Pimsleur German Conversational Course - Level 1 Lessons 1-16 CD: Learn to Speak and Understand German with Pimsleur Language Programs (1)

This is an excellent way to introduce a language. The Pimsleur German course operates based on structure and vocabulary separately: rather than learning phrases, you learn speech. This actually teaches you the language, even though it leaves vocabulary far behind.As far as structure versus vocabulary goes, consider the syntactic layout of a language. In German, "I am going to drink," "I am drink," and "I drank" are the same; so "I drank beer" or "I will drink beer" would be "Ich trinke Bier." As far as vocabulary goes, you may also want to drink a beer: "Ich möchte ein Bier trinken." Now you have used the vocabulary "Ich," "Bier," and "trinken" in multiple structures. This means the words are familiar; the structure needs little explanation and is eventually learned by exposure.Discussing Wine (Wein) or "something" (etwas) to eat would reuse structure rather than vocabulary. You may have something to eat: "Ich habe Etwas essen." The same structure "I (verb) (noun) to (verb)" has been reused, and is immediately familiar when presented (by context of the lesson, which explains what's about to be said). Half of this sentence (its structure) is familiar; the rest (its vocabulary) you will learn.These blend together constantly, reusing structure and vocabulary constantly rather than constantly reusing the same structure to teach 300 vocabulary words ("I ate pie" "I ate chicken" "I ate beef" etc to teach you the words for "pie" "chicken" "beef"). Most significantly, every lesson starts with a short conversation and ends with a longer conversation. Because of this, language vocabulary and structure comes into play strongly: the conversations flow, and so cannot reuse simple structure or overuse vocabulary.Because of this method, you actually learn the language well before you can make use of it. You're already used to hearing and speaking German; but at the end, you have 50-100 vocabulary words to work with, and can barely ask for directions or buy food. Further study will fill in quite quickly, simply expanding your vocabulary and adding finer points of grammar and structure on. I found that even only on lesson 5 or 6, I understood German as German and not as English-German translation; I actually speak German, rather than thinking in English and working to translate to German.Whether you plan to continue with Pimsleur German I or take another strategy such as reading a book in German or studying formally in class, Conversational German is an excellent place to start and will bootstrap your understanding of the language extremely well. 4 years of Spanish study out of a book (high school, college) left me struggling to study, still trying to call up conjugation rules and vocabulary; 16 lessons of spoken German have left me not understanding those rules in any formal manner, but able to speak fluidly. Also, I only study sparsely; but I retain 100% of the information absolutely, even if I drop off for 3-4 months at a time. If I had to go to Germany, I would be confident in my ability to expand my understanding of the language in a matter of days or short weeks to fit whatever need I find.

I've finished 10 lessons so far, and I am generally pleased with the results. The intense audio method works well for me, increasing my comprehension and my ability to respond. I did not give it 5 stars because I have a couple serious issues. 1) There is no written text to accompany the dialog. I cannot learn by just responding to the audio, so I've kept a spreadsheet of all the words, phrases, and sentences that I hear. However, I have been unable to match a few of the words and phrases on any on-line translation service. One example is "well, then", When I listen to the cd, it sounds like 'izzo dunn'. If one types 'well, then' or 'in that case, then' in any online translater, you do not get any German text that looks like it would be pronounced 'izzo dunn'. So it would be very helpful to have a text list of all that is on the cd's. 2) The subject matter of the cd's is not focused on the average traveler. The German that you are learning is appropriate to a single man or woman visiting a German speaking country and seeking to meet and socialize with other German speakers. My wife and I intend to travel to Austria to be tourists (stay in hotels and B&B's, eat in restaurants, shop, visit museums and other attractions, travel on trains, etc), not to ask someone 'to have a drink at my place.'Other minor complaints are that the same word is pronounced differently by the man and woman on the cd, and at different times. Some simple and easy to pronounce words are repeated over and over, while difficult to pronounce words are often given much less attention. Rules on the position of words in a sentence are rarely explained - you are left to figure out the rules for yourself, based on what you hear.

I've been trying to learn the German language for 1 1/2 years because my parent company is based in Germany and I speak/correspond with them almost daily. I've tried Hueber, Langenscheidt, PONS and Rosetta Stone courses, but even though I was averaging 2 to 4 hours a day studying the language, I found these courses tedious and never came to the point where I could actually say anything beyond "Guten Tag" on the telephone. After a week using the Pimsleur method, I was able to hold simple conversations with my German co-workers. The best thing about this course is I am able to listen to it on the way to work, while getting dressed for work, sunning at the pool, etc. I am spending far less time studying but I'm learning at a much, much faster pace.I liked this course so much that I gave away my Rosetta Stone course, which cost a great deal of money, and I purchased the complete Pimsleur method (levels 1, 2, 3 and plus). A couple of my co-workers have borrowed my Pimsleur courses. I am currently mid-way through level 2 and I'm amazed at how quickly my vocabulary and understanding of the German language has increased. I now consider the hundreds (possibly thousands) of dollars I've spent on other language courses a complete waste of money and effort.If I could give this course 100 stars, I would! In all fairness to the other courses, I have to say I did learn many words, but I could not form sentences correctly. It would take hours to compose a simple e-mail before and I could only do so if I had one of my German dictionaries beside me. Trying to speak to someone in German was impossible for me to do. I would never have believed I could learn so quickly. I am amazed. If you want to learn a foreign language - skip the other courses until after you've tried Pimsleur. I think some of the others are okay, but do the Pimsleur first. You'll understand the others much better. Other methods try to teach grammar first. But when you first learned to talk, you learned to speak it first - then you went to school to learn grammar. Summary: Get this course!

Excellent way of learning another language. I bought it for learning during my commute however, on lesson 10 you are expected to engage with reading material. No good if you are driving. I was making very good progress until there but have now stopped because of that.

Fantastic.. really usefulI used it while driving to office.But COSTLY..

In learning languages no method is perfect but the Pimsleur method is the best oral method I have found. This said I have ordered the first level to complete the conversational course and the second level. The other methods which I have already bought will then be useful to increase the vocabulary level and grammar understanding among other things necessary in language studies to get beyond the intermediate level (A2, B1) to B2 and C1.

I like that I can load it onto any device and do the lessons while walking, gardening, whatever. I don't have to sit in front of the computer like some other programs. Even if I leave it for quite a while without practicing, it comes back to me quickly once I pick up again. The one con is that if you decide to buy the next level, it includes the same beginning lessons as this set. So you aren't getting as many new lessons as you'd think. I have decided this will be enough to get my by on my trip to Germany next year.

I have tried may language learning products, mostly online courses. I read good things about this product and decided totry it. I was quite surprised. This is by far the best. Because it ACTUALLY WORKS. I retained and was able to recall at least 95% of each lesson. Also the vocabulary stayed in my head. It works because of the way it's taught. If you practice at least an hour a day, and don't over-practice, I think you will be surprised at the results. Give it a try. Good for beginners.