beginner? What if one knows basic Japanese ? Can I start on level 2 or 3?
Depends on what you mean by "basic Japanese". Try the first lesson. If it's way too easy, then you can skip a level or two.
Just start from lesson 1.
Interesting video. I agree with all the ideas; how a well structured audio course with built-in SRS can help you approach fluency much faster than other traditional textbook methods. However, I am very sceptical that in 5 months, doing only 30 minutes per day, Pimsleur (or any other method) will get you to a B1 level of Japanese. If you look at the Foreign Service numbers for the number of study hours needed to attain fluency in Japanese, this becomes obvious. According to the American FS, who probably know a lot more about language learning than you or me, it takes on average 2200 class hours, plus extra individual study, to get to minimal fluency. Even if that is to a higher level than B1, the difference in hours is enormous. You were talking about 75 hours study time TOTAL for Pimsleur. I have been studying Japanese for nearly a year, and I have recorded all my study sessions. So far I have done exactly 646 hours with several different apps and methods. I can say with certainty that I am not at a B1 level yet. The idea that you just do a course and magically remember everything may work for a few geniuses, but it obviously doesn't work for the Foreign Service diplomats, who I imagine are not complete dummies, and it doesn't work for me. I have to do Genki, then do it again, then review all the vocabulary on Anki, then watch a ton of RUclips videos, have lessons with a native speaker on Italki, then listen to podcasts, etc. Things take A LOT of repetition to really stick, and selling people the dream that they will become fluent in Japanese after 5 months of just listening to 75 hours of audio lessons while they commute to work, is setting them up to fail, unless they have genius level learning capabilities.
Yeah. A couple of things to take into account regarding Pimsleur is that there "might" be something like 500 words on level 1, but since many of these are repeated at each level, the total number of words are more like 1250-1500 after 5 levels.
That equals more like a strong A1 or low A2.
An other thing is the grammar, you have very basic grammar with Pimsleur, as it is inteded just for conversations.
The last thing I want to add is writing, it is nonexistant with Pimsleur. There are reading excerps, but those are not included in the 75hrs.
With that in mind, I would still recommend Pimsleur for beginners that quickly want to be able to speak. It is a good method for pronunciation and the you will be able to construct sentences with the words you know. Every word will be active, not passive.
When I started arabic we sat for 4 weeks just with the alphabeth and then many more with the case system. I couldn't say more than a few sentences after many weeks. That is not the case with Pimlseur.
I'd say that Pimsleur is excellent within its limitations, and a good way to start to learn a language, but not a complete method.
Did you know the subscription is only available for people with a billing address in the US, Canada, UK or Australia? I'm so disappointed. Now I can't use it.
I tried pimsler. I may get it, I just wish that it was in 15 minutes sessions instead of 30. My mind wanders and is very blah by the time it gets to 20 25 minutes.
Are you participating in the lesson? It is true that it gets repetitive, but I feel like it may be the lesser evil when compared with other methods.
@@loistalagrand Yes, I am taking it. The only thing that's worrying me is I'll do the lessons and I would hear masu, desu, and ka at the end
But when I would watch a Japanese reality show like Terrace house, The Japanese people would rarely end a sentence or ask a question with those words at the end. And so I'm just worried if I'm learning just super formal Japanese compared to what or how they would really talk
I do it in 15 minute sessions. Yes, they recommend 30 minute sessions, but it is not absolutely necessary. I agree it is boring after a while. Better to take a break and then come back to it. And I frequently repeat lessons, especially at first. It may take 2 or 3 repetitions to remember a lesson. You can do it the way that works for you.
Quick pronunciation note with a bit of additional information:
Sī-mon and Schū-ster is nearly 100 year old, very important publishing house in the US, third largest according to Wikipedia.
Also, the 'o' in "month" is not pronounced like 'on' like off and on, but rather like the 'u' in 'under'. So like, 'munth.'
It looks worse than it sounds!
(Man, your English is so much better than most native speakers, whether UK, Commonwealth, or US! I can only strive for something close in French. Beautiful!)
This individual is right, your English is superb man
Nice shirt! What is it?
Thanks! I believe it's a Façonnable shirt.
Damn near thought you were a native speaker of English 💀. I could only hope to get as good at a second language
fluent? fluent? people are crazy how they use the word fluent. fluent in 5 months? maybe fluent after 5 years in country. maybe.
I’m trying to learn Japanese so I can work at a restaurant in Tokyo Japan 🇯🇵 ❤
After I get married to my dream Japanese wife in my favorite country I’ve never been to Japan but I’ve heard it’s such a beautiful country to live in 😊