Pimsleur Language Programs, founded by Dr. Paul Pimsleur and owned by Simon & Schuster, have been on the market in various forms since 1963. Pimsleur is an audio-based language learning program that can be accessed online via its website or app. The material is divided into 30-minute lessons, and Pimsleur recommends that you complete one lesson per day. The majority of the content is audio, but each lesson includes optional (but highly recommended) short lessons in reading and pronunciation, as well as games and flashcards to help you learn new vocabulary.
Pimsleur places an emphasis on conversational skills, introducing grammar and vocabulary through context. There are no word lists to memorize, conjugation charts, or much interaction with your screen. If you've ever tried learning a language with a language tape, you'll recognize this method. It may take a moment for users who are more accustomed to learning languages in a text-based classroom to adjust.
I tried Pimsleur's Spanish program for the first two weeks. Pimsleur offers five levels of Spanish instruction, each with thirty lessons, for a total of seventy-five hours of audio content.
What is the price of Pimsleur?
If you want to purchase the entire Spanish language program, it will cost you $550. That's a significant sum of money, especially if you're not certain you'll enjoy the program. Fortunately, Pimsleur provides both a free seven-day trial and an alternative pricing structure. Would you rather pay a set monthly fee? A Pimsleur subscription, which costs $14.95 per month, is an option.
Let's dissect that. My Spanish program consists of 150 lessons in total. I'd finish the program in five months if I lived an ideal, perfectly balanced life and did exactly one new lesson every single day. If I had a Pimsleur subscription, these five months would have cost me around $75.
There's a big difference between $75 and $550! I'd have to subscribe to Pimsleur for 37 months before it became more expensive than purchasing the entire program. So, if you think you can finish those 150 lessons in less than three years—or, even better, in less than 150 days—this is a pretty good deal.
However, the math isn't the only factor to consider. There are numerous reasons why you might want to pay for the entire program. For one thing, knowing that the program is yours is comforting. With the flat purchase, you could set aside Pimsleur for five years and return to it when you're ready. You might also want to take a break before moving up a level—after all, college students don't take five semesters of Spanish in a row. Pimsleur also encourages you to go back over old lessons if you need more practice, which you may be less likely to do if you're watching the clock.
What languages is Pimsleur available in?
Pimsleur currently offers 59 languages, with over 200 courses covering a variety of dialects. Pimsleur also offers fourteen variations on their English language program, each tailored to speakers of a different native language.
On Pimsleur's website, you can find a complete list of its courses.
Pimsleur works in what way?
I sat occasionally to concentrate on my lesson, but because the program was audio-heavy, I could also cook or clean while I studied.
When you open a Pimsleur program for the first time, you're greeted with "Dr. Pimsleur's Golden Rules": respond out loud, don't take notes or look anything up during lessons, and limit yourself to one lesson per day. Pimsleur claims that if you follow these rules, you'll be able to learn the language through the conversations and narratives that make up the majority of the program. Pimsleur emphasizes understanding a language's sound system and incorporates new and old vocabulary into each lesson to ensure that you have ample opportunity to absorb what you've learned.
If you're familiar with apps like DuoLingo, I should point out right away that Pimsleur is not one of them. It's more like listening to a learning tape, with very little digital interaction. You could probably finish the Pimsleur program without looking at your screen (check out our smart speaker recommendations, if you want to do just that).
Having said that, Pimsleur is a very interactive program. It's intended for the user to participate in the conversation by filling in vocabulary (for example, "How do you say restaurant in Spanish?") and responding to conversational prompts ("Tell Juan that you'll meet him in the restaurant"). An English-speaking narrator guides the program, pointing out important context and information that you might otherwise miss. Instead of saying, "Now we're going to learn how to conjugate verbs," the Pimsleur narrator simply says, "Notice how the end of the word has changed," and encourages you to figure out the differences on your own. The entire program is designed to familiarize you with vocabulary and study without requiring you to memorize or study.
One of the most important aspects of this process is that you are introduced to new words through sound rather than sight. You won't be able to read a word the first time (or the first dozen times) you say it aloud. This may appear intimidating to those who are more accustomed to visual learning styles, but Pimsleur makes it easier for these words to stick in a variety of ways, not the least of which is pure repetition.
When Pimsleur introduces a difficult new word, it breaks it down one syllable at a time, and if you combine your audio lesson with the quick reading lesson, you will have the opportunity to see new vocabulary spelled out. These reading lessons are simple, consisting essentially of a list of new words to read through so you can recognize them by sight, but I found that they went a surprising long way toward cementing vocabulary in my mind.
What I appreciated about Pimsleur
Pimsleur's reading lessons are simple, but they helped me remember new vocabulary.
I'll just say it: Pimsleur was fantastic. It was ideal for my learning style. The audio-heavy method forced me to retain vocabulary rather than just recognize how a word looked on a page, and I discovered that vocabulary was introduced at a pace that I could keep up with without becoming discouraged.
Another well-known language-learning program that I adore is the Michel Thomas method. Students learn new languages through analysis, context, and conversation in this method. The key to the Thomas method is that students do not study or memorize; instead, they think through the logic of a new language and instinctively learn to understand its rules. I knew I'd like Pimsleur after the first lesson, when I realized how similar it was to the Thomas method. Pimsleur will probably work for you if this is an approach that works for you, or if you know that you retain information best through a combination of subconscious integration and analysis.
I had studied French for years, but prior to Pimsleur, my knowledge of Spanish was limited to reciting "cocodrilo" in third grade. Believing that you're "bad" at a skill can make practicing that much more difficult. I'm not sure I'd have had the courage to take a beginner Spanish course a few weeks ago, but Pimsleur gave me the opportunity to practice the language's sound in private, to the point where I'm no longer trying to figure out how to move my mouth.
Part of my newfound comfort with the Spanish sound system stems from the fact that I was able to practice in private, without fear of sounding stupid or moving too slowly, thanks to the use of a digital program. Another aspect is the way Pimsleur introduces new vocabulary. When a complex word appears in a lesson, the narrator pauses to break it down syllable by syllable, beginning at the end and working toward the beginning. Something about saying the word backwards appealed to me, allowing me to hear and repeat individual sounds without tripping over my own tongue. It reminded me of drawing a picture upside down, which is a common exercise for artists to help them see shapes and colors rather than the sum of their parts.
What I disliked about Pimsleur
I liked that I could do my lesson on the go when the mobile app was functional.
I mostly finished my Pimsleur lessons on my laptop, practicing Spanish while cleaning or cooking dinner. I liked that Pimsleur also has an appealing, user-friendly mobile app, and I tried completing a few lessons while on the go. I stopped using the app because I found it too distracting when I was multitasking, and it also crashed about every third lesson. It wasn't unusable, but it was a little annoying, and based on app reviews, I'm sure I'm not the only one who had this issue. The brand did, however, tell me that they were working to fix app issues as they arose, and that a new version of the app that addresses this bug would be released soon.
While I like how Pimsleur introduces vocabulary gradually, there is no flexibility in terms of what content is prioritized, and its organic pace may be too slow for someone planning a trip or an event. This worked for me because I'm learning a language for personal fulfillment, but Pimsleur won't be able to adjust to more specific needs.
My final point of criticism? All due respect to Dr. Pimsleur, but "Pimsleur" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.
Is Pimsleur a good method for learning a language?
The Pimsleur method was effective for me.
Pimsleur was extremely beneficial to me, but I must admit that my experience was quite unique. I'm not a native Spanish speaker, but I've studied Romance languages long enough to understand their general logic. Spending hours in a classroom correcting misplaced accent marks will not make you a great conversationalist, but it will help you understand the cadence and rules of a language.
I liked how Pimsleur asked you to learn grammar rules piece by piece, but I felt like my background studying other languages gave me a cheat code, so these parts of the lesson were a lot easier.
To compensate for this, I tried the Arabic and Korean introductory lessons. This confirmed what I suspected: I could move much faster when I had some baseline familiarity with a language. Having said that, I thought the Pimsleur method was quite impressive. Pimsleur begins each lesson by playing a conversation, promising that you will understand it by the end of the lesson.
As someone with no knowledge of Korean, I find it difficult to distinguish individual words. Breaking down a conversation with Pimsleur was magical in the way that all learning is—I recognized the moment I began to hear the words for what they were.
I'd spend a lot more time and probably replay the same lessons a lot more often if I were learning a completely new language. This, however, is part of Pimsleur's expectation rather than a flaw. The price of Pimsleur is the main reason I might avoid it, though opting for a subscription is far more cost effective than purchasing the software. Pimsleur is absolutely worth the investment in terms of pedagogy, content, and the ability to learn at my own pace.
I'm not fluent in Spanish after a few weeks with the Pimsleur program, but I can order a beer and, more importantly, I feel confident in continuing to learn. The methodical manner in which Pimsleur introduces new sounds, combined with the even pacing and recurrence of previously learned words, made this a truly successful, rewarding, and educational experience.
Pimsleur offers a 7-day free trial.
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