Pimsleur language programs

We at WannaLearn are big fans of the Pimsleur approach to language learning.

With full courses in Chinese (both Mandarin and Cantonese), Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, Egyptian Arabic, Greek, Hebrew and Ukrainian, Pimsleur offers a truly unique and amazingly effective way to learn a foreign language.

Most traditional language courses are structured much the same way as a classical piano program. From the outset students are taught scales, arpeggios, exercises and other theoretical elements, and reading is heavily emphasized. Students who study a language formally through most methods likewise will predominantly work on grammar, verb conjugation, reading and writing exercises and the like. In both cases, there are some students who will flourish under this sort of system, but for countless others their initial passion to learn is outstretched by too much de-contextualized drudgery, and as a result will oftentimes perform poorly and adopt feelings that they are "no good at languages/music". We believe these sorts of feelings are more due to unfortunate pedagogy rather than personal deficiency of any kind.

Taking a Pimsleur course on the other hand is perhaps more analagous to studying jazz or pop music. Since these types of music are born out oral traditions, the best - perhaps the only - way to gain genuine proficiency is through developing the ability to think on one's feet and honing listening skills for real-world situations. Jazz musicians will learn small segments and phrases played by great musicians (like Charlie Parker and John Coltrane) by ear, and apply these phrases in their own playing. They will learn to play the phrases in every way conceivable - in all keys, fast and slow, backwards, upside-down - and over the course of time link this new knowledge to other phrases and to their own ideas as well. In much the same fashion, Pimsleur language courses introduce students to short, very practical snippets of the language they are learning, and in a varied, lively and progressive way have the students repeat the phrases in different ways and different contexts. Through this approach, students are immediately using the language, and without even realizing it are memorizing it as well. Not only that, but they are learning their new language in almost exactly the same way they learned to speak English!

And, ALL of this is accomplished without the need of a book of any kind. This means you can truly learn a foreign language in your car, or while cooking, babysitting, sitting in the dark, juggling....

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Pimsleur Chinese
	Chinese (Mandarin) - Level I Chinese (Mandarin) - Level II Chinese (Cantonese) - Level I	CD version CD version -	cassette version cassette version cassette version
Pimsleur Spanish
	Spanish - Level I Spanish - Level II Spanish - Level III	- CD version CD version	cassette version cassette version cassette version
Pimsleur French
	French - Level I French - Level II French - Level III	CD version CD version CD version	cassette version cassette version cassette version
Pimsleur German
	German - Level I German - Level II German - Level III	CD version CD version CD version	cassette version cassette version cassette version
Pimsleur Italian
	Italian - Level I Italian - Level II Italian - Level III	CD version CD version CD version	cassette version cassette version cassette version
Pimsleur Japanese
	Japanese - Level I Japanese - Level II Japanese - Level III	CD version CD version -	cassette version cassette version cassette version
Pimsleur Russian
	Russian - Level I Russian - Level II Russian - Level III	CD version CD version CD version	cassette version cassette version cassette version
Other Languages
	Brazilian Portuguese -- Level I - Level II Egyptian Arabic Greek Hebrew Ukrainian For English courses, Click Here

In association with:

Most Pimsleur language courses are available on either CDs or cassette tapes. While the cassettes are a little less expensive, we recommend choosing the CD editions where available for the following reasons:

• Superior audio quality of the compact disc enables your ear to pick up the subtler qualities of the accent.
• It is much easier and faster to repeat sections that you would like to hear again. This will occur a lot.
• Tapes are becoming obsolete.
• Higher resale value. When you are through with the courses, you can easily sell them on eBay!, or redeploy them as very, very nice hand-me-downs to friends or family members!

Summary of Features and Benefits

• No book required at any point; you can truly learn a foreign language while driving, cooking, sewing, etc.
• No outside practice required; the "practice" component is fully integrated in the lessons
• Exceptionally well-produced. Crystal-clear audio.
• A whole range of English courses are available, tailored to the specific needs of speakers of other languages.
• Full courses in Chinese (both Mandarin and Cantonese), Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, Egyptian Arabic, Greek, Hebrew and Ukrainian.

Pimsleur language programs

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